Camelia 

 Oon Yeoh 

“Dayang Noor Camelia Abang Khalid” is quite a mouthful – and probably not an immediately recognizable name. But utter “Camelia” and everybody knows who you’re talking about.

Camelia is well known for her love of soul music and interior decorating. What’s less known is that she’s quite a tech-savvy artiste.

MW caught up with this Sarawakian beauty to find out more about her passion for mobile toys.
 

MW:    Which mobile phone do you currently use?
C:       Motorola RAZR. I’d been using Nokia for ages but I really like the RAZR’s design.

MW:    What was your first mobile phone?
C:       My first mobile phone wasn’t even really mine. It was my dad’s ATUR 450. It was a big box but I was just 12 at the time and I thought it was so cool.

MW:    What’s the first phone you bought for yourself?
C:       It was an Alcatel... just a basic phone with minimal functionalities. I didn’t even know how to SMS then.        

MW:    What’s your next phone going to be?
C:       I’m not sure about the brand but it’ll probably be a 3G phone. I’ll wait a while ‘cos I’ve just bought my RAZR!

MW:    Are you tech savvy?
C:       Yes, in the sense that I love gadgets and I believe technology’s an important part of our lives now.

MW:    Are you the kind who’s really into mobile phones?
C:       Let’s put it this way, whenever I get a new phone, I’ll fiddle around with it — I won’t even sleep until I figure out how all the functions work.

MW:    Are you into games?
C:       Yes! I download games almost everyday I love mobile games. Strangely, I’m not into Internet games. I don’t play games on my computer but I’m addicted to mobile games.

MW:    Why are you so into mobile games?
C:       Because I spend a lot of time waiting – waiting for photo shoots to begin, waiting for a performance to start, waiting to board a plane. While waiting, I play games on my phone.

MW:    Anything else you like to do with your phone?
C:    I take pictures too. I’m not crazy about that but I do take snaps of things that catch my eye.

MW:    Do you SMS a lot?
C:       Who doesn’t? At first, I had no clue, like “macam mana, ni?” Now, I’m a pro. I can even SMS without looking at the keypad, which is useful when I’m driving!

MW:    What’s the most important thing you look for in a phone?
C:       For girls it’s always about the design. For men it’s functionality. But we girls care about design.

MW:    Do you have an MP3 player?
C:       I have an iPod, which I carry with me everywhere. It has like 1000 songs in it – all kinds of stuff from R&B and jazz to rock and standards. I’m into all kinds of music.

MW:    Who are your favourite artistes?
C:       My top three are Oleta Adams, Whitney Houston and Sade.

MW:    What other mobile devices do you have?
C:       I have a portable DVD player which I take along on long trips. I also have a TV  in my car so I can watch shows even when I’m on the move.

MW:    Which laptop do you use?
C:       That’s the one mobile device I don’t have. I just use a desktop PC at home. I might have to get one soon because I’m going to be launching my own website and will need to access the Internet on the run.

MW:    What’s your website going to be like?
C:       It will contain a discography, fashion stuff, photographs and a forum where fans can interact with me. I’m really excited about it. It’s my baby!

MW:    Will there be any multimedia stuff?
C:       I’m interested in the idea of music downloads but I’ll need to find a good payment system to make it work. I’m also looking into other trends such as streaming video and podcasting.

MW:    Any new recording projects?
C:       I’ve got a new single coming out soon. And an album will follow shortly, before the end of the year.

MW:    What type of album will it be – jazz, R&B, pop?
C:       I like to refer to it as “modern soul”.

MW:    Cool… err… what does modern soul sound like?
C:       It sounds like Camelia, lah!