Old Raya songs vs new releases: why the classics still speak to us

 With fresh tracks being produced every year, why do we keep returning to songs like 'Dendang Perantau'?

From Irham Zulkernain

Every year, someone releases a new Raya song. The production gets better, the music video glossier, the featured artistes more well-known.

Yet every year, Malaysians go back to the same old songs from decades past.

This doesn’t reflect a shortage of talent or budget, both of which the industry has. The issue lies in what many of these songs choose to celebrate – and what they seem to forget.

To understand the appeal of classic Raya songs, it helps to look at what Hari Raya itself represents – and not just the version conveyed in advertisements: open houses, new clothes, beautifully arranged ketupat.

Raya marks the end of Ramadan, a month of reflection, restraint and spiritual discipline. It is a celebration, yes, but it also carries that poignant sense of transition as the holy month comes to a close.

This mix of joy and reflection is something older Raya songs captured well. They acknowledged both the happiness of Syawal and the emotional weight of the month that preceded it.

Raya is often described as loud and colourful, but modern music tends to misidentify the source of this energy. Raya isn’t loud because of new clothes or flashy decorations, and it certainly shouldn’t be loud for the sake of a “vibe”.

After 30 days of fasting, prayer and restraint, Hari Raya marks a sense of release. The takbir that echoes through neighbourhoods is not just festive noise; it is the sound of gratitude after a collective act of devotion.

When fireworks go off or families laugh late into the night, it reflects a community that has gone through a spiritual journey together. To treat it as a backdrop for a catchy beat risks missing the emotional and spiritual gravitas that gives Raya its meaning.

Raya is also one of the few occasions that compel people to return home. For many families, pride softens and old grievances are resolved. Classic Raya songs understood the meaning of “maaf zahir dan batin” – when walls come down and hearts are opened.

Contrarily, many new songs tend to frame Raya as an opportunity to party. They capture the colours and cheer but often stop there without fully conveying what is being celebrated.

It could be argued that a Raya song that does not reckon with the weight of Ramadan, with the bittersweetness of reunions or that specific ache of celebrating without someone who was there last year, is not really a Raya song – it is merely product shaped like one.

In many ways, a lot of new Raya music resembles fast fashion: produced quickly, designed for a season, and replaceable when Ramadan next rolls around.

The irony is, the formula has never been hidden; it lives in the music Malaysians keep returning to every single year.

The old songs respect the emotional gravity of the day. They meet listeners in the car during that long drive home. They acknowledge both our victory and our mourning, the festive joy and the quiet reflection that accompanies it.

That is why songs like “Dendang Perantau” and “Satu Hari Di Hari Raya” endure. Until songwriters remember who Raya is for and what it is truly about, many will keep returning to the songs that already understand them. - FMT

 Irham Zulkernain is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.