this year is the 50th anniversary of the musical genre called bossa nova and record labels are rushing to cash in on the popularity of this genre.
one of the best-selling albums in cd shops in malaysia for the past few months is this album called "back to love in bossa moments". it is a cover version album of pop classics done in bossa nova style by unknown singers.
i picked up a copy and was quite horrified by what malaysians like to listen today. while "bleeding love" (leona lewis) and "you are beautiful" (james blunt) were quite successfully re-arranged into bossa nova, the rest of the songs sound decidedly contrived and out-of-place. can you imagine kylie minoque's "i should be so lucky" and elton john's "your song" done in bossa nova? i shudder in disgust.
let me tell you, not every song is suitable for bossa nova or jazz arrangement. the problem with this album lies on the weak arrangement, wrong choice of songs and ordinary performance by the singers.
but this is what the malaysian market wants, i suppose :-(
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christmas is just 2 months away and we've got an excellent christmas gift idea for you to give away to your friends and loved ones!
double take's (roger wang and mia palencia) "one voice, six strings and 12 days of christmas" album, autographed and all wrapped up in the prettiest festive packaging, ready to be sent right to your doorsteps.
please place and confirm your order here (by leaving a comment and contact) before december 1, 2008 and we will send it anywhere in the world for you.
price is RM29.90 only before poslaju charges which depends on which part of the world you are in.
for the audiophiles among you, yes, the recording is very good, typical of the high standards of all double take's recordings!
you can preview the album here.
please support our 2v1g's guitarist!
自知的魅力---给2V1G
从事演艺、创意和领导的人们，首要事件是：自知。
从来没有一个不懂自知之明的人，可以在大事业上得以达到大成就。
一个真正名留千古的名字，在世时，是永远和忍辱负重、卧薪尝胆相依为命的。
因为自知，所以自信，因为自信，所以坚强，因为坚强，所以勇敢，因为勇敢，所以无惧，因为无惧，所以能为人之不能为，成人之不能成，完人之不能完。
2V1G的小成就到底还是小成就，不需激昂如斯，两个晚上的喧哗也只不过是两百人的宣泄，当然，这一棵投入湖中的小石子，肯定会有涟漪，但能否掀起汹涌波涛还得看后续的力量。
既然身为2V1G一员、我们必与之息息相关，一切给予2V1G的荣耀都是我们的荣耀、所有降临到2V1G身上的耻辱都是我们的耻辱，因此2V1G是我们的幸福，也会是我们的痛苦。
Leslie写了那么一篇文字，基本上是正面的，但要如何消化这篇文字，需要智慧和胸怀。不应该有任何人会因为这一篇文字而感到被伤害或膨胀。
芸妮的付出和努力是我从事这一个行业以来所见的一个最杰出的例子，她对自己的要求和期许都让人感到欣慰；而丽津一路走来的尽责和忍辱，是她的风格，因为性格上的差异，导致芸妮和丽津在舞台上的角色可以显示各尽其责的搭配，芸妮的理性主动、丽津的感性迎向相互争映，都为2V1G冠上漂亮的花环，二者缺一则色彩尽失。
NBT两晚的演出之最扣人心弦的地方，皆来自对比：歌曲的选择、芸妮和丽津钢柔并济、Roger的吉他和人声的相互冲击，再加上环境和歌手历年来在舞台上的磨练等等，这一切的一切，绝对不是偶然，而是必然，既然是必然，那就更不应该过于陶醉其中。同志们，请记住，成功的路还有很长，大家尚待努力。
自知本来就是人的一生中最难掌握的智慧。当你有了自知，你就会是那个不为一切外来因素所掌控的可怜的被动者；当你有了自知，你的骄傲将会是你最具魅力的风采。
没有人可以打败你，除非你自己放弃。
[金亮 chow kam leong]
click here to listen to widuri.
if you were not at the gig, you would have missed how great winnie sang p.ramlee's "getaran jiwa" and pan xiu qiong "lover's tears" (qing ren de yan lei) and how fabulous roger's arrangements are for these two songs!
following the theme of asian love songs, we may include another great one from indonesia. there are so many great love songs from indonesia and "widuri" is one of the greatest.
you can bet that roger is gonna come out with another winner again, and we would leave it to regine to convince us with her vocals.
there are more surprises for the 2nd album but we are not letting the cat out of the bag yet.
enjoy and tell us if you like this song!
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终于圆满的结束了 2V1G 的第一次两晚的售票演出，忽然有一点点的惆怅......
是不舍？是心情的激动？只知道一早醒来，脑里还回荡着你们给予的掌声、喝彩，甚至陪我们落下的眼泪。
观赏过演出的朋友纷纷给金亮老师和Leslie 留言，谢谢 2V1G 给了他们一个难忘的夜晚，我们亦然，深深感激你们成全了 2V1G 第一回的演出。若有不足的地方请你们见谅，我们一定会求进。
很快的， 2V1G 就要投入第二张的专辑制作了，我们幕前幕后的班底无时无刻期待给你们更好的音乐和表演。
谢谢云妮，Thank You Roger ，让我感受到音乐无私的分享和投入。
It is PASSION that never dies :) ...
2V1G 有一种默契在滋长着, 我期许世界会慢慢的听到...
[regine tai]
[unforgettable moments- regine delivering tempting hearts, with winnie tearing up]
[many thanks to horng yih and see fei for the amazing shots!]
一直以来，都是以观众的身份拜访 No Black Tie。这一次，却要站在舞台上唱歌。那种兴奋和雀跃，我大概没办法具体的形容。
紧张吗？是的，紧张。比起迎接室外大型的表演还要紧张。可是，当音乐响起的那一刻，我只记得，我要唱歌给大家听。
到场的人，是全心全意来观赏我们的表演的。台下是何等的安静。每一个人，都在专心聆听我们的每一颗音符。仿佛随时都会随着歌者的情绪，高涨与坠落。谢谢大家如此的尊重我们的音乐。
有许多做音乐的朋友也到场了。让我们一起加油吧！但愿不久的将来，你们也能站在梦想的舞台，呈现属于自己的乐章。
我是如此的幸福啊。有那么多的人在聆听和祝福我的音乐。
[芸妮 winnie]
the ambience in NBT at the end of the 2nd gig at 12:30am this morning, before we said goodbye to this magnificent stage, was one of unreal peace and serenity. it was a great contrast to the electrifying atmosphere just 2 hours ago. when the lights are switched off and curtain drawn, what is left is fond memories of a great performance that one would cherish forever.
2v1g gave a stellar show on the 2nd night. the first night was great too but it was filled with a bit of tension and nerves, and there were mistakes throughout. but the 2nd night, the 2nd night, oh my god, was absolutely fabulous, a near-perfect performance by the 2v1g trio. they were so natural on stage; the chemistry between regine and winnie was so good, as if they have been singing together for ages. i don't have to say much about roger wang because he is god, a guitar god. there were many young guitar players among the audience and they were all speechless after seeing the way roger played his guitar.
my clients who were there on the 2nd night, were all enthralled by such a superlative performance. one actually ushered me to one corner and tell me "i want them to do my show next year".
there were some defining moments on the 2nd night. time stood still and many people cried (yes, they told me) when regine belted out her tear-jerking "tempting hearts", even winnie shed some tears. and when it was winnie's turn to sing "coming home", the last song before the encore, she packed the song with such emotional intensity that the entire audience was totally absorbed and went completely silent. the silence from the crowd during these two songs were deafening - everyone is so engrossed in their performance. and when she ended her last note, the audience was already spent emotionally. such is the power of ballads.
there were so many definite winners in the repertoire. regine's "i have a date with spring" was tailor-made for her. winnie's "lover's tears" & "what a difference a day made" were so good that it won't embarrass the original singers. roger's arrangements and guitar solos in "oblivious time" (cai qin's classic), "getaran jiwa" and "lover's tears" were sublime; it gives me goose bumps everytime i listen to his arrangements. very likely, i will include these few songs in the 2nd album.
there are so many things that amazed me. the girls and even roger were only "good" during the practice but when they went on stage, they were totally transformed and sang like there's no tomorrow. they love the stage and they belong there. roger's focus and concentration are truly amazing; he played a near-perfect performance on the 2nd night. even he admitted that the chemistry within the trio is so rapidly build-up that they already feel like good friends having fun on stage. worthy of mention is how well the girls rendered english numbers; they harmonize beautifully on "you needed me" and "always on my mind". vocal training sessions with mia palencia have certainly paid off handsomely for the girls.
24 hours later, the euphoria of having watched 2 superb performances by 2v1g has somewhat died down and i am back to "normal" life again.
i wouldn't say it was once-in-a-lifetime but it was close to me because they are my babies. i was nervous on the first night because i am afraid that my first-born would screw-up. but after witnessing how they commanded the stage on the second night, i can say that they are ready for the world.
i am so proud of you, 2v1g!
some famous blogger beats me to writing a review on 2v1g's gig last night.
check it out here!
we just finished our first round of rehearsal tonight and i can tell you, 2v1g's maiden gig is gonna be a cracker.
many people, especially roger wang's fans, who bought the 2v1g cd commented they didn't see the true roger wang at play. this is partly true because it was roger's first foray into chinese ballads. he needs time to familiarize himself with this genre.
it is a different story this time. some of his arrangements we heard tonight are simply gorgeous. song like lover's tears and oblivious time (bei yu wang de shi guang, cai qin's classic) are all given a cool jazz/bossa treatment; they sound totally different and refreshing. we were nodding our heads in total approval of his superb arrangements.
frankly, if you are a mandarin pop lover, you must not be miss this gig. it is gonna be a really good one.
p/s there are still some "staircase" seats left for the two gigs. the seats offer good view of the stage but you have to sit on parquet flooring :-(
mrs. costello has visibly gained some weights since she became a mother, something which she proudly declared during the concert in kl last night. she even mentioned about her famous husband but i guess not many people know who her husband is. and yes, krall has the most beautiful blonde hair i have ever seen ;-)
the acoustics in plenery hall are good, tho' nowhere approaching the dewan filharmonik petronas (DFP). from where we sat, the sound did not have enough volume. anthony wilson's guitar came across louder than diana krall's piano but it doesn't matter, the quartet played a tight set throughout the entire night.
what impressed me is how seasoned krall's voice has become. it has a kind of tone that is akin to the best of wine reserved for the connoisseurs. many people dislike krall because they think her voice is technically perfect but lacking of real emotions and this i have to disagree. listening to her rendition of joni mitchell "a case of you" with just the piano with pin-drop silence from the audience, i could feel my goose bumps raised and my heart stopped beating.
and anthony wilson's is a gem, his guitar is so soulful and sensitive. i actually mentioned to my producer (chow) that how i wished roger wang is here. i am not saying that roger is not as good as anthony wilson but he could learn a thing or two from anthony. what i love about anthony's guitar is the contrast in his playing between the fast numbers and the slows numbers. there is a good mix of slow and fast numbers in the set and when it comes to the slow (really really slow) ones, krall (and her piano playing) sounded so very seductive and sensitive; it touched and moved the soul. and anthony's guitar playing complemented very well, like hand and glove.
a lot of local musicians i know do not have enough of contrast in their playing, this much i can tell you. most of them revel in playing fast dynamic numbers but when it comes to slow ones, they lack sensitivity and delicacy.
overall, krall and her quartet delivered a night of quality jazz. but i wished the venue could be smaller with more intimate crowd. i was told that krall and entourage adjourned to no black tie (NBT) after the concert to jam with local jazz musicians but it was too late for me to go to NBT.
talking about NBT, yes, two of 2v1g's gigs are full house next week! yay, give me five!
