The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:47 PM PST Wang Leehom raised the roof at the Taipei arena recently with his Music-Man II show. REVEALING your achy breaky heart for public examination is not easy, but it's something Leehom is going to have to get used to. His breathtakingly beautiful Music-Man II, the mother of all his concerts, details his love, love and more love Before we go on with the show, there is one pressing question: Is he really in love with hot and haughty Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, as widely speculated? "You know me," the 34-year-old Mandarin pop heartthrob tells yours truly backstage at the Taipei Arena, where 14,000 tickets for tonight's gig have sold out in a jiffy. "You've been with me since Day One." Flashback to our first encounter in 1998, Leehom has always maintained that he's a private person, who lets his emotions run deep in his music. And he will not hesitate to end a romantic liaison once the newshounds sniff it out, he once confessed. Tonight is the first time in his 13 years that his Best Of material has been aired in an intimate setting, yet so full of stadium spectacle. As soon as the spotlight is turned on, Leehom – garbed in a fluorescent red superhero-like futuristic army outfit – is wheeled on stage in a tank, launching into the anthemic opener, Open Fire. Boom! A series of fireworks explodes from all corners of the stage at the end of the song. Indeed, his Music-Man II concert performance is an extravagant piece of powerful pop entertainment. The show offers a lot of theatrics – RM1mil worth of state-of-the-art stage and props, a flying piano, eye candy back-up dancers, sexy dance moves, LED lights, rotating screens and confetti shower. But most importantly, his songs have depth and lyricism. The show also marks the return of Bahamut, his £20,000 (RM98,000) electric guitar with a dragon head, designed by Alistair Hay of Emerald Guitars (the Irishman who also custom-makes guitars for rock band U2). But the good-looking music man is still the best thing on show on the elaborately-decorated T-shaped stage that stretches out like a runway. All his nervous energy is channelled into a performance that sees him constantly swirling, spinning, shadow-fighting and dive-bombing. During the patriotic Descendants Of The Dragon, he is one part kungfu fighter and one part hyperactive kid running around a playground. "Taipei, I'm Music-Man," Leehom greets his fans after the beguiling Chinese orchestral classic, 18 Martial Arts, has been neatly dispatched. "I haven't been here for three years. How could you let me wait for so long?" The crowd is wildly appreciative. Just the opening bars to Only You are enough to send the female audience members into a chorus of screeches, like a flock of gulls chasing a trawler that is loaded with herring. "Leehommm… we love youuu," screams the audience. The pop maverick knows how to please his fans. "Who needs my love?" he asks, halfway through the show. The screams reach eardrum-shattering proportions. There is a winning bombast on Love Love Love as the elevated stage transports Leehom right till the far end of the indoor stadium. He peers into the crowd and says: "This venue is big. You guys at the back, can I get closer to you?" The next 40 songs in his set are rendered with raw, feverish passion. Every pouting promise of love on Julia, Beautiful, Frozen Dreams, Can You Feel My World, You're Not Here, This Could Be Love, Falling Leaf Returns To Roots and Mistake In A Flower Field is simply too infectious to resist. As the night comes to an end, everyone is so swept along by the soul-baring new and the life-affirming old, that Leehom is called back three times for an extended encore. With the power love ballad Kiss You Goodbye, the emotionally charged music man ends his concert on a strong note. > Music-Man II will be staged at Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on March 3, 2012. Tickets for numbered seats are priced at RM498, RM388, RM298; and RM288, RM268 and RM128 for free seating. Showtime begins at 8pm. For more info, log on to galaxy.com.my or call the Galaxy Hotline ( 03-2282 2020). Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 15 Dec 2011 10:33 PM PST Newcomer singer-songwriter OJ Law has timed his entry to the music scene well – armed with an album to restore faith in homegrown indie pop. YOU probably have not heard of singer-songwriter/producer OJ Law, but after listening to his music, you would agree that he definitely deserves a wider audience. Unlike many new bands or artistes that propagate the philosophy that one should begin your career with a bang of social media bursts and incessant gig-hunting, the Petaling Jaya, Selangor-based Law was happy to let his music gestate quietly first before debuting it proper. Those clued in on the fringe sounds of the indie scene would have known about OJ Law a few years back. The bespectacled bloke released his debut self-titled album way back in 2006 under his more general moniker Law. He recorded and produced it on his own before following up with his sophomore Timezones two years later, also a one-man effort. Both albums were available for free download, and were well received around niche circles. The buzz surrounding this elusive artiste culminated in an unexpected appearance at the Urbanscapes 2009 festival in Kuala Lumpur. But yet again, he remained largely a mystery, with hardly any shows after that and not much activity on the recording front as well. As with all best kept secrets, the time appears to have come for the 29-year-old to come out of his shell and start getting his music out there. His third album Yesterday Is A Distant Dream, now available as a CD and download release, has been attracting healthy attention in the music scene here. The 11-track album Yesterday Is A Distant Dream – with artwork designed by Law – is a distillation of the young man's influences, whether soulful indie pop, swirly melancholy moments or danceable New Order-inspired melodies. The gigs for OJ Law (and his band) have been steadily rising. Whether shows at hip venues or smaller indie engagements, the name OJ Law has become a familiar fixture. He plays the secret Fred Perry Subculture x TAG party this Sunday at an undisclosed location in Kuala Lumpur. "It was a new challenge for me because my previous two albums were made without an audience in mind. This time around, I was more focused on making an entire album where I was happy with every song, but at the same time trying to keep the spontaneity of the music alive," he shared, before adding, "It was a long (recording) process." The difference is certainly telling. While his previous two albums consisted of raw-edged songs and "little throwaways and underdeveloped ideas," this one saw him sifting through 50 song ideas before deciding on the 11 that appeared on the album. In fact, Law kept the leftovers from Yesterday Is A Distant Dream – there are eight exclusive bonus tracks available for download when you purchase the album. Not to forget a 50-page "Making Of/Lyrics" ebook as part of the download deal. The song selection process on Yesterday Is A Distant Dream was subjected to just one criteria. "I wanted to make an album that the 14-year-old version of me would have loved (back then) as well as something that represents me today," he said. The result is a sonically sprawling album that encompasses everything from the buzzing feedback of Pinkerton-era Weezer on Lovers' Tiff to the smooth doo wop of StartStop. "There was no one guiding influence. Everyone is an influence." This new album also marks a change in his performance name, moving away from the single adjective Law to a fuller name. While he confesses that this has a little to do with his newfound comfort with getting himself out there, there was also a practical reason behind the change. "If you google 'Law', I'm probably on page 100,000. If you search for 'OJ Law', I'm the first result." As far as mediums go, it would appear as if old habits die hard as Law has so far released this Yesterday Is A Distant Dream album only digitally, like his previous two, except that he's actually selling this one. The new album went online in September. He assures us that his choice of medium has less to do with marketing nuances than it does with financial ones. Nevertheless, after gathering resources and finalising artwork, Law has a CD version of Yesterday Is A Distant Dream ready to be shipped out to the broader masses by next month. "The process of making an album is quite expensive, even if you record and produce everything yourself, like I do," he revealed, before explaining that this is not helped by the fact that he has always been a one-man operation – music, marketing, etc. "You work within the budget and see what happens," he added. Prolificacy is certainly one of Law's most distinguishing virtues. While other acts toil and labour for long periods to come up with good material, he seems to have the ability to churn them out like a factory. And these are hardly underwhelming ideas as well as his first two scrapbook albums have proven. Even in the spontaneous recesses of his mind, there're plenty of gems to mine as well. But while this is part natural talent, there were huge sacrifices made as well. "Music is quite an anti-social activity for me because it involves sacrificing seeing people or leaving the room. You've got to get into the zone for a while, weeks, months even. And sometimes that level of spending time by yourself is discouraging. Especially if you spend a weekend working on a song and you end up hating the results. You think, 'Great, I wasted a weekend on this song when I could've been doing something else,' " he said while shrugging his shoulders. "But when you finally have a musical breakthrough, when a song comes to life, the high can last for months as well." And if initial reactions to Yesterday Is A Distant Dream are anything to go by, he isn't just 'getting high' on his own. With a live backing band consisting of members of Seven Collar T-Shirt and Komplot, it's obvious that his music has connected with a lot more people outside his bedroom. And this newfound confidence to explore the homegrown music scene seems to have sparked him into overdrive, with a new duo project with local songstress Liyana Fizi (who sang on album opener Fantastic Adventure) on the cards. "Musically, it should be a bit different from either of our solo material. I want to take the idea of the duet and push it and see where you can go with it," said Law, but he confesses that nothing really will materialise soon on the project is still being sketched out. While that is happening, Law continues to be industrious with his own songwriting. "Honestly, I always say one thing and end up doing something else. It's always a journey into the unknown. But that's how I like it," he noted. "It's always exciting." > For more info on OJ Law, his upcoming shows and how to purchase his music, visit (ojlaw.co). Win 20 exclusive passes to the Fred Perry Subculture x TAG party this Sunday, featuring OJ Law, Tenderfist and DJ Oddjob. More details at (facebook.com/fredperrymy). Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Rodney Atkins denies abuse claim, seeks divorce Posted: 15 Dec 2011 04:59 PM PST NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Country singer Rodney Atkins has denied accusations he tried to suffocate his wife with a pillow in November and also has filed for divorce, his attorney said in a statement on Thursday. Court records show that back on November 21, Atkins' wife of 13 years, Tammy Jo, called police and claimed he attempted to smother her with a pillow and threw her down a hallway after he had been drinking. The events took place in front of their 10-year-old son, the documents show. Atkins was arrested by police and later released on bail. But Atkins lawyer, Rose Palermo, issued a statement on Thursday saying the altercation was nothing more than an "unfortunate verbal dispute" between husband and wife. "When Mr. Atkins realized their child was in hearing range of the argument, his first priority became getting out of earshot of the child," Palermo said in the statement. Palermo called the claims by Atkins' wife, "completely untrue." "Mr. Atkins realized that he would have no recourse but to file a complaint for divorce. Since filing the complaint...he has exercised substantial parenting time with the parties' son and he will continue to do so while the divorce is pending." The singer's songs include "Cleaning This Gun," which looked at raising teen daughters, and his hit "Watching You." His wife appeared in his recent video for "Farmer's Daughter." In her statement, Palermo said Atkins "requests privacy at this time" and he "wants to thank his fans for standing by him as he is confident that the truth will prevail." Atkins is scheduled to appear on the Fox TV special, "American Country New Year's Eve Live" airing Dec. 31. He also has three live performances scheduled in coming days in the northeastern U.S. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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