Desiree 陈诗莉 - 让世界听到 (Let The World Listen)

I got my copy of Desiree's (of Project Superstar Malaysia '06 fame) long awaited debut album yesterday, and having listened it another time this morning, here's my take on Des and Co.'s maiden effort.

At first glance I was quite held off by the slightly unsharp cover photo, but lauded the manufacturers for the use of a jewel case compared to most of the Digipak or DVD case crop. Well, the rest of the album liner images weren't really sharp either. It turns out that the photography was done in Hong Kong, although the liner captions would misleadingly suggest that Des has travelled the world.

The album sounds very urban. I assume this was a result of the collaboration with Singaporean Kenn Wu at his Tiny Box Studio (Singapore is urban mah). From what I heard, they took a year to come out with the album. As I've said, its very urban, with most tracks containing urban beats and electronics. Its something similar in feel with Elva Hsiao's songs. Although generally, its similar with most contemporary pop stuff of the region.

I think most (maybe not her fans) would dismiss her singing as nothing spectacular. Yup, that's my impression too. I think she doesn't have the bit of edge. "The edge" is kind of like a singing that powers the song but not to the expense of overpowering. There are emotions and good flow, but not as good as to make the music stand out like what Yise did. But I do think that she is a capable singer, and the urban feel of her songs fits her nicely. I doubt it would work if she were to sing acoustic/light stuff. This is something that I'd put on my car stereo while driving to work. No, I'm not degrading it to car music, I generally considers it a good urban album. It's just that we had a lot of urban sounding stuff on the market already and this one is going to find hard competition.

So, to sum it up, Desiree's first is an album worth listening. Although less engaging as a whole, it is better than some of the mass manufactured pops from around the region. And as a Malaysian artist, its a big leap for the industry. There are a few tracks that I particularly liked, one of them being the sentimental piece 不得不爱你 (Can't Stop Loving You). I'd put this track on a movie scene involving lady sipping wine at her 25th floor apartment balcony overlooking the city nightscape.

Lead track 'Baby':

Fidelio, Freedom, and the sense of it

Its great to be living free. Trust me, when you are in unjust situations (like a lot of the propsmen/propswomen in the world), you'd want to believe in redemption, judgement, and maybe God. Because in the end, justice should prevail. This is what Beethoven's only opera Fidelio is all about.

Finally took some time to have a complete session of Fidelio (which has been stacked among my other classical collection for a long time), and it feels good. Maybe because I haven't got many 2 hours these days to sit duck with orchestras and singers blaring off my Hi-fi. Maybe too, that Fidelio reminds me of what it feels being oppressed and how joyful it is to breathe fresh air freely again (me being a "cell occupant" before).

Fidelio tells about this wife Leonora, who disguised herself as a man named Fidelio to work with this prison guard Rocco. Her real intention was to find out the whereabouts of his husband Florestan, whom the officials claimed dead. In reality, Florestan is jailed by this evil governor Pizzaro because he knew of the crimes Pizzaro committed. Pizzaro who learns that the minister is coming for a check, and this minister is a friend of Florestan, plots to assasinate Florestan. A side plot also tells of how Rocco's daughter Marzelline fall for Fidelio amidst being admired by the other prison guard Jaquino. Pizzaro's plan failed when Fidelio was able to delay him enough till the minister's arrival. At the end justice triumphs and the two lovers are united while Pizzaro meets his end.

O welche Lust! in Freir Luft, den Athem leicht zu heben

"Oh, what a joy! To be released from gloom, to breath the air reviving," sang the prisoners in a short break at the lawn. In other words, these people had been inside the cells for so long that any chance to see daylight is a bliss. Those who never had the same hell would not understand the plight of others.

Heil! Heil! sei dem Tag

"Hail! Hail! Hail to the day," In this sense, its liberation day, and everyone gives thanks to the One. This is a very typical Beethoven ending appropriate to his hopes and aspirations during his time. To a very large extent, the moral behind Fidelio still applies to today's world, where unjust exist on worldwide, regional, and personal scale.

One last thing I admire about Fidelio is that is puts every bit of emotion and depth in just 2 acts. A typical blockbuster flop (or all movies/shows in general) would require at least 3. There's also no need for multiple locations; it all happens in a prison. Plus, the time frame is condensed. No '10 years later' shit. That means if I made a movie like this, I won't need to hire confused ADs and frustrated location managers. And since there's less people getting paid, I could move the extra fund elsewhere, like an RV for the cast and crew, or a huge perspex dome so production could continue in any weather. Of course, the latter is not possible.

no-fark!

Malaysia, boleh neh!

Reading KarYan's blog prompted me to write this little review.

If you still think that Malaysian Chinese mainstream music is all about thirty-somethings lip synching at some park, think again. The past couple years saw some decent stuff coming out from the cover. Apart from the unmistakably superb singers like Guang Liang/Pin Guan, Fish Leong, Nicholas Teo et al, we've also got some great talents that are still very much local. Daniel Lee was okay sorta bloke, Quincy is worth a mention too, so as Rynn Lin too, and of course we have Karen Kong lately. But what I discovered lately is a wonderful voice by the name of  Luo Yise (羅憶詩).

Yise hails from UTAR's communication course (my campus really has a lot of talents, seriously) and is one year older than I am. Apparently she started playing music at a young age and sang in competitions bla bla bla. Most of all, her first self titled album which I'm reviewing now, lives up to its claim as the most worthily awaited album of the year.

Now, don't be fooled by the typical 'local quality'ness of its cover and booklet. Plug in the CD, and let yourself immerse at 45 minutes worth of music. Its kicker is a relaxing mid tempo, aptly titled "Fresh". Here, we have a glimpse of things to come. Yise's voice is a bit husky yet doesn't stray into mature territory. Her highs were excellently executed too. "I'm Not You" reminded me of Jaclyn Victor. Funky song and unlike any local Chinese stuff I heard. The A-sider "So Easy" is a fast driven yet easy going number. Watch out for the sudden change of mood after the bridge! "Little Yellow Duckling" is my favorite song of all. A very lyrical rendition of a familiar childhood theme helped from some fine string players from National Symphony Orchestra.

The album has themes of love and nostalgia, and it did made a valid impression thanks to fine lyrics from Yise herself and other big names. For instance, Guan Qi Yuan penned a very meaningful "Ex Girlfriend", though I can guess who he meant. One of the elements I liked was Yise's very versatile voice. I'm not an admirer of singers with multiple tones on a single album, but there's just something natural about Yise's transitions that you'll just ignore and start enjoying. Sometimes you might hear the likeness to Angela Chang, A bit of Faye Wong, some Sarah Chan, and a hauntingly similar Sandy Lam (Track 10 "Great Times"). All of that on top of a voice that is unmistakably Yise's own.

Apart from a great voice singing a great work, part and parcel of a great album has to do with the musical arrangement and the people behind the music. Here, a lot of credit has to go to some of the best musicians in our industry. One prominent feature is Jamie Wilson's cool guitar parts; the entire album is like his showcase. Great work from the people from NSO and drummer Gary too. Malaysian musicians are not what you thought it was anymore, besides, most of them worked for other Asian big names.

All in, Yise's maiden album is something that in my opinion, outshines even some of the latest pop offerings across the region. It is a well prepared and produced album that has themes that are easily approachable by all age groups, and it tells stories close to your heart. I certainly hope that many would have a listen at it, and hopefully Yise carry on with greater works in the future.

no-fark!

P/S:  More local Chinese albums are coming out lately. There's a new one by Superstar finalist Desiree Tan and Orange also had an EP, plus we also have Yang Zhong Wei in the male section.