Award winning singer-songwriter Amir Yussof, once a poster boy of the Malaysian music scene, now has zero interest in celebrity.

He is not into crowds and holds onto a simple code of living a life of no compulsion in New Zealand.

Amir, 53, might have refocused his interests on animal and environmental concerns but those occasional light bulb moments to create a special song still shines.

The artiste of Malay-Swiss parentage, who many Malaysians miss, came to the fore in an FMT article yesterday about Batu Caves-born Ravie Varmaan, now a successful musician in Adelaide, Australia.

Amir does a voiceover track for the intro and outro on a re-do of his 30-year-old composition, ‘Island’, one of 11 tracks in Ravie’s upcoming solo album.

Here are excerpts of the interview with New Delhi-born Amir, who moved from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah in the mid-2000s and migrated to New Zealand in 2016:

Why did you migrate?

I migrated in December 2016 to live a life of no compulsion and freedom of expression, as well as to be closer to my ageing mother.

How are you coping with life in New Zealand?

I live quite a solitary, drama-less life with my wife in the countryside in Waikino on the North Island.

My wife, who is from North Borneo, is a medicinal practitioner and a dance therapist.

Our place, roughly two hours southeast of Auckland, is surrounded by acres of forest, paddocks, alpacas, goats, chickens, dogs and a cat.

The isolation was difficult initially, but after a while it became addictive.

How do you spend your time?

I spend a lot of my time managing our home and property whilst taking care of the animals.

I also run my own two-person BnB on the property called The Dome @ Walai Mamaku.

I also have a small home studio to record voiceover and sometimes, some music.

Are you involved in music?

I play a few gigs here and there in some small-town venues as well as host some open mic sessions.

I am also producing music for and mentoring a young, talented and inspiring songwriter with Cerebral Palsy named Keegan Lewis.

How different is the pub scene there compared to your days in Malaysia?

It’s very difficult here to earn a decent, regular living as a full time musician.

More often than not, you need to provide, set up and take down your own sound system for every gig.

Perhaps if I lived in the big smoke, I might get more involved.

Do you miss your very own Xtacy Live Music Bar in Damansara that was popular in the 90s?

I don’t miss running/owning a bar and I am not much into crowds nowadays. I don’t live in the past.

Why did you re-release your 2008 composition ‘Calling on You’ this year?

The song was originally written for a fundraiser event for the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sandakan, Sabah.

I tweaked some lyrics and released it as a song about the planet and all the species ‘crying out’ to us.

The lyrics could even relate to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The song reminds us of what we are doing to the planet and the resultant consequences to ourselves.

Hopefully, it might add to some solidarity in testing times like these.

What went into the making of the video and the song?

I made the video using mostly free online stock footage and some old recordings of some live performances of the song at some festivals in Malaysia with Albert Sirimal, Badar Fawzy and Arab.

The song was a co-production with Mike Bloemendal, an exceptional friend and “everything audio” guy/musician in Auckland, whom I worked with on many occasions in Malaysia recording voice-overs.

Is ‘Calling on You’ your first official release since ‘Aquarius’, in 2002?

It’s the second. I released “Somebody’s Sunshine” when I first arrived and all my songs are on major online platforms.

Can we expect new songs from an older, wiser Amir?

Perhaps, but I don’t feel obliged to be prolific. We only have so much time and there is more to life than music.

There was a stage in my life when I had something to prove to myself and now I have moved on, although not completely.

Music is still an important part of my life but not a career.

What genre of music do you listen to these days?

I rarely listen to music at all. I have grown to appreciate the sound of silence and sounds of nature.

I find music can be distracting at times, perhaps because of my music background. I tend to “over listen” to it.

Do you follow the Malaysian music scene and keep in touch with old friends?

I don’t really follow any music scene. I hear about things and keep in touch occasionally with others through social media, but not often.

Do you miss the glamour you enjoyed in Malaysia?

I look back at it with fond memories. It had its blessing and its curse.

But as time passes, I find myself drawn away from busy places and crowds and don’t desire or require the attention I used to get.