Archive of ‘Music’

Ever have a song stop you in your tracks? For me, that’s “Faces” by Ashley Wallbridge and Andy Moor – my favourite song of 2009.

Let me start by saying that anything Ashley Wallbridge pumps out is awesome. When paired with Meighan Nealon, it becomes magic. Add Andy Moor to the mix, and I start tearing up.

Everything about Faces blows me away. The production is pristine, and somehow, the atmosphere is still MASSIVE. The stop-and-go of the bassline has a ridiculous pump to it. The piano in the breakdown? Shivers every time. And with Nealon’s saccharine voice leading the way, ladies and gentlemen – you’ve got perfection. When I look for inspiration, Faces is one of the first places I look.

I’ve waited three months to buy Faces, and it was worth every second. Today, it’s my ringtone. Phone calls have never made me so happy.

Love it? BUY IT. The radio mix does not do this choon any justice.

Music is my fire in life. I make it a point to shower twice a day so I can find more excuses to sing. Though photography and marketing hold their place, they will always pale against the passion that is music.

Today, I turn 22. No longer in that ’sweet spot’, from here, I only get older. Time is short. I have to get my hands on as much music as I can right now because I can’t afford to leave this place without sharing the love that was instilled in me.

Electronic music has always been my home, and after a several month hiatus, it’s time for me to go back to my roots. This past month, I watched ATB, Marco V, and Yoji spin and got blown away. In those moments, I was so happy. I want to do that for someone else. I want a pair of tables.

So, as inspired by Susan, here I leave this button:

P.S. If you leave any amount, please let me know who you are in the comments. I’d really like to thank you personally.

Thank you, Nicholas Erho! Though I can’t disclose the amount, let’s just say it was more than the value of your typical album these days. Even though he’s one of the most diligent students I know (thus he must be broke), he was still kind enough to push me forward. I can’t tell you guys how proud I felt. So much love, Nicholas. So much love.

Asian artists have been trying to break into the North American market for a while now, the two most notable being Hikaru Utada of Japan and Coco Lee of China. Hikaru made the jump with Exodus (2005), only to reach the modest #160 spot in the US Billboard 200 chart. Lee however saw brighter lights with her albums Just No Other Way (1999) and Exposed (2005, #1 HMV Music Charts), which may be attributed to a number of movie placements. However, neither saw the longevity or the mass popularity seen by local artists. On September 2nd, 2008, SM Entertainment decided to change that.

Under their new American branch, SM Entertainment USA, SM Entertainment is taking a stab at mainstream music with their long-time ubertalent, BoA. Will she succeed? I really, REALLY hope so. Hit the video for the Asia version of her debut song, Eat You Up:

Production wise, it’s similar to our homegrown material. Four on the floor beat with stutters thrown in for good measure. Massive, fat “womp-womp” saws alternating between kicks. Catchy hook. Nonsensical, vocoded lyrics. A little poppy, but it sounds about right, no?

I love it, but I’m biased; I have a ton of BoA albums reaching way back to the start of her career, so I have a lot invested in her success. As people who may not have been exposed to her earlier work, what do you guys think?

P.S. Thanks Lindsey Le for making the introduction. Always Loyal, Always Lindsey Le – the new fragrance from Jeremy Lim.

On my drive home, I heard Colide by Howie Day, but at that time I had no idea what it was called. I spoke the chorus to myself, hoping I would remember it by the time I got home. But then, it hit me: SHAZAM!

Shazam is a music-search application in the same vein as Midomi where you play, hum, or sing a song, and the software matches the melody to a song name. With spotty results from Midomi, I was a little skeptic. Still, I gave it a whirl, ‘tagged’ the song and in twenty seconds I had my name.

Kudos to the Shazam team for adding one more song to my collection! If you’ve got an iPhone, be sure to give it a spin; it’s free.