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THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

 MUSIC, PERSONAL  No Responses »
Mar 112014
 

Photo by Ray Aziz

DON’T SPOOK THE ALPACA!

Six months after launching Emo FASCISM at Artistry, I was back to promote the release of #alpacablues EP with The Groovy People in tow. There wasn’t much of a crowd there but I do appreciate the kind friends who took the trouble and effort to demonstrate their support. Much obliged! These ranged from my latest RP students (Josephine, Fatin & Wei Ren!) to the legendary Vernon Cornelius (of The Quests!).

Photo by Don Shiau

In the final analysis, I was just happy to be playing with some of my favourite people viz Patrick Chng, Ray Aziz, Nelson Tan, Benjamin Ang & Eileen Chai – all of whom I love and respect so much! It was historical occasion as well as I actually opened for myself for the first time! Basically, I did a 30 minute solo acoustic set before playing a full set with The Groovy People.

All good fun for sure, and it was great to have an appreciative crowd. Sure beats having a packed house ignoring you and talking to themselves! In any case, two more shows before DON’T SPOOK THE ALPACA is done. This coming Saturday (15th) at Hood Bar from 8pm (supported by the amazing Another Sunday Afternoon!) & next Saturday (22nd) at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre from 8.45pm. See you there!

In the meantime, #alpacablues is available at Bandcamp for US$1 until the 15th March! Get it now!

… still there’s more …

BLURB-O-RAMA

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 092014
 

BOB

Capsule reviews of new music that has been released in the last couple of weeks. 

WARPAINT – Warpaint

Dreamy atmospheric drones are the order for the day on the sophomore effort from this Los Angeles-based quartet. Very high on ‘feels’ and rather low on songcraft per se, the attention to sonics and rhythms somewhat circumvents any melodic deficiency in evidence. Which is fine, as Warpaint’s modus operandi is to lull listeners into a feel-good chilled out mode. Good enough.

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GEEK OUT!

 FILM  No Responses »
Mar 062014
 

300: Rise Of An Empire (Directed by Noam Murro)

To be honest, I had low expectations for this film. When it was first announced, I felt that there was absolutely no need for a sequel to 300 and this was simply a case of the studio trying to cash in on the original’s success (almost half a billion dollars worldwide). To all intents and purposes, it seemed to me that creator Frank Miller had been coerced into producing a sequel to 300 (viz. Xerxes), which remains unpublished. All of which spelled TROUBLE.

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THE WORD: ANNIHILATION

 BOOK  No Responses »
Mar 052014
 

When does nature become unnatural? That is the question posed by author Jeff Vandermeer in Annihilation, the first installment of a proposed trilogy (entitled Southern Reach), all three parts to be published in 2014. In brief, the story involves a team of four (a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor) who set out into an area known as Area X. The area is abandoned and cut off from the rest of civilization. They are the 12th expedition. The other expeditions have been fraught with disappearances, suicides, aggressive cancers, and mental trauma.

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GEEK OUT!

 FILM  No Responses »
Mar 052014
 

The sequel to 300, Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel opens in Singapore tomorrow. 300: Rise of an Empire is based on Miller’s as yet unpublished graphic novel Xerxes and focuses on the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Noam Murro is the director whilst Snyder is involved as co-writer and producer.

Check out the latest trailer below.

ALIVE & KICKING – AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR / SUB:SHAMAN

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 052014
 
ASIWYFA_PoP-1

Photo by Aloysius Lim

Sure, as a music lover based in Singapore, one is currently inundated with big rock concert draws like Eric Clapton & The Rolling Stones and with big rock festivals like St. Jerome’s Laneway & the Hostess Club Weekender. But seriously folks, nothing quite beats the experience of watching a cracking band up close in an intimate venue. Nothing.

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SINGAPORE ROCK FESTIVAL – SET TIMES [NEWS]

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 042014
 

SRF Band Set Timings

 

Six rock bands over two nights. Not strictly ‘metal’, more like ‘hard rock’ – the distinction I make is that there is more melodic content in these bands – Alice in Chains even has harmonies! But there’s gonna be speed, riffs and heavy heavy vibes throughout. Hope you’ve got your tickets! See you there!

Horns up!!

Tickets available from SISTIC.

 

 

THE GATHERING WITH DARKSIDE [NEWS]

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 032014
 

DARKSIDE

After the well-received inaugural The Gathering with Empire of the Sun, Forefront Asia has announced that the second edition will bring to our shores musical duo, DARKSIDE on Sunday, 6th April at *SCAPE (The Ground Theatre).

DARKSIDE is the collaboration of electronic musician Nicolas Jaar, and Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington. The duo is known for the intense pulsing baseline beats and hollowed synthesizer accompaniments, coupled with supplementary notes contributed by instruments ranging from a guitar to Harrington’s falsetto.

Tickets priced at SGD65, are now available at Event Clique.

Check out DARKSIDE’s debut LP Psychic.

BLURB-O-RAMA

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 282014
 

BOB

It’s the end of February 2014 and here’s some new albums that we think you should check out!

Screen shot 2014-02-27 at PM 04.01.26

BENMONT TENCH – You Should Be So Lucky

Better known as the piano player with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench releases his debut solo album and it’s exactly as you might expect. Pristine country-folk-blues-rock that echoes Dylan and Petty (of course) with touches of jazz (“Ecor Rouge”) and soul (“Why Don’t You Quit Leaving Me Alone”). But with authentic material like “Veronica Said”, “Hannah” and “Today I Took Your Picture Down”, Tench demonstrates that he can stand his ground against his heavy-hitting associates. Recommended.

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ALIVE & KICKING – THE GATHERING WITH EMPIRE OF THE SUN / MONSTER CAT

 MUSIC  2 Responses »
Feb 252014
 

Empire of the Sun‘s frontman Luke Steele promised an exciting adventure for his band’s performance for the opening concert in The Gathering series. And from a purely visual perspective, EOTS did not let down the sizable audience on Friday, 21st February gathered outdoor at the Fort Canning Park. An amazing light show and colourfully attired dancing girls guaranteed a feast for the eyes during their hour plus set.

monstercat

Before that, local champions MONSTER CAT thrilled the early birds with a showcase of songs from new album – The Violet Hour – notably first single “Take Me to Love”. The band was somewhat squeezed to the side of the stage (due to EOTS elaborate setup) and thus, the band seemed a little awkward but that didn’t stop the boys from giving their all and doing their ambitious new numbers justice.

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AN EVENING WITH JOHN CLEESE – UPDATE [NEWS]

 COMEDY  No Responses »
Feb 252014
 

Due to popular demand, LA Comedy Live, in association with Adrian Bohm Presents, has announced that An Evening With John Cleese will add a second night to the tour.

The first performance will take place on 4 May 2014, while the second will be on 5 May 2014. Both shows will be held at the University Cultural Centre (UCC), NUS at 8 pm.

Tickets for the second night go on sale this Thursday, 27 February 2014.

More info.

ALIVE & KICKING: PLAINSUNSET – THE GIFT 10TH ANNIVERSARY GIG

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 242014
 

Picture by Aloysius Lim

Apologies are in order cos this review should have been published at TODAY at least two weeks ago but for some reason – technical hitches etc – the article never appeared. And so, a much belated review of Plainsunset’s triumphant celebration of The Gift’s 10th Anniversary follows.

In 2015, Singapore will celebrate its 50th year of independence. Whilst clearly much has been written about the miraculous economic progress that the country has experienced, it might be argued that this success was achieved at the cost of Singapore’s artistic soul. But slowly but surely, that state of affairs is beginning to witness a sea change. Since the modest revival of Singapore-made rock music in the 1990s, only one band has lasted the course – weathering a break-up in the mid-2000s and the loss of a founding member to come on through the other side still as vibrant as ever and still as relevant to their loyal fans in 2014. That band, of course, is Plainsunset.

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HOT BUZZ: BABUSHKA

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 242014
 

Don, Fauzo & Sophia

There may be no shortage of instrumental rock bands in the S-ROCK scene but it’s fair to say that Babushka has opted for a different path from your typical ‘Post-rock’ fare. The trio play a combination of jazz, folk and world music that one could imagine being utilized on the appropriate movie soundtrack. On its debut EP, Flights of Fancy, the styles range from Spanish flamenco inflections (“K2″), English folk cum shoegaze references (“Sherpa”), Space Age Bachelor Pad ambience (“Luxury Apartment”), easy listening jazz-folk (“Collide”) and even a Tex-Mex Mariachi vibe (“Pocket Rocket” – which film buffs might imagine in a Quentin Tarantino cowboy flick even!)

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PoP RECOMMENDS: EACH OTHER

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 212014
 

Quirky, edgy & poppy – what a great combo for a band! The music of offbeat Montreal-based trio Each Other doesn’t make for easy pigeon-holing although I personally discerned Pavement, XTC, Pixies, Talking Heads et al in their reference points. Which is awesome of course! Debut album coming out in March. In the meantime, check out the music released so far!

Facebook 

 

SINGAPORE ROCK FESTIVAL UPDATE

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 212014
 

SRF_RockOut

 

Latest update: Jason Newsted will not be appearing or performing on all scheduled February and March dates. These include Australia’s Soundwave Festival and the Singapore Rock Festival here on the 6th of March.

So there will be six bands performing over 2 nights at the festival: Korn, Rob Zombie, Black Veil Brides and Five Finger Death Punch will perform on the 5th of March while Alice in Chains and Alter Bridge will perform on the 6th.

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GEEK OUT!

 FILM  No Responses »
Feb 192014
 

To be honest, I was less than impressed when Marvel Studio first announced its intention to make a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The original concept art that accompanied the press release (above) certainly did not help the cause. The main concern was Rocket Raccoon (an intelligent, anthropomorphic raccoon, who is an expert marksman and master tactician!) and the feeling that if the film-makers got Rocket wrong in making him believable, then that would destroy the movie’s credibility.

Of course, so far Marvel Studios have not failed to deliver with each of its films and in bringing in James Gunn (Slither, Super) to helm the first movie adaptation of Marvel’s outer space characters, it revealed an intention to tap into the director’s distinctive quirky style. And this is clearly evident from the first full trailer which presents a comic tone that works very well. I especially like the way that everyone makes fun of Star-Lord’s name.

And… Rocket looks awesome. Take a look!

Guardians of the Galaxy opens on 1st August. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bastita, Bradley Cooper & Vin Diesel.

#alpacablues

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 152014
 

I am proud to announce that my new EP – and my second official solo release – is now available at Bandcamp. You can buy the EP for US$1 until 14th March, wherein it reverts to full price. I am quite sure that #alpacablues is probably my best recorded music to date and this has been done to the fine work from my collaborators viz. Ray Aziz (percussion), Nelson Tan (upright bass), Eileen Chai (violin) and Pat Chng (recording/mixing). Not forgetting of course, the wondrous cover art from Andy Yang. Recorded in about five sessions, the songs on the EP represent a watershed of sorts for me. I have decided to put behind me the overtly melancholic sentiments evident on both Emo FASCISM and #alpacablues and move ahead to make brighter music. Already, I have in mind an electronic pop project for the latter part of 2014. But in the meantime, I hope you will enjoy #alpacablues.

… still there’s more …

GEEK OUT!

 COMICS, FILM  No Responses »
Feb 152014
 

JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR

I suppose I am a bit late to DC’s New 52 concept which rebooted the company’s entire superhero line but the very idea repulsed me back then, so you will forgive me if I decided not to indulge when it all went down in 2011. The direct-to-video animated movie, Justice League: War, represents the first movie adaptation of the New 52 series (in particular, Justice League) and thus, I thought it would be an appropriate time to give my 2cts worth on this latest reboot.

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HOT BUZZ: SAM PAGE “SHINE YOUR LITTLE LIGHT”

 MUSIC  No Responses »
Feb 142014
 

Singer-songwriter Sam Page does a great job at evoking the alt-rock of the 80s with nods to The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr, Long Ryders and The Dream Syndicate evident in his country-folk-powerpop amalgam. This new single keeps the fires burnin’ for all of us who remember that era fondly.

Official Site

 

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