Malaysian pop group KRU reunites for new song, incorporates AI into music video

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The iconic Malaysian pop group KRU has reunited for a new song, six years after disbanding. Comprising brothers Norman, Yusry and Edry, KRU ruled Malaysia’s music charts in the 90s and early 2000s with hit songs such as Fanatik, Jangan Lafazkan and Awas.

In 1997, KRU expanded into film production and went on to create multiple box-office successes over the years including Cicakman and Duyung. In 2018, the group announced that it would be disbanding as a music act to focus on their own responsibilities and personal lives.

KRU’s new song Voodoo was released on Nov 22 and its accompanying music video, on Nov 27.

With Voodoo, the trio also became the first Malaysian act to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into creating their digital twins for a music video; the video features a boyband (played by the musicians themselves) in AI form that was manufactured by a female scientist in a secret laboratory in the 1990s. 

In an interview, KRU member Yusry said that the team had to use “every single VFX technology they learnt” – including rotoscoping, CGI, and background and facial replacement – to create the music video for Voodoo.

“We had to [add the VFX] within a short period of time. Usually when we do a production, the process will take weeks and months. However, we had only had seven days [for Voodoo’s post-production].”

Voodoo marks the first song of KRU’s upcoming album Kaset which will be released at a later date. According to KRU, Kaset will have 10 songs. The group also plans to stage a concert in 2025.