[EVENT] A SJ50 Special Edition : SG-JP Music Mix 2016 at Victoria Concert Hall

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan known as "SJ50". In conjunction with SJ50, SG-JP Music Mix 2016 was organised and held at the Victoria Concert Hall. This unique performance is a special collaboration comprising of Japanese and Singapore songs and traditional music blended together by of 5 artistes and 7 musicians from both Singapore and Japan.  

The programme is divided into two sets with a 20 minutes intermission in between.

1st Set 

01. Bugaku - Dance Performance by Hideki Togi
02. You & Me - Olivia Ong
03. Oonjalaadum - Shabir
04. Put Our Hearts Together - Sachiyo
05. Life Story - Dick Lee
06. Cosmic Thoughts - Hideki Togi

Intermission

2nd Set

01. Ringo Oiwake ~ Originally sung by the Japanese legendary singer Hibari Misora, a diva of the "Showa era", released in 1952.
02. Xinyao Medley - 新加坡派 · 细水长流 · 恋之憩 ~ Singapore Mandarin folk song written, composed and performed by the youth of Singapore
03. Malay Songs Medley - Rasa Sayang · Chan Mali Chan · Suriram ~ Nostalgic traditional Malay songs that are widely taught during music lessons in Singapore's Primary Schools.
04. Singai Naadu ~ Composed by Shabir, the 2012 Natonal Day Parade official Tamil Song, "Singapore my country".
05. I Am With You ~ Hideki Togi's original composition, released as the album title in 2002.
06. Hana ~ A famous song from Okinawa, a big hit in Singapore and covered by many artistes around the world.
07. Sukiyaki ~ A representative song from Japan that is being sung worldwide for more than half a century.
08. Home ~ Composed by Dick Lee in 1998, a National Day Parade theme song well-loved by all Singaporeans.

While hubby prefers the 2nd set more, I enjoyed myself throughout the whole performance and even sang along to some familiar tunes.

It's a real eye-opener to the cultural of Japan. Especially during the opening "Bugaku" performance. It's a 1,400-year-old Japanese Imperial Court Music carefully preserved and handed down over generations.

Hideki Togi also introduced the Heaven and Earth Musical Instruments he played which sounds like flute but is really high pitch.

Thanks Caren for the tickets!


XOXO

Chriz Tong's Unfinished Concert at Esplanade Recital Studio

Chriz Tong's Unfinished concert was awesome! Glad that I spent this rainy Sunday evening immersing myself in her beautiful voice. Didn't miss the opportunity to get her to sign on my newly purchased album and at the same time, a photo with her and my bro! Fan-girl mode~ Heehee. 

Chriz Tong's Unfinished concert is actually her first ever concert held at the Esplanade Recital Studio which is an ideal venue cause I felt it brings her closer to the audience. The sound system and all is superb too! 

The "Unfinished Concert" theme was inspired by her latest TV drama series, Love at Risk's sub-theme song that was titled "An unfinished love song". "Unfinished" in this case also refers to Chriz's constant dedication and passion in her singing career to sing more songs for her fans and audiences. 

Chriz Tong serenade us with the song 橄榄树 (Olive Tree/Gan Lan Shu) as her first opening song. This is not an easy song, Sun Yan Zi sang it and was recorded in her 4th album and also recorded in Chriz Tong's latest album. At the beginning part, Chriz sang it without any music in the background. Just acoustic and it really blows my mind away. 

After that, she sang 味道 (smell) which was her first tailored song, did a cover of 找自己

by David Tao and an English song "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys. Watch my 15 seconds instagram video of her singing Girl on Fire here. 

 A short interval whereby videos of famous people in the music industry sent their encouragements and wishes to Chriz. Many of them congratulate her and also hope that she will move on to perform for a bigger audience next time at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Taiwan Arena, etc. 

Chriz Tong is out again with a change of outfit and she sang us three songs, mostly her own creations. Dan Shu Lu Cheng, Wan Mei (完美) and Wo Hui.  Wan Mei (完美) is a song that she wrote when she was very young so in the music one can feel the youthfulness and energy. The screen behind shows many many photos of her during her younger days with her friends and even photos of her with short hair. It makes me feels like going through her life journey with her. 

Photo Credit : Photography by Steven Teo / J2meepok.com for The Red Planet Group

The humble Chriz with the "P plate" decal pasted on her guitar as she told us how she just started learning guitar 3 weeks ago. She sang a song called Kao Yan (考验). Well done! 

In the next interval, Chriz came back to the stage, dressed in a pretty pink dress. She sang the following drama theme songs. 

爱情风险 《爱情风险 Love @ Risk》 主题曲 

愛蔓延 《让爱复原》主题曲

[翻唱]  十万毫升泪水 《志在四方》插曲

一首没唱完的情歌 《爱情风险》插曲

啡情歌 《96C咖啡》主题曲

  

Photo Credit : Photography by Steven Teo / J2meepok.com for The Red Planet Group

Like every other concerts, there bound to be a special guest in between. For her, she had invited Peter Tan 陈彼得老师 to be her special guest. They sang a duet song called 《愛你》which is the ending song for TV Drama 砂锅肉骨茶。

After the duet, Chriz sang 《一首没唱完的情歌》, ending song for 爱情风险。She went to the backstage after this song and we shouted for encore! 

So she's back again with the last song, "Part of Your World" from Disney's Little Mermaid. She sang this song with a lot of emotions. Below is a video I "secretly" took. Hehe. 

Nice song, nice voice. 

A group photo of her with the band. This time it's really the end. Congrats to Chriz Tong for putting up a really great concert. Hope to see her grow and be successful in her music journey. Thanks Terence for the invitation. 

>> CLICK HERE TO LIKE CHRIZ TONG FACEBOOK PAGE <<

Ending my post with lots of photos of me. My hair is really dry and frizzy. Thinking of snapping them away soon but I have other reasons to keep them long. Haha. Ok, we'll see how. Till my next post! Thanks for reading! Cheers ^^ 

[Review] Ultimate Ears UE Boom 360º Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Last month, I went to the Logitech Ultimate Ears event for a cool presentation of their latest product known as the UE Boom. (read post here). I was so amazed by this innovative portable speakers so when I was asked if I could do a review on it, I gladly accepted. 

Ultimate Ears is best known for their on-stage, in-ear monitors in the market. From Lady Gaga to Ben Wallace to Vanessa Hudgens, more and more artists, athletes and celebrities are using Ultimate Ears than any other brand (Source of who's using UE products here). The creation of custom-fit professional earphones changes the way artists perform music on stage. It's definitely the No. 1 choice for touring music artists.   

So when UE Boom, their first wireless bluetooth speaker was introduced to the market, many music lovers are putting high expectations on this interesting looking portable speaker. It's even touted as the first ever social music player. 

There's so many different types and brands of speakers out there but what makes UE Boom so unique? Does it have the sound quality for consumers? Let's explore and find out! 

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

Other than the speakers that is placed so neatly inside, there's two other special compartments. One on top, the other below. 

If you've noticed, the two special compartments comes with the cable and voltage symbol.Pull that out like pulling a drawer and inside reveal the speaker's AC power supply and a micro USB adapter cable for charging.  

THE DESIGN

According to the UE Boom website, the UE Boom is available in six different colour combinations. The two special combinations of "blue and yellow" and the "pink and red" is what I didn't see in the launch event so I'm not so sure if it's retailing in Singapore already. The cylindrical shape is able to project near 360 degree of listening pleasure.  

At one end of the speaker is the D-Ring for you to hook it to your bag or hook your favourite keychains on it.

For me, I let my UE Boom wear necklace! Wahaha. 

 I don't hook my UE Boom directly to my bag, instead I put it inside my previous water bottle cover first before I hook it to my bag. This is call double protection! I'm so glad the size fits nicely into it. 

THE CONTROLS

 Controls buttons are set to the minimal with the large "+" and "-" signs on the rubbery panel. It acts as the music volume controls and when you press both the "+" and "-" buttons together, a voice will announce the percentage of battery left. There is no battery indicator so this is the one way to find our whether the battery is running low. 

In my case, I don't really need to press the "+" and "-" buttons on the UE Boom at all as I can adjust the volume on my iPhone too when it's connected and I have another way to check the battery level on my iPhone too! Show you all later! 

  

The power and bluetooth buttons are at the other end of the speaker. A loud drumming sound is produced each time the speaker is turned on and off as well as when it connects or disconnects to a Bluetooth device. To save power, the UE Boom will turn off automatically after 15 minutes if there is no user interaction or music playing. 

WHAT'S SO COOL

I can simply play and share my music all day and all night with this UE Boom speakers. I bring it to my office, to my friend's BBQ party and back home and I'm still using it! Amazing right? Not only does the long lasting 15 hours battery life allows me to bring it out, the UE Boom's water, stain and shock resistance is another great features that makes me go ahead to bring it everywhere with me! 

UE BOOM APP

With the UE Boom app downloaded from the app store, one can choose to double up the volume or play it the stereo style. By doubling up, it means to double the music with two UE BOOMs as they are playing the same music source at once. 

Double Sound: Each speaker plays both Left and Right Channels

Stereo: One speaker is Left and the other is Right. One can even switch the Left and Right UE BOOMs in this mode.  

Inside the app is also the setting. Yes, here's the alternative place to check the battery level as well as to rename your speaker. 

LASTLY

The UE Boom is priced at SGD 299.00 with a 2-year limited hardware warranty. Oh ya. I did an instavideo of me listening to Minion's singing YMCA and my Minions papoy using the UE Boom speakers. View the 15 seconds short clip here. Thanks for reading, good night! 

For more information, please visit 

http://www.ultimateears.com/en-sg/boom

Ultimate Ears Unveils World's First Social Music Player : UE BOOM

Ultimate Ears, a brand of Logitech, the leading supplier of in-ear-monitors for professional musicians and an emerging provider of premium speakers and headphones for the consumers, introduced the UE BOOM, the World's first social music player that brings playing music to a new era. 

The UE BOOM is a wireless speaker that provides 360-degree sound in a battery-powered device. Think of loud, immersive music in every direction for your next party, and you'll think of the UE BOOM. 

With a 15-hour rechargeable battery life and its versatile, easy to carry shape, this is one gadget that allows music lovers like me to enjoy my music everywhere I go. 15 hours of battery life is enough for me to party all day long, from dusk till dawn. 

Wrapped in a specially developed colourful acoustic skin, the UE BOOM is both water and stain resistant. As demonstrated, even after pouring a cup of water over the speaker, the speaker still works perfectly fine!!!  

It's so easy to connect the phone to the speaker. It's possible to use Bluetooth to connect or through the UE BOOM app for IOS or Android. It's able to connect up to two devices at the same time and the wireless range of play is up to 50 feet away! 

It gets kinda chaotic at the event when everyone tries to connect to the UE BOOM and locating which UE BOOM is playing the music from their phones.  

The UE BOOM is available in four colours, black, blue, white, red. My favourite among the four colours is the one that I'm holding to.

I feel that the UE BOOM is ideally designed for people who wants to share their love for music. It's easy to share photos online, now it's easy to share music too! 

The UE BOOM are in stores now, available at all major consumer electronic outlets selling for SGD$299.00.

A nice photo with Jess and another nice photo with Jess and Terence. Thanks for the invitation! ^^

For more information and to find a retailer near you, please visit

http://www.ultimateears.com/en-sg/boom

F&N Sparkling Drinks Present MTV Sessions with The Temper Trap

Presented by F&N Sparkling Drinks is a music series titled MTV Sessions and it is back for its Sixth episode. 

Here's a list of artistes who have performed for the MTV Sessions. I'm glad to be invited to catch the first MTV Sessions in 2013 featuring an Australian Indie rock band, The Temper Trap. 

The Temper Trap is formed in 2005 and they released their debut album "Conditions" along with the lead single "Sweet Disposition" in 2009. The band's core members are Dougy Mandagi as lead singer, Jonathon Aherne on bass guitar, Lorenzo Sillitto on lead guitar, Toby Dundas on the drums and Joseph Greer on keyboards and guitar.  

Honestly, I've not heard of their songs prior to this event but when I told Stef about this band, she seems to have heard of their songs on radio before. Thus, I invited her to come along with me for this live and up-close performance. 

The MTV Sessions was filmed live in an intimate studio environment at Resort World Sentosa's Waterfront Studio. It was really an exclusive session with a crowd of only about 300 that night. 

For that one hour session, the band thrilled us with six of their songs which includes the most popular song "Sweet Disposition" to which the crowd sing together to. We were also the privileged few to listen to them live performing "Everybody Leaves In The End" acoustically for the first time. This song is a duet between Mandagi and Joseph Greer. There was also a Q&A sessions whereby they answered questions from Twitter and from the floor. They ended the night with a re-done of "Trembling Hands," which entered the Top 30 shortlist for 2013 APRA Song of the Year last month.

Normal Version

Acoustic Version

Trembling Hands is one song that keeps repeating in my mind. I'm quite fond of the song so the moment I went back home, I did a search of it on YouTube. When they performed this song, I was listening to it with my eyes closed. Swinging my body with the melody and following the lyrics of the song. Maybe it's the lyrics that I can so relate to that makes me like this song so much. It goes,

...............................

So throw me a line

Somebody out there help me

I'm on my own

I'm on my own

Throw me a line

Afraid that I have come here

To win you again

With trembling hands

Trembling hands

There goes the ending

It left me in the war

But I tried everything yeah

I'm done with my part

..........................................

With bubbly Stef. Thank u for accompanying me. Oh yeah, MTV Sessions premiers on MTV S.E.A, Starhub channel on 1st June, 11.30am (WIB), 12.30pm (SIN/HK/PH) and 1.30pm (MAL). Don't forget to catch it on TV! ^^

For more informations about the show and exclusive photos and videos of The Temper Trap MTV session, please visit

http://web2.mtvasia.com/microsite/mtvsessions/the-temper-trap 

Thanks for reading! 

Eco Music Challenge: Season 2 CD [Winning Song - World Without Fences]

The Clean and Green Singapore 2012 official theme song has been chosen out of the 13 finalists' songs during the Eco Music Challenge 2011! Now, I shall present the music video of this winning song titled “World without fences” to all of you who are reading my blog now!! There is also a weekly contest ongoing at their facebook page where visitors can stand a chance to win a $100 epicentre voucher. Simply Like their facebook page, watched the extended version of the "World without fences" music video and answer a simple question for your chance to win. The contest will be running for four weeks, starting from 1 November 2011. I've already taken part so don't wait! :)





In today's fast paced environment, everyone is so busy with work and barely have time to pursue our interest. However, there is still an increased number of home-grown talents who find time to take part in the recent Eco Music challenge 2011 which is in for the second season. Only 13 finalists were selected and a compilation of their songs were made into the CD called "Eco Music Challenge Season 2".

Thanks NEA for this complimentary copy of the album for reviewing purpose

Music is very therapeutic. When people are often so busy it's easier to use music to send out messages and to remind people that our actions can ultimately affect the environment we lived in. That is why the lyrics of the songs in the albums are all on the clean and green topic and inspire people to work together for a clean and green Singapore. There is an interesting mixture of genres such as Rock and Roll, Pop, Jazz, Country Folk and Punk Rock.  


My personal favourite tracks on the album include the winning song which is track 03. World Without Fences by Lee Fengheng for it a very soothing song to hear over and over again, track 06. 早安你好！by Darren Lee and Yap Rei Horng is a very relaxing, feel-good song and track 12. Set Her Free by Judah Lyne makes me want to dance! Basically, all the songs in the album are GREAT! 


The track 02. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Jason Hui leaves the deepest impression in my mind. It emphasize on the 3Rs that we are so familiar with: "REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE your thing one way you can and turn off your light, turn off your tap and turn off your air-con when you are not in the room!" 


Track 05. Love for planet Earth by Julian Kwok is on an interesting perception from an astronaut. "Spaceship to base, do you read me loud and clear. Cos it looks like we've got a problem. Fading away is our home of green and blue. Mayday, mayday what we need is LOVE for Planet Earth."  


This CD also features two bonus track: track 14. Clean and Green by Toh Yi Fan (Eco Music Challenge 2011 Young Musician Award winner) and track 15. 拯救世界 by Shawn Tok   (Campus Superstar 2007 Champion). While Clean and Green is a rap style song with a catchy beat, 拯救世界 is more of a rock music style.   

So still curious with the songs? Do get a copy of the CD today! It's very much worth the cost. Or visit their website for either the online album or per song download. All proceeds from the sale of the CD will goes to the Nature Society (Singapore) to support the appreciation and study of nature at Semakau Landfill and Pulau Semakau (the place where all our rubbish goes to).