The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Rock band Tempered Mental goes off the beaten track Posted: 20 Dec 2012 05:14 AM PST Tempered Mental is one of the most precise group of musicians you will see and hear outside of a military drill. MODERN rock band Tempered Mental has never concerned itself with being hip. When it first came together in 2002, emo rock was starting to take a hold on the music scene, while rap rock was very much the preferred genre for most bands. Yet the instinct of founding members Melina William (vocals/bass) and Jimmy Tan (drums) was not to dive into either of these genres but to create their own sound – a hodgepodge of angular guitar riffs, fierce ambition and pop sensibilities built on a rock/metal foundation. "I imagine it's because we offer something slightly off-centre," said William in a recent interview to coincide with the arrival of the band's sophomore album Pax Automata. "If music was food, we would be that thing you hardly find on menus, so if you do, maybe you should order it just to see what it's like," she added. Well, the formula certainly was unique and it immediately endeared itself to many fans. The combination of melody lines, odd time signatures and explosive arrangements translated well on Tempered Mental's debut album The View From Here, released in 2007. The album perfectly captured its multi-faceted sound with songs like the popular Honestly loaded with intricate invention. The first album allowed the band to build a strong global following, with a gigsecured at the Canadian Music Week 2008 in Toronto, Canada while gigs/festival dates followed in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. It's been five years since its debut and the band, rounded off by guitarist Jack Lian, has been re-energised by Pax Automata's arrival, which continues somewhat from where its debut left off but with an emphasis on a certain pop cachet which other bands lack. "We wanted to take our time releasing this album to make sure we did everything right. During the five years, we experimented with different recording options and trying to find the best way to achieve what we wanted sonically, with the budget we had," explained William about this self-funded release. It appears the experiments have taken the trio in a more textured direction, especially with a string-laden track like Blindfold coming off both tender and bittersweet. However, the realisation of Pax Automata's 11 songs was not an entirely painless process. "I had written a lot of songs but I felt like I wanted to write some more because I couldn't see the album taking shape with the songs I had on hand at that time. "I threw out half the songs and replaced them with new material. The first track on the album, Automata, was the last song I wrote, weeks before we started the album production work." Recorded at The Ark Studios in Kuala Lumpur, the album was also produced by the band members themselves. American producer/mixer Ronan Chris Murphy, an experienced engineer who has worked with the likes of British prog rock legends King Crimson and American guitarist Steve Morse, handled the mixing sessions. Apart from the vocals and bass, William also supplied additional guitars and percussion on the new album. While Tempered Mental's music direction has progressed, William is honest enough to say that her approach to the album's themes and lyrics have been consistent. "Thematically, I always write about things that are going on around me or in my life. However, the focus is on self-realisation and awareness now." In a homegrown music scene filled by indie bands and singer-songwriters, Tempered Mental's continued existence and defiant sound is most impressive. "Rock/metal music will always have its loyal followers who need that extra edge in their musical diet. It is best served live with the audience and band feeding off the raw energy." At the moment, William concedes that the challenge is to push for a broader audience. Apart from a local CD release for Pax Automata, the band has negotiated album distribution in Japan and more countries to follow soon. "Who knows, maybe in the future, the musical cycle will swing back in favour of rock and metal again. It's hard to say for sure," she added. Much like her two other band members, William can get a little restless when it comes to music. Apart from Tempered Mental, she is also busy with other projects (both Lian and Tan also play in other bands) but William adds that it's a reflection of something she has always been. "Everyone who has known me since I was a kid knows that my life revolves around music. Almost anything music-related would pique my interest," she shared. "I don't restrict myself by genre, instrumentation, medium, etc. If I'm not collaborating with someone, I would be working on something by myself. I learn something new all the time. Just by playing with different people or being involved in different types of musical projects (she has played in the backing bands of singer-songwriters Froya and Reza Salleh)." But she knows that at the end of the day, Tempered Mental is where she comes home to. "Totally immersing myself into styles that are a total departure from Tempered Mental's sound is fine. Because the band is essentially where we do what we can't do anywhere else." > For more info on the band, visit temperedmental.com. |
| Fans say farewell in LA to Mexican-US diva Rivera Posted: 19 Dec 2012 11:56 PM PST LOS ANGELES: More than 6,000 fans, friends and family paid tribute Wednesday to Mexican-American diva Jenni Rivera, at a funeral ceremony in Los Angeles for the star who died in a plane crash this month. A mariachi-style band played next to the red coffin at the ceremony, while the youngest of her five children, 11-year-old Johnny Lopez, fought back tears as he remembered his mother. "Through those short 11 years, she tried to set the best example she could ...It's a real honor to say that Jenni Rivera, the person that everyone is talking about, is my mom, that she still lives in me," he said. Born in Long Beach, California to Mexican parents, Rivera was a star in the northern Mexican music genre known as banda, selling 15 million records and winning Billboard Latin Music awards. The 43-year-old was among seven people, including two pilots, killed when their small Learjet plane crashed in rugged terrain in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon on December 9. Dubbed the "Diva de la Banda," the soulful singer had given a concert in the industrial city of Monterrey and was heading to Toluca, near Mexico City, to participate in a Mexican television singing contest. Her brother Pedro Rivera Jr led Wednesday's two-and-a-half hour ceremony, billed as a "celestial graduation," which opened with a video tribute flashing the words "mujer" (woman), "caracter" (character) and "fuerza" (strength)." After the public memorial in a concert hall in Universal City, north of Los Angeles, she was buried in a private ceremony in Long Beach, where her family lives. -AFP |
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