Artist: Maylaffayza

Album: Maylaffayza

Label: Demajors/Maylaffayza Records

Rating: ***(1/2) out of *****

Standout Tracks: "Run*", "Hey Britney", "I Play My Violin Like I Make Love"

Maylaffayza is a great violinist, period. After her debut disc I was convinced she was a world-class violinist capable of doing so much more in the music industry.

After seven years of performance, the apprentice of violin maestro Idris Sardi finally released this fierce puppy, which consists of 10 songs composed in the past three years. Idris also wrote several classical violin compositions for her.

The debut is full of intriguing violin riffs and solos backed up by pulsating RnB beats. She calls her genre "pop crossover", which is a fresh injection to a local music scene filled with generic pop rock acts.

"This album is my liberty," she wrote on the album sleeve.

The disc consists of five instrumental and five vocal tracks. The first half of the album blew my mind. She hits all the right notes in all the right places. "Run*" kick-starts the cosmic excursion.

Maylaffayza attempts to ask Britney Spears to dance to her song in "Hey Britney", which is one of the most brilliant local music titles I've seen in years. "I Play My Violin Like I Make Love" is daring and sexy without being raucous.

The second part sounds ordinary as the album tries to please the general pop music fans. A few of the songs are sung in Indonesian. But her strong point, playing the violin, is occasionally drowned out.

--Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo

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