INDEED it is, and about time music maestro M. Nasir came out with what he had wanted to do all along - record a full Malay-Arabic album.

The maestro has finally realised the dream with the release of Phoenix Bangkit and his newfound sound is fresh - just what the doctor ordered.

Check this out. More than 20,000 copies snapped up barely two weeks of its release, undoubtedly a positive indication that Phoenix Bangkit is one of Nasir's best albums.

"I started composing all the Malay-Arab songs seven years ago but managed to record only one or two in my previous albums mixed with other rock and soul-tinged numbers," said Nasir at the launch of Phoenix Bangkit at Concorde Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, last Thursday night.

It was experimental initially, Nasir agreed, just to gauge the response to his Eastern tunes.

He said the idea to do an Eastern-influenced album came about after the release of his previous album Canggung Mendonan in 1975.

Since then, he said the urge to come out with a full Eastern album was always there but even Nasir, like his previous record label, was skeptical of the market then.

"I included two new Eastern songs on Akar and did the same in Terbaik M. Nasir where the tracks Andalusia and Kias Fansuri had the same Malay-Arab fusion," he pointed out, adding that Tanya Sama Itu Hud Hud and Mantera Semerah were other examples of ethnic fusion tunes.

It has been a gradual evolution from a mix of pop to his Malay roots, tunes which, he explained, are a fusion of many genres and styles, including Arab, Java, Malay, Chinese and a bit of Bhangra, among others.

"The material has always been there but due to the economic recession and slow market, these songs were shoved into compilation albums," he said.

He added that his involvement in films, producing albums and composing for other singers had resulted in a delay in releasing Phoneix Bangkit.

Phoenix Bangkit is Nasir's debut for Warner Music, which signed him on a year ago, and it took the sifu more than a year to work on this project.

He said it was his best effort thus far and enjoyed rave reviews from critics and fellow musicians.

Nasir said that he was still looking for the definitive Malay song which would be danceable and aggressive, compared to the inang and asli.

"Even the Malay joget is not hard enough. That is where Arabic tunes come in, spiced with Spanish, Portuguese and flamenco elements to make it more acceptable in discos," he reckoned.

Nasir would love to have his Eastern music played in the discos and enjoyed by the young generation to bring them back to their roots.

He is also hopeful that Warner Music would bring him nearer to his ultimate dream of going international with his brand of world music as Phoneix Bangkit has been categorised.

"It is not easy to go international. Everything depends on how you package it and I believe Warner is working hard towards that goal," he said.

Warner Music (Asean region) vice-president Tony Fernandes said the company had been waiting to work with Nasir and hoped to bring his music to the rest of the world.

"Nasir is a unique artiste whose name will be immortalised with the greats," Fernandes said.

"I strongly believe Phoneix Bangkit will make a breakthough in other parts of the world," he added.

Elaborating on his new album, Nasir said he recorded 15 songs but only 10 of the best were chosen.

Four tracks were written by his long-time collaborators Loloq, S. Amin Sahab, Seth and Tok Mat Sungai Congkak.