The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:04 AM PST Jazz-inspired beatboxer Butterscotch is a name to turn heads at the Penang Island Jazz Festival. JAZZY beatbox artiste Butterscotch sounds like she was one of the mischievous children from the cast of The Cosby Show TV series back in the 1980s. With her quiff hairstyle and unique beatboxing skills, this 27-year-old American musician, born in Sacramento, California, can recall a childhood filled with funky grooves in a household where her piano-teacher mum led the band of siblings on daily musical adventures and "performances" at home. "Apart from the piano, there were always other instruments – a cello, a trumpet, a trombone, a guitar – lying around the house," said Butterscotch (Antoinette Clinton), in an interview ahead of her Sunday night performance at the Penang Island Jazz Festival. "I grew up playing classical piano but always loved hip-hop music. My dad was always listening to Motown classics, so I had the 'soul music'. The technical classical music I got from my mum, who is a piano teacher. I always loved jazz but didn't completely immerse myself until I was in college and made friends and jammed with the musicians and vocalists at school," she added. Butterscotch, who is one of the more adventurous names with her jazz, hip-hop and beatboxing slant, is tipped to be a revelation at the Penang Island Jazz Festival, which rolls out its two-day main stage programme at Bayview Beach Resort, Batu Ferringhi, Penang, starting tomorrow. Jazz is her music mainline, but hip-hop and beatboxing have given Butterscotch the confidence to take on any audience worldwide. With her stage interaction and knack of hyping up the crowd, she made an impression at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland earlier this year while also gaining exposure in Asia with festival appearances in China and Hong Kong. "I will be doing a solo set mixing jazz and hip-hop and R&B and whatever else happens to come out. We will see!" she hinted about her upcoming performance in Penang. This multi-instrumentalist, who majored in music (classical piano) at California State University, picked up her beatboxing smarts from a close friend in 2004 and has moved from strength to strength with this hip-hop-inspired angle to her music career. It didn't take Butterscotch – who got her stage name during a chemistry class in high school – long to emerge as a beatboxer of note. In 2005, she won the first World Hip Hop Beat Box Women's Championship, and she has also rolled out beats with Earth Wind & Fire, pianist Chick Corea and singer Patti Austin, as well as recorded with bassists Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten and with guitarist/singer George Benson. But interestingly enough, Butterscotch isn't all mainstream jazz. There have been quite a few twists to this young woman's career and she was more than glad to talk about them. Apart from the NBC America's Got Talent exposure in 2007, you have also collaborated (and toured) with some exciting non-commercial names like Mike Patton and Dan The Automator. Has it been eye-opening working with these mavericks? Touring with Mike Patton in 2007 was an incredible experience for me. It was my first tour and I'm so thankful that he took me under his wing and gave me exposure to thousands of people across The United States and around the world. I had performed locally a lot, but this gave me a chance to show and test my abilities on a larger scale. His wide musical range showed me that artistes don't always have to stay in the same genre and writing style and can still be massively successful. Touring with Dan The Automator was also a great experience. I love his beats and it's always a lot of fun on stage and off. Personally, how do you reconcile the commercial and cutting edge when it comes to music-making? I make music that I love and if it happens to be commercial, then that's great. If not, then that's OK, too. I do push myself to create something that's different and that nobody has heard before. I get bored with anything that is normal. So, if that makes me cutting edge, then that is what I am! Is beatboxing genre driven? Most beatboxers feel that beatboxing is not a genre, but more of an instrument. Do you agree? Beatboxing is definitely an instrument. It stemmed from hip-hop, but it is ultimately an instrument because you can play it with any type of music. It's the art of vocal percussion fine tuned to sound like a beat machine. It's the most amazing instrument because everyone is unique and has had different musical influences growing up, therefore, the output of musical creations won't be the same. My twist is that I combine beatboxing with jazz because that is the music that has inspired me. This "voice as an instrument" aspect seems to have clicked with the younger generation. How does beatboxing work in a jazz context? You can play jazz on any instrument. To combine it with beatboxing is no different. The young people can connect to it because they like music that is beat-driven. Jazz provides the undeniably beautiful melody while the beat gives them something they can physically feel. Are you more a Madlib or John Coltrane person when it comes to your iPod selections during long-distance flights? On long-distance flights, it really depends on what I'm in the mood for. If I want to relax, I may listen to some Thievery Corporation or other triphop groups. Or something soulful like Donny Hathaway or Stevie Wonder, or if I really want to relax, some Debussy or Chopin. Some Miles (Davis) and (John) Coltrane never hurt anyone either. It really depends on my mood as most music creation and listening does. > Ticket entry for the Jazz By The Beach programme (Dec 1-2) at Bayview Beach Resort, Batu Ferringhi, Penang, is RM68 (per night). Dec 1 line-up: Bittersweet, Albatrosh, Mezzotono, Madeline Bell & Hans Vroomans Trio, The Deans and TheArtOfFusion. Dec 2: Elvira Arul & Acoustic Souls, Francesca Han Trio, Martin Taylor, Butterscotch, Kekko Fornarelli Trio featuring Ruso Sala and Estudiantina Ensemble. For ticketing details, visit ticketpro.com.my or penangjazz.com. Admission is free for other Penang Island Jazz Festival activities – seminars, workshops and fringe gigs. |
| Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:56 AM PST EVERYTHING will only be revealed tonight at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre but the stakes have never been higher as the number of online votes for the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) award candidates spiked dramatically this year. One interesting trend is how the K-pop veterans had a surge of votes in the last week of voting (voting ended on Wednesday), toppling the younger idols from their perch. One was G-Dragon whose sure win in the Best Male Artiste category was suddenly shaken by his older labelmate Psy. They were both upped by fellow nominee K.Will at press time. In another shocking development, Shinhwa caught up with Super Junior in not just one, but two of the categories the group previously held – Best Male Group and Artiste Of The Year. A whopping 64.4% of the total 37.1 million votes came from China while 22.7% came from South-East Asia. South Korean votes only made up 3.6% of the total. Nominees for main categories Best New Female Artiste Best New Male Artiste Best Female Artiste Best Male Artiste Best Female Group Best Male Group Best Collaboration Performance Best Music Video Best Rap Performance Best Global Group – Female Best Global Group – Male > Go to mama.interest.me/ candidate for full nominees list. |
| Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:52 AM PST MAMA, or the Mnet Asian Music Awards, is one of the major music award shows in the K-pop scene. Held annually by Mnet Media, it has featured many of K-pop's biggest stars like Rain, TVXQ (the original five-member group), SS501, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Big Bang, as well as, the republic's hippest TV and filmstars like Lee Byung-hun (GI Joe, I Saw The Devil) and Song Seung-heon (My Princess, Dr Jin). The awards began in 1999 under the name M.net KM Music Festival. In 2009 it was changed to M.net Asian Music Awards to reflect the expanding fanbase of K-pop and to reflect its new concept – specifically the fan online voting for winners. In 2010, Mama was held outside of South Korea for the first time – in Macau, China. Mama is broadcast live in 13 countries across Asia including Malaysia. The current record holder for most awards won is TVXQ with 14 awards, three of them the Daesang (grand) awards, followed by Rain with 13 Awards, including four Daesang. Other big winners are Super Junior (11 awards), Shinhwa and 2NE1 (10 awards), SS501 and Big Bang (seven awards). |
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