AWmusic

Last week, for Lunar New Year (or Chinese NY as I like to call it Allan.lol), I wrote about my favourite artist Faye Wong (王菲). This week, I’m going to write on another favourite, Jay Chou (周杰伦). In December, I was fortunate enough to attend his concert at the ACC. I know it’s a late post about it (considering Dec.), but I was consumed by Top 10s. Anyway, it’s never too late, the concert will come out on DVD and if you’re interested you can check it out.

Jay Chou (周杰伦) is pretty generic and standard in Chinese music. In the sense that, he’s Pop. Even though, he’s one of the few artists who composes, writes and produces his own music. He is still Pop. And, it’s no disrespect. I love his music. I’m just making myself clear that Jay Chou (周杰伦) is a mainstream Pop artist. Despite this fact, he’s by far one of the most, if not the most, talented young artists in his genre.

You can expect the usual from the concert. Fireworks. Dancing. Ballads. More dancing. Jay Chou (周杰伦) playing the guitar and piano, pretty standard. What I didn’t expect. A piano battle between Jay Chou (周杰伦) and Yuhao (詹宇豪), he’s pseudo-protege. Jay Chou (周杰伦) playing the Chinese harp. Jay Chou (周杰伦) playing the drums. He sang the hit singles from most of his albums. Saying in between that if we don’t understand what the heck he’s saying, we can wait for the subtitles on a DVD. Well, at least he knows his audience, and he knows what we’re really thinking when he’s chanting that fast.

Often, when listening to his music, I feel like telling him to stop reaching for the higher notes. His voice is not the greatest. But apparently that’s a style. I was pretty hesitant to think that until the concert. I must admit, he sounds pretty good live. He’s still struggling, but it sounds less like a voice cracking and more like just a style of singing. Obviously, I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to live shows. I don’t attend them very often. So for me, anything that sounds like the record is good performance.

I wouldn’t say that I was entirely impressed by his concert, it was just a really good show, nothing spectacular. I liked it. I enjoyed it. And mostly, I was impressed by his capability of playing the different instruments. Yes, I know he’s not the only one. And yes, I am pretty impressed by all musicians who can play that many instruments. I consider Jay Chou (周杰伦) a favourite of mine, not because he’s extraordinary, but because he’s really good as an ordinary.

Jay Chou (周杰倫) – Twilight’s Chapter Seven (夜的第七章) from Still Fantasy.

Jay Chou (周杰倫) – Dandelion’s Promise (說好的幸福呢) from Capricorn.

Jay Chou (周杰倫) – Grandmother (外婆) from Common Jasmine Orange.

Jay Chou (周杰倫) – The Youth That End Wars (止战之殇)) from Common Jasmine Orange.

Watch this piano battle, everything from 3:00 on was performed live.

It’s official, the line-up for this year’s Coachella festival has been posted. And no, David Bowie isn’t bringing back Ziggy Stardust, despite all the rumors floating around the internet. Coachella will again be taking place at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA and the dates have been confirmed for April 17, 18 and 19.

With the economy finding its way deeper into the shit, Paul Tollett (festival founder) announced another plan to bring in the masses. Tickets can be purchased via layaway plans with two methods of payment. Instead of dropping the full $269US for a three-day pass: pay half upfront and the rest April 1, or pay 10% followed by equal installments on March 1 and April 1 without any interest or additional costs. These plans are only available for online purchases and are not included with the $99 single-day admission. Check out the official Coachella website for more information, as well as a list of all the bands’ myspace pages and selected videos on youtube.

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the bands:

And, a selected playlist.

The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry

Morrissey – Irish Blood English Heart

K’naan – Strugglin

TV On The Radio – Family Tree

My Bloody Valentine – Soon

Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name

Noah and the Whale – Jocasta

On one of the coldest days in the G.T.A I was fortunate to get one of the hottest interviews of this year. Interviewing a man cemented in a decade of numerous hip hop albums and singles; Luke Boyd a.k.a Classified.

Classified is set to release his 12th album this winter and hopes to shed some of his life experiences with his fans. I had the pleasure to sit down with Classified to talk about his inspiration for this album and hiphop.

With a plethora of tracks;

In addition to life experiences, Classified attributes his progress and inspiration to his close circle of friends -all of whom he has known from high school- and to his ever loving father Mike Boyd Sr. With his father being a musician he contributed to producing some of the songs on the album. One of the singles “Trouble” Mike Boyd Sr rips off a bluesy riff, one that just brings chills down your spine. Classified acknowledges his father’s expertise as a guitarist, keyboardist and bassist, as such his sound is sprinkled over Classified's hot beats.

The album also features one of Detroit’s best Royce Da 5’9, with such collaborations and an album filled with head bumping beats produced primarily by Classified one can only bite their finger nails until this album hits stores.
Classified flips the coin and states that’s his message is “be proud of who you are, togetherness and community is important”. That is the importance of hip hop and he claims that is what he learnt from hip hop. In view of this he tries to make sure his music does not aspire to the misogynistic, narcissistic world view of hip hop we hear and see on radio and T.V.

As every hard working artist Classified has slated a European tour with Royce Da 5’9 and D-12 all from Detroit. After his elaborate European tour he plans to start a Canadian tour where Canadians can embrace the MC/Producer.

Anybody Listening by Classified
Trouble by Classified

Venice Is Sinking came to my attention some years ago with their first release, Sorry About the Flowers, a charming, symphonic gem of a pop album that, while slightly underdone and rough around the edges, showcased the band’s wealth of passion and potential.

Three years later, after a long and laborious recording process, that passion has been channeled and the potential realized. AZAR does the seemingly impossible: the band has created a lushly orchestrated and grandiose chamber pop opus without any bullshit. And for an album interspersed with four orchestral instrumental interludes and each bearing the album’s title, that is one hell of an accomplishment.

The most striking thing about AZAR is how from the first note of “Ryan’s Song,” each note is delicately and precisely placed; even the most minute wisps of music have each their own purpose, and the arrangements are grand and subtle, rewarding repeated listens. In a music world that bafflingly encourages bands like The Decemberists, this lack of pretension makes AZAR stand out further from the chamber pop crowd.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of AZAR is its textures. Guitarist Daniel Lawson’s and violinist Karolyn Troupe’s parts and melodies shine out against a murky backdrop, as if the two are a folk duo playing in front of a 20th century film revue. The melange is so lush and varied that the band seem to be pulling from hundreds of sources all at once. Too-easy comparisons like Low and Yo La Tengo come to mind at first, but the distant, implacable connections supply the album’s most affecting moments – “Iron Range” seems to be culled from every song ever recorded about strength in sadness, and its emotional pull is AZAR‘s caulk and balls.

In summary: an absolutely wonderful record.

Venice Is Sinking Official Site

Venice Is Sinking MySpace

Venice Is Sinking – Ryan’s Song
Venice Is Sinking – Iron Range

Whatever was lacking on Treasury Library Canada was made up for Houndstooth Europa. In a sense the second CD of the package is a polar opposite. It’s more Mark Andrew Hamilton’s solo efforts with much less contribution from band members. While songs are stripped down to more a singer-songwriter effort, it’s what was lacking on the previous album. Singer-songwriters have to connect with you from the start and Hamilton does a wonderful job on songs like Oberkampf and Ladybug Ladybird. Feelings, emotions or even song lyrics seemed rather irrelevant on Treasury Library Canada where more emphasis was on the music and instrumentals.

The songs are raw and at its very core. Still, I feel the need to appreciate these rough works compared to the actual release (Houndstooth Europa being an “extra” cd). At times it feels like it could be a live album with sections like “That’s not even the right words” in front of Thoughts on the One Who Got Away by the One He Left Behind or even sections where Mark Hamilton is speaking to get the song in tune with other band members. I think it’s a reminder at its core, Woodpigeon can do whatever they want and their talent is for real, not just another very big band that plays with classical influences.

Still both CDs being polar opposite, you would like to see a mixture of the two. The songs aren’t quite the complete package musically and it’s definitely something that Woodpigeon should look to work on for future releases.

Being a very short album with rough songs, it’s hard to say if I should count this as a “final” effort. Maybe we’ll get to see the songs turn/evolve into songs like on Treasury Library Canada. Maybe not.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Capped off with an electro/psychedelic remix. Definitely unnecessary but it doesn’t hurt. Maybe this album should’ve been it’s own release. Definitely well worth it.

Oberkampf by Woodpigeon
Ladybug Ladybird by Woodpigeon