Concert: Regina Spektor at the Palais Theatre

With both shows sold out, this is definitely not one to be missed. Supported by Jupiter One, upbeat indie pop Damien Rice is how I'd define them. Not very interesting. Apparently, these New Yorkers would be supporting Regina's North American and Australian Tour.

After a long half-hour, Regina came up without a word and started he show with The Calculation. The lighting for the show was brilliantly in sync with her music which absolutely added class to her performance. Followed up by Eet, a song which i didn't expect her to whip out so quickly as it's quite a hit song and i was kinda expecting her to keep that for the encore. So the show was going through the exact sequence of her album Far's tracklist, then she skipped to Folding Chair and Ode to Divorce. Despite her wide range of vocals, she was very soft spoken as she was introducing her members which consist of a drummer, a violinist and a cellist.



Half way through she went solo as the other members left, leaving her on the grand piano to perform. It's amusing how she could churn instant lyrics out in a comedic way but representing a story or experience at the same time. Apart from the piano, she also played a baby blue guitar and single-handedly played the piano while using drum sticks to tap rhythms on the body of a chair. These various technique definitely was and interesting mix with her beatbox-ballad singing style. Apres Moi was one personal favorites of the set, deep and tensed albeit the Russian verse which i didn't understood shit. Occasionally someone from the crowd would shout "PLAY US FIDELITY! PLAY US SAMSON!", she would just chuckle.



Her encore was Samson, Us, Fidelity and Hotel Song. Absurd mash of songs which was bound to drive her fans crazy. For hotel song, singing was the only thing she did for once. Good mother fucking show.

Regina Spektor at Palais Theatre from headexplode on Vimeo.

Regina Spektor at the Palais Theatre from Head Explode on Vimeo.

Setlist:

1. The Calculation
2. Eet
3. Folding Chair
4. Ode To Divorce
5. Machine
6. Laughing With
7. One More Time With Feeling
8. Two Birds
9. Blue Lips
10. Sailor Song
11. On The Radio
12. Dance Anthem Of The 80s
13. Silly Eye-Color Generalizations
14. Bobbing For Apples
15. That Time
16. Après Moi
17. Ballad Of A Politician
18. Poor Little Rich Boy
19. Human Of The Year
20. Summer In The City

Encore:
21. Samson
22. Us
23. Fidelity
24. Hotel Song

Video: The xx - Islands

The xx.
My favorite band of 2009.
My favorite album of 2009.
Period.

Album Review: Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program / Samiyam – Los Angeles 3/10

All City Records Presents - Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program/Samiyam : LA Series #3

Label : All City Records
Release Date : 19th April 2010
Genre : Glitch, Wonky, Beats

Tracklist
01. Ras G and The Afrikan Space Program – Flight Delay
02. Ras G and The Afrikan Space Program – Ourtrill
03. Ras G and The Afrikan Space Program – Breakfast Blunts
04. Samiyam – Fishsticks
05. Samiyam – Brad
06. Samiyam – Space

Dublin's All City returns with its 3 out of 10 LA series feature talents of the burgeoning yet championed Los Angeles beatheads. On this 3rd installment, another two Brainfeeder cohorts (the 1st one being Matthewdavid on the 2nd series) Samiyam & Ras G submit 3 tracks each.

Firstly, I pinched the wax on the front side, which is Ras G's. Ras, a proud South Central LA resident definitely needs no introduction as he is a fixture on the LA underground hip-hop scene since early 90s. 'Flight Delay' opens the 12" with smashing woozy synth bass and cut-up psychedelic samples, pretty much the beatmaking habit of this South Central O.G. The 3rd track, 'Breakfast Blunts' carries the same psychedelic vibe as 'Flight Delay' but the surprise came from then 2nd track 'Outrilliantend', which sounds surprisingly jazzy while keeping his psychedelic vibe intact, something that he hadn't came up with since his split 12" with another LA transplant, Black Dusty Rhodes. with three heavy bass speaker smashers, Ras G came correct with three definitive jawns that we can bump all day.

Moving on to the other side of wax, Samiyam (aka Sam Baker) is known for his melancholic sounding beats and off-kilter dilla vibes which built around his signature synths. This Angeleno by-the-way-of Ann Arbor beatsmith's opening track, 'Fishsticks' could possibly be the highlight of the series. South park reference aside, this tune combines overcompressed, crunching nintendo bassline and 808 with his signature 'sinister' synths, running slightly off-timing with the drums, his slow flow style crushes everything in its path like a bulldozer stuck in muddy surfaces. The equally weird skit at the end of track makes a perfect accompaniment to the whole tune. Sadly, the expectation crumbles on 'Brad', which lazily chucked in and looped for almost 5 minutes but 'Space' provides the much expected climax and also serves as the closer of this 12" which sounded like some Motown rendition of an Italian horror movie sound score and once again, the track also closes with some banger outro that (hopefully) will be his next release.

Overall, this makes another solid release for All City records, thus solidifying their status as a hotbed indie label for talented beatheads all across the continents. In the meantime, enjoy all 6 tunes while blazing a joint for a refreshing change.

Words by Skware-1

Video: The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home

The whole song’s structure is so light, so airy, like feather weight.
Patrick Watson’s soaring voice make the sky grew cold and the rain pour down from the delicate strings. Beautiful~ If you like Coldplay’s The Scientist, then you have to listen to this song, it’s much more profound.

"To Build A Home" is found on The Cinematic Orchestra's most recent album Ma Fleur. The Cinematic Orchestra is a British-based jazz and electronic outfit, created in the late 1990s by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune independent record label.

News: concerts and more concerts

I'm gonna list a few interesting concert that makes me jizz my pants and waste away my cash~ hahaha..

Video Games Live (VGL) at KLCC (April 17, 2010)
Fans of orchestra, must go for this one!

Stereophonics LIVE in Malaysia. (April 28, 2010)

Corinne Bailey Rae LIVE in Singapore. Organized by Greenhorn Productions - (July 2010)

Club 8 LIVE in Malaysia

Date: May 13th 2010.


Club 8 was formed in 1995 by Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace)

They came here before, back in 2008 if not mistaken.
Brought to you by Soundscape Records.

Geniuses At Work