Trisno

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Trisno

---

Birth_name = Trisno Ishak
Born = birth date and age|1978|07|18
flagcountry|Singapore
Genre = Jazz,R&B,Blues
Occupation = Singer
Musician
Songwriter
Years_active = 2000 – present
Label = Unsigned

Trisno Ishak, more popularly known as Trisno, was born on July 18, 1978 in Singapore. He is a musician and a teacher. In 2000, Trisno came to fame as the lead singer of Urban Xchange, which later evolved to Parking Lot Pimp. Trisno has performed alongside Stacy Orrico, Jamie Cullum, Jay Sean, Missy Higgins and Ben and Joey of The Click Five. He has also collaborated with Grammy Award winner John Lennon, Grammy Award nominee Brian McKnight, Mr. Cheeks from The Lost Boyz, Malaysian hip-hop duo Too Phat, Malaysian singer Camelia, Singaporean rapper Sheikh Haikel and Taiwanese popstar Evonne. With his sizzling buttery voice, Trisno has captivated local and international audience. Coupled along with his versatility in music and adept talent at working the crowd, he is described as "the guy who was born to be a performer".Candice Chia, 2001. So who’s not cool? "The New Paper", 29 May. p24.]

Early years

Trisno was born into a musically inclined background. His mom, Dahlia Ahmad, was a recording artist at EMI records. Dahlia’s sister and brother, Hamidah Ahmad and Eddie Ahmad were also recording artists and recorded a duet entitled "Mawarku" (translated in English as "My Rose") which was a major hit in the 1970s.Hasleen Bachik, 2002. Urban Xchange sudah langkah jauh. "Berita Harian", 7 Nov. p12.] This song has been popularised by Siti Nurhaliza and group 2 by 2 from Malaysia.

Early on in his life, Trisno was exposed to the musical world. His mother brought him to her jazz performances across the region when his father, Ishak Ahmad, was often overseas. Backstage, Trisno would never fail to catch a glimpse of his mother singing and performing in front of the masses. From then on, his musical journey began.

Growing up, Trisno listened to music from genres ranging from jazz to motown to latin. His early influences include Spyro Gyra (jazz), Shakatak (jazz-funk), Frank Sinatra (vocal jazz) and Julio Iglesias (latin). Mostly disguised as a toilet singer, his talent was only first spotted at the age of 14. His stepfather, Redwan Ali, exposed him to musicians such as David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Trisno learnt the importance of music from educational perspective such as music notation, song composition and studio works. Trisno continued learning music and has become adept at piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and electric guitar. He obtained 8th grade in bass guitar at Yamaha Music School.

Urban Xchange

As Trisno served his national service, there he met music producer Terry Lee. Under the direction of Terry Lee, Trisno first featured on “Serenade Volume 3” with the song [http://www.music-db.org/misc/f1113a11.html My Lady, My Bonnie, My Wifey] in an album compilation of Asian-American artists, released in the United States. Together with Terry Lee and five others namely Vanessa Fernandez and Munir Alsagoff, they formed [http://theurbanwire.com/feb03/profile4.html Urban Xchange] . Urban Xchange was formed in 2000. The group was signed to a major worldwide label, Universal Music Group, after scoring a Coca-Cola endorsement deal for the “Life Tastes Good” campaign set for Asia. The debut album was released in the year 2001 entitled [http://www.mtvasia.com/Review/CD/C2002021101.html "How Did We Get Here?"] [http://www.mtvasia.com/Review/CD/C2002021101.html "How Did We Get Here?"] Accessed on 1 July 2008] which includes songs such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhEsY6wMRQ "Stupid"] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhEsY6wMRQ "Stupid" music video] Accessed on 1 July 2008] , which was featured on high rotation on local radio and MTV. The second album [http://www.mtvasia.com/Review/CD/C2003012001.html "Urban Xchange"] Accessed on 1 July 2008] , self-titled, was shortly released in 2002, featuring hit single [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOs6NIIJQr0 "Buzzin"] . [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOs6NIIJQr0 "Buzzin" music video] Accessed on 1 July 2008]

In 2001, MTV named Urban Xchange as artist of the month , and they featured on Hollywood’s blockbuster movie, Rush Hour 2 Official Soundtrack entitled [http://hub.vivamusic.com/cd/ost/cd_rushhour2.htm "I wanna be like Jackie Chan"] [http://hub.vivamusic.com/cd/ost/cd_rushhour2.htm "I wanna be like Jackie Chan"] Accessed on 29 June 2008] . Two years on, in 2003, Urban Xchange won the Best Regional English Album at the AIM awards in MalaysiaHasleen Bachik, 2003. Anak Seni S’pura bersinar di AIM. "Berita Harian", 28 April. p12.] , and were nominated for Best/Favourite Singapore Artiste in MTV Asia Awards 2003. The group performed alongside Europe’s classical pop quintet Wild, UK r&b popstar Jay Sean, Australian folk singer Missy Higgins and America’s celebrated legend Richard Marx in EMI Rainbow of Sound Showcase 2004 in Bangkok.

Urban Xchange also appeared in Elle Singapore January 2002 edition as 'Hot Musicians' to look out for in 2002.Elle Singapore, 2002. People: Hot List. "Elle Singapore magazine", January. p58] Urban Xchange's achievement and fame in local and regional scene was rooted in "its fusion of sounds" [Angelia Teo, 2002. Cultural exchange. "Harper's Bazaar Singapore magazine", March. p78] Pivotal to their success also was key figure Hans Ebert, who was vice president of Universal Music Asia Pacific and then,joining EMI Recorded Music Southeast Asia as advisor to chairman in September 2002. [ [http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/miscellaneous-retail-retail-stores-not/4371349-1.html Ebert Joins Cheng at EMI in Southeast Asia] Accessed on 7 July 2008] When Urban Xchange was reborn as Parking Lot Pimp, Hans maintained close affiliation and support for the new band.

Parking Lot Pimp

. This album featured hit song [http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--50829044 "Blow"] [http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--50829044 "Blow" music video] Accessed on 1 July 2008]

Solo

Trisno has sung at various bars including J bar, Blue Bar Bistro and Indochine, and performs regularly at the annual MOSAIC music festival. He has numerous credentials to his name from collaborations, features and performances. Trisno is also currently working on his first solo album, which is due to be released in 2009.

Credentials

Collaborations (Group & Solo)

*2001
**(USA) With legendary rapper from USA, Mr. Cheeks of The Lost Boyz, on Urban Xchange’s first album, track entitled "Cheeky"

*2002
**(MALAYSIA) With award-winning hip hop duo, Too Phat, on Urban Xchange’s self-titled album, track entitled "That Booty Song"
**(MALAYSIA) With Ruffedge & V.E on Urban Xchange’s self-titled album, track entitled "Sabarlah"
**(SINGAPORE) With Sheik Haikel on his album "For Sure", song entitled "Jangan tinggal daku"
**(TAIWAN) [on keyboard] With Taiwanese popstar Evonne Hsu, on her album "EVONNE", song entitled "Buzzin"
**(USA) With Grammy award nominee Brian McKnight, on his bonus album "Superhero", song entitled "When you wanna come" Tommy Wee, 2002. Cultural Xchange." Life! The Straits times", 7 December. p6.]

*2003
**(MALAYSIA) With Malaysia’s Camelia on her album, song entitled [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzDrM7FweD4 "Not That Type of Lady"] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzDrM7FweD4 "Not That Type of Lady" music video] Accessed on 1 July 2008 ]
**(TAIWAN) With Taiwanese pop band Energy, track entitled "Ramen Song"

*2005
**(UK/USA) With John Lennon and various artistes for his album "Lennon & Yoko presents Peace, Love & Truth" song entitled "Give Peace a Chance" Jill Alphonso, 2005. The right Frequency. "Life! The Straits Times", 27 May. p12. ] [http://www.zillion.co.nz/auctions/142828 John Lennon - "Peace, Love and Truth"] Accessed on 1 July 2008 ]

----

Performances (Group & Solo)

*2001
**National Day Parade

*2002
**Day Out At Esplanade, Grand Opening of Esplanade
**MerdekaTONE at Bintang Walk, Malaysia’s National Day
**Opening act of the showcase for American R&B artist, Christina Milian at LOX, Clarke Quay

*2003
**ASIAN X GAMES V held at Petronas Twin Towers
**AXN Asian Challenge at Petronas Twin Towers
**Grand Opening of ADIDAS ORIGINALS store at Pacific Plaza
**Grand Opening of Tower Records KL, 1 UTAMA
**National Day Parade
**Urban Xchange SOUL’D OUT concert, Late Nite At Esplanade Recital Studios

*2004
**A Jam Session Duet with Jamie Cullum at Indochine Aquadisiac Wisma
**EMI Rainbow of Sound Showcase in Bangkok, performed alongside Europe’s classical pop quintet Wild, UK r&b popstar Jay Sean, Australian folk singer Missy Higgins and America’s celebrated legend Richard Marx
**MTV Asia Awards, performed with Stacy Orrico

*2005
**MOSAIC music festival 2005 at Esplanade, Parking Lot Pimp

*2006
**A Jam Session with Ben and Joey of The Click Five at J Bar, M Hotel Singapore
**MOSAIC music festival 2006 at the Esplanade, opening act with Soulcadelics, for UK’s acid jazz pioneer, INCOGNITO! 2006
**SoundwaveS by People’s Association @ the Esplanade Concert Theatre guest appearing alongside Dick Lee and Joi Cai Chun Jia Channel NewsAsia, 2006. [http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060708/5/singapore217979.html "SoundwaveS" opens at Esplanade with mix of pop and ethnic music"] Accessed on 1 July 2008 ]
**Trisno Ishak and friends Concert @ the Esplanade outdoors

*2007
**A Jam Session with Ben and Joey of The Click Five at J Bar, M Hotel Singapore
** [http://www.esplanade.com/SOPApp/espsop/portal_proxy?uri=nu2gSIN8pGC![e-mail],Vz1rNjOtAF7sy1LqHzr7iNgrgWBd.dFH2TusJFM "Lunchbox at the Esplanade. Relax... It’s Trisno"] [http://www.esplanade.com/SOPApp/espsop/portal_proxy?uri=nu2gSIN8pGC![e-mail],Vz1rNjOtAF7sy1LqHzr7iNgrgWBd.dFH2TusJFM "Lunchbox at the Esplanade. Relax... It’s Trisno"] Accessed on 1 July 2008]

*2008
**MOSAIC Festival 2008 at The Esplanade. [http://www.esplanadeyouths.com/?p=351 "Tribute to country legends"] [http://www.esplanadeyouths.com/?p=351 "Tribute to country legends"] Accessed on 1 July 2008 ] [http://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com/2008/mania/day5-11MarTue/index.html MOSAIC Music Festival 2008] ]

----

Features (Group & Solo)

*2000
**Coca-Cola advertisement, Life Tastes Good Campaign ambassadorRonald Rajan, 2001. Local band for Coke’s ad. "Project Eyeball", 1 May. p6.]

*2001
**Recorded featured song on Hollywood’s blockbuster movie, Rush Hour 2 OST entitled "I wanna be like Jackie Chan" Yeoh Wee Teck, 2001. Rushing into the big time?. "The New Paper", 19 Jul. p20.] Tommy Wee, 2001. Fair Xchange. "Life! The Straits Times", 3 October. p3.]
**MTV’s Artist of the month, Urban Xchange
**Sang on an Asian American Compilation album called SERENADE vol.3, a song entitled "My lady, My Bonnie, My wifey" ]

*2003
**AIM Awards nominee for 4 catagories and winner of Best Regional English Album ]
**MTV Asia Awards Nominee for Best/Favourite Singapore Artiste ]

*2004
**Featured on Maksim Mrvica's single "Flight" Jill Alphonso, 2004. Maksim's moxie. Life! The Straits Times, 17 April. p2.]

*2005
**Featured on American Online Music, Parking Lot Pimp ]
**MTV’s Advance Warning Artiste, Parking Lot Pimp Skye Tan, 2005. New name, new frequency." The New Paper", 26 May. p26. ]

Teaching Career

Trisno continues to share his passion for music with youths in schools and institutions through teaching. His students are taught from a variety of music specialisation subjects such as music production, strum & sing guitar classes, rap mission, vocal classes and world-music/hip hop acid production. Some of the schools that he has taught in are Saint Gabriel Secondary School, Pierce Secondary School and Canberra Secondary School.

Footnotes