Impor terbaru dari Finlandia yang membawa kita bernostalgia ke era di mana The Fresh Prince of Bel Air masih mengudara di televisi. Jika musik dengan beat yang nyantai sekaligus nge-dance bekerja bagai afrodisiac untuk kalian, atau jika familiar dengan musik pop ala Lisa Stansfield, Soul II Soul, PM. Dawn, Candyflip, hingga The Beloved, maka Shine 2009 perlu disimak. Debut EP mereka, Associates (2009) dirilis sebelum full-album Realism akhirnya rampung di 2011. Bernaung di bawah salah satu label berbahaya saat ini, Cascine, Shine 2009 bergabung dengan deretan popster asal Helsinki. Single So Free yang menghadirkan Paula Abdul menjadi favorit beberapa music blog internasional. Mereka adalah Sami Suova & Mikko Pykäri, dan Sami berbaik hati untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan berikut ini...
01.How do you feel about your debut album? Was it exactly how you want it to be?
I actually just listened to it for the first time in six months and was happily surprised how much i still liked it. When we finished it, the album was exactly how we wanted it to be, and that's what counts. Of course there's always things you would do differently after a while, but that's just natural progression. Realism is perfect as it is, however, if we made the album now, it would sound different.

02.Any particular concept behind the album?
No, or at least it wasn't our intention to make a concept album.

03.What's the story behind the songs "New Rules" and "Graduation"?    
They're both rants of some confident young man who knows it better. 

04.Before you found out about Paula Abdul liking your Associates EP, were there any other female vocalists on your roster?
We asked a  few singers, but they were either too busy or it just didn't work out for other reasons. I guess it would be impolite to give out names.

05.Is "So Free" the only track you work with Paula Abdul? 
Yes.

06.What about Astrid Swan? How did you come up to work with her?
We've known Astrid for years and she lives in Helsinki, so it felt like a natural collaboration and also it was the easiest thing in the world to organize. She came over to our studio, recorded vocals for two songs, and we were ready by lunch time. 

07.You seem to take a lot of attention to many aspects of music production, what part of it that absorbs your attention mostly? 
It's nice to hear you can hear that. It's just something that comes naturally from us. Both of us have always been into both the writing and producing aspects of music, and that way we can complement each other when we're producing.

08.What about when it comes to playing live?
At the moment it's just the two of us when we play live – Mikko plays the guitar and keyboards, i sing and play the guitar. However we're planning to get a drummer for our future shows.

09.Aside from Pykäri being in Regina, had you been in another band? What kind of music were you playing/making then?
I have done some solo stuff and played keyboards in a band, but it was nothing major. Most of the solo material ended up never being released, but if you're really interested, you can hear a couple of old remixes (for Regina, naturally) at http://soundcloud.com/schmami. All in all, what i'm doing now is way more interesting.

10.The listeners can't help to feel that Realism sounds so 90s. Any particular artist from the era that you perceive to be great, production-wise?
This is something we could talk for hours. George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice is outstanding, same thing with Madonna's Erotica. The One Dove and Primal Scream albums produced by Andrew Weatherall are great, so is a lot of stuff by Electronic. Hypnotone produced a lot of good songs, too. Aaliyah's Age Ain't Nothing But A Number is also a mutual favorite, and Chapterhouse, Black Grape, Saint Etienne etc. etc. 

11.Any new release plans for 2012?
We have a lot of new songs finished already, but there's no release plans yet. However here's a new track we posted online last week: http://soundcloud.com/shine2009/shine-2009-our-nation
Terima kasih untuk Cascine yang telah membantu dalam proses Q&A ini.
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Daniel Land and The Modern Painters, ya dengan nama band dan nama album seperti ini ditambah artwork kover album yang Glider-ish, sangat mudah menarik perhatian para benak eskapis yang tertarik pada tema-tema pretensius, termasuk saya, haha. Dari track pembuka "Within The Boundaries" yang berlirik hanya sekitar 3 baris, suara gitar hasil delay/echo/reverb beberapa pedal yang familiar seketika mengingatkan saya pada Slowdive. Track selanjutnya "Codeine" (judul yang 'ngga ke mana-mana' hehe), dibuka dengan intro gitar akustik yang jangly. Cukup melegakan, karena awalnya saya mengira lagu-lagu berikutnya akan terdengar tipikal. Pengaruh The Verve pada track ini sangat kental termasuk ke gaya vocalizing-nya Richard Ashcroft. Loncat ke track nomor empat "Glitterball", inilah track yang catchy dan cukup friendly untuk didengarkan berulang-ulang. Ritme gitar yang berulang tak terelakan memunculkan image Cocteau Twins.Hasil berlapis dari resonansi tiga gitar dan cara bernyanyi Daniel Land yang terdengar seperti perempuan (seperti yang dicontohkan dengan sempurna sebelumnya oleh Jeff Buckley, Delays, Mew dan Anthony And The Johnsons), juga sedikit sentuhan slide gitar ala alt-country rockers Son Volt/Japancakes membuat album band asal Manchester ini berada di bawah direktori ethereal, atau dreampop. Bukan sesuatu yang baru, tapi layak disimak.
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Setelah membaca blog berisi cerita personal tentang pengalaman mistisnya yang ditulis dengan gaya bertutur yang natural, saya memutuskan untuk menawarkan posisi penyiar acara Popcircle pada Risa Saraswati di penghujung 2007. Bukan karena Popcircle adalah acara mistis, melainkan karena personality Risa yang menarik, tersirat dan membuatnya menjadi kandidat yang pas, ditambah dengan fakta bahwa saat itu dia juga adalah vokalis dari Homogenic. Pada perkembangannya acara radio ini kemudian mempertemukan Risa dengan Syauqy Lukman (partner siaran) dan Dimas Ario (produser acara). Siapa yang menyangka kalau tim ini menjadi titik awal dari munculnya proyek musik yang paling hangat dibicarakan saat ini : Sarasvati.
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Menyebutnya sebagai ambient music rasanya cukup menggambarkan warna keseluruhan album ini. Alunan tekstur gitar yang terdistorsi, looping samples, suara drums yang tenggelam jauh di dasar (terkadang tidak ada sama sekali), dan suara-suara lainnya, saling bergantian mengisi ruang dan waktu dari setiap track di album ini. Seperti yang terimplikasi oleh kover album Navigare dari Simon Scott, ada nuansa gelap dengan beberapa sorot cahaya yang muncul sesekali menyilaukan kuping. Inilah impresi keseluruhan dari rilisan solo debut mantan drummer Slowdive ini. Masih ingat track "Eric's Song" di album Just For A Day? Bayangkan track itu dengan penambahan suara desis dari pita rekaman, melodi panjang hasil fabrikasi efek gitar, sampled vocals (ada juga, nyanyian "beneran" di track "The ACC"), suara suasana pedestrian, suara mesin pabrik (?), dll. Kurang lebih seperti itulah lagu-lagunya. Bukan sesuatu yang baru memang. Bahkan lagu "Flood In" akan langsung mengingatkan kita pada sebuah lagu milik Jesu.
Untuk para penggemar Seefeel, loveliescrushing, ataupun Robin Guthrie.
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Picture
PS Stuff I grabbed back in the heyday.
Pure Saturday (PS) berkumpul di ruang bersama 102.3 Rase FM Bandung dari sekitar pukul 20.30, Rabu 03 September 2008. Hadir tanpa crew, Adhi, Udhi, Arief, Ade dan sang manajer Jamie tampak sibuk mempersiapkan wiring & tuning tiga buah gitar akustik/semi akustik yang tergeletak di atas sofa, setengah jam sebelum acara RCI Tampil! dimulai. Satria NB yang akrab dipanggil Iyo, sang vokalis, sedang ‘sibuk’ perang di arena Counter Strike di ruangan lain. Tidak berapa lama, acara yang terdiri dari interview dan live performance ini, dimulai.
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Santamonica is taking Indonesian pop music to the level that has never been reached before. Their debut album, Curiouser And Curiouser, is a collection of songs that in fact keep you curious about what’s going to hit you next. From the initial “Curiouser And Curiouser” to the final track “Fail To Bloom”, Santamonica has somehow managed to keep it interesting. Filled with amusing twists & turns, underlining many curious sounds, these 10 songs are the proof of their persistance of perfecting the details and superb jazz-pop-sensibility. I think it’s their signature of songwriting, concerning its continuity.

The production is quite ambitious I’d say. It’s nowhere near 189 (their EP - 2005). The duo have a strong interest in analog instruments and the record shows a lot. You’d play it for many times just so you could re-discover the layers and actually enjoy the same song in a different way. I imagined that Anindita & Joseph Saryuf were curious and curiouser about the alternate results of the songs along the process, that it’s very possible they’d have so many outtakes (yum!).

“Wanderlust” the 1st single, is a playful one and a bit Stereolab-ish. “Better For Us Never” is one of my favorites, a standout track with great duet parts that drove the crowd all cheering when Santamonica played it last Saturday in Bandung. On “Plainsong” and “Paper Dolls” you’d feel that Paul Staveley O’Duffy influence, ones found on Swing Out Sister releases circa Kaleidoscope World. Another favorite track, “Ribbons And Tie” is an excellent danceable track and should be perfect for single#2

Anindita Saryuf’s whispery vocal is improving, and treated as well as other instruments. A lot of verses are done with two different vocalizing. Here and there, the guitar sounds bring out the ghost of Sugarstar (Joseph’s other great band whose most of the songs ,sadly, haven’t seen the light of day ) resembling guitar/noise bands of the 90s, especially My Bloody Valentine. The other thing that will get you curious is the lyrics. Try to catch em sometime soon maybe.

The special edition of Curiouser And Curiouser compliments the fans with 1 bonus disc. Consisting the songs that won’t fit the feel of the album, but still trip you to another land . Most of them are from Santamonica’s earlier works including the dreamy “Anais Lullaby”, and some recall the touch of Danes (another Joseph’s former project). For visuals pleasure, the cd is enhanced with two videos (Wanderlust and Anais Lullaby) and packed with great artworks.

All in all, it is a joyful & surreal mind-adventure.
Am thinking spacey metropolis, city lights, colors and wonderland. Curious indeed.
Santamonica is out and about.
Go grab it now.

This was written long time ago and posted on my old blog.
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Go here for more pictures.
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Yes, just click on the picture.
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There was a time when Saul Freeman had not been associated with Mandalay, and David McAlmont wasn't yet making songs with Bernard Butler. It was the time when etherealism in music found its glorious moment. It was the early 90s, Freeman & McAlmont was Thieves. Short-lived and overlooked, Thieves released Through The Door and Unworthy as singles. A male & soulful version of Cocteau Twins perhaps? Layers of swooning melodies trickling down their tunes, stealing your hearts, yes they're Thieves indeed.
David McAlmont kindly gave us his bits of Thieves memories and his current music projects.

Read more here
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Setelah tahun lalu Adele berhasil mempesona lewat albumnya, "19", yang sangat soulful dan cukup memiliki kadar 'edgy' dalam arti berani memasukan unsur lainnya seperti electronic music misalnya, tahun 2009 kuping saya kembali 'haus' akan album yang mempunyai satu nafas dengan "19". Sampai akhirnya saya mendengarkan "The Courtesy Fall" milik Dawn Kinnard asal Pennsylvania AS. Tentu saja tidak sama dengan Adele, Dawn Kinnard lebih menyentuh sisi southern musik pop/rock Amerika. Tapi jangan dulu membayangkan warna musik country karena bukan itu yang ada di album ini. Dominasi alunan gitar, beat yang cukup 'bermain' dari lagu ke lagu, samples suara-suara yang sedikit psychedelic, ditambah orkestrasi di sana sini, melengkapi vokal Dawn yang terkadang muncul aksen southern-nya. Oh ya ada kolaborasi juga dengan musisi Ed Harcourt dan Cerys Matthews (ex-Catatonia) di 2 track pada album ini.Untuk yang suka lagu yang berkomposisi grafik naik, simak track penutup "White Walls" yang berdurasi tujuh setengah menit. Yeah she is not your regular southern pop/rock singer.
Untuk penggemar Adele, KT Tunstall, atau Sarah Blasko.
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