Everyone loves a good comeback story. Successful second acts in the entertainment industry can be rare that Noor Hazril Mohd Sidek (fondly known as Oyent Hazryl) is not only lucky, but also a gangly beam of encouragement to other musical acts who have made foolish decisions in the past and run out of career road. “I’m lucky,” the 35-year-old acknowledges, when talking about his past.
The survivor’s story is one of the predominant narratives of our time. It usually traces a familiar arc from excess through despair to redemption, and, as such, allows us to enjoy the vicarious thrill of voyeurism within the framework of a cautionary or salutary tale.
The premise sounds familiar. Musician marries the love of his life; musician falls off a cliff and hurtles into a dark pit of drugs and despair; musician ends up in hospital fighting for his life; musician survives and has an epiphany; musician climbs out of his rock-bottom pit; musician finds himself again and starts to find his own music; musician creates music that’s close to his heart and doors once shut to him slowly reopen with brand new possibilities in sight; musician discovers his biggest treasure has been right in front of him all the while — his family.
Movie cliche? Perhaps. But when real life imitates movies, it has all the bearings of a story that’s worth telling. Again and again.
He looms over me, a gentle presence, his hand curled protectively over the fret of his acoustic guitar. He asks me half-shyly if it’s time for him to sing a song.
“Let’s chat first,” I suggest and he acquiesces, looking a tad uncomfortable. Talking isn’t his forte ― singing is. He proudly notes that everything I’ll be hearing later is “written by me”, a clear indication that his new shot at life has certainly helped his efforts to be heard once again as a dues-paying musician.
Then, there are his songs. Within the simple constraints of guitar, bass and drums (and some interesting string arrangements), he creates an immediate emotional vessel that cannot be pinned down in any rock, soul, or folk category, or as mainstream or alternative.
It’s all over the place but it sounds fresh, vibrant and it means something. Vida (Tanda Kasih) is an ode to his daughter; Gemilang Deepavali, his own joyous nod to the Hindu festival which won 3rd placing at the 2017 Jalakx Deepavali Song Competition held in collaboration with VIMA (Southeast Asia’s biggest music awards platform) and quite recently, his latest single Ini Bukti Untukmu (I.B.U) — a mother’s day tribute, has been making waves.
“The words come from here,” he says touching his heart, adding: “From memories, from dreams, from people I’ve known. I’m always writing and reflecting on life.”
When SKOWT — an innovative new music platform which caters to unsigned and independent local talents — recently announced Oyent as one of the recipients of its music fund, his old narrative was supplanted by an extraordinary comeback story. He hasn’t shied away (as uncomfortable as he is) from sharing his experience candidly — he doesn’t gloss over facts — but being an ambassador of sorts to preach a drug-free lifestyle has also helped him rewrite his story.
“It’s been an uphill climb to get to this point,” he admits. When an errant musician can’t rely on past popularity to tide him over, having a motivated family is the next best thing. “They’re everything to me. The reason why I’ve changed my life for the better,” he confides softly, smiling at his wife and five-year-old daughter seated with him.
JOURNEY TO ROCK BOTTOM
From suicide to drug overdose, the hallowed halls of rock legends and entertainers are littered with fallen young men and women who took the phrase “live fast, die young” as more life instruction than metaphor.
For anyone who has known Oyent in the past, his professional life was going from strength to strength. The National Arts Academy (ASWARA) graduate who majored in music performance and traditional vocals needed no introduction. He thrived in the local Malaysian pub scene with his livewire energy and strong stage presence, co-founding and performing in popular acoustic pub band Acoustica for almost a decade, and later the flamenco-pop cover band Magnifico.
On the surface, he’s a showman; a confident singer who could effortlessly carry any song including complicated Spanish numbers with exceptional fluency. Yet, delve deeper and you’ll find a more thoughtful, more retiring artistic figure. “I started off as a recreational drug user. I soon found that once I was on drugs, I felt invincible and confident. I could practically do anything,” he recalls.
He was living the life, or so he thought. “Looking back now, it’s really silly. But at the time it made me feel really special,” he confesses. “What I didn’t realise then was my casual substance abuse was practically laying the foundation for full-blown addition.”
As time went by, his consumption increased heavily, from occasional dabbling to practically every day. And even then, Oyent believed he was in control. “I just never had enough. I don’t recall ever losing control. But in reality, I was thriving or so I thought — on very little sleep and food. I ate just enough to avoid suspicion,” he reveals sheepishly looking at his wife.
His growing addiction affected his musical career. Poor punctuality, failure to be on time and unreliability — all signs pointing to an addiction led to him losing his place with the band that he co-founded. “I knew what was going on, but I was so deep in my addiction, I really couldn’t help myself,” he says, adding: “The thing about addiction is that the addict always believes they can return to that time when they could have managed the drug but that never happens. We don’t realise how far we’ve gone or how deep we’re in.”
Things came to a head when he collapsed on stage one day. “It was a dramatic climax for something I’ve been trying to hide from my family, bandmates and friends,” he recalls, adding: “I didn’t realise that I hadn’t been sleeping or eating for days until the moment I collapsed.” It was appendicitis that got him to hospital, but unbeknownst to family and friends, the potentially fatal combination of anaesthetics from his operation and the drugs that were coursing through his system, almost killed him.
“It was a wake-up call for me,” he says softly. Recognising his downward spiral, he admitted to his family that he needed help and asked to go to rehab. “I had to change,” he says. “Whenever I look back at videos of my performance during my addiction, I feel malu (ashamed). I wasn’t as great or invincible or as wonderful as I perceived I was.”
THE JOURNEY UPWARDS
He lost almost everything, he confides, but he credits his wife for helping him reform. “She believed in me, and told me I could change,” he says, smiling at her. For 38-year-old Azzalea Yesodhra Abdullah (“Call me Lea,” she insists with a smile), her journey with Oyent had been eventful from the moment they first met.
“When we — a Muslim and a Christian — fell in love, we didn’t think much about the differences in our religions (People falling in love usually don’t think much, full stop.),” she recalls laughing. “We figured what we did share — similar values, similar worldviews, and a similarly strong faith in God — was enough. We crossed our fingers and hoped we’d be able to work out how to do life together as it came at us — step by step, conversation by conversation, decision by decision.”
It was easy to relate to him, confides Lea. After all, they both grew up in small-town Mantin. On their first meeting, they discovered her late father, a schoolteacher, had taught his siblings. “Somehow, it felt right. When we first met, we talked for hours!” she recounts with another peal of laughter.
Eight years and a beautiful daughter later, that strategy of working out their differences one decision at a time, she says, worked. This also helped — she attests — when dealing with his subsequent downward spiral into drugs. “Oyent’s addiction and the pitfalls that came with that territory were difficult to say the least,” adds Lea. She admits that discovering that her husband was hiding his drug use from her broke her heart but “... when he finally decided to get the help he needed, I was there to get him back on his feet again.”
After a six-month stint at a government rehabilitation centre, Oyent packed up his bags and followed his wife to Uganda where she was posted for a few years. “It was good to get out of familiar surroundings for a while. I needed a new perspective,” admits Oyent.
The period of soul-searching soon began in a faraway land where he spent much of his time writing songs and helping out at local NGOs to teach street children percussions. Says Oyent: “It was cathartic. I was away from the usual familiar distractions, being with my wife and taking care of my little daughter. And in the midst of it all, learning what was most important to me.”
What is most important — he says — is family. “One of the most wonderful aspects of our marriage was the fact that our families have been a source of tremendous support,” he says. “I’m really grateful that we’ve got an extended family from both sides because there’s always somebody who can pull you back to earth — always somebody to remind you who you really are. And that’s so important.”
Coming back home from Uganda was bittersweet. He had to begin from ground zero. “It wasn’t easy transitioning from a big band to being a solo artist,” he says. “I started rebuilding my reputation and getting small gigs again. In the meantime, I threw myself back into composing my own songs.”
And he’s not looked back since. Says Oyent: “I’m making music again and I feel very fortunate if people are listening.” And if his recent successes are anything to go by, he is slowly garnering a brand new fan base. His heartfelt songs speak of his newfound joie de vivre and he’s unafraid to express it. “Everybody deserves a second chance. And a third, and a fourth. I believe that with support and a lot of hard work, anyone can turn their life around. Even me.”
He pauses to gather his daughter in his arms. Kissing the top of her head, a big smile lights up his entire face as he concludes thoughtfully: “I’m so thankful because I really do have everything I could wish for. My wife, who’s my pillar of support and my daughter who brings me so much joy. My main focus right now is to be there for my family and remain a positive influence in their lives.”
Check out Oyent Hazryl’s music at FB page : oyenthazrylmusic; YouTube : Oyent Hazryl