pop pop music

我们都很痛 [a painful loss]

2012-01-31T14:12:00.002+08:00

we love you so so much, ador

today is a sad day for us and for malaysian jazz community.

we mourn the passing of a maestro we deeply respect and love. salvador guerzo, or more fondly known as "ador" succumbed to a heart attacked an hour ago in langkawi. it is a great loss to the malaysian jazz community.

ador was the one who arranged z yan's 【秋夜】 "autumnal night" and played the saxpohone. in the "jazzy sounds of teresa teng" album, ador again played the sax for two songs. now there are only memories of how great his playing is. we often call ador the stan getz of malaysia. his sax has the most beautiful of tone and colors.

ador also produced solianos "pusaka" album last year under pop pop music.

we are overwhelmed with sadness and we can't continue.

马来西亚爵士乐一代宗师，卓越萨斯风手， salvador guerzo, 在一小时前心脏病发作，與世常辭了。我们都很惊讶也开始哭了。。。

ador 大师在【靡靡之音】伴奏两首歌：【忘记他】和【我只在乎你】，现在这美妙的萨斯声音已成回忆。

ador　我们都因为有了你的参与而自豪！希望你在天国也有音乐陪伴你。

发烧到烫！[audiophile as hell!]

2012-01-30T23:47:00.000+08:00

it is not marketed as audiophile but it is audiophile as hell

何芸妮【靡靡之音】应该可以挑战有史以来音色最靓的邓丽君翻唱。。。虽然我们已不太理会发烧这东西了。。。

listening to Roger Wang final mix for Winnie ho's debut solo album "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng"... the recording has a rich and sumptuous tone, thanks to the recent (continuous and relentless!) hardware upgrade of nick lee's the ark studios in TTDI （the most expensive per/ hour rate studio in malaysia!). in particular, the RM6K++ TAMA drum set that nick bought is sumptuously rich and supple. we no longer care about audiophile recording yet this in itself is every inch audiophile level.

bravo to nick lee and roger wang!

追忆哥哥 [tribute to leslie cheung]

2012-01-28T02:21:00.001+08:00

Those worth remembering will always be remembered.

Following the success of last year’s “Tribute to Danny Chan”, pop pop music will be paying another tribute to the hippest and most rebellious Cantopop singer/actor of the 80s, the James Dean of the Orient: Leslie Cheung Kok Wing.

Don’t expect to hear your typical celebrity impersonator. Instead, expect the least expected and you are guaranteed of a few surprises. However, do expect to STAND UP (a Leslie Cheung’s classic) and boogie!

Our stable of artistes includes Malaysia’s Chinese Jazz Singing Sensation Winnie Ho as the lead singer with guest singers Worm Lee and Jeffery Lim (Ah Fei), backed by the ever-reliable Tay Cher Siang’s WVC Trio+1.

As an added incentive, if you bring 5 friends or more to the gig, you are entitled to a FREE CD (worth RM50) of Winnie’s Ho debut solo album “The Jazzy Sounds of Teresa Teng”, a sensational tribute album to iconic songbird Teresa Teng. The highly-anticipated album, to be released in March 2012, is a souvenir album of Winnie Ho’s successful concert of the same theme last year. Please register with Leslie (012-2083790) if you are keen to participate in this incentive scheme! No limits to the number of CDs you can win but there is a limit on NBT’s capacity! So, do come in big numbers if you can!

Venue: No Black Tie
Date: 21^st and 22^nd February 2012(Tuesday and Wednesday)

Time: 9:30pm to 11:30pm

Cover Charge: RM50 (Does not include Drinks)
Booking (after 5:00pm): 03-21423737
Hotline: 012-2083790.

好八十年代！ [80's all over!]

2012-01-27T00:29:00.000+08:00

foster the people sounding like kenny G?

before i talked about foster the people, the latest indie sensation, let me share with you this horror story.

needing a new cd for my driving pleasure, i bought foster at friendly records, kinta city, ipoh. friendly records has been the mainstay of ipoh music provider since my school days in the 70s. i have a lot of emotional attachment with friendly, eventho' their business is visibly affected these days.

without trying, i picked up the cd and paid. that's my habit, i don't try cds. if i think i will like it, i just buy. but when i inserted the cd into my car stereo, my oh my, guess what song greeted me? horror of horror, kenny G's "songbird"! i was scratching my head, could it be that foster the people made a cover version of "songbird"? but i am darn sure it is kenny G! so i pressed the "next" button, james blunt "you are beautiful" came next! something is very very wrong. this cd is not what it is supposed to be. so i pressed the eject button and check the artwork and cd centre label, yes, it is printed "foster the people".

so much for local pressing.

the story continues with me going to friendly records the next day to ask for an exchange. the lady boss was there, she looked apologetic and angry at the same time. she told me: "this local cd manufacturer is darn lousy, my whole batch of 30+ foster the people CDs are all encoded wrongly! can i not be furious? this is CNY and i expect good sales for this album!"

so much for local pressing. i rest my case.

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

if foster the people were to emerge in the 80s then they would have strong strong competition from erasure, yazoo, depeche mode, human league, duran duran... you get the drift.

but they are in the 21st century and today's lads and kids actually dig them in a big way~! they just came to do a concert in kl and 3,000 youth packed the venue.

foster lads must have grown up listening to their daddy's collections of LPs (and 12 remixes) of the above 80s acts just mentioned.

don't get us wrong, foster lads are good and they make good party music that is hugely danceable but to us old folks who grew up listening to the above 80s act, it is a bit like "been there, done that".

we are thankful that foster the people are famous, because to us they are way better than many many acts that are less deserving but we are doubtful they can go beyond this album. (because the formula gets tiring towards the end of the album)

but at least now we can communicate and share with our cousins, nephews and nieces about foster the people. this uncle can be young and hip too, you know.

now, why do we have this sudden urge to dig out our collections of yazoo, depeche mode and human league??!!!

大地回春 [spring has landed]

2012-01-20T00:26:00.002+08:00

we believe in branding, positioning and target marketing

to mark 2012 as the most pivotal year in our career is definitely not overstating.

now that we can afford only to produce one album a year (but many many concerts la), all our bullets are reserved for this one album. we aim and we shoot. how many targets we hit, we don't know yet.

we think winnie ho's "the jazzy sounds" album is the best we have ever delivered.

and we think 2012 is gonna be our best year in music.

here's wishing you a bountiful year with health, happiness and contentment. we hope you won't abandon music listening and CD buying, eventho' you are swamped with entertainment options.

请投选你喜爱的封面！[please vote for your favourite album cover!]

2012-01-18T12:45:00.003+08:00

our creative photographer, pacino of you studio, has done an excellent job in capturing winnie ho in her best light.... so we are spoilt for choice!

which cover do you like?

cast you vote now!

cover 1: big face

cover 2: no face!

青鳥 [songbird]

2012-01-17T17:27:00.001+08:00

今晚錄製「靡靡之音」最後一首歌：【青鳥 songbird】，紀念鄧麗君的一首原創。鄭澤相作曲管啓源填詞何芸妮唱。好美麗的一首歌！

Tonight we are all excited because we will be recording the last song in "the jazzy sounds of Teresa Teng" album. A tribute song to Teresa Teng called "songbird". It is composed by maestro Tay Cher Siang with lyrics penned by famed lyricist Guan Qi Yuan and sung by Winnie Ho. A beautiful song it is!

好爵的一年 [jazzy all the way]

2012-01-15T10:25:00.000+08:00

it is very encouraging: the recent happenings in the jazz scene.

never has jazz been so alive in KL. this year's KL jazz fest boasts a stellar cast of big names. it is amazing how the organizer can pull it off. must have been backed by millionaires.

also, we heard about another jazz club coming out called the "estate" in february. this will surely add another jazz nightspots in the KL map, in addition to the already established clubs like NBT, alexis, mezze and nero fico, and not forgetting hakka republic.

most exciting news we heard must be the one about pavillion starting a live house. ( a live house is a gigantic live performing nightspot). finally, KL can boast of having its own live house!

managing night spots or jazz clubs is never easy. don't talk about the F&B side, even the artiste roster will kill you, if you don't have enough expertise and networking. look at how brilliant NBT did this over the last 13 years. it is hardwork, dedication and more hardwork.

you can't just have malaysian acts to fill the performing roster, people will get bored. you need international acts. and you know, due to the money exchange, it is never easy to pay overseas musicians who are paid in USD. so it is always a chicken and egg issue.

in the past, many aspiring clubs have bitten the dust. names like bangkok jazz, grooveunciton started out well enough but soon collapsed due to a myriad of reasons.

what makes a good jazz club? intimate atmosphere, friendly relationships between the punters and the venue, good sound system, a bar with decent food - and above all, a space small enough to offer proximity to the action. a jazz club can't be too big, it has to be really intimate and close-up.

jazz is music of spontaneous, rapidly evolving relationships, which are sometimes sublimely harmonious, sometimes deliberately bloody-minded, often gleeful, occasionally competitive, baffled, or downright lost. jazz can be at its most engaging when you can experience that process unfolding with your eyes as well as your ears.

just like music-making, the owners of the jazz club must have a heart that is beyond profit-making. he must have this fire in him to promote jazz as a music form and not lost in commercialism, profiteering and mismanagement.

选择你的音乐事业 [choose your musical career]

2012-01-12T13:53:00.002+08:00

people used to say: it is easy to pull chicks when you are a musician, especially a guitarist or a drummer. but fact is, most musicians struggle in life, live on the fringe and fight to pay the rent... it is not glamorous at all.

we are glad we live in malaysia where competition in music is not as fierce and everyone manages to eke out a modest living making music.

the number of wedding bands and event companies is a testament that music making can be a career option in malaysia but don't expect sex, money and rock n roll bundled into one. that only happens only to radiohead, coldplay and rolling stones (when mick jagger was much younger).

whichever instrument you choose to be your musical career, always remember: stay true, pure and honest to the music.

默默的期待 [quiet anticipation]

2012-01-10T23:33:00.003+08:00

tonight we completed the most ethereal song in the album: the river of clouds 【云河】, this is absolutely my top-3 personal fave in this album. very few people know that this song is first sung by jenny tseng but it was tracy huang who first recorded it. teresa teng merely made it even more popular.

cher sing's arrangement for this song is heavenly. those who watched the concert can attest to it. the piano solo creates the atmosphere of being in the clouds, floating and swaying musically. winnie's vocals fully justify this wonderful arrangement.

we have heard feedback (from predominantly chinese music lovers who don't listen to jazz) that our arrangement is too avant garde for their tastes. they said: "the old teresa teng is better". avant garde or not, tay cher siang is already the hottest and most sought-after musician in malaysia today, at this very moment. although the maestro himself is not used to us promoting him and feeding him with flattery (he is really a humble and down-to-earth chap) but there is very little accidence that he would be one of the the most commercially successful musicians in malaysia in the next 2-3 years, along side mac chew, lewis pragasam, andy peterson.... bold words indeed but we won't be far wrong.

the artwork for winnie's album follows what we did with zyan's brasileiro: clean, simple and elegant and classy, of course (look the poster above!). looking at the first draft of artwork and listening to 9 of the songs recorded so far gives us a sense of quiet anticipation.we are excited but only in a very hidden corner of our hearts.

we are confident that it will create two extreme impressions (no middle grounds): those who like a totally fresh and westernized interpretation of teresa teng will love this to bits and will buy at least 10 copies to give it to their friends (we know who they are!). those who hang on to old values and out-dated musical ideas would not be so kind (we also know who they are!).

we are ready for whatever feedback the market throws at us. after all, who needs another teresa teng wannabe?

活着 [you only live once]

2012-01-09T00:09:00.001+08:00

you only live once so go and chase your rainbow!

too many people are afraid to take certain plunges in life hence they are pepectually stuck in the rut.

this video teaches us something: it is never too late to pursue your dreams.

sharp-ear readers: can you tell us which song was played in the background?

无奈又好笑 [frowned and amused]

2012-01-07T21:22:00.001+08:00

my 12 year-old niece just told me: uncle, none of your singers are famous la, i asked around in my class, nobody knows them.

she further adds: "let me recommend to you this korean all-girls group called the "girls generation", they are very cool". all the while, she was listening to her ipod shuffle with her ear-phone on, humming away in korean. her mum looked at me in a very helpless and speechless way. i find it very funny because i just thought of the cartoon i posted in the previous post.

who needs jazz when you have k-pop, huh?

meanwhile, winnie ho has passed her halfway mark by completing a total of 7 songs this far, very impressive speed， leaving only 4 songs, one of which is an original composition by cher siang, in the vein of sheila majid's "legenda", except that this time it is not p.ramlee but teresa teng we are paying tribute to.

roger wang is gonna do the mixing in his studio in kk. mastering again is gonna be done by our hk counterpart, keith yip of rock in music.

momentum will pick up very soon with a spate of activities ensuing. the marketing campaign for this album, the preparation for leslie cheung tribute in NBT and most import of all, the march concert in bentley: "when liu jia chang meets jonathan lee".

to give you a taste of winnie ho's album, here's a prelim back cover (all the song titles are just dummies).

just a teaser: can you tell whose shadows are they?

时代的变迁 [time a-changing]

2012-01-06T12:20:00.000+08:00

掌声鼓励 [full applause]

2012-01-04T22:38:00.001+08:00

aska yang guided by jonathan lee in his pop jazz album

now this is belated but how sweet it is.

aska yang zong wei, the controversial reality superstar singing contest champion, who got himself entangled in a law suit for more than a year, is now finally free to do his first serious solo album.

and he got jonathan lee to help him. not only the music is typical like jonathan lee, aska himself sounds a bit like the maestro.

so, what's the problem? absolutely no problem! this album has attracted plenty of controversy since its release, most industry pundits agree that the music is great but the way aska imitates jonathan lee is unacceptable.

no fuss for us. first, it is smart of him to engage jonathan lee as a producer. look, there is plenty of crap nowadays, getting jonathan lee is like getting a guarantee in quality. you know it will be good, but you won't be sure of the sales la. jonathan lee, with his star-studded production team of malaysians like mac chew (arrangement and keyboard), lewis pragasam (drums), and andy peterson (bass) is the best ever team chinese pop has ever seen. this team will never put a foot wrong.

what about sounding like jonathan lee? we don't think so. we think aska still maintain his own character, tho' the jonathan lee influences are here and there.

ultimately, as an album to relaunch a new artiste's damaged career, this is a smart calculated move. the music, very much pop jazz, thanks to the always brilliant mac chew, may not be what the teeny boppers want, but hey, this is the kind of music that WE, the mature buyers, want! we applaud the music label for being bold and swim against the commercial tide.

the only accusation cynics may attack is the lack of character on aska yang. we really don't care too much. ultimately, there is no chinese pop album better than this in 2011.

naturally we declare this album "chinese pop album of the year, 2011".

音乐去了哪里？[where has the music gone to?]

2012-01-04T12:17:00.001+08:00

It must be the new year mood that put us in such reflective mood. this is the third "musing" article we write in a row.

tonight is another night spent in the recording studio with Ben, Winnie and Stefano.

recording studio is a sacred place for musicians and singers, it shouldn't be visited too often, lest is loses its freshness and uniqueness. The excitement of entering the studio has to be such that it signifies the imminent birth of an album, a labour of love and devotion to music.

fact is, most recording studios are in sunset business. very few people are cutting albums nowadays. In fact, most of the local chinese singers have switched career to become actors in tv dramas and movies. it is more lucrative and they get the exposures they need. becoming a singer to eke out a living? you must be kidding considering today's miserable climate. you will starve to death before you even make it.

the few chinese movies that stormed the box office last year provided the impetus for investors to flock (flock is the best word) to movie making. but as one industry pundit observed: one swallow does not make a summer. the few chinese movies are successful because of many reasons, they are the exceptions more than the rule, it is still risky investing in movie making.

but movies are movies, they are many people who are willing to pay for a ticket and enjoy the cinema experience with friends or loved ones. unlike music, which, has no such "social" values. you buy the CD and you listen alone.

we just spoke to one friend who used to do PR in chinese music industry. he has changed industry since to dabble in event management now. he lamented the fact that there is hardly anyone who is engaging a PR for music/albums nowadays.

we have also a very enterprising friend who started out with a music label and now he is into movie making and his recent movie was a box office hit. looks like he would never come back to music.

everyone is abandoning music making but we are not. we are not starting a "pop pop movie" department any sooner, rest assured.

music, like entering a recording studio, always brings us excitement, time after time.

2012 愿望：宅　[2012 wish: in the closet]

2012-01-01T19:02:00.000+08:00

lydia chew enticing the audience in meru valley golf resort

we spent new year's eve in ipoh doing a function for the meru valley golf resort. it wasn't boring and it went well, but it wasn't our idea of ushering the new year! the event was supposed to be outsourced to our regular event guy, who got another more lucrative job in the last minute, so we have no choice but to follow up ourselves.

our idea is to really spend a quiet time at home to reflect on the past 365 days and plan for the next 365 days ahead of us. some even suggested we go to sg orchard road to celebrate, i was like, "gee, didn't you know i was in singapore in the late 80s?".

the world is in total chaos as we speak. japan is hit by another earthquake on the first day on the year. everyone is seeking refuge of some sort, whether it is spiritually, mentally... we are all looking for a sanctuary where we can work, think, get inspired and relax at the same time.the idea of SOHO (small office, home office) has never been more timely in chaotic times like these. we have been working SOHO for more than 5 years now and we are so blessed that our work really suits SOHO style. we feel blessed that we can do music and contribute to the enrichment of mind and soul.

there are more and more people suffering from modern-day sickness, arising from depression, loneliness, peer and societal pressure, unhappy family upbringings, wayward lifestyles, failed relationships etc etc. a lot of times, they have nowhere and no one to turn to. they really need the right mentor to enlighten them and bring hopes to them. we hope 2012 will be a year where we can help these people.

done-to-death theme: the shanghai night. we can do better for sure

for ourselves, we want to stay in the closet (no pun intended) as much as we can, without being bothered by KL's horrendous traffic, the industry's politics, the erratic weather and other external stress factors. we will do the "strategy" jobs at home and leave the "execution" jobs to third parties, like CD distribution, event management, ticketing, sound and light etc etc. it is always smarter to do the "brainy" jobs and let someone stronger and fitter do the "laborious" ones. an IT friend recently encouraged us to be like the late steve jobs who is great in strategizing and not-so-great in execution. he didn't need to execute, cos he has the whole apple tech team behind him.

we are proud to be "closet artist" because our closet is really an inspiring place to be :-)

some things never changed: tin chun kopi shop in ipoh.

越来越夯 [getting awesome]

2011-12-29T11:52:00.003+08:00

We are too busy to get married

winnie ho starting her vocal recording for her debut solo album, to be released in feb 14th, 2012

you know what i concluded last night: TV (whether it is 3-D or whatnot) and home theatre systems are going to be a thing of the past in a few years' time.

because i discovered PPS (online streaming of movies) on my ipad!

imaging snugging on your bed (best if you have a loved one), munching twisties or sipping red wine (whatever the occasion demands) and watching a movie in the best posture and most comfy environment! i don't know about you, starting today, my AV system is gonna collect dust. and btw, the pps apps was installed by my 12-year-old niece without me knowing. she knows more than i do about how to extract the best from my ipad, for sure.

there's a cliche: the only constant is change, and in this super-advance days of technology, things are moving lightning fast. one blink of an eye, things have changed or moved past you. having said that, i don't mean we have to be the slave of technology. i, for one, still haven't can't quite come to terms with CAS (computer as source). i think readers know my resistance on this aspect of technology, so i need not explain again.

now, the key point of this post. 2011 is best remembered as a year we moved away from CD selling and production. or more correctly, we stopped relying on CD sales as a main source of revenue.

also, we are putting much less emphasis on "audiophile" quality of our music, because we don't want to be constrained by the limited scope and seriously, our core supporters/ fan base are pure music lovers who just want good music, not so much concerned about its recording.

suffice to say, this new direction opens up a window of opportunities so vast that we see CDs now as a mere supporting merchandise or a portfolio for our artistes.

winnie ho's debut solo album "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" will most likely be our only album in 2012 and without revealing too much, it should further unfold many opportunities to pop pop.

it is breath-taking to even think of how we would progress from here.

"everyone i know is getting married or pregnant. we are just getting more awesome".

with the new year unfolding, you guys should be getting more awesome too.... go and pursue your dreams (quit your day job if you need to! just kidding).... happy new year, guys and gals!

我接受唔到咯 [i can't accept this]

2011-12-27T14:22:00.002+08:00

to praphrase what hong kong comedian wong chou nam likes to say: "ngoh jip sao ng dou loh" (i can't accept this".

this audiophile album of cover versions from chris babida ( a veteran producer) and elisa chan (a veteran hk singer) had me wondering: "are you trying to challenge my limit and tolerance?"

review to come shortly! we will dwell on what we called "deteriorated vocal chord" :-)

bought new RM78, now selling RM60. first come first served!

台湾的爵士女伶 [taiwanese jazz diva macy chen]

2011-12-26T21:46:00.000+08:00

you should check this out!

local distributor, new wave, only brought in less than 10 copies and it was sold out, i have to buy from books.com.

we would write more about macy chen in due course... she is something totally different and is about the first chinese jazz singer who successfully melds western jazz stylistics with chinese oldies. we find it really marvelous.

meanwhile, enjoy this video! it is a revelation.

精彩的一年（第一篇） [the fab year that was (part 1)]

2011-12-22T16:04:00.000+08:00

the one that started it all: the first concert of the jazzy sounds of teresa teng

the one that made history: 1,000 pax concert in melaka

the event company that does wonders to our production: ideamatrix production

the one that made it happen in melaka: mr. edmond liau

the chief artistic "culprit" who made it work for pop pop music

the usual suspects who stamped their marks all over on local chinese jazz scene

the one who impressed all and sundry: the dawn of winnie ho

有一些光辉不是说特意的制造它是需要时间酝酿和累积的时间到了它就会发光发热. 献给我的战友们: 泽相，芸妮，欣彦，翠玲，阿虫, 雅雅，Chris 和 Roger Wang： 2012年你们要继续精彩！

all glories are not purely intentionally created. it is the culmination of guts, hardwork and sheer determination. when the time is right, they would come naturally. dedicated to my comrades in music: tay cher siang, winnie ho, z yan, lydia chew, worm lee, roger wang, yaya sia and chris lam. you guys will be having an even more fabulous year in 2012!

邓丽君会唱多少首歌？ [how many song is teresa teng going to sing?

2011-12-21T21:53:00.000+08:00

with increasing recognition, we have been getting many inquiries from agents...most of these agents are commission based, they have no artistes in their payroll. most of the the times, they just google to get the kind of artistes that their clients want. for example, if they search "chinese jazz in malaysia" they are bound to hit us.

it is always slim getting jobs from agents cos most of the times, they just submit multiple profiles to their clients, and most of the times, the clients engage multiple agents too. so we are not hopeful at all (chance of success is less than 1%) working with agents but we always try to cooperate with them cos it is really a small industry.

we have encountered this case for more than once: after submitting "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" profile, they would call back and ask:

"How many songs is Teresa Teng going to sing?"

Faint.

珍袖小巨人 [the tiny but mighty mini maggie]

2011-12-20T16:18:00.001+08:00

having left the hifi scene for close to 3 years now, i am still keeping a tap on the latest, most talked-about, most sensational hifi products in the market.

i am a strong proponent of this brand of speakers called "magneplanar", also affectionately known as "maggie". it belongs to a category of speakers called the planars and they are normally huge in size thus making it inconvenient for typical malaysian households.

to cut a long story short, save for a few die-hards like yours truly, maggie wasn't popular in malaysia in the past until some rave reviews from some authoritative gurus in the USA starting this year. all at once, maggie became a hot name in malaysian hifi with the release of a new generation of models. it won't be too far off to call maggie "the hifi speakers of 2011" or to call 2011 "the year of the maggie".

not ready to upgrade my current big maggie to the latest model, so i bought the smallest model of them all: the mini maggie. the reason for my eagerness to buy this speaker is also because it is a limited edition product and it is so cute and almost cuddly.

mini maggie is every inch a marvel of sound. even fresh from the box, it tells you that it will trash the competition at RM6k a pair. as it breaks in, it unravels a sound that is larger than its physical limit: pristine true ribbon highs, pure and uncoloured mids and a bottom that's tactile and bouncy. most precious of all, it is a seamless sound that is continuous and integrated, not like many mini monitors within this price range. it is, in every sense, a true high end bargain.

i may not dabble in hifi anymore because i enjoy live music (and making it) much much more nowadays but for moments when i need some pure unadulterated good sound, the mini maggie has become some sort of a new found joy for me.

for those with RM6K to spare for a pair of truly high-end speakers and those without the space in the house but wanted high end sound, this is for you. absolutely kick ass.

阿飞正传 [the days of being wild]

2011-12-19T16:16:00.000+08:00

after the huge success of our tribute to danny chan, we just could not stop but continue to pay another tribute to the hippiest, trendiest, most rebellious, the james dean of the orient, leslie cheung,

mark your calendar： feb 21st and 22nd 2012 at no black tie.

we have lots and lots of ideas how this tribute should be done.

喜相逢 [the reunion of double take]

2011-12-18T21:44:00.003+08:00

roger and mia making music in april

they didn't officially split, they just seldom perform together.

one remains in kk as a celebrity musician, another left for tasmania to pursue her studies.... now she will be coming back to kl for a reunion concert with him in kl......

yes, double take is back for a reunion concert in bentley auditorium on 21st april 2012 and it is hosted by pop pop music!

are you ready? we sure are!

精彩的2012 [exciting dates for 2012]

2011-12-18T19:00:00.000+08:00

please note those highlighted in red...

yes, penang we are coming!

here are the dates that you should chart down for next year... if you care for the progress of chinese jazz standards in malaysia.

Date	Concert’s Theme	Main Artistes
21^st and 22^nd Feb (No Black Tie)	Tribute to Leslie Cheung	Winnie Ho, Worm Lee, Jeffrey Lim
14^th Feb 2012	Winnie Ho’s Album Launch	Winnie Ho
10^th March (Bentley)	When Liu Jia Chang Meets Li Zhong Sheng	Winnie Ho, Worm Lee, Jeffrey Lim
16^th and 17^th March (Penang PAC)	The Jazzy Sounds of Teresa Teng	Winnie Ho, Roger Wang
21^st April (Bentley)	An Evening with Double Take	Roger Wang, Mia Palencia
July (No Black Tie)	Cantopop Hits of the 80s	Winnie Ho, Worm Lee
8^th September (Bentley)	The Opulent Sounds of Shanghai	Lydia Chew, Z Yan
November (No Black Tie)	Mandarin pop Hits of the 80s
8^th December (Bentley)	The Jazzy Sounds of Teresa Teng (part 2)	Winnie Ho, Roger Wang

a few things to be announced...

1) we would add a horn section if budget permits .this will be great for swing and big band

2) for concerts in KL, we would revert the ticketing outlets back to CDRAMA due to popular demand

贬值的音乐 [devaluation of music]

2011-12-15T11:55:00.002+08:00

Kids These Days: Spotify, Radiohead, and the Devaluation of Music

Cal Stamp

The other day I had an epiphany: To the average music consumer, a song is worth less than a candy bar. It might last longer, sound sweeter, and offer a more meaningful experience, but don't ask us to spend more than $1 on it. In fact, we'd prefer you didn't ask us to spend any money at all. That's why we loved Napster, that's why we loved Pandora, and that's why we love Spotify.

Early last summer the popular European digital music service Spotify came to the United States with much blog buzz and fanfare. Boasting a catalog of over 15 million songs, Spotify offers free streaming access to its entire library through any laptop or mobile device. It's ad supported, but subscribers willing to shell out $10 a month can enjoy their playlists without the interruption of advertisements. Not a bad deal for music fans. And at first glance, it's not a bad deal for musicians either. The artist is paid royalties on a per play basis. Everybody wins, right? Not really.

Will Baker

Spotify doesn't pay pennies on the dollar, it pays pennies on the penny. Recently, indie label Projekt Records pulled out of its deal with Spotify, citing a minuscule $0.0013-per-play payout as one reason for bailing. In 2010, The Guardian published an article in which author Sam Leith revealed a rather shocking piece of information: In the space of a few months, Lady Gaga's smash hit "Poker Face" received over 1 million streams. She was compensated to the tune of $167.

Spotify has since countered that claim, saying that the number is misleading and refers to the performance and publishing royalties paid to the collecting agency of the song's Swedish co-writer. But $167 sounds absurdly low no matter how you slice it. Of course, one could argue that Lady Gaga and her team don't need the money. Fans argued the same thing after Metallica sued Napster in 2000. When the conflict is framed as a David-and-Goliath showdown between mega-rich rock stars and broke college students, there's little question who will win the fight for the public's sympathy.

But that's not the battle that's being fought. The real victims here are so powerless no one even remembers they exist. When an established band like Radiohead gives away a record for free (as it did with "In Rainbows") it increases exposure, which in turn boosts touring and merchandising revenue. But the vast majority of bands out there aren't Radiohead. They're small, unknown groups with no money or support structure. Sure, they can give away their record. But will anyone notice or care? Probably not. Meanwhile, Radiohead and Spotify are busy teaching us that, as consumers, we aren't responsible for compensating our artists. In fact, we're being conditioned to feel inherently entitled to the fruits of their labor. The amount of time and money the artist has invested is of little concern. If we listen to something, then it is ours. It's a perspective similar to that of a small child who sees a new toy and shouts, "MINE!" He's always been given everything he wants. Why should this be any different?

Many of us like to celebrate the apparent demise of the big, bad record companies as a justification for this behavior. We like to say that their business model is outdated and now they're paying the price. Good riddance, we say. Greedy bastards! But guess what? We've been singing that tune for over a decade, and those greedy record companies are still here. Sure, they're wounded. So they consolidate. They drop artists from their roster. They stop developing young acts. They stop signing new bands. They stop taking risks on anything different or exciting. They dump all their money into the tiny handful of top-grossing acts that keep the label afloat, like Lady Gaga and Metallica. When they do sign anyone, they sign safe bets like American Idol contestants and YouTube child sensations.

The unknown bands are left floundering in cyberspace, hoping in vain that they can amass enough Facebook fans to entice industry folk and get noticed. If they're smart, they tour. But touring is expensive, and since their records aren't selling well at gigs, they have trouble keeping the van gassed up. Unless they've been blessed with an angel investor or rich parents, life on the road isn't financially sustainable. So they figure the Internet is the way to go. Them and about 15 million others. They try to get some blog attention. Maybe Pitchfork will pick them up as the flavor of the month. But then what? I still don't have any friends who listen to The Weeknd. Bands don't break through blogs.

Point is, it's hard out there for the little guys, the unknowns. And let's be honest, the trickle-down devaluation of music hasn't been much better for audiences than it has for bands. Sure we save a couple dollars, but the culture of one-hit-wonders, reality star divas, and the general cycle of crap that gets churned out by the pop culture machine has only worsened, thanks to musical Reaganomics. They say the customer is always right, but when the customer stops valuing the product, why bother investing in its production? Innovation dies in favor of the fast, the cheap and the guaranteed.

So pay for your music, boys and girls. Support the good stuff that's out there, and skip services like Spotify. We can't afford to live off candy bars forever.

好骚 [malaysia's answer to adele]

2011-12-13T22:17:00.000+08:00

isn't that fabulous? her name is najwa.

好一个泪的小雨 [a little bit of blues]

2011-12-13T01:48:00.000+08:00

one of the best arrangements by tay cher siang. the classic "rain of tears" being totally revamped with this bluesy feel. marvellous.you will find this song in winnie ho's album.

我最爱的编曲之一，蓝调 blues，好一个郑泽相，把这麽经典的一首歌颠覆了。收录在何芸妮专辑里的一首很棒的歌。

马六甲新闻报导 [press coverage on melaka concert]

2011-12-12T12:14:00.001+08:00

【星洲】

“靡靡之音”舊曲新唱‧為培中籌獲12萬

2011-12-09 16:38

飛躍集團執行董事陳俊豪（左起）、集團董事劉金山及巧盈慈善基金創辦人劉志強聯合移交12萬令吉捐款給培風董事長馮秋萍（右2）及校友會主席史進福。（圖：星洲日報）

（馬六甲8日訊）爵士音符跳動著配合爵士女伶呈獻中西混合口味的“靡靡之音”演唱會，為培風中學百年鵬飛基金籌募12萬令吉！

這場由“Pop Pop Music”呈獻的“靡靡之音”音樂饗宴是在貴都酒店舉行，由音樂總監鄭澤相帶領的WVC TRiO爵士樂隊、吉他指彈大師羅傑和爵士女伶何芸妮聯手呈獻鄧麗君的名曲，為鄧麗君的經典注入更年輕、西式及現代的音樂元素。

購票人士逾千

演唱會以一組培風中學學生合唱一小段《溫情滿人間》為開場，何芸妮接著演繹8首動聽鄧麗君曲子，帶觀眾進入鄧麗君歌曲的爵士世界，休息15分鐘後再進行下半段後，一口氣帶來10首耳熟能詳的鄧麗君歌曲，使演唱會劃上圓滿句號。

另外，鄭澤相本身也是培風中學校友，這次以音樂協助母校籌款更具意義，同時可讓古城樂迷欣賞鄧麗君舊曲新唱，而這場饗宴獲得許多熱愛華教人士支持，購票人士超過1千。

“靡靡之音”由飛躍集團及巧盈慈善基金贊助及包辦演唱會所有費用，全部門票收入悉數充作培風2013年百年校慶基金，以興建兩座綜合大樓之用途。

演唱曲目

上半場：溫情滿人間、淚的小雨、忘記他、風從哪裡來、一個小心願、雲河、南海姑娘、路邊的野花不要採

下半場：月亮代表我的心、千言萬語、月兒像檸檬、君心我心、初戀的地方、我只在乎你、月亮代表我的心、甜蜜蜜、再見我的愛心、世界多美麗（星洲日報／古城）

【南洋】

1000人聆赏旧曲新唱门票收入12万元悉捐培中

2011-12-09 14:30

靡靡之音邓丽君旧曲新唱演唱会，主办单位移交12万令吉模型支票给培中冯秋苹及史进福，左起陈俊豪、刘金山及刘志强。

（马六甲8日讯）靡靡之音邓丽君之旧曲新唱演唱会于昨晚成功演岀，主办单位巧盈慈善基金及飞跃集团（Faithview）将门票收入（12万令吉），悉数捐给培风中学百年鹏飞发展基金。

这项活动是由飞跃集团及巧盈慈善基金主办，培风中学的培风百年鹏飞基金为受惠单位。

该集团董中拿督刘金山及执行董事陈俊豪，以及巧盈慈善基金负责人刘志强，联合移交模型支票给培中董事长冯秋苹及署理董事长，也是校友会主席史进福。

这项演唱会于昨晚在本地一家酒店举行，吸引近1000名听众，爵士女伶何芸妮，连同钢琴家，也是培中校友郑泽相及Roger Wang，以爵士乐重释邓丽君旧由，呈现别开生面的靡靡之音情怀。

演唱邓丽君经典名曲

当晚共演唱20首邓丽君的经典名曲，包括《月亮代表我的心》、《千言万语》及《甜蜜蜜》等，让听众听岀耳油，绕梁三日。靡靡之音邓丽君之旧曲新唱音乐会以爵士乐或Bossa Nova曲风为主，这类的音乐会是首次在甲州举行。

培风中学董事会总务曾昭明等也岀席。

巧盈慈善基金负责人为刘志强，是一名企业家，其妻子梁巧盈于今年9月20日清早准备前往尼泊尔旅行，在前往机场的高速大道不幸遇车祸逝世，为了纪念其妻子，特设立慈善基金会，昨晚也是首次发起慈善音乐会为培中筹款。

昨晚的门票收入悉数捐赠给他及妻子的母校培风中学，他承担所有音乐会的开销。

征服 [conquered]

2011-12-09T12:46:00.001+08:00

a moment in history. "love is all around" (wen qing man ren jian) fittingly opened the curtains for "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" in melaka. what a memorable night!

super trio acting like in the poster

the clock was ticking 7:45pm yet the attendance is only 30%. wasn't there supposed to be 1,000 people coming, did they decide not to come? our sponsor, mr edmond, as well as yours truly, was getting a bit jittery. we just can't afford to have only 300 people in a 1000 capacity hall.

slowly and surely, the crowd built up steadily... from 30% to 40%, from 40% to 50%...... at about 8:15pm, the hall was already 80% filled. so we decided to start in another 10 minutes' time and surely the remaining 20% came in steadily..... and ladies and gentlemen, it was a full house at 8:25pm. 1,000 people. biggest ever chinese jazz concert in malaysia, we can safely bet on it.

the curtain raiser is our usual "love is all around" (wen qing man ren jian) but this time winnie is accompanied by pay foong school choir, making it all the more meaningful. to be absolutely frank, winnie, who was nursing a cold, was not in her top. she lost some sparkles in her top octave and she was not as agile on stage as she would like to be, but never mind, no one noticed that except those who have seen her in better days, like our andaman sponsor, who came all the way from kl and watching winnie for the third time in a roll. you are amazing, mrs teoh!

the first half was just good but it would be excellent had winnie not fallen sick. she has further improved on her body movement and gesturing, after a couple of dance classes.

edmond and myself were worried that some audience would leave after the intermission. but fortunately, only a few did and we retained more than 95% full in the 2nd half.

the 2nd half was a totally different story altogether with roger wang opening the curtain with his all-conquering guitar solo "the moon speaks for my heart". roger wang, the roger wang we know, is always perfect, faultless, calm and composed and he won the crowd again in melaka. winnie put her lethargy behind and came out for the 2nd half sounding freshier and livelier. her duet with roger wang on "a thousand words" was worth a million dollar.

another scorcher is her rendition of "i only care for you", which is simply the best in all the 3 concerts of teresa teng so far. unfortunately, the sound system didn't really cater to the back row's crowd, the sound extension didn't go that far as it was a huge hall. we will learned from this experience. we should have added more speaker in the back rows. apologies to those who sat at the back.

the mass sing-along of "the moon speaks for my heart" was intentional and the great response was expected so we are not surprised. what we think was the golden moment was when winnie dedicated "goodbye my love" to edmond's late wife, who died in an accident a month ago. winnie's speech was sensitive and touching, without mentioning the wife's name but many people would have guessed. winnie's singing, accompanied by solo piano from cher siang, made many people cried that night, including yours truly who sat at the console at the far end of the hall. it was a moment of true love. winnie's voice has a precious quality of heartfelt emotion and sensitivity, she is a true diva that has fully come of age.

mr. edmond was all relaxed after the show as he thinks we did well to justify the high ticket prices. he thinks our brand of chinese jazz is accessible to the layman on the street as can be seen from the largely appreciative crowd. many of them told us that they love winnie ho.

needless to say, 2v1g CDs were sold out on the night. the CD stall was having such brisk business that we regretted we didn't bring more.

we are grateful to edmond and his team of workers, who really worked hard to make sure that everything was covered. there is so much spirits of camaraderie in edmond's team and we can tell he is such a charismatic leader that commands respect.

we are grateful that melakans are such nice audience, well behaved and appreciative. and to top it all, they can sing well!

we are grateful for everything that has been given to pop pop music in the year of 2011. we have a fabulous year, especially in the 2nd half. we witnessed the rise of winnie ho and tay cher siang to stardom, we witnessed the growth in supporter base, we witnessed the growth in sponsorship, we witnessed the improvement in production......

we can assure you that in 2012, if the end of the world doesn't come, pop pop music will rule the chinese jazz scene in malaysia with our packed schedule in 2012.

we hope all of you would be a part of this exciting revolutionary movement, never before seen in malaysia!

千言万语 [a thousand words]

2011-12-06T18:21:00.002+08:00

roger wang recording winnie ho's teresa teng "a thousand words" using a new super duper microphone a la 2v1g style in the ark studios this afternoon

马六甲歌迷，何芸妮有【千言万语】和你诉说！

malaccan music lovers, winnie ho has a thousand words to confide in you!

蔡健雅的根源 [going back to her roots]

2011-12-06T10:04:00.001+08:00

like stefanie sun and kit chan, tanya chua actually is english-educated and english-speaking (but as you know, lee kuan yew made the english-educated speak mandarin as well), and she is most comfortable singing english. but english market is not easy, so she has only released only 3 english albums so far, compared to the tonnes of chinese albums she did.

i bought both the new releases, an english one and a mandarin one, from taiwan and i can frankly tell you that i have banished the chinese one to some faraway hidden corner of my house, and just keeping the english one, which is the one we are recommending here.

what is great about this is, in composing and singing english songs, tanya can stick to what she loves most, that's indie pop and not conform/comply with the boring and suffocating ba-lak (ballad) formula demanded by chinese pop. so in a way, she is "liberated" when she sings and writes in english.

to be frank, though immensely talented, tanya is not exactly original in her craft. she listens to too many western indie acts that influence her compositions greatly but what the heck, we still like what she writes. because no one writes like her (except liyana fizi), especially in chinese pop today.

tanya made a name in the chinese scene, and not the english scene for reasons obvious to many. she is totally unique in the chinese scene, but in the english scene, she has too many competitors la.

this album is good, we like it. comparable to liyana fizi's "between the lines" and much better than zee avi's "ghostbird". what tanya really lacks is a strong direction and of course, an international english label like zee avi's brushfire records.

among today's crop of chinese singer-songwriters, tanya chua ranks in our top-3 best after cheer chen and wu jia hui.

get this, you won't be disappointed.

马六甲，你好 [greetings, melaka]

2011-12-05T21:22:00.001+08:00

have you bought susan wong yet (exclusive for CDRAMA)?

in about 48 hours' time, winnie ho, tay cher siang and roger wang are gonna thrill melaccans with their own brand of teresa teng...

our wishful thinking is that from now on, malaccans can appreciate that local talents can also deliver great music and they don't need to travel to genting highlands' arena of stars every time....

let's pray for the following:

1) good weather
2) full house!
3) great sound and light
4) superb performance from winnie ho, roger wang and wvc trio
5) audience well behaved
6) great CD sales
7) crowd's participation!

and lastly

8) our sponsors is gonna do another concert with pop pop music!

yay!

花样年华报导 [Charity concert revives Chinese jazz classics from the ‘60s]

2011-12-04T23:40:00.001+08:00

{article on the star dated 3rd dec 2011}

IT WAS a night of nostalgia when a retro jazz musical charity concert relived the mood for love of yesteryears.

Inspired by Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai’s classic film, In the Mood for Love, the musical of the same name attempted to revive Chinese oldies from the 1960s.

Jazz songstress Lydia Chew gave a subtle introductory performance of the song titled My Glorious Years to begin the rendezvous at the Syuen Hotel in Ipoh last Friday.

Grand opening number: Chew singing subtly at the beginning of the musical.

Dressed in a tangy red tight-fitting cheongsam, she lifted the mood with her expressive voice telling the story of how a loving couple cherished their last date before separation through the song titled “Intoxicated in Your Embrace”.

Accompanied by virtuoso pianist Tay Cher Siang, who displayed his musical prowess by improvising the pop-jazz-styled Lover’s Tears, Chew sang her heart out to the fast-paced yet melancholic melody.

Tay and the other instrumentalists — a saxophonist, a double bass player and a drummer — left the audience spellbound by the mysterious and enigmatic Yumeji’s Theme. Chew later dedicated the song Forever Smile to her grandmother who was absent from the concert. “This song by Zhou Xuan is her favourite. As a child, my mother would coax me to sleep with the song, telling me that it is my grandmother’s favourite,” she said sentimentally
.

For a good cause: Teoh (fourth from right) presenting mock cheques to SJK(C) Sam Tet Board of Governors chairman Rev Father Liew (second from right) and Chan (third from right).

After a short break, “Bossa Princess” Z Yan made her appearance on stage and serenaded the audience with Autumnal Night performed in a classic bossa nova beat. Performing Teresa Teng’s I Only Care for You in her euphonious voice, Z Yan garnered rapturous applause from the crowd.

Chew once again hit the stage to duet with Z Yan on the number The Past Can Only Be Reminisced, closing the musical with a fantastic two-part harmony.

Organised by the Andaman Group, the concert raised a total of RM204,000 for SMJK Sam Tet and the John Moh Foundation.

The donations were handed out to the school’s board of governors chairman Rev Father Stephen Liew Khoay Siong and foundation president Chan Kam Leong by Andaman executive chairman Datuk Patrick Teoh.

我阿英個老婆 [remembering ricky hui]

2011-12-04T01:45:00.001+08:00

picked this up in melaka and was mighty glad i did.

it may sound dated but how great the melodies remain. shame on the current crop of cantopop composers.

ricky hui is so plain but he is musical. when a singer is musical, you can forgive most weaknesses (much like lowell lo kun ting).

most of the songs are composed by brother samuel hui. you can treat this best of compilation as an extension of sam hui, albeit with a weaker voice.

we lived that era of golden cantopop and we cherish every moment. purely for old time's sake, this is a collector's item in every way.

do not apply if you are below 35 year-old.

马六甲，你准备好吗？ [the stage is set for the grandest concert in melaka]

2011-12-02T23:53:00.001+08:00

have you been to melaka lately?

what do you notice on the streets? many buntings of "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" concert!

we are so proud that the sponsor splurged so generously on A&P... now everyone in melaka knows about this event, the grandest ever chinese concert in melaka, so we were told.

this capacity (1,000 pax) is the grandest ever we have done, more than double of bentley. yeah, even jazz concert can command 1,000 people, wow wee!

many said it is impossible to command such a crowd and selling the tickets at this price, now our sponsor shows you that it can be done! power!

we want to do the best show ever for melaka, armed with experiences from the past 5 concerts. if we do well, we can expect there will be more, that's what our sponsor promised.

this is the 2nd repeat of jazzy teresa teng in 3 months, it is quite unbelievable. power.

we also hope to bring "in the mood for love" to melaka, now that it is proven to be a good production. there is a group of people who loves our stuff and wants to promote art and music in melaka. they admit that it is very tough in melaka, knowing how conservative they are but they think by working with us, they have a chance.

make no mistake, we are marching forward from strength to strength.

2012 最引人瞩目的专辑 [album to watch out for in 2012]

2011-11-30T11:11:00.003+08:00

we got the rough mix of the jazzy teresa teng cdr yesterday (a rough mix is a raw version of the recording without proper mixing and mastering), and we listened.....

感动！（touched）

the sound is the best so far from the ark studios, after some hardware upgrade which includes a new DAC (digital to analog convertor) and a new TAMA drum sets. one can clearly hear the beautiful tone made by the TAMA, played by handsome drummer charles wong of wvc trio.

one can also hear the amazing plucking of double bass by joseph of MPO, the american bassist who played in JZ8. of course, not forgetting the equally amazing arrangement by tay cher siang which totally revamps teresa teng's music. there are great musicians like salvador guerzo (from solianos) on sax, julian chan on sax as well and the mighty valtinho anasticio from brazil.

this is some kind of teresa teng. this is the teresa teng for the 21st century.

mark our words, this album is gonna be one of the best-sellers in 2012 (regardless of genre), that much we are confident. it is gonna challenge the 20,000+ mark set by 2v1g's debut album, a record we have yet to break in recent years.

and winnie ho is gonna rise, rise, rise to a level never before achieved by 2v1g.

this is the album to watch out in 2012. marketing wise, we will leave no stone unturned. we want to create major waves in the local chinese music industry, as well as overseas markets.

global release date: 14th feb 2012, st. valentine's day

p/s we have received booking of 100 copies of this album by a fan. there will be more orders on the way!

复古圣诞 [retro christmas]

2011-11-29T10:16:00.001+08:00

readers would know how much we dig the retro duo she and him, made up of the completely cute Zooey Deschanel and guitar wizard mark ward.

now they have released a christmas album, some kind of album that's very retro and old-school, for folks like us who always yearn for something different....

if you are sick of the usual commercial stuff, this might be the one for you.

p/s don't you love the album cover?

接近完美！ [fantabulous!]

2011-11-27T20:41:00.001+08:00

lydia chew: simply captivating

partial audience filling up the ballroom

pop pop music's concert production upped another notch with the ipoh concert of "in the mood of love" which completed with near perfection on friday night!

not only is the crowd superb (after we announced that they have to behave like mature adults!), the lighting and the sound system were amazing, top it up with fantabulous performances by both lydia chew and zyan and you have a top-notch show that goes a long way in our memory!

everyone is pleased: from our production crew, the audience (which comprised of mostly sam tet old boys), the musicians and our sponsor, andaman. andaman's big boss smiled approvingly to me after the show and said "very good!".

that's the quality of our concert now as we gained more and more experience in this concert business. we stand tall and proud eventho' we are small fry to a lot of megabuck event companies.

the revamped "in the mood for love" is a far cry from our sketchy efforts in "my glorious years" in april because i was working alone that time but now we have a full-fledged production team that takes care of every nitty gritty. that is called progress, that's called maturity.

two words to describe the concert: classy and polished. topmost credit must go to lydia and zyan, the two beautiful singers on stage who kept the audience nailed onto their seats throughout the one and half hour performance. lydia showed her maturity: beautiful tone and more confident stage persona. biggest surprise of all is zyan, who again, achieved a minor breakthru by "liberating" herself on stage. everyone was stunned to see the new zyan. her red gown was a stunning show stealer, we could tell that many uncles were enchanted by her beauty. both singers delivered great voicing and tone and almost flawless pitching throughout. on the other hand, lydia was wearing a deep-V blouse that must have caused many noses to bleed uncontrollably that night......

the sound system is the best we have achieved so far. our soundman, tan, after getting some pointers from me on how to tune the sound to suit jazzy music, is spot on in creating a sound that's delicate, soothing and most of all, full of details and nuances. well done, tan!

not forgetting the event management team from ideamatrix. the control on lighting, stage and video is done with almost clock-work precision. wonderful programming, guys!

with such high standards in this production, we want to do more of this concert to those who haven't got a chance to see it. corporate buyers, please come forward, will you?

"in the mood for love" is every bit as great as "the jazzy sound of teresa teng". the former is more romantic and melancholic and the later younger, more upbeat and rhythmic.

one anecdote to share: the sponsor's wife told us that the music was so romantic that night she was holding her husband's (andaman's big boss) hand throughout the night!

好康！[free tickets to give away!]

2011-11-23T04:11:00.001+08:00

note: this concert is held at hotel equatorial, melaka

As part of our continuous efforts to promote Chinese Jazz Standards and to recruit more like-minded music lovers, we are giving away 20 tickets to 20 lucky fans/supporters of ours, to watch the biggest musical event ever in melaka: The Jazzy Sounds of Teresa Teng on the 7th december 2011 (wednesday)!

Just shoot an email to us: lesloh@yahoo.com or call me at 012-2083790.

If you are going with your spouse, girlfriend, mistress, pet.... we will give you two tickets (max) then...yes, we are being extra generous :-)

Act now, we have only 20 tickets!

oh, btw, you have to arrange your own transport and accomodation, of course!

怡保一大盛事 [grand event in ipoh]

2011-11-22T08:21:00.001+08:00

怡保一大盛事：【花样年华】这星期五在怡保Syuen Hotel 引爆！票剩不多，要买从速！ 012-2083790. 郑泽相，周翠玲，欣彦将会带给你一个与从不同的音乐飨宴！

a great musical event in ipoh: "in the mood for love" musical showcase is on this coming friday at syuen hotel! not many tickets left, call 012-2083790. tay cher siang, lydia chew and zyan are gonna bring to you a musical showcase filled with nostalgia and memorable flashbacks!

《曲目》Repertoire

Set One

Instrumental : Aquellos Ojos Verdes
花样的年华（MyGlorious Years）
魂萦旧梦 (Recurring Old Dream)
醉在你怀中 (Intoxicated In Your Embrace)
桃李争春(Fighting For Love)
情人的眼泪 (Lover’s Tears)
Instrumental：Yumeji’sTheme
晚风 (Evening Breeze)
永远的微笑 (Forever Smile)

Intermission：15 minutes　

Set Two

如果没有你 (If I Don’t Have You)
秋夜 (Autumnal Night)
我只在乎你 (I Only Care For You)
Instrumental: Quizas Quizas Quizas
不了情 (Endless Love)
夜来香(Fragrance of The Night)
忘不了的你 (Unforgettable You)
往事只能回味(The Past Can Only Be Reminisced)

重要的一天 [a significant day]

2011-11-20T12:22:00.001+08:00

songstress in red

percussion maestro, piano maestro, jazz songstress and me all dressed in black coincidentally

some have asked: when is the next pop pop album?

yes, today is the first day of recording of "winnie ho: the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" album, a very rare and significant occasion since we have decided to reduce our production drastically.

who in the right mind would produce a big-budget album anymore in today's depressing climate, unless it is backed up by many encouraging factors?

we have not stepped into the studio for a while since february this year, following the completion of solianos pusaka. naturally we are eager to kick start this significant project. there will be 11 songs in this debut solo album of winnie ho: 10 tracks + one bonus track. most of the songs will be from the concert, with the same arrangement but added percussions.

we have some stellar musicians anchoring this project. besides maestro himself, we have valtinho anastacio, the famous brazilian percussionist, and joseph, the double bass wizard from MPO, the same guy who played the bass in JZ8. (amazing plucking, remember?)

so, excitement begins today. you have every reason to follow this thread and be part of it, cos it is gonna be a kick-ass project.

welcome to "winnie ho: jazzy sounds of teresa teng"!

发烧女王到了！ [the audiophile diva has arrived!]

2011-11-16T16:28:00.001+08:00

raw CDs and inlays for susan wong greatest hits album

yes, she has arrived all the way from hong kong!

she is gonna be delivered to summit for packaging tomorrow and hopefully you shall see her at all CDRAMA stores nationwide starting next wednesday!

we have listened one round, the song selection is great, great, great.for those who crave for easy-listening english classics by an alluring singer, this is the perfect album.

戀愛預告 [love pre-annoucement]

2011-11-16T09:21:00.001+08:00

trust me, this duet between winnie ho and worm lee in tonight's tribute to danny chan gig is worth the admission price of RM40! so much sparks and chemistry, these two make a wonderful duet!

we have a funny anecdote whereby at the end of the gig, a fan confessed his love and admiration to his girlfriend and sang this song to her right infront of everyone's eyes!

yes, this is the kind of lovey-dovey love song of the good old days that is worth cherished over and over again!

come tonight and relive all those good memories!

我们售卖回忆 [we are the purveyor of memories]

2011-11-14T23:28:00.001+08:00

the monstrous success of taiwan's teen movie "apple of my eyes" is a testimony that people buy memories. they want to relive the best times of the youth, especially their first love, their romance and the trials and tribulations.

same here at pop pop music, we are the purveyor of memories. we sell them to those willing buyers who are willing to pay for them. because memories have got a price, they are not like illegal downloads which are free for all and of poor quality. because memories are precious. they are best kept in lock and key.

with the success of "tribute to danny chan at NBT" last wednesday, we are bouyed by the fact that audience love tribute musical party. they love recapping memories. so we are planning more such showcases next year. samuel hui, leslie cheung, sandy lam etc etc, these are some of the names in our minds.

tomorrow we will have another round of danny chan, i think it is already fully booked. if you haven't got a chance to go to NBT, this is the best time!

我们的陈百强 [our version of danny chan]

2011-11-11T22:59:00.001+08:00

this is our fifth gig in NBT since 2008's debut with 2v1g, and glad to say we maintained the proud record of FULLHOUSE once again.

this is also the most successful by far, judging from the audience's response, thanks to the great chemistry between winnie ho and our new singer, worm lee, on stage. worm lee proved to be a revelation and biggest discovery. not only does he has a great voice, he is funny and entertaining on stage! the audience lapped every bit of his antics on stage.

typical with cher siang's arrangement, our version of danny chan is injected with much rhythm and youthful energy, safe for a few ballads which must be played as ballads.

the audience were fantastic: responsive, cheering and not stingy with applause. you can tell they didn't want to leave even the last song has been played, forcing cher siang to come up with some brilliant idea to do an encore by re-doing "yatt sang ho kao" (danny's most famous hit) in swing style! by that time, the atmosphere was electrifying!

everyone sang well; winnie, worm, zyan and jeffery. the one with the most accurate cantonese diction goes to worm and jeffery but my applause goes to winnie who really worked hard on her cantonese and it sounded darn convincing. zyan was a breakthrough all the way as many of us have never seen her so exuberant on stage.

it was a fun party and the audience fully partook in it. with 2v1g gigs, because most of the songs were ballads, the audience tend to be more sober and quiet. not this one, they were cheering and clapping from the very start!

we are expecting an even bigger turnout next week with some of them coming back again.

so for those who missed it, don't miss it again!

永远的小人物 [forever underdog]

2011-11-10T20:26:00.003+08:00

just as we were doing a tribute to danny chan, another hk singer/comedian passed away rather shockingly.

ricky hui, the comedian with the deadpan fan, is more famously known as cantopop godfather samuel hui's brother.

in all of hui brothers' comedies, ricky has always been portrayed as the dim-witted, slow and stupid one who always get bullied. he is always the "kesian" one who the audience loved so much in the movie.

very few knew that ricky hui is had a hit song which brother sam wrote for him. "li wo chin siu" 【梨窝浅笑】 became one of the many hit ballads in sam hui's evergreen repertoire but it is ricky who first sang it. another famous song of ricky hui (video below), composed by him is "mo ching yeh lang fung" 【无情夜冷风】 which has such poetic lyrics.

ricky hui was a proof that sometimes, one does not need to be the front-liner and steal the limelight. you can be equally happy as an underdog hiding in the background, and your role is equally important. we are sure hui brothers' movies without the contribution of ricky would pale in comparison.

we mourn the loss of such a great comedian.

深爱着你 [loving you deeply]

2011-11-08T19:43:00.004+08:00

from the day i blogged about this project more than a year ago, i have been waiting for this day: the day when all my singers can sing his songs on the same stage and the day when an album can be launched in remembrance of him.

we have waited patiently and the day has come.

two wednesdays in a row, we will be singing his songs at NBT. all the famous songs are here.

偏偏喜欢你，一生何求，涟漪,等，有了你，深爱着你,今宵多珍重，喝彩，突破,凝望, 初戀, 念親恩,细水长流，冷风中,眼泪为你流，长伴千世纪,恋爱预告

又跨进一大步 [another giant step forward]

2011-11-08T02:06:00.000+08:00

press conference in pay foong high school melaka: the great man who made it all happened

in a world full of apathy and mind-my-own-business mentality, your generosity is like a beacon of hope to struggling artistes like us, who aspire so greatly to change the stale scene and the status quo. you are a great friend and a great sponsor. you must be an angel in your past life.

that pop pop music is about the only music label in malaysia who produced 10 albums so far and has the guts and audacity to host both self-financed and corporate-sponsored ticketed concerts is already a miracle itself. most concert organizers wouldn't bat an eyelid on local artistes. they rather pay millions to get jacky cheung and faye wong. reality fully checked.

in malaysia, who would pay over RM100 to watch a local pop artiste like winnie ho and roger wang? yes, we are silently shocking peers and competitors.

the good news is: it is only the beginning, as more as more people are watching us and they are bound to be more "angels" who would come forward. the bad news is: it is still extremely tough to promote chinese jazz and local artistes in malaysia. the road ahead is still full of uncertainties and obstacles.

it is never easy to ask for sponsorship, dang, it is almost freaking impossible! have you tried asking money from your friends, even the best of friends? try it, and tell us how easy or hard it is. some will tell you that " they can help you in anything but not money". reality fully checked.

the music scene needs a reshuffle, there has never been a better time to promote chinese jazz standards.

it is a journey with oceans to swim and mountains to climb, but because of sponsor like you, we fear nothing, absolutely nothing.

一人有一个偶像 [everyone has her own idol]

2011-11-06T23:38:00.000+08:00

watch the first 3 minutes where lam san san, a singer, a DJ and then a music label A&R (lam is now the manager of ekin cheng) and a good friend of danny chan, recounted how she got all excited when danny chan asked her for a movie date.

it is definitely over-romanticize for me to feel sad 18 years after his death. i won't even write any sentimental things about him and how much memories his music brings to me and to my family members.

true, i have outgrown his brand of cantopop more than 10 years ago, but his music stays in my heart forever. it represents a glorious part of my salad days.

to those who grew up with his music, this coming tribute gig at No black tie is for you to cherish and reminisce.

i am dedicating this special gig to my beloved sister, connie, who re-discovered the meaning of life after a near-fatal illness. danny chan is her idol too. (dang, my whole family loves danny chan)

林小宝 ! [bonnie lam!]

2011-11-04T20:57:00.002+08:00

sorry for the delay! enjoy!

终于上了英文报！ [a night of chinese jazz]

2011-11-03T23:30:00.000+08:00

this is very rare!

爵士乐面对的问题 [dilemma with jazz]

2011-11-02T20:02:00.001+08:00

Branford Marsalis: The Problem With Jazz

The saxophonist says the genre needs to get out of its rut of virtuosic self-indulgence.

As told to Chris Kornelis. Wednesday, Sep 14 2011

The following is edited from an interview with jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis, whose latest album, Songs of Mirth and Melancholy, is a collaboration with pianist Joey Calderazzo.

Marsalis once interned at a law firm, and kept the suit.

You put on old records and they always sound better. Why are they better? I started listening to a lot of classical music, and that really solidified the idea that the most important and the strongest element of music is the melodic content.

In jazz we spend a lot of time talking about harmony. Harmonic music tends to be very insular. It tends to be [like] you're in the private club with a secret handshake.

I have a lot of normal friends. 'Cause it's important. [When] you have a bunch of musicians talking about music and they talk about what's good and what's not good, they don't consider the larger context of it.

You read a review of something and some guy in New York says "This is the most important music since such and such." And then when you look at it in a larger context, you say, "Well, can we really use the word 'important' for something that the majority of the people have never heard?"

As I've started to extend and get back into the outside world—which really started when I was on the Tonight Show—you realize, "Man, nobody knows who the fuck were are." And the idea was not to do things to make them know, but the question is within the context of the music I've chosen to play . . . what are the things that normal people like about music and can we incorporate those things?

When laypeople listen to records, there're certain things they're going to get to. First of all, how it sounds to them. If the value of the song is based on intense analysis of music, you're doomed. Because people that buy records don't know shit about music. When they put on Kind of Blue and say they like it, I always ask people: What did you like about it? They describe it in physical terms, in visceral terms, but never in musical terms.

In a lot of ways classical music is in a similar situation to where jazz is, except at least the level of excellence in classical music is more based on the music than it is based on the illusion of reinventing a movement. Everything you read about jazz is: "Is it new? Is it innovative?" I mean, man, there's 12 fucking notes. What's going to be new? You honestly think you're going to play something that hasn't been played already?

So, you know, my whole thing is, is it good? I don't care if it's new. There's so little of it that's actually good, that when it's good, it shocks me.

So much of jazz, it doesn't even have an audience other than the music students or the jazz musicians themselves, and they're completely in love with virtuosic aspects of the music, so everything is about how fast a guy plays. It's not about the musical content and whether the music is emotionally moving or has passion.

At some point, you get into the music and it's only about, well, this is what I want to convey. I'm into me. I'm into my shit. And after a while you look up and say, "Well, that was nice and self-indulgent and fun." Music clearly has to have more meaning than that.

My job is to write songs that have emotional meaning to me. Because I believe that if the songs have emotional meaning, that will translate to a larger audience that has the capacity to appreciate instrumental music, 'cause a lot of people don't. And I can't do anything to get them to like my music, and I'm not really trying.
ckornelis@seattleweekly.com

性感的黄翠珊 [sexy susan]

2011-11-02T14:41:00.000+08:00

isn't it wonderful that pop pop music gets the exclusive license to distribute susan wong's "best selection 16" album in malaysia?

it is a significant step towards international collaborations and resource sharing. we hope to bring more famous artistes under our label in due course.

look at this cover! do you like it? our hearts palpipate.. and we are sure the music is as alluring as susan's pose:-)

exclusively for CDRAMA, this will be released in two weeks' time.

get it for your loved ones for this festive season!

Susan Wong - Best Selection 16

1   Superstar
2   Stay Awhile ( 2008 Version )
3   Sometimes When We Touch
4   We're All Alone ( 2008 Version )
5   Killing Me Softly
6   I'm Easy
7   Sway
8   Close to You
9   You Needed Me
10   Do That to Me One More Time
11   Kiss Me Goodbye ( 2008 Version )
12   I Only Want To Be With You
13   Rainy Days And Mondays
14   Cavatina (Theme from Deer Hunter)
15   I Believe
16   Can't Take My Eye Off You

乱世中的清流 [a new hope amidst chaos]

2011-11-01T12:06:00.002+08:00

seriously, today's mandarin pop is such that if you buy 10 albums, you would chuck away 9 of them within the first spin, with one worthy of your collection.

wu jia hui's latest album is most likely the one you would keep.

we have applauded his work many times in this blog. he is easily the best singer-songwriter that malaysia have at this moment. even in the international chinese mandarin pop world's standing today, he is still one of the top 5.

the precious thing about wu is, he is not tainted nor bounded by those predictable chord progressions, formulaic ba-lak (chinese for ballad) recipe that's so prevalent in chinese pop today. (and something that we detest to no end)

his melody is very fresh and catchy, touching and heartwarming. in this EP (times are bad, only 6 songs offered), he is extending the good work he did in his previous full-length album "crazy you", without breaking new grounds. even with playing safe, he is already better than the rest of the bunch out there.

worthy of mention is producer eric huang yun ren (who is a regular guitarist with wakin chau and jonathan lee), whose production house/music label funky monkey is easily the best self-sustained chinese music label in this region. eric is a smart and talented musician. i can't imagine who else can produce wu jia hui to this level in malaysia (perhaps, except percy peng). eric is a singaporean and funky monkey is based in singapore, of course.

get this album if you wanna listen to some of the best mandarin pop today.

来！一起唱丹尼仔的歌！ [come, let's sing danny's songs together!]

2011-10-31T08:46:00.002+08:00

note: the dates for previous poster is wrong, it should be 9th and 16th of november!

yes, the stage is set at No Black Tie next week to do a tribute to our cantopop prince, danny chan!you have to make your booking early as NBT is extremely small and in all likelihod, it is gonna be packed!

once again, booking with NBT (after 5pm): 03-21423737

see you next week!

瓶颈 [bottleneck]

2011-10-29T18:59:00.001+08:00

cheer chen is close to being artistic over subtance... a dangerous sign.
story to come.

做慈善的理由 [reasons for doing charity]

2011-10-28T23:15:00.003+08:00

a lot of people underestimate the power of music.

music can heal wounded souls; it can break barriers; it can soothe frayed nerves; it can unite lovers; it can bring families closer... and it can be used as a medium for charity fundraising to help the needy.

isn't it wonderful that we, small and insignificant as we are (but with lofty aims), can contribute to such noble cause?

last month we received a call from a young girl asking us about the jazzy teresa teng concert. she said her dad is keen to host the concert in melaka and it is gonna be a charity concert.

curious, we didn't know what to expect but told her that we would be going down to melaka anyway so let's meet up.

we met up with her dad, mr. T, who is a lanky middle-aged man with a certain aura of authority and intelligence. immediately he strikes us as a learned man with a strong business sense. we could tell that he is a successful entrepreneur by the way he talks and reasons.

within minutes of the conversation, mr. T softly uttered the words, with much sadness in his voice, "my wife passed away 2 weeks ago, she was a philanthropist and i would like to continue her wishes of doing charity.... ".

................

so, ladies and gentlemen, the legend that's teresa teng goes unabated, here is the 3rd repeat of "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng", now in our cultural capital, melaka. words have it that they plan to pack 1,000 people inside the ballroom of equatorial, it is gonna be some kind of concert for us.

winnie ho can stand proud for being the fist local chinese pop singer with so many repeats of a major scale concert.

details:
date: 7th december 2011 (wednesday)

time: 8:08pm to 10:08pm

venue: equatorial hotel

ticket prices: RM300, RM150, RM100

ticketing outlets: Faithview Development (Sandra, 06-3178889/8891)

GNL Gift (Candy Liau, 016-2072197)

Pay Fong high School (Wang Chow Shen, 06-2828250)

all proceeds will go towards the education funds of pay fong high school.

陈百强的初恋 [danny chan's first love]

2011-10-26T15:39:00.001+08:00

初戀
作詞：鄭國江　作曲：陳百強

張眼看目前，沒有一些可比那天。
每日與她相見都歡笑，太快樂，
我願留住每一天。
春季雨綿綿，在那街邊，
讓雨水輕輕濺。雨水絲絲打我心都甜，
好比愛神的小箭。
情緣任它自然，愛戀會源源不斷。
舊的夢才完又有新的夢來圓。
但初戀偏惹懷念。
此際念從前，渡遇多少歡欣昨天。
惱恨愛戀偏偏多變，
這快樂背後藏著了淒酸。
相對再無言，若有交通，
定會傾訴沒完。
雨顆心倘不可以相連，
相見又如不見。
情緣任它自然，愛戀會源源不斷。
舊的夢才完又有新的夢來圓。
但初戀偏惹懷念。

we have been spinning the song in the bonnie lam album (track 2) non-stop for weeks!

it brings us back to our first love..... do you remember your first love?

so much bittersweet memories, right? let's go back to a time where love was so pure, sweet and unconditional and social networking means sharing a root beer in A&W.....

come to our danny chan party @NBT on 9th and 16th november to recap these fond memories!

Venue: No Black Tie [google map]
Date: 9th November 2011 (Wednesday) and 16th November 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:30pm – 11:30pm
Singers: Winnie Ho, Worm Lee, Z Yan, Lydia Chew, Jeffery (Ah Fei)
Cover Charge: RM40 [Does not include drinks]

Booking: (after 5pm) 03-21423737

何芸妮的靡靡之音 [winnie ho's "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng"]

2011-10-24T04:20:00.002+08:00

it is almost impossible to justify making an album nowadays, unless:

1) it has concert backup then the cd would become a sure-sell merchandize
2) it is a landmark album: the album means a lot to the singer and to the music label
3) the arrangement and musicianship is world-class4) the retailers would order in big quantity

by and large, winnie ho's debut solo album "the jazz sound of teresa teng" fulfills all the above criteria, even exceeding them.

so, without further ado, we will soon begin this once-in-a-lifetime project....bear in mind that we have got all the music arrangement in place.

yes, tay cher siang, roger wang, zyan and lynn lee (yun ling) will all be in it.

our target date is before CNY 2012. watch out for it, you lucky ones!

你爵士，我也爵士 [you jazz, i jazz]

2011-10-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

perhaps, it is the trashiness of commercial pop that allows chinese jazz to be so popular nowaways. you jazz, i also jazz.

while we rejoice at the increasing acceptance of chinese jazz in malaysia, we also lament the way amateur musicians abuse it.

jazz is not about applying some jazz chords to some classic songs and voila! instantly it could become jazz. the same way that a chinaman at the hawker store cooks spaghetti, thinking that it is about all tomato sauce and olive oil that makes good spaghetti.

jazz is an attitude more than anything else. forcing some jazz chords into what is essentially a chinese karaoke song does not make a jazz song. the same goes to bossa nova. applying bossa beats into a karaoke song does not necessary turn it into a bossa nova song.

it is the attitude and the spirits that's more important.

music arrangement is king. if you don't have it, don't force it.

if it is a chinese karaoke song then sing it the way it should be, please.

提早发行 [early release]

2011-10-20T01:08:00.001+08:00

due to request from retailers, we have decided to release bonnie lam's "remembering danny chan" next week, instead of waiting until no black tie's event on 9th next month!

so, guys, go to CDRAMA next week to support us!

honestly, we like this album. bonnie's voice is sweet and steady, and the recording is great. pay attention to track #2 and track #5, these are the best tracks in the album. the arrangement is standard light jazz, playing on the safe side, as compared to our tay cher siang's bold and creative aspects.

those who want to sample the songs, please give us till friday to set up the mp3 player.

花样的怡保 [in the mood for love]

2011-10-19T10:46:00.000+08:00

ipohan rejoice! we will be staging "in the mood for love" (formerly "my glorious years") next month!

again, this is a charity concert initiated by andaman group to raise funds for sam tet school.

because this is staged in ipoh, the sam tet alumni would come in full force to support this fundraising event..... apparently, they have snapped up 300 tickets, leaving only 100 tickets open for public!

here's the details:

date: 25th november 2011 (friday)

venue: syuen hotel, ipoh

time: 8pm-10pm

admission pass: RM168 and RM118

ticketing outlet: friendly records (kinta city)

Repertoirefor “In The Mood For Love”

Set One	Set Two
1. 晚風 (L) Evening Breeze	1. 如果沒有你 (Z) If I Don’t have You
2. 夜來香 (L) Fragrance of The Night	2. 秋夜 (Z) Autumnal Night
3. 醉在你懷中（L）Intoxicated in Your Embrace	3. 秋詩篇篇 Autumnal Poetry (Z)
4. WVC Trio instrumentals · Bengawan Solo · Aquellos Ojos Verdes	4. 恰是你的溫柔 (Z) Like Your Tenderness
5. 魂縈舊夢 (L) Recurring Old Dreams	5. WVC Trio : Quizas, Quizas, Quizas
6. 桃李爭春 (L) Fighting For Attention	6. 情人的眼淚（L）Lover’s Tears
7. 永遠的微笑 (L) Forever Smile	7. 忘不了的你 (L) Unforgettable You
	8. 不了情 (L) Endless Love
	9. 往事只能回味 + 花样的年華 (Z+L) The Past Can Only Be Reminisced + My Glorious Years

L– Lydia Chew

Z– Z Yan

迈向国际 [going international]

2011-10-18T22:37:00.001+08:00

princess with her second MV "autumnal night"

it is pretty obvious that for malaysian chinese artistes to make it, they must first be famous overseas then only they would get the respect they deserve back home.

"the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" has gained much recognition in the past 3 months but to grow bigger and gain bigger acceptance, we must go international. no other ways.

we have taken 2 months to prepare our proposal and video for overseas agents and now it is time to really develop this area of business. today, we submitted our proposal to agents in taiwan, singapore and hong kong. how far can we go from now onwards is uncertain but at least we try and we believe if one tries hard enough, one would eventually succeed one day.

meanwhile, the retail music market slumps further with many distributors started to press the panic buttons. we bought many CDs in the past months including joanna wang but we haven't got around reviewing them yet.

many businesses have taken a dive with changing consumer behavior. the hottest topic these days is iphone 4s Siri, the voice recognition device. very few people are bothered with hifi or cd shopping anymore. our hifi dealer friends are also seeking business outside malaysia.

we see an opportunity in introducing chinese jazz music to a young, emerging group of discerning adults. because the music world is so chaotic, it has never been a better time to do jazz music to suit the tastes of this group of music lovers.

we plan to do some "database mining" with major companies who own databases to dig out this group of "borderline" and potential music lovers.

doing chinese jazz standards has so much more potential than doing western jazz standards because with chinese music, we (malaysian singers) are on par with the best of the world but with western jazz, you have no way to penetrate into the international market as you would be invariably compared with the likes of diana krall and norah jones and you are guaranteed to look inferior. that's why zee avi is such an exceptional case.

身在云霄 [in heavenly clouds]

2011-10-15T19:23:00.002+08:00

the nature of concert organization is such that no two concerts are the same as unexpected events could occur out of your expectations.

this time, cher siang is using back his regular band members of his wvc trio and the members were not aware that we had a video sequence from the movie "comrade, not a love story" before the song starts, so they started playing the music and the rest had to follow! quickly, winnie ho saw the mistake and started covering it by speaking at the same time the video is being played. the video is supposed to show the famous pasar malam scene where maggie cheung and leon lai were selling teresa teng cassettes but the sales was bad and it started raining.... soon, the famous saxophone intro of the song "rain of tears" (lei de xiao yu) came in.... it is a memorable scene but it was spoiled it by the intruding music! what a bummer!

overall it was a good show with winnie ho putting up another commendable performance, despite nursing a mild sore throat. but part of the crowd was not the appreciative kind, because they got free tickets from the sponsor. this is the worst part about the concert. they just moved in and out of the concert hall without knowing that they were disturbing others. to be fair, those who paid money to watch it are the ones who really appreciate it and these people are greatly disturbed by those who got their tickets free!

next concert, we will make some strict announcement about behaving properly in the concert hall.

the sound quality was good but some complained of too high sound pressure level. this is an area we need to investigate and fine tune. but the lighting this time is really great, as you can see in the photo above. we increased our budget and the results speak for itself.

the best and goose bumps-raising moments of the concert were when winnie sang "yun he" (river of clouds) with cher siang's piano solo. everything stood still when winnie opened her first verse with her heavenly voice. cher siang's superb arrangement really brings the listeners up to the clouds, and wandering in the vast space of the beautiful sky. seriously, this song alone is worth the admission price of the ticket. ask those who attended and see whether they would agree.

this is already our 3rd concert and we are getting experienced and the crew is also getting the hang of it.

at the same time, we would like to announce a good news: another sponsor will stage "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" in melaka in december 2011!

can we not get all excited with such great response?

[post-script: elimination by nature]

let me share one anecdote with you. the regular piano tuner that bentley employs (note: bentley sponsored the ritmuller piano) is an uncle who is well versed with music and can play the piano pretty well. more than once, he gave the highest praise for tay cher siang and winnie ho. he said to me: "in my existence and in my music listening years, i have never heard such a refreshing teresa teng. well done, guys, you start a new chapter in malaysia."

we know we are starting a music revolution here in malaysia. no one dares to do chinese music as bold, unconventional and daring as us. along the process, we attract jealousy(plenty!), criticism, resistence and total rejection. it is ok, darling. as with every revolution in the history, there is bound to be supporters and detractors along the way. to our supporters, thank you very much, let's grow together in music. to our detractors, thank you also, we hope to see you next time when we are more famous. luckily, there is no bloodshed in music revolution ;-)

we know some ( a small fraction) who came to the concert (past or present) repel our music and left halfway during the concert. sorry guys, we don't follow traditions, we challenge them. if you find that we are too far off from your ideal (e.g how you think teresa teng should sound) then we thank you for your time. perhaps you should introduce your sons and daughters to our music instead.

it is never easy to be a revolutionist but we are prepared to march on fearlessly.

roger 的幽默 [pork pork music]

2011-10-13T21:14:00.002+08:00

we had a superb day at the photo shoot yesterday!

our photographer, pacino (not AL, but wong) is a real talent. his new studio at centrio, bangsar south is a gem of a place to take photos and everyone loves it!

finally, we have some decent photos for roger wang, tay cher siang and winnie ho! we have been recycling the same old photos until even the journaliists frown on us! one thing for sure, these two gentlemen and the lady look so great on camera, especially winnie ho who looked a million dollar on camera! the crew were impressed by the shutter skills of pacino wong. you can look forward to these great shots in our next album of the same name with the concert, "the jazz sounds of teresa teng"!

meanwhile, roger wang, due to our consistent supply of pork to him in his meals, has decided to rename "pop pop music" to "pork pork music". wry sense of humor from the guitar man!

we are all anticipating a great show tomorrow night, fingers fully crossed.

surely, the team is having fun!

星报报导 [In The Star today!]

2011-10-11T10:20:00.001+08:00

article in the star today!

By THO XIN YI
thoxinyi@thestar.com.my

FANS of Chinese oldies are in for a treat as Andaman Group is presenting two charity concerts featuring evergreens from yesteryear.

The first, The Jazzy Sound of Teresa Teng, will see Winnie Ho (singer), Tay Cher Siang (pianist) and Roger Wang (acoustic guitar) presenting Teng’s music with a youthful and modern twist.

It will be held on Friday from 8.30pm to 10.30pm at Bentley Music Auditorium in Petaling Jaya.

The second, to be held on Nov 25 from 8pm to 10pm at Syuen Hotel in Ipoh, Perak will feature famous tunes from Zhou Xuan, Bai Guang, Liu JIa Chang, Teresa Teng and Cai Qin.

Talented: Winnie Ho, the champion of Astro Talent Quest 2000, will be rendering Teresa Teng’s evergreen songs at the charity concert.

Local talents Lydia Chew and Z Yan will be performing in this event themed In the Mood for Love.

Funds raised from the two concerts will be contributed to SMJK Sam Tet in Ipoh, Perak and Yayasan Pendidikan John Moh. The money will be used for school maintenance, school activities, upgrading of educational facilities and helping underprivileged students.

Moh served as the school headmaster from 1959 to 1992.

The foundation was set up in 1995 in recognition of his contribution to the school.

Andaman Group executive chairman Datuk Patrick Teoh, an alumnus of the school, remembers Moh as a kind yet firm headmaster.

“He would not consider dismissal when disciplinary cases were referred to him.

“On the contrary, he tried to change the students by educating them,” Teoh recalled.

Besides the charitable cause, Teoh said the concerts would be a good opportunity to promote local talents and introduce the memorable tunes to the younger generation.

Admission passes for The Jazzy Sound of Teresa Teng are available at RM138 and RM188, while passess for In the Mood for Love are available at RM118 and RM168.

For details on both concerts, call 012-208 3790. Tickets for In the Mood For Love are available at Friendly Records at Kinta City and Yik Foong Complex in Ipoh. For details, call 016-628 8819.

曲目 [repertoire on 9th november 2011@NBT]

2011-10-10T07:42:00.001+08:00

Artistes	Songs

Winnie	偏偏喜欢你，一生何求 /惦记这一些（With worm），涟漪
Worm	等，有了你，深爱着你
Zyan	今宵多珍重，喝彩，突破
	Break
Guest—Baby Fei	凝望, 初戀, 念親恩
Winnie	细水长流，冷风中
Worm	眼泪为你流，长伴千世纪
Winnie + Worm	恋爱预告
	The End

和公主恋爱 [romancing princess]

2011-10-08T22:41:00.001+08:00

ta-da, the long-awaited, widely anticipated music video from our princess in the house....

you want to know why princess has tonnes of suitors, this video will tell you why.

enjoy, romancing in the rain!

又开始兴奋了！[all worked up!]

2011-10-07T00:05:00.000+08:00

why is music making so addictive? why is music making so blissful? why so many musicians can struggle for life just to continually make and play music? (the less fortunate ones would quit and find a day job)

the answer is: music, more than anything else, is a kind of soul food that can nourish the soul and enrich your life. you wouldn't mind being poor, you just want to be soulfully enriched.

once again, we are in the heat of preparing for next week's musical showcase "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng". since this is a repeat, we are so much more relaxed that the first time. still,since it is a corporate charity show, we can't take it likely as it bears a lot of consequences if we do well and if we don't do well.

next week is gonna be another roller coaster time for us. with practice, rehearsal, photo shooting, last minute preparations all lined up, it is gonna be all madness again but how we love this madness!

we count ourselves extremely lucky because we can do all these wonderful things according to our wishes, not being bounded by traditions and not being "shiok sendiri". "shiok sendiri" is when you keep losing money yet you persist on foolishly which is of course, is not happening to us!

we mourn the passsing of steve jobs today. what a great man, what a great visionary. among all his quotes, we find this one truly enlightening...

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

how true. we fear nothing in pursuing our musical goals because we are driven by the fact that we are doing something wonderful, to those who appreciate our music, anyway.

把最好的都给你 [only the best for you]

2011-10-05T00:48:00.000+08:00

we are sure you wouldn't expect this: we are releasing the best of susan wong!

16 songs in one CD, can you beat that??? !!!

the audiophile queen from HK is certainly well known here in malaysia and we are so lucky to have her greatest hits in our catalogue!

this CD is exclusively sold at CDRAMA outlets only, starting next month.

this is proudly the 10th album brought to you by pop pop music.

perfect 10 deserves full attention, you must buy it, ok?

10 albums in 3 glorious years. not bad huh?

[repertoire]

1	How Deep Is Your Love
2	Superstar
3	Stay Awhile
4	Sometimes When We Touch
5	We're All Alone
6	You've Got A Friend
7	Killing Me Softly
8	I'm Easy
9	Sway
10	I Just Fall In Love Again
11	Close to You
12	Desperado
13	You Needed Me
14	Do That to Me One More Time
15	Kiss Me Goodbye
16	The Other Side Of The Sun

追忆陈百强音乐会新闻稿 [danny chan tribute party press release]

2011-10-03T22:55:00.000+08:00

Tribute to Danny Chan 【追忆陈百强】音乐会@ No Black Tie 9th November 2011 & 16th November 2011

He has left us for 18 years but his music is still cherished by many Cantopop music lovers. Do you still fondly remember 【偏偏喜欢你】，【涟漪】，【有了你】?

Pop pop music, the premier audiophile music label and concert organizer in Malaysia, has recently launched a tribute album of Danny Chan called 【追忆陈百强】 . Sung by Hong Kong ‘s veteran singer, Bonnie Lam 【林小宝】 and collaborating with Hong Kong's Rock In Music, this is pop pop music’s first Cantonese album, after the release of many successful Mandarin albums like 2V1G, JZ8 【爵士八号】 and Bossa Princess 【芭莎公主】。

In conjunction with the release of the album, pop pop music is going to have a Danny Chan tribute launch party at No Black Tie. No Black Tie is the most famous jazz club in Malaysia. 2V1G is the first Chinese act which performed there in 2008. Now we see other local Chinese artistes like Yudi Yap 【友弟】and Paul Wah Chew 【周博华】making regular appearances in this prestigious jazz club.

Gracing the stage will be pop pop music’s stable of artistes like Winnie Ho 【何芸妮】, Z Yan 【欣彦】, Lydia Chew 【周翠玲】, Jeffrey Lim 【阿飞】 and pop pop music’s newly signed male singer, Worm Lee 【李振南】. Worm Lee is the talented singer-songwriter who wrote Z Yan’s Bossa Nova hit 【洒洒雨】。The singers will be backed by the hottest jazz trio in Malaysia, music director Tay Cher siang's 【郑泽相】WVC trio.

Come by for a night of nostalgia and fun as these singers take you through a musical journey of Danny Chan’s music. You also get to buy first hand Bonnie Lam CD before it hits the retail market.Details:

Venue: No Black Tie [google map]
Date: 9th November 2011 (Wednesday) and 16th November 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:30pm – 11:30pm
Cover Charge: RM40 [Does not include drinks]
Booking: 03-21423737

我们三月在街灯下见！ [see you in march 2012!]

2011-10-01T21:17:00.000+08:00

推广音乐 [music education]

2011-10-01T09:57:00.001+08:00

we called up some of our audiophile friends and asked them why they didn't attend our concerts, the disappointing answer was: "oh, sorry, we don't like to go out, we prefer listening to the CDs at the comfort of our home. besides, getting a visa from our wives is not easy ".

as we know long ago, the concert going crowd is a small minority. you have to have something in you to become this crowd. we don't mean those maddeningly crowded idol-gazing cantopop or mandopop concerts in stadium putra or bukit jalil. we are talking about jazz concerts. small venues like NBT can pack at most 120 people and even DFP can go at most 800 pax.

how to popularize jazz? how to make jazz a mainstream musical diet? we are going to make this our mission next year, eventho' we already have 6 concerts in our calendar.

we plan to have a "pop pop music sharing series" where we host a special series of concerts only cater to the music school/college students. we would start with chinese-stream music students. we are not sure whether we should extend to established big boys like ICOM, sedaya.

we would still host it in bentley but it is standing room only (or sitting room like what we did in liyana fizi launch!) and the ticket would be as low as RM30-40. we would pack at least 700 people.

of course, we need sponsors to make it happen. the music school/college themselves can be sponsors, of course.

we see a lot of good reasons to do courses like this to expose the young generation of what is possible with jazz and chinese oldies. we always believe that our music is young and unique eventho' we do oldies. we also believe our standards are very high for the students to learn from us (ahem)

let's put this agenda into our already-packed 2012 calendar!

為愛做的一切 [the things we do for love]

2011-09-28T00:23:00.002+08:00

what a great album title!

we are sure you have heard in the grapevine that she is back. we are, of course, talking about joanna wang, the one with the husky voice.

we checked with our fastest supplier in town - eric the fast delivery man in amcorp - for her album last sunday at amcorp mall. eric didn't have it but he said it should be out this week and we believe it has already hit the record stores.

joanna's debut was great, the second one was really ordinary so we can't wait for this one.

you can sample some songs here

here's the exciting repertoire.

CD1 英文盤
1. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
2. You’ve Got a Friend
3. The Things We Do For Love
4. Wild World
5. Lemon Tree
6. Dirty Work
7. Stay
8. You’ve Got a Friend (Acoustic Version)
9. Wild World (Acoustic Version )
10. Stay (Acoustic Version )

CD2 中文盤
1. 償還
2. 親密愛人
3. 三個人的晚餐
4. 一生守候
5. Lemon Tree (中文版)

新的声音 [a new voice]

2011-09-25T02:17:00.000+08:00

we have been asked many times by an event manager: can we discover more new voices with calibre like zyan and winnie? she personally has auditioned many singers, but very few can meet her standards other than the two girls.

it is easily said than done. the two singers have more than 10 years of singing experience respectively, predominantly in live singing, coupled with studio recording experience. so, it naturally excludes singers who are younger than 25 year-old (unless you are a prodigy like david foster's charice from philipines). you may be able to sing in karaoke, or small chinese cafes, but hand you a bigger stage or usher you into a recording studio, most likely you would panic and freak out. a lot of karaoke singers think just because they can sing karaoke well, they can be good singers. this, of course, is the greatest fallacy. karaoke is noisy, full of distortion, and often masks the singer's true voice, tone and pitching. all you need is a high-octave voice that can cover the noise. a lot of great singers i know don't even frequent karaoke.

anyway, the point is: we have always been on a look-out for great voices, be it male or female. our criteria are pretty stringent. we don't want singers who are too poppish, if you know what we mean. we have auditioned many in the past but to no avail.

this voice that we discovered now has been a distant friend of ours. it is a HE. it has to be a he, because pop pop needs a male singer.

he has always been a good singer with a great tone and character, it is just that he escaped our radar each time. or more to the point, the time has come (with our increased rate of activities) for us to look for a new addition to the pop pop family.

to cut to the chase: he will be performing in the upcoming danny chan tribute launch party on 9th and 16th of november. so, please block off those dates and make yourself available at NBT.

tell us then whether he has what it takes.

票价减了！ [ticket price reduction!]

2011-09-24T11:36:00.000+08:00

our sponsor andaman group has reached its fundraising target hence they are announcing that the jazzy teresa teng tickets will be reduced to RM150 and RM110 starting monday 26th september 2011!

good news to those who still haven't bought the tickets. for those who have bought it, you are entitled to a refund at the venue on the event day itself. just show your tickets to the counter staff.

once again, you can get the tickets here...

online: http://www.airasiaredtix.com

ticketing outlets: all rock corner branches (except bangsar village) and victoria music.

不要自满 [don't rest on your laurels]

2011-09-23T01:50:00.003+08:00

click to enlarge

this must be the highest accolade we have ever attained: taiwan's audio art's top 100 chinese albums.

the article is found in issue 272 of audio art.

buy it and be part of the pride.

即将来临 [coming soon]

2011-09-21T09:56:00.000+08:00

"bonnie lam: remembering danny chan" will be out in another 2 weeks' time!

bonnie lam's album should rightfully be called a tribute to danny chan and george lam, as she sings 6 songs by danny and 3 by george.

we have heard a couple of songs. how shall we say? bonnie has a unique voice, may not be to everyone's liking but certainly an experienced voice.

now, the danny chan tribute launch party! the dates have been set:

first gig: 9th november 2011 (wednesday), NBT
second gig: 16th november 2011 (wednesday), NBT

we would have different singers for the two nights, so by all means, come for the two nights!

maybe we should open a song nomination here: what danny chan songs would you like to listen? let us know!

发光发热的何芸妮 [winnie ho's coming of age]

2011-09-19T13:03:00.001+08:00

she does not have the looks of an idol; she isn't the tallest nor prettiest; she does not conform to the fickled and trivial pop music game... she is simply not your ordinary songstress.

many have dismissed her of having a chance of making it in the convoluted pop music industry. but she does not give two hoods about it. she does not need all these illusions and make belief. all these years, she marches on with her own will and agenda. she does not believe in anyone but herself and her music.

pop pop music recognized the supreme talent in her. we gave her the liberty to do what she wants with her voice and her music.

3 years later, with two successful audiophile albums and a stunning solo concert, winnie ho, like the proverbial cliche, has truly arrived.

come and be part of the witness.

Date: 14th October 2011 (Friday)

Showtime: 08.30pm -10.30 pm

Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara, PJ

Admission Pass: RM150 | RM110

Booking and Enquiry: 6012-208 3790

Online booking : http://www.airasiaredtix.com

Ticketing Outlets : All Rock Corner (except Bangsar Village) and Victoria Music outlets.

耀眼的复出 [glorious comeback]

2011-09-19T00:02:00.001+08:00

have you ever wondered, why godfathers like liu jia chang and jonathan lee woke up from their retirement and started being active again in chinese pop scene?

liu jia zhang made a glorious comeback recently in taiwan's top reality superstar show as an esteemed judge. his appearance not only gained utmost respect from the younger judges but also spawn hope for the miserable chinese pop scene. let's ask him to compose again!

mr. liu, at his peak, could compose up to 40 new songs a day. one of his classics "mei lan i love you", he did it in 3 minutes. he has so far amassed more than 2,000 compositions in his fantastically-productive career, a record that no other chinese composer is ever gonna break.

another record that he is holding is: his many pupils are all legendary singers that include yuya, jenny tseng, tracy huang, fong fei fei, fei yu qing, jiang yu heng and many others.

come march 2012, we are gonna do a jazz concert playing all his classic tunes!

追忆陈百强音乐会 [tribute to danny chan launch party]

2011-09-17T10:57:00.002+08:00

with the imminent release of bonnie lam's "tribute to danny chan" album, we will be organizing a launch party in NBT to celebrate the occasion!

all pop pop's artistes and guests will come together to sing all the memorable songs from danny's repertoire.... in cantonese, no less ;-)

it 's gonna be a wonderful night of nostalgia and great music! of course, bonnie lam CDs will be on sale too!

timeline would be the last week of october/first week of november... as we are still waiting for confirmation from NBT!

stay closely tuned!

星岛的代表 [agent in singapore]

2011-09-16T20:49:00.002+08:00

good news to music lovers in singapore!

we are now dealing direct with audiophile specialist CD shop, new disc village, for all our product line.

the proprietor, ernest, is a veteran in the audiophile music industry and he is more than qualified to represent pop pop and serve you!

ernest can be contacted at: 65-63344209.

please support new disc village!

爆笑 [hilarious]

2011-09-15T06:19:00.000+08:00

no music today but some comedy to tickle your funny bones...

hk comedy king lee sze jit's (from the incredible fook look shou trio) parody on louis ku tin lok.

atrocious mandarin but so very funny!

独立女王的诞生 [hail the new indie queen]

2011-09-13T00:32:00.001+08:00

last night we witnessed something truly magical: the arrival of a local indie queen, much like taiwan's cheer chen. the arrival of liyana fizi.

her launch/showcase in bentley was exceptional not because only of the indie spirits she proudly and smartly exhibited but the quality of her music, her musicianship, and the whole production which is really remarkable.

look at how creative liyana does her showcase and you will be proud and embarrassed for reasons only known to many local chinese pop singers/musicians. come on, we need not say much for diplomatic reasons.

liyana has a big fan base and it is obviously the fans are the mild-mannered indie boys who likes her sweet looks and her equally sweet music.

we are impressed with how the whole production is put together. the lighthing, the visuals, the sound systems are good, so much better than your typical cantopop concert in genting. if anything, it has got class, oodles of class. of course, bentley auditorium's natural good acoustics help a lot.

buying her cd for RM35 and you get to enjoy the whole show. isn't that a brilliant idea? one night alone, liyana sold close to 400 cds and that's close to RM15,000 in gate collection.

the visual showcase is impressive. a cloth is hung in front of the stage (see photos) , allowing the projection of visuals and painting done on-the-spot by two artistes. visually, liyana seemed like being surrounded in a kaleidoscope of colors and images. it is very cheer chen like but hey, we are talking about a young malay indie artiste doing this kind of creative artistry right in malaysia. impressive!

what we see is a self-made DIY indie girl who is smart, resourceful with a great sense of melody and tune in her compositions. she could be a pop star if only she wants to. but you can tell she is an indie girl thru and thru.

what we see is a gem who could be developed into a huge indie queen much like cheer chen developed her career in taiwan.

given a good A&R, a super deal maker, a good production team, liyana could go the same way as zee avi.

爵士光年评论 [review on jazz light year]

2011-09-12T08:09:00.001+08:00

we are just about to write our own review on jazz light year but local hifi blog has beaten us to that and the writer sums up quite fairly we what think too.

so, here a good review fom hifi-unlimited for your reading pleasure!

below is another from esquire taiwan magazine but in chinese....

Esquire 君子國際中文版 May 2010 葉雲平專欄

長久以來,台灣的流行樂壇(亦包括獨立樂圈),幾乎鮮少願意好好地、認真看待「翻唱」(歌曲)這件事。若非以「口水歌」心態、炒短線地廉價操作之(1980年代之《流行45轉》、《音樂磁場》......),便是視其為次等投機手法、創作者全然不屑一顧;過與不及之際,偶有利用經典名曲替新人(如選秀節目)增強行銷記憶點的成功案例。但不論如何,想做好流行樂中位屬「旁門」的「翻唱」(歌曲),實需要極複雜的功力及技能。

比較起來,「翻唱」與文學中「類型小說」的創作,可能頗有共通相似處:皆是在既定的限制與框架 ── 熟悉的旋律與公式劇情之下,想辦法再變化出不同的面貌或驚喜。愈是翻唱家喻戶曉的經典,其遜色於原曲的失敗風險愈高、挑戰愈大;相對地,原本無籍籍名之歌經人翻作,亦可能就此喧賓奪主,成就另一代經典 ── 關鍵恐怕在能否由單純「翻唱」,進階至「翻玩」層次。絕品或劣作,致敬或惡仿,「翻唱」是把勝負於一線間的雙面刃,端看音樂人如何運用。

西方爵士樂中向來有經典(標準)曲目的翻唱傳統(Standard),將早已傳誦雋永的曲目一而再、再而三地重作詮釋,讓舊音符不斷滋長出既回味又常新的多重生命;而不久前發行的李昀陵的《爵士光年》,正是這樣一張國語唱片市場少見、質感音感絕妙的爵士風翻唱作品。李昀陵是個擁有二十年經歷、於無數華語唱片中擔任合聲(號稱任何類型的音樂,都有辦法唱出美妙合聲)/配唱/製作工作的幕後音樂人,也由於這份深長、扎實的歲月歷練,令人格外期待她大膽挑戰甄妮、鳳飛飛、鄧麗君、蕭孋珠......等1970 年代國語金曲的改編。

李昀陵的嗓音並非具備強烈個人風格的特色美聲,沒有極端的厚沉或高亢,卻有著唱爵士必要的成熟、溫醇與律動感,以及收放自如的咬字口氣。或是長年搭配合聲之故, 她總能輕鬆融入樂句背景、自由地找到最適合自己(及聽眾耳朵)的舒服位置,在音域高低中即興搖擺、呼吸;尤其〈五月花〉、〈難忘的初戀情人〉......等多首歌裡跟樂器互動的「擬聲唱法」(Scat Singing),聽似輕巧、實則高難度的無意義虛字哼唱,誠顯爐火純青的歌喉實力。而〈五月花〉找來「青春年華」的女兒合唱,讓可愛俏皮的詞曲,更添幾分母女連心的溫柔意義。

由資深同新生代樂手交融組成的(夢幻級)錄製陣容,猶如工匠達人般,將Bossa Nova、 Fusion Pop、Standard Jazz......等每一角、每一面的編曲肌理推磨至細膩極致,使得《爵士光年》像是件精雕細琢的手工打造藝品,是專屬於成人抒情的慢火燉熬。而簡約的器樂行進舉重若輕,簡中馭繁之外閃現創意(〈千言萬語〉裡神來一筆的琵琶與吉他並奏), 充分展示台灣爵士樂手優越的編奏能力。李昀陵與夥伴們為台灣生產出高水準爵士唱片的同時,也立下「翻玩」老歌的極佳範例。

创作才女发片啦 [liyana launching debut solo album]

2011-09-11T00:43:00.002+08:00

once again, as we have always emphasized: talent knows no racial or language barriers, we are going to attend the launch of local singer-songwriter liyana fizi's debut solo album in bentley music auditorium tonight!

formerly from indie band estrella, liyana has caught our attention as being an immensely talented singer-songwriter with a huge sense of pop sensibility.

we are bringing many friends to attend this launch, eventho' we expect to see many malay fans in the crowd.

truth be told, she is the kind of singer-songwriter that we would like to have in our label. let's see what will come out from this launch!

to have a listen to what liyana's music is like, click here.

令人鼓舞！ [encouraging！]

2011-09-09T15:06:00.000+08:00

now this is cool: a young singer-songwriter is getting the stage in DFP. isn't that fabulous?

barring politics and insider's connections, do you think chinese artistes will ever get a chance to grace DFP?

food for thought, certainly.

再次出击 [empire strikes back]

2011-09-08T22:01:00.002+08:00

the first one was a total screamer, the 2nd one is gonna be even better!

this 2nd show of "the jazzy sounds of teresa teng" is a charity concert initiated by Andaman group to raise funds for S.M.J.K (C) Sam tet (Ipoh) and Yayasan Pendidikan John Moh.

so come and enjoy a night of great music and do charity!

Date: 14th October 2011 (Friday)

Showtime: 08.30pm -10.30 pm

Venue: Bentley Music Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara, PJ

Admission Pass: RM150 | RM110

Booking and Enquiry: 6012-208 3790

Online booking : http://www.airasiaredtix.com

Ticketing Outlets : All Rock Corner and Victoria Music outlets.

新专辑 [more collaborations with hong kong]

2011-09-05T11:49:00.002+08:00

even in such down market, we are bringing in new albums from hong kong under our exclusive licensing agreement with rock in music....

we are not relying on retail network anymore but our own concerts and gigs to push these CDs....

next month, two new albums will grace us....

1) bonnie lam sings danny chan
2) susan wong classics: greatest hits

do support us!

卓越的技术 [technical supremacy]

2011-09-03T01:42:00.005+08:00

industry watchers would have observed the recent trends:

1) of major labels issuing tonnes o K2-HD mastering back-catalogues (milking the bloody cow dry, again)
2) of many HK music labels pouring tonnes of money and technology into their live concert video productions, often with audiophile aspirations.

bianca wu 【胡琳】 is one artiste who is currently being heavily promoted by HK's BMA, an independent label rumored to be backed up by some rich tycoons. it is no longer correct to label bianca as audiophile singer cos the way they promote her is very similar to major label's pop artistes: big A&P, big productions, overseas musicians etc etc.

we picked this dvd up and was completely amazed by its sound quality! we are no videophiles, the HD quality is impressive enough but the sound, oh, it 's another level. it is so far the best from the crop of chinese concert DVDs we have in our collection, including cai qin 2007 concert.

this is a good sign. it shows that the bosses or decision makers want to aim at those who value quality and those who are willing to pay real money. we suppose that's the only way to survive. if you want to cater to teeny boppers, you would adopt an entirely different strategy. (like selling ringtones!)

bianca live dvd is worthy of collection on sound quality alone. this is a demo-quality dvd. as to her singing, we leave the readers to find out themselves.

other examples of big productions from hk are the recent george lam's album, prudence lau mei kuan's album and bondy chiu hock-e's album (who employed the ever-rising mastering engineer kent poon, who is currently the most sought-after mastering engineer in hk).

海蝶的故事 [an inspiring success story]

2011-08-31T17:38:00.000+08:00

The Singapore Butterfly effect
By Favian Ng

Ocean Butterflies in June organised the "These Are Our Songs" - Ocean Butterflies Music 25th Anniversary Concert to mark the significant milestone

25 years ago, five friends set up a production house to preserve a piece of Singapore culture. Today, Ocean Butterflies is a major influence on the Mandarin pop industry.

"We just wanted to sing our songs," Mr Billy Koh said of what eventually led to Ocean Butterflies.

Koh and his four friends pioneered Xinyao – Singapore Mandarin folk – back in the eighties when they were still pursuing their studies at Singapore Polytechnic.

"At that age, we do not want to go through the hassle... We just wanted to be happy."

And being happy was singing songs like 'Chasing Clouds', 'Where Are Our Songs' they composed.

"To be frank, we didn’t know what we were doing then. Looking back, it was a process of looking for self-identity. We were doing it more for fun," said Mr Billy Koh, one of the co-founders of Ocean Butterflies and currently the Artistic and Repertoire Director in the company.

This search for self-identity led to the emergence of Xinyao, which became a cultural-pop phenomenon across junior colleges and polytechnics where tertiary students were caught in a fever of composing and performing Singapore Mandarin folk songs.

The turning point came in September 1985 when Koh was selected to be part of a Singapore contingent to perform in Taiwan. It served as an eye-opener and inspiration.

"We heard from their producers and composers stories on how the Taiwan campus movement started in the late 1970s. We were very encouraged. What was happening in the late 1970s was very similar to what we were then," said Koh.

The five friends who shared a common passion for music had been toying with the idea of setting up a production house to preserve this unique culture that had taken Singapore by storm.

The trip helped them realise that more should be done to promote Xinyao in Singapore.

"What we saw then in Taiwan may be our future," said Koh of the eye-opener. "But if no one was going to start doing Xinyao seriously, then maybe Xinyao will just stop... You need someone to start a music business and really push it full-time."

The friends were wary as few were in the music business in Singapore back in the eighties, especially in the Chinese music industry.

But the sense of duty to protect the legacy of Xinyao proved too strong.

In 1986, after some deliberation, Ocean Butterflies Productions was set up.

Koh, along with Colin Goh, Sunkist Ng, Koh Nam Seng and Teo Kay Kiong pitched in S$2,000 each in capital and never looked back.

Today, the home-grown company, known as Ocean Butterflies International Pte Ltd, is a leading independent music power in Asia with operations in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.
Changing music tracks

Over the last 25 years, Ocean Butterflies has ventured into a gamut of music-related business genres, from productions to commercial jingles, and launching new acts.

Later, the business came to also become a leading content provider for mobile and digital platforms.

It was an evolution from revolution and the reason was simple - to keep up with a rapidly evolving industry.

The CD which was once THE music format which eased out cassette tapes and records have now also gone down the road of redundancy.

Sales have eroded as much as 30 per cent with the emergence of new platforms while distribution networks that were exclusive to major recording companies are now a thing of the past.

"In the past, the big companies acquired the small companies, accumulated catalogues, built up a distribution network and became very big. But because of technology, the invention of MP3, mobile phones and internet has changed the carrier of music.

"Overnight, you realize that the infrastructure of major distributor network has lost their forte. Their strength is now their burden. People don't buy CD anymore," said Koh of the digital shift in music consumption.

With the emergence of new platforms, recording companies especially those in Asia, must start looking at new business models to generate revenue, Koh stressed.

"We are now at a junction, transiting from the old system to a future system... For the first time, Asians will be involved in the negotiations of the new business model. This is an interesting era."

In a 2010 report carried out by research firm euromonitor.com, the Asia Pacific region appears headed to be the largest regional mobile phone market, with 3.9 billion subscriptions in 2020, up from 2.4 billion in 2010.

China will continue to see the world's largest number of mobile phone subscriptions, with 1.3 billion subscribers in 2010 alone.

The anticipated boom is in tempo with Ocean Butterflies' plans, which saw the group in a tie-up with venture capitalists IDG, Accel Partners and Susquehanna International Group some five years ago.

The arrangement inked in 2006 and 2007 yielded a US$16 million investment for the Singapore firm that allowed them to focus on the online and mobile entertainment platform.

"They (venture capitalists) have been already around for more than 10 years and invested mostly in IT companies. We are the first music production company they invested to provide content. They saw China, in due time, was going to expand and after acquiring so many platform, they needed content and someone to continuously create good content. This is the reason they invested in us."

In 2010, Ocean Butterflies recorded a turnover of 18 million euros (S$36 million) of which 50 per cent came from ringback tone services. Still, that is small change for the Singapore company in terms of royalties.

"In most countries, it will be 50-50 split among the telco and the content provider. Now, the telco is only paying us five per cent. Could you imagine the upside?" pointed out Koh.

The skewed distribution is primarily due to China's lack of emphasis towards intellectual property, but as manufacturing continues to dominate China's economic growth, Koh is convinced that the next five years will see a transformation in the world's second largest economy.

"China economy will not stay like this forever. They will move on. The challenge now for China, is to move towards a better position and eventually towards intellectual exports."

In April 2011, China's Culture Ministry took punitive action against 14 websites that provided illegal music downloads. In the same month, major Chinese portal, Baidu announced that it will begin paying royalties for every piece of music downloaded.

But that may not be enough for some.

Still, Koh remains confident.

"Every nation has its pace to build their economy.

"There will come a time where the China government will have to enforce the copyright to protect their own product. When the day comes, the music industry will also be affected."

When these changes start to take place, Koh believes that the rules and details of copyright will also shift towards mobile platforms and digital music.

When that time comes, Ocean Butterflies will be in a good position having operations and deals already in place in China with some major players to receive royalties based on the advertising revenues of the internet portal.

"Internet has become more like a media in China. It is not the ultimate ideal way to paying royalties but at least we have to start somewhere," said Koh.

While Ocean Butterflies builds up its presence in the virtual world, over in the real world its portfolio has grown from a bunch of Xinyao singers to regional chart-toppers.
Home – the secret to success

In the late 1980s, due to financial constraints, Ocean Butterflies operated solely as a production house.

Its business strategy was simple, to attract labels that would invest in their artistic talent list while the company put its focus only on music production.

In time, Ocean Butterflies emerged as a popular choice among music labels and began working even with overseas artistes.

But it was home that gave Ocean Butterflies its first breakthrough.

In 1989, Koh was asked to produce the Sing Singapore album and one of the requests was to re-make national song 'Count on Me Singapore with a female vocalist.

Liang Wern Fook, Billy Koh and Kit Chan at the "These Are Our Songs" - Ocean Butterflies Music 25th Anniversary Concert

The job went to Singapore singer Kit Chan, who went on to become the country's first successful export into the Mandarin pop industry in 1994.

"Kit's success is significant because she is the first Singaporean artiste who has a Singaporean team to back her up, the entire production," said Koh.

"After her success, Ocean Butterflies was very encouraged. We felt that we have the know-how to make a star".

And what a star she became, with albums, concerts and fans in Taiwan and across the region.

Inspired by Kit's success, Ocean Butterflies began to make concrete plans to unearth the next generation of Singapore stars. It also opened a new chapter for the music house.

1996 kicked off with courses to groom professional artistes with the first batch of Shirley Yee, Joi Chua and Two Girls going on to be signed on by Sony, Warner and EMI.

The future looked promising. But 12 months down the road, the picture changed.
Being brave and ingenious

Ocean Butterflies went into a downward spiral in 1997 with the Asian financial crisis and a major restructure in the Taiwan music industry.

"We had endless meeting and we kept changing songs after songs," Koh recalled.

"When the album is complete, a new team comes in and changes everything again. If the album does not get released, we will not get any royalties."

They were caught in a dilemma, with dwindling funds with the market downturn and the need to spend a lot of money on productions without any guarantee of returns.

"We don't believe that music will end here and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, we do not know where the light is," said Koh of the difficult period.

Again, it was home that provided the flicker of light that grew to dazzle. Singapore stars A-Du and JJ Lin appeared on the door step of Ocean Butterflies when it held a second professional singing course in 1998.

Today, both are considered household names in the Chinese music industry.

"When we tried to market A-Du, nobody believed us. Everybody thought, 'this guy is almost 30. He can't dance, or do R&B. Are you sure he can make it?' "recalled Koh of the period when companies preferred teen idols like Jolin Tsai and F4.

After much persuasion, A-Du was signed on by a small company label which was bought over by Sony in 2001.

But when Sony hesitated over A-Du's debut album, Koh and his partners made an unprecedented move despite their precarious financial situation - they bought A-Du's contract and went on to release his debut album.

"We were forced to become a record company because nobody wanted to release his album. It turned out to be blessing in disguise. The company just take off and grow from there," said Koh of the sudden move that saw Ocean Butterflies becoming a recording company in 2002.

Still faced with limited funds, the company decided on a novel approach to promote and sell A-Du's album.

A major Taiwan CD retail chain store was convinced to play songs from the album at their stores instead of buying airplay.

Within a month, A-Du's album climbed to No. 1 in Taiwan, and six months later, it sold more than two million copies across Asia.

The discovery of A-Du and JJ Lin helped Ocean Butterflies to recover from the double crisis in the late 90s

The success encouraged Koh to shift his focus to JJ Lin.

"Almost everything (earned) from Ah Du was pumped into JJ's promotion campaign" said Koh of the plans which were hit by another unexpected turn of events.

Two weeks after JJ Lin’s debut album was released in Taiwan, the SARS epidemic broke out.

"All the money which we pumped into promotion went down the drain. Nobody went to CD shops; nobody bought CDs. Nobody was listening to music at that time. By August 2003 when SARS was over, JJ was also over."

The disappointment forced a re-look at the company’s business strategies and eyes turned to China.

The move not only re-launched JJ Lin's career but also allowed Ocean Butterflies to establish a stronghold in the China market.

Currently, Ocean Butterflies has at least 15 regional artistes in their stable and with plans to carry on talent-spotting to groom the next stars of Asia, a training arm - Music Forest, was established in 2003.

It is now one of Ocean Butterflies' core businesses but the Koh maintains a pragmatic outlook on maintaining the company’s biggest assets.

As he sagely muses, "artistes come and go. It is only natural that they come and go. We have to keep on grooming artistes. Now, we also work with not so established artistes and give them a second life."
Life is a one-way traffic

Today, Ocean Butterflies sports an Orchard Road address with offices, studios and classrooms that are spread over two floors, a far cry from its first office 25 years ago, in a small corner of the Jalan Sultan Complex.

Looking back, Koh counts each crisis as being instrumental in shaping Ocean Butterflies' business strategies.

"Life is a one way traffic. One thing leads to another and sometimes you don't have much choice. You just have to face it and solve the problem with your wisdom.

"Whenever we had a downturn, we always looked for solution. Along the way, it is not a smooth path. There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of challenges."

Looking ahead, Koh said there are plans for Ocean Butterflies to go public in two to three years, to reward the staff who shared the founders' dream to continuously produce good music.

"To me, Ocean Butterflies is no longer a company of five shareholders. The company doesn't belong to any individual anymore. It more like belongs to a family of 150 staff.

"For those who worked so hard and believe in this dream, I felt that I have the responsibility to bring them to a state whereby all the staff will benefit. Eventually, I want all my staff to be a shareholder."

What was your worst business decision?

Hiring the wrong CEO. "We hired a guy which we thought was a good CEO. We gave him a lot of trust. He overspent a lot of money and the financial state was in the big mess," recalls Koh. After cleaning up the mess, the company discovered a few corruptions and 90 per cent of the China staff were changed.

Who or what serves as your inspiration to success?

Steve Jobs. The Apple founder's dedication to constantly deliver innovative products and top-notch consumer experience has been a crucial influence in Koh's creativity direction for Ocean Butterflies.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring entrepreneur?

Koh pointed out that success is more than just adopting a tried and tested formula but rather understanding the concepts behind each successful story.

绝对好听 [absolutely enchanting]

2011-08-28T11:47:00.006+08:00

look no further, this is our best album this year so far.

after we produced solianos pusaka, we realized that are many chinese music lovers (especially audiophiles) who can't bring themselves to listen to malay jazz music. why is that so? isn't music supposed to be a universal music? why let racial factors affect your musical diet? if we can listen to brazilian and portugese music without even understanding the lyrics, why not malay?

we don't believe music has language or racial barriers. it transcends everything. as music lovers, we embrace music in all its greatness and beauty.

some malay pop music is gorgeous (much more so that the current chinese pop), indonesian pop is even more so. let us be blunt, indonesian musicians are the best in this region. yes, absolutely the best. far ahead of malaysian. eventho' we promote malaysian talents, we still think the overall standards is higher in indonesia, especially when it comes to pop music.

without prejudice and bias, we introduce you to lucky octavian, quite possible our candidate for "the album of the year"!

lucky octavian, an indonesian crooner and a likely michael buble of indonesia, impresses us like no other with his groovy brand of R&B, smooth jazz and pop tunes...

review to come tonight!

她是谁？[who is SHE?]

2011-08-25T17:32:00.002+08:00

tell me if you are not impressed. true authentic bossa nova with bona fide brazilian guitarist....

who is SHE?

where does she come from?

the answer will be revealed if you come to the bossa nova party @NBT in october/november!

爱。芭莎 [love.bossa]

2011-08-25T00:41:00.006+08:00

we are in the process of scheming (wow, scheming) a fun night at NBT with chinese bossa nova as a main theme... it is gonna be called 【爱。芭莎】 or "love.bossa" in english.

there will be four female vocalists to share the wonderful stage of NBT...

timeline would be the last week of october...

we would be using the same stellar sound system from bose compact L1, the same as the last 2v1g gig last year...

at the same time, we would be introducing a new, brilliant chinese bossa nova album ...

tell us if you would like to come ;-)

季小薇现象 [the zee avi phenomenon]

2011-08-24T17:47:00.006+08:00

zee avi's sophomore album "ghostbird" (translated from "burung hantu") is out and it is good!

we are not here to review the album but to talk about how the zee avi phenomenon comes about...

the young and immensely talented singer-songwriter once known by her nick of "kookokaina" was already a famous name in certain inner circles in KL indie gig scene. some likened her to a younger version of billy holiday and doris day, certainly a heavy title to carry for the young lass.

she started making videos of her own singing, with most of them not showing her face. it was an overnight hit in youtube. many were caught surprised by her honeyed voice that belies her obviously young age.

ok. stop here. with such a prodigious talent, would any major music label sign her up? do know that kookokaina is not the prettiest of singer. she is short and she is ordinary looking. or put it this way, even if the major labels were impressed by her voice, they just don't know how to develop or market this kind of voice and music.

kookokaina's music is quite unique; it is a combination of old-school jazz and indie-pop. this genre is, by market demand, not very saleable in malaysia.

it didn't take long before jack johnson (the singer-songwriter) got wind of her presence in youtube. his record label, brushfire records, immediately signed her up and changed her name to a more internationally appealing "zee avi".

the rest, as you know, is history.

zee avi went on to sell cds by the truckloads and started touring the world, including a home-coming, full-house 3,000-capacity crowd in life centre.

what's amazing is, under a the machinery of brushfire, a capable agency and PR company, zee avi succcssfully operates under the american style of music making: cut an album and tour the whole of america! her tour dates are packed and soon she started appearing in radio interviews and appearing in magazines. in fact, zee avi spends her last two years outside of malaysia.

another amazing achievement of zee is she actually makes indie-pop mainstream! never before indie-pop records sell like this. it completely boggled the minds of those accountants in major labels!

so the moral of the story is, all it takes is a popular and immensely talented singer, managed by an excellent and resourceful music label who knows the music business in and out, and she could change the world. she could defy categorization and pigeon-holing. that's the beauty of indie label + internet + borderless music.

ok. that's the end about zee avi's instant shot to fame.

let's ask ourselves three interesting questions:

1) if brushfire records didn't sign kookokaina, where will she be today?

2) how much do you think brushfire spent on A&P for zee avi?

2) can zee avi return to malaysia and make a decent living?

we would like to hear your answers to these questions!

深愛陳百強 [tribute to danny chan]

2011-08-24T08:43:00.006+08:00

important notice: this album will out out next month, exclusively licensed to pop pop music.

we blogged about this last year.

since then we have been looking for a worthy interpreter of danny chan's songs. we know it is hard to find a local singer who can sing cantonese convincingly. fact is, we didn't find one locally.

but we found one in hong kong. her name is bonnie lam 【林小寶】. she is an artiste signed under our distributor-cum-partner in hk, rock in music.

this is gonna be the first joint-production between pop pop and rock in music, isn't that exciting?

it is a dream realized because we love danny chan's music so much!

p./s we use this color because of danny chan ;-)

慢慢来 [biding our time]

2011-08-23T23:28:00.005+08:00

long awaited: check the right panel for mp3 playlist of lynn lee yun ling's "jazz light year" exclusively licensed to pop pop music!

two recent phenomenon are raising our eyebrows:

1) the much sought-after concert tickets of jacky cheung and faye wong
2) the final days of retail cd sales (as shown in our monthly sales report, no less)

what does this tell us? people are more willing to pay RM500 to watch faye wong than to buy her CDs!

live music can never be replaced hence its eternal value. live experience can never be captured fully in a CD. the electricity, the impromptu response, the crowd's reaction, the flaws and imperfections, the intensity of the performers...it is so much more rewarding watching eason chan sing live or even our own winnie ho sing live than listening to their CDs!

fortunately, our "jazzy sounds of teresa teng" has become a product that can travel widely. already melaka has booked us for a concert in april 2012. we expect many more to come as we open more doors.

so we are sitting back, relaxed and collected. certain things are timeless, you can't hurry music, you can't hurry love for music, you can't hurry love (as phil collins sings) ;-)

we are preparing world-class proposals and videos, to be sent to many international agents. we are advertising in regional papers looking for event partners. business development takes time.

many businesses are suffering in today's climate, due to bad economy and onslaught of all-encompassing gadgets like iphone and ipad. hifi business being one, cd business being another.

we are glad we have temporarily shelved cd production and gone full-force in developing our live concert business. for sure, we won't think of going into pop arena and hire international artistes.

we still, ultimately, believe in grooming the best of malaysian talents.