The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2012 02:31 AM PDT Electro-pop act Passion Pit's new album is stark and dark, a contrast from its light-hearted debut. Fans of American electro-pop act Passion Pit would have probably heard its latest single, Take A Walk, an infectious pop ditty making its rounds on the radio. It is the sort of anthemic track that could well be played in a club that would incite fist-pumping from the crowd, but the story behind it is much more personal than it sounds. Michael Angelakos, 25, the band's lead vocalist and songwriter, says in a phone interview from New York that Take A Walk is inspired by how his own family members dealt with personal financial crises. Angelakos says: "The money aspect that is kind of emphasised in the song is only an influencing factor. My family thought capitalism was this great fantastic adventure, and ultimately, most of my family have and did fall prey to it." He sings: "I watch my little children/ play some board game in the kitchen/ And I sit and pray they never feel my strife/But then my partner called to say the pension funds were gone/He made some bad investments/Now the accounts are overdrawn." Angelakos adds that the verses, which give a nod to the bad financial decisions the men in his family have made, "kind of paints a picture of what is a man in America without money." Take A Walk sets the tone for Passion Pit's new album Gossamer. But Angelakos stresses that the new album is by no means inspired by family affairs – his own personal stories of "hanging out in your living room and coming home at 2am drunk" after a night out partying are other sources of inspiration. He says: "Each song lives in its own world. I want to set the tone, albeit a stark and darker tone; I wanted to use my family as some kind of way to give other stories a chance to colour my own story, which is the rest of my album." Passion Pit comprise Angelakos, keyboardist and guitarist Ian Hultquist, multi-instrumentalist Ayad Al Adhamy, bassist Jeff Apruzzese and drummer Nate Donmoyer. Formed in 2007, the band quickly gained international recognition with their full-length debut, Manners (2009), filled with light-hearted, dance-y pop anthems. Songs such as the child-like and melodic ditty Eyes As Candles, the darker and melancholic The Reeling and the arena-rock-ready anthem Moths Wings, launched the group to indie stardom. Its tunes have since been used in hit American television series such as Gossip Girl and Big Love. The success of Manners inevitably looms large over the release of the new album, but Angelakos says he does not care. He says: "Every work lives in its own world, and a lot of times, records are not received well right away ... sometimes, records need time to breathe, maybe in a year, it's received better. But I think this record is a better representation of me as an artist and producer. "I can only put my hands in the air and say, 'Take it or leave it'." He adds: "If you sit around begging for critical acclaim, you're in the wrong business." — The Straits Times Singapore |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2012 02:18 AM PDT BROWN Eyed Girls' agency, Nega Network, will be introducing a singing trio of guys – Teo, Sam and Yun – next month. "The new group is called Lunafly and the boys have powerful vocals and are skilled in playing instruments like the acoustic guitar. Their music genre mostly embraces band music. They are working hard in preparing for their debut," the rep said. Brown Eyed Girls member Jea posted a picture of herself with the guys on her official Twitter account. In the photograph, Jea gave the thumbs up with a comment: "This is Lunafly! The younger brothers to Brown Eyed Girls! These three members are really talented in music! You're going to show your support for them right??" Sam, who is half-British and half-Korean and a former professional footballer, is no stranger to many as he was a contestant in MBC's Star Audition: The Great Birth. Nega Network manages acts such as Brown Eyed Girls, songstress Kang Mi-jin, singer-producer Yoon Il-sang and duo 50kg. – Reuters |
| Posted: 10 Sep 2012 02:15 AM PDT GIRL group Kara will serve as the worldwide promoters of Korean food, its agency DSP Media said. Kara will not only be promoting Korean music but Korean food as well, as it has been appointed by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to be the new face of the "K-Food" campaign. The quartet will shoot a campaign video clip and a pictorial for K-Food, which will later be distributed in Japan, China and other South-East Asian countries. Meanwhile, the girls – Gu Hara, Han Seung-yeon, Park Gyu-lee, Kang Ji-young and Nicole – will also take part in a Korean food exhibition and they are also busy promoting their fifth mini-album Pandora. – Reuters |
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