屬于我們的一刻 [our pusaka moment]

my lousy camera doesn't do justice to the momentous event.

more photos to come from other parties, hopefully.

story to come!

從這里開始 [mulanya disini]

cetak rompak factory in bandar utama?

until til 12am this morning, we were still frantically packing the premium edition boxset for pusaka, because the boxes just arrived from taiwan in the morning!

talking about stress! the were so many co-dependencies for the successful release of the final product: we have to depend on doug sax for the mastering from USA, sony DADC for the disc replication from hk, the cd box manufacturer from taiwan. all these take time and a slight delay would cause a domino effect, that's what happened when doug dax delayed our mastering, the schedule is pushed back two weeks. telecommunications with taiwan took almost 20+ calls to get everything sorted out: the design, the artwork and finally the telegraphic transfer for the money etc etc. you just would not guess the kind of co-dependencies to make all these happen!

phew! we breathed a sigh of relief when everything arrived at 5pm yesterday. everything. finally we have enough CDs to sell for today's launch. for those of you who are eager to get it ahead of the commercial release on 11th april, you are welcome to come to bentley music today starting 4pm.

so, the moment has arrived, it begins here. mulanya disini.

i just finished off writing my speech. i am cool. i don't feel any stress and pressure anymore because the CDs are finally here.

i am gonna befriend pak lah and other CEOs and see whether they have "kang dao" for a struggling music label!

see you at the launch!

著名的劣势狗 [a famous underdog]

i am neither a good speaker nor a bad one.

when i am given the right topic, i don't even need to prepare. i can just speak off the cuff. so most of the album launch press conferences in the past were piece of cake. it was always a small crowd of less than 40 people anyway, the chinese press included.

tomorrow i am going to address a strong crowd of close to 300 people, some of whom include pak lah and his wife jeanne, ahmad merican (the composer of tanah pusaka), mr. yong ming san (the star's chairman) and many CEOs from various big corporations and many many friends and relatives of the soliano.

eventho' "pusaka" is a topic close to my heart, i think i need to prepare a script, in case i get, erm.... stage fright.

never in my life have i given a speech to an audience of 300. i always admire good speakers like lee kuan yew, steve job and even anwar ibrahim. these are orators, who could put the audience on the edge of their seats, listening to them attentively throughout.

i just hope that i would stay calm and collected and not embarrass myself. i am also supposed to accompany pak lah so i am clueless as to what kind of conversation topics i should pick. "hi tun, how's retirement life?", maybe i should start with an ice-breaker like this?

pop pop music would be a name known to many after tuesday's launch.

i want it to be known as a gutsy underdog that contributes to the development of local talents in malaysia.

醉在你懷中 [intoxicated in your arms]

have your bought your tickets yet?

these are some of the visual images we plan to show on "my glorious years" concert which go hand-in-hand with the narratives...

one of the songs is bai guang's "intoxicated in your arms" and it is about a couple romancing while dancing....

花樣年華的影像 帶動著白光的【醉在你懷中】 男女主角有feel嗎？

蘇蓮諾時候到了 [the pusaka moment is here]

holding the pusaka cd in my hands, i feel a sense of great accomplishment.

how could i possibly pull through such a daunting project? when no one in the last 30 years could.

soliano boys and girls, your 30 years of hardworks, sweats and tears are here.

your moment is forever crystalized and immortalized....

the pusaka recording is world-class, fully justifying doug sax's reputation as the undisputed mastering guru in the world. it is, if not the best, one of the best malaysian recordings (sound quality wise) ever.

artistically, musically, recording-quality, packaging and overall presentation, pusaka is already an instant classic.

let's welcome the pusaka moment!

澤相大師演奏 [presenting wvc trio]

tay cher siang's wvc trio is without doubt the most hardworking jazz outfit in malaysia, with tour dates that look like a typical corporate CEO's schedule!

we always find wvc trio very entertaining and creative, what with maestro tay cher siang in charge.

besides accompanying lydia chew and zyan in the concert, wvc trio will be playing 4 instrumentals to showcase their virtuosity and spontaineity!

we can't wait!

這是我們的花樣年華 [this is our glorious years]

花樣年華

上報了！ [first coverage of pusaka]

thanks to rizal johan, daily chili is the first one to cover pusaka!

we are sure there are many more to come! the edge financial newspaper would be next.....

read here for the article.

期待的興奮 [exicitement is building up]

testing out vivitek projector in bentley music auditorium

let it be known that, to us, after the DFP (dewan filharmonik petronas), bentley auditorium is our most preferred venue for small-scale concerts when acoustics and ambience are top priorities.

coming from hardcore audiophiles like us, you can take into comfort that we are serious in presenting our music in the most conducive environment and setting.

not many halls in malaysia really invest in acoustics, sound systems and treatment. ok, let's be blunt, almost none, except the likes of DFP, plenary hall and maybe istana budaya. many venue owners backed off when they see the money they need to invest to make the hall sound good. we know a few halls were short of a few millions in acoustic expenditure and still they went ahead to complete without it!

bentley music auditorium, though not perfect, is blessed with great natural acoustics, with very few acoustical problems such as echoes, boom, standing waves etc etc that plague other halls .

today, we tested the vivitek projector, courtesy of CMY audio and visual (the top hifi dealer in malaysia), ahead of the pusaka launch next week and "my glorious years" concert in april. we were pleasantly surprised by the visual quality of the vivitek, considering it is only a mid-price home theater projector and not the long-throw professional projector that we planned for.

so, it is counting down now.

we will be showing the "tanah pusaka" music video to a fresh crowd, including ex-PM and many CEOs and VIPs.

excitement is building up in the air and we are lapping up every bit of it!

全馬最屌的CD攤 [amcorp's best kept secret]

kit chan's latest audiophile album is found at amcorp mall

he doesn't want to be featured or photographed here for fame may bring him enemies and more competitors.

as of now, his sales volume can put many major retail stores to shame.

fact is, he is the best source of the latest CDs from hk and taiwan. his stock are always ahead of the rest, way ahead.

he has already got kit chan, lui fong and whatnots, way ahead of the rest.

he is located at the 2nd floor of amcorp mall on sunday's flea market, not far from popular bookstore.

tell him that you find him through this blog.

we always support small boys like him. we are also small boy what. we love to see small boy kicking big boys' (major labels) arses ;-)

關鍵的一周 [a critical week]

zyan and cdrama staff on duty at the music carnival at 1-utama

zyan performing at ikano power centre at the popular bookfair last saturday

readers should know that there are two important events on-going at pop pop.

first, the triple-bill concert, which till now, we still don't know how many tickets have been sold. the reason we didn't check is there will still be coverage from the chinese press in the next two weeks so the figures may not be accurate.

but preparation for the video and the practice sessions are underway. personally, i haven't felt the pressure yet....i think the pressure would be on the two ladies, lydia and z yan.

the next event, which is happening next tuesday, is the solianos pusaka album launch in bentley auditorium. this is a grand event with expected guests numbering over 200 people, including some very important people like YAB abdullah badawi and his wife. now, this does give us pressure as most press conferences we did in the past are mickey mouse scale with only the chinese press members. now, this is big scale.

i guess this will be my first time giving a speech infront of 200 audience. i hope i am cool enough not to embarrass anyone.

everything is happening this week: the arrival of CD stock from hong kong, the final preparation of pusaka launch, the first practice of "my glorious years", the first committee meeting of "my glorious years" to discuss seat allocation.....

let's be calm and cool and hope that everything falls into places!

pusaka 預購開始！ [you can order pusaka now!]

do you want to own a piece of history?
do you want to own the first vocal harmony album by a musical family who sings and plays the instruments?
do you want to own the first malay jazz audiophile album in the world?
do you want to own possibly the best-sounding malaysian album?

presenting to you "pusaka" from the most talented musical family in malaysia!

look at the glorious artwork of pusaka! this is our most elaborate and sophisticated inlay design to date, thanks to the immense talent of our graphic designer, manjii hwang!

manjii has spent weeks to do his research on how to present solianos in their most glorious state. his choice of colours is spot-on and photography from pacino wong (you studio) perfectly complements the artwork. so far, the feedback on the inlay design has been great.

there are two versions of pusaka:

1) premium edition: wooden box, with a inlay booklet, velvet lining inside. limited to 1,000 copies only. retailing at RM69.90. this is a fully imported version.


3) normal edition: normal plastic jewel case, with just a cover sheet (no inlay). this is the economy edition. retailing at RM39.90. the cd is imported but packaging is done locally.


___________________________________________________________

important: please direct all email inquiries to poppopmusic@yahoo.com.


here's the important steps:

1) account for deposit is POP POP MUSIC 514271338499 (maybank)

2) send email to poppopmusic@yahoo.com

3) for local buyer, regardless of mode of payment, please add the following poslaju (local EMS) charges depending on where you are:

• kuala lumpur ---- > RM5.72
• peninsular ---- > RM6.00.
• sarawak -----> RM8.60
• sabah -----> RM9.20

3) for overseas buyers, registered airmail rates for overseas (singapore and the rest of the world) are:

• singapore ---> RM13.00
• australia -----> RM13.00
• united kingdom -----> RM20.00
• USA ------> RM25.00
• canada ---> RM25.00

for overseas buyers, we only accept paypal. our paypal is lesloh@yahoo.com. additionally, you have to add Rm5 for paypal fee.

if you have doubts or queries, please call leslie at +60122083790.

thanks for supporting the solianos and pop pop music!

你不需講客家話 [you don't need to speak hakka]

my fave song in the 70s is one that goes "you don't have to be a star, baby, to be in my show" by marlyn mCcoo. i love that song so much.

well, using the same corollary, you don't have to speak hakka to be entertainment by hakka republic, located at 2nd floor menara hap seng (behind the weld and diagonally opposite shangri-la hotel)!

i guess hakka republic is more well known among the foodies and flogggers (food bloggers) than it is among the music lovers but it is gonna change with more efforts put in by the management to promote live music there.

while i can't comment on the food for i haven't tried it out, but live music is certainly tasteful and classy, what with our singers performing there. yes, we are biased, aren't we?

not that we are tired of NBT, which still holds the reign as the best place for jazz music in town, there is a vacuum for the 2nd spot and probably 3rd spot. and that's why i recommend hakka republic to you.

executive director, ms sue lim, certainly looks like a savvy business woman who knows her music. her selection of singers/bands is stringent for she wants to attract the right kind of clientele. the music offered in hakka is diverse but they reserve friday night for chinese pop and shanghai jazz. now, ask yourself and your live music-loving friends, where do you find shanghai jazz on a regular basis in kl?

the ambience is cosy in hakka due to the space and tasteful decor. one feels at ease and relaxed upon entering the place. the acoustics are well above average with no evident echoes or standing waves to rob live music of its purity. the stage is small but adequate and allows the crowd to have the full view of the singer and the band. plenty of room to move about.

sue told me she has further plans to bring in more established artistes but as of now, she already has a good pool of local artistes like diana liu, our own winnie ho and zyan.

to me, we need places like hakka for more upmarket music like chinese jazz and bossa nova for the more discerning crowd. there is a big number of chinese music lovers who are not fond of the typical chinese music cafes or lounges.

pay them a visit, you may just find an alternative place to NBT.

do call up to check their singer(s) to make sure you find the right kind of music for your tastes

hakka repulic tel: 03-2078 8908
address:
Level 2, menara hap seng
jalan p.ramlee
kuala lumpur

website: www.hakkarepublic.com

公主和小天后獻唱 [princess and little diva live]

music lovers should know by now that cdrama (popular) has started its annual music carnival at 1-utama (new wing concourse) and ikano power center!

our increasingly popular bossa princess has been invited to make an appearance on both fairs.

at the same time, she will also perform at the 100th women's year celebrations at celebrity club.

here's the details:

• 19th march 2011 - 2pm-3pm 1-utama new wing concourse
• 19th march 2011 - 5:30pm-6:30pm ikano power centre (atrium)
• 25th march 2011 - 10:30pm-12:30am celebrity club, solaris
• 1st april 2011 & 22nd april 2011 - 10:00pm-12:00am hakka republic, menara hup seng
• 9th april 2011 - 8pm-10pm triple bill "my glorious years" concert at bentley music auditorium

on the other hand, 2v1g's winnie ho will also be performing at hakka republic on the following dates (we will write more about hakka republic, it is a cool place!):

• 25th march 2011 - 10:00pm to 12:00am
  
• 29th april 2011

busy like a bee!

第一個印象 [first impression]

if first impression is anything to count, then stef sun's comeback album is not gonna attract new fans. in fact, she may lose a few.

even the dynamic duo of peter lee and paul lee, stef's most reliable ace producers, seem to have lost the midas touch.

story to come...

售馨！[sold out!]

first batch of 1,500 copies milestones have all been sold out and we have not a single copy left!

bravo to roger wang in defying the miserable market! we have proven many retailers wrong ;-)

here's wishing roger wang another glorious 10 years ahead!

we heard in the grapewine that he has started recording a new album... would it be another best-seller under pop pop music?

thanks to those who supported milestones!

很屌 [indie as fuck]

it is so easy to form an indie band but it is so hard to have your own sound. so so hard.

and most indie bands derive from past masters of its genre. most cult indie bands in the 70s or 80s have already defined the genre, or rather immortalized the genre so well that it is hard for new-gen indie acts to have any breakthru or having its own sound. seriously, very indie bands these days have their own signature sound.

listening to radio dept you would immediately think of the typical manchester band in the 80s. (seriously, if they were from manchester, they would probably be more famous!) but how wrong you are, radio dept is from sweden, the same musically fertile place as previous-gen cult indie acts like wannadies and cardigans.

radio dept is a bit of new order, a bit of the cure, a bit of depeche mode but never really sounds like anyone. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND. they are, to me, the modern 21st century electro dream pop champion. the music has plenty of hook, strong melodic lines, orgasmic guitar distortion/feedback and yet dreamily enchanting.

this particular double-album collection is extremely precious. it serves equally perfect as a `best of' release for soon-to-be fans (like ourselves) and a `rarities' compilation for those already hooked. CD1 is all their singles from 2002 ro 2010, CD 2 is a collection of B-sides; a long awaited must-have for the fans. all tracks taken from out of print releases and are previously unavailable on CD.

listening to these 2 CDs is like having two-hour of multiple orgasms, with your best lover, and yon don't even need viagra.

awesome as fuck.

精神糧食 [soul food]

once again, beautiful gems from loud+clear.

hope we have time to write a short review on these two great albums.

amidst the madness and the flurry of activities over here, we are still blessed with great music.

what life we are having!

兩個版本 [two versions of pusaka]

there will be two different versions of pusaka.

the premium/imported edition would be in wooden box (taiwan made, with velvet cloth inside) with a booklet full of photos (recent and past) of the solianos, with lyrics, words from the producers and key people, profile of solianos and the whole works, and it will be priced between RM65-RM70. there will only be 1,000 copies, so it is a limited edition.

the bargain/local edition would be in just one (yes, one) plain cover sheet with nothing else, packed in normal plastic jewel case (locally made) and it will be priced at RM39.90. this is the layman's edition so to speak. it is to benefit genuine music lovers who can't afford anything more than RM40 and don't bother about packaging, collection value or audiophile recording.

you may complain "what? bargain edition also costs RM39.90 ah?"

yes, it is a bargain because the production cost of pusaka is standing at RM130,000 today. almost 2 times of our normal album in the past ;=)

in any case, we are being fair. for those who really treasure this work of heirloom, what's Rm70? for those who don't need that sort of luxury, i am sure RM39.90 is reasonable for them.

p/s anyway, after retailer's discount (typical of cdrama and victoria), it will be around RM65+ and RM35+.

we will open the online order soon!

與臺灣合作 [first collaboration with taiwan]

yes, we are going international!

we are close to sealing a deal to release lynn li's 【李昀陵】 debut jazz album "jazz light year" 【爵士光年】in malaysia under pop pop music label!

"jazz light year" covers classics by teresa teng, bai guang in jazz and bossa nova and some others, it is a great album totally in sync with pop pop's musical directions and style.

this is our major international collaboration and what an honor to have the veteran and very good singer/composer/arranger lynn li to be our first international artiste!

lynn's achievement and contributions to taiwan's pop music are just long to mention.. .she has worked with kay huang (yun ling), lou da you, sylvia chang, jonathan li and who's who in taiwan...

we will write more about lynn soon.

the album "jazz light year" would be released in malaysia in july 2011 to coincide with the KLIAV (KL international AV show) and lynn would be here to do a showcase.

wow, we are excited!

幽默是良藥 [humor the best medicine]

we have been facing the media and press more than any other time in our past three years. a lot of them are curious of what we are doing and what is our musical and business agenda.

sometimes, they field us tough questions that need some quick thinking and maturity to answer. but most times, we find that humor is still the best way to answer tricky or tough questions.

here are some of the typical questions that we always get in interviews...

Q) certain chinese music quarters think you are nothing more than a cover label, what do you think about this negative view?

A) how did michael buble, diana krall or even cai qin get famous? do you know that every time these artistes cut an album with all original compositions, most times they flopped?

the clientele we are targetting doesn't quite mind whether it is original compositions or covers. they want good music, period. in fact, they much prefer music they are familiar with. bossa princess' autumnal night (qiu ye) is the best case in point: even the younger listeners (30-35 years old) love it because they treat it like a new song!

we love original compositions but they have to be good, like "love scale" and "march (san yue)" in 2v1g and "romance in the rain (sa sa yu)" in brasileiro. we welcome local songwriters to send demos to us, we would definitely pick the good ones. we won't promote local compositions if they ain't good. most of them aint' good or not suitable for our label. one local singer-songwriter we like very much and whose music suits our label is liyana fizi (formerly from estrella), we plan to ask her for songs. so can you also please spread the news that we are looking for good local compositions?

Q) how do you counter criticism and detractors?

A) haha. they are plenty detractors. in the early days, we used to be very neurotic when someone dishes out criticism, whether with good intentions or otherwise. when our debut album was launched, there were so much badmouthing, insinuations and attacks. my ex-partner, mr. chow, a wise man he is, is one of the coolest persons around in countering criticism. he just laughed it off. i learned this from him. nowadays, i just laughed it off too.

the fact is, if you ask 1,000 people about your album, you will get 1,000 different opinions. so why bother? music is so subjective, there are bound to be people who like you, who are neutral about you and who hate you. that's why this world is exciting. to those who like us, we value them, we take care of them and we grow with them. to those who are neutral, we hope to influence them and convert them in due course. to those who hate us, what can we do but to continually work harder, keep improving and hopefully one day they will see.

i tell you something. it is very common that a country man hates his own country's musicians. my hong kong friends think hong kong musicians are lousy and regard malaysian musicians highly. so it is natural that some malaysians don't think highly of their own musicians and look up to hong kong and taiwan musicians! funny, ain't it? i have told people many times before that malaysia have the best musicians in the region, but does everyone know or admit to the fact?

the funniest thing among our singers is: each of them has her own camp of supporters, with each camp disliking each other! yeah, it is political. winnie ho has her camp, regine tai has her camp, lydia chew has her camp, zyan has her camp, jeffery lim has his own camp. so who's right? so who's the better singer?

even cai qin or a-mei get criticized, so what's the big deal with being criticized. people have different tastes and expectations. it is silly to try to please everyone. we have learned to be nonchalant about criticism.

ultimately, we judge on album's sales. if the album sells well then something must be right. it is a 80/20 thing. you take care of the 80% who buys your records and not the 20% who don't buy.

we have learned to believe in ourselves and to steadfastly stick to our musical agenda.

Q) taiwan thinks that you guys have cool song selections but malaysia don't think so, why?

A) because taiwanese have higher standards! they listen more in-depth and to more variety. a case in point: in 2v1g's second album, we chose "trying to understand" (by wan fang) and "flowery words" (by tracy huang), most malaysian listeners catch no balls! but the taiwanese love them because they are close to their hearts. these are great song but not necessary number 1 hits.

most of the songs we choose have high "artistic" values, tho' sometimes we sprinkle some popular songs too, like in 2v1g's debut album. we avoid songs which are too commercial. we rather commit suicide than to cover "tong hua" (fairytale by michael wong) or "lao shu ai ta mi" (the mice loves the rice, a china monstrous hit)! which the china audiophile singers are prone of doing.

taiwan magazines have said it more than once that our song selections are totally unique and refreshing, very unlike other audiophile labels.

brasileiro is our boldest attempt so far. we chose songs that an average listener doesn't normally know. that was a calculated risk and it pays off as most listeners take them as new songs.

one funny and frustrating thing is: almost 80% listeners thinks 2v1g-1 is better than 2v1g-2. all of us (in the team) think otherwise. the only reason 2v1g-1 is better than 2v1g-2 is the song selections. like one staunch supporter once said, it was like we took the top all-time-best 100 chinese songs in the pool and we selected the top 12! how to beat that??? fact is, in terms of performance and artistry, 2v1g-2 is way better than the first one. both roger's and winnie's performance have improved leaps and bounds.

sometimes, we can't predict customer's preferences. at the moment, the first album still outsells the 2nd one on a month-to-month basis.


Q) Are you making money?
A) Good question. We don't lose money but our profits are getting thinner with a diminishing market and competition from major labels on audiophile albums and competition from CAS (computer as source). But we are changing our business model as we speak. The thing about music industry is not about awards or achievements, it is about endurance and stamina. the longer you can last, the more you would learn and the more great works you could churn out.
It is not possible you don't like at least one of our albums. one day we will achieve greatness, if not now. I think solianos "pusaka" is destined for greatness. .

Q) What's your most satisfied moment thus far?

A) Yup, this is hilarious but touching. A husband wrote to us after he bought 2v1g-1. he said it was the first time his wife accompanied him sitting attentively in the hall listening to the whole album in its entirety. he felt so close and intimate to his wife. he felt his marriage has been enhanced by our music! he thanked us by saying that "you improve our marriage!". absolutely hilarious but we were deeply touched.

Q) what's the worst moment?

A) No. no worst moment. we are thrilled with every moment we make music. oh, yes, there is one. when regine tai pulled out from 2v1g at the height of its fame. we were shocked. that really set us back a bit. another one. when our RM25K AKG microphone was stolen halfway thru the recording journey! my heart sank when i heard the news. also, it is sometimes hard to manage the artistes and their temperament. they are artistes after all, so we have to be sensitive. we respect our artistes, each and every one of them, and in turn we get respect from them too.

Q) what's in store for the future?

A) we want to grow from "minority music" to "majority music". we want the radio stations to play our music. we want malaysians to be proud of having a homegrown brand that has international standards. we want to make money for once! and yes, we want more pretty and good singers to join us!

and now the most tricky question...

Q) do you romance with any of your singers? Some of them are pretty and you guys work long hours in the studio...

A) yes, i do, all the time. i choose love songs for them to sing, they sing so many times to me with so much love, tenderness, intimacy and emotions, until i am satisfied then i take the best track.

星報競賽 [milestones contest]

We are going to give away 3 copies of the test pressings and 5 commercial copies of "Milestones" to 8 lucky readers of The Star's Audiofile!

Test pressings are the sample pressings when the glass master is first produced and used for replication. Test pressings are regarded as the most faithful to the master and therefore are highly sought after by audiophiles and collectors alike. This is a rare opportunity to collect something which is truly precious.

To win the 8 copies of "Milestones", you need to it answer 3 questions correctly. Prizes are to be given to the first 8 contestants with all correct answers. Judges' decision is final and we would not entertain any disputes or inquiries.

Please send your answers to poppopmusic@yahoo.com by 14th march 2011. Please cut out the contest article as a proof that you read it from The Star's audiofile if you do win the prize.

Good luck!

------------------------------------

1) Which is Roger Wang's best selling album to-date?

2) Roger Wang has a "dance" track in the album, what's the title of that track?

3) Which song(s) is/are not found in the album?
a) Just Once
b) Tempting Heart
c) While She Sleeps
d) Bunyi Guitar
e) Coming Home
f) Arirang

愛火重燃 [rekindling lost love]

we have said it before and we will say it again unabashedly: loud+clear is the best record shop in malaysia. period.

because of it, we have rekindled our cd buying passion once again. it is like, whenever we are musically starved, we go there in search of new music.

over the past 2 months, we have picked up many gems. it beats us how troy chai, the store manager, could dig out all these alternative and indie gems from the million of titles out there. he must have fed and survived on music alone day in day out. crazy, mad, nutty bugger.

this one we picked up tonight is absolutely gemmish: pernice brothers "the world won't end".

ever since teenage fanclub went downhill many years ago, we have been searching for the worthy replacement. pernice brothers fill this gap perfectly with their sunny harmonies, jingle-jangle and summery feel-good vibes. amazing vocals and song craftmanship. you can find all the glowing reviews in amazon.

since there are many albums we want to recommend to you (all bought from loud+clear), we won't review them in detail but rather we would adopt this approach: we would tell you if you like certain bands/acts then you would most likely like the album, like what amazon is doing.

genre ：alternative pop-rock/power pop
try this if you like: bryds, teenage fanclub, beach boys, big star.

【傳奇】的包裝 [pusaka packaging]

"pusaka" special limited edition packaging: wooden box with velvet cloth inside. only the first 1,000 copies!

most likely at least 500 copies will be snapped up in the launch party on 29th march itself!

有驚喜到 [pleasantly surprised]

it is already a quarter of a year passed, we still haven't picked up anything worthwhile from the chinese pop scene this year. eventho technically yen-j's (嚴爵 yan jue) album was released last year and we heard it a lot in the radio but fact is, we just picked it up last week and we do regret that we did it so late as yen-j packed a few surprises that is quite refreshing in today's creatively void chinese music scene.

story to come~!

女孩與機器人 [the girl and the robot]

sometimes, a certain genre, in this case, electronic pop may be quite common in the western music world but when you do it in chinese, in musically vibrant scene like taiwan, it then becomes a totally refreshing offering.

we like what the girl and the robot is doing. in fact, this is something cool about the taiwan's indie scene, as compared to other countries like china (say beijing) and hk. taiwan's indie is less angsty, less angry, not too loud, less socially provocative but to some hardcore indie fans they may be too smooth, too tame and too polished.

we are going to buy the album!

傳奇人物 [the legend that is alfonso soliano]

with the imminent release of "pusaka" and the 50th anniversary of RTM orchestra in april, it is the right time we highlight the man who inspired the "pusaka" album : alfonso soliano.

alfonso was ahead of his time, the music he played has influenced many.

he is a revered name in many circles and many still speak of him fondly and passionately.

last week was his birthday and what better present to give than "pusaka".

to the young generation, this is bona fide made-in-malaysia jazz music.

找人 [event person wanted]

urgent vacancy!

we are urgently looking for a seasoned event person (master coordinator) to handle the launch of the solianos "pusaka" album on 29th march 2011 in bentley music auditorium!

it is a one-off project with the following responsibilities:

• understand the protocols in handling VIPs. have prior experience in handling many VIPs and VVIPs including politicians and CEOs
• have organized major launches before including launch gambit and ceremony
• to coordinate with emcee (Dato Mahadzhir Lokman)
• to handle the various media and press members on that day
  
• to organize the program run-down and agenda for the launch
• to ensure smooth progress on that day

interested please call me at 012-2083790!

品茶 [tea for two]

our producer, stefano chen, has opened a chinese tea house upstairs of old china cafe in jalan balai polis!

in the age of starbucks and oldtown kopitiam, elixer, the name of the tea house, stands out like a cultured elegant lady with taste and class, which in many ways, personifies stefano chen the owner.

elixer is a queit place with chinese tea and chinese classical music... a sanctuary nestled amidst the hustle and bustle of petaling street.

story to come!

超贊！ [two thumbs way up!]

roger wang showcase in loud+clear last friday tells us something that we already know but didn't pay attention to: that more than 60% of our supporters are english-speaking.

as always, all the publicity in the chinese media and facebook does not amount to much. the typical chinese music lover basically doesn't think much of what we are offering from pop pop music. (or more accurately, they don't understand the musical values and musicianship in our offering. they catch no balls) we are not idols, we don't do k-songs or ba-lak songs, we don't sensationalize, we don't appear often in chinese entertainment pages, we are not exactly the best-looking... basically we are too boring for them because we just do music earnestly without hype.

all it took is one article/news piece in the star to pull all roger wang fans to the showcase. and they were plenty of them, all appreciative and earnest, eager to listen to how the maestro tells his musical journey of the last 10 years.

really, the crowd is superb. it was a quality crowd that pays attention and what's more buys lots of CDs after the showcase!

roger totally surprised us by giving a 1-hour long showcase, complete with story-telling, musings and even singing (yes, the man can sing!). our man reflected on how he started his musical journey and played a couple of songs from each of the 6 albums he has cut. it was a truly sensitive sharing from a man who has been there, done that.

yes, the showcase told us one thing loud and clear (yeah, what a pun!). that we have to focus on english media and the english-speaking crowd. we have been too contended in the past. now it the perfect time to concentrate on this crowd, what with the thematic concert series on-going throughout the year.

roger, we were all moved by your showcase. hope to see more of such quality performance in loud+clear!

[credits]
thanks to atlas hi-fi for the superb-sounding bose L1 compact and loud+clear for the superb acoustics and environment ... time and again, it proves to us that with a top-notch system in a good environment, our music can speak louder and clearer (again, another pun intended!).

現場錄音 [live recording of the concert]

thanks to the prompting by our supporter, richard tan, we are seriously considering live recording of the concert in april!

we have discussed at length with our recording engineer, he is pretty confident as he has done many live recordings in his career.

with the live recording, it opens up a new set of possibilities, mostly good possibilities. we won't elaborate too much here.

the added pressure, is of course, our singers and our jazz trio have to be in tip-top condition to deserve the performance to be captured live. every mistake would be captured, unlike in the studio which you could re-do and auto-tune.

anyway, we see more pros than cons as pop pop still doesn't have a live album in our catalog. we have talked to a couple of supporters and they would definitely buy the album!~

with just slightly more than a month away, we are already feeling the pulse and vibe of the whole event!