By bapester, on June 20th, 2010% 
It is hard for me to say whether Malaysians, clubbers to be specific, still listen to house music. I seldom go clubbing nowadays, and honestly have not stepped into a club that played house music in years. Some friends might say techno, trance and house have gone out of fashion but I am no judge to the statement. I am not one who dances to house music, and some of it may be repetitive and vacuous, but I enjoy having house music in the background.
Recently, Gilles Peterson (where else?) did a podcast with budding Detroit producer and DJ, 18- year old Kyle Hall. Yes, you heard right, EIGHTEEN. He first got into electronic music at the age of eleven. Hailing from a city that was, and probably still plays a major part in defining house music, he was exposed to house music since a tender age. It was Detroit’s musical legends themselves like Mike Huckaby who mentored, trained and taught him the tricks of the music trade. His productions have been garnering worldwide attention since last year, particularly remix of Darkstar’s “Aidy’s Girl is a Computer”, already has a couple of EPs and releases under his belt AND has his own record label, Wild Oats.
» Continue reading New Detroit: Kyle Hall
By bapester, on June 6th, 2010% 
Bet you haven’t. Me neither, until Monday when I was listening to Jamie Cullum’s online jazz show on BBC Radio 2. Sure glad I did tho. Anyway, I was halfway through listening to the show, when one song made me sit up and pay attention. That song was the Esbjörn Svensson Trio’s (e.s.t in short) ‘Tuesday Wonderland’. The piano’s bass section starts off the song with a riff, then a theme starts to play, alternating with the riff. Then magic happens, the double bass enters with just one single sustained note, but played with effects (flanging, if I am not wrong). Then the piano re-enters for improvising, by this moment I have already died and entered aural heaven. All done in 7-7-7-8 time.
[If you are curious to know what I am talking about, you may just click here and watch the video yourself.]
» Continue reading Have you heard of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio?
By bapester, on January 28th, 2010% …continued from Part 1
It is rather outdated of me to have only heard this old soul brother’s music so late in his career. After all, this guy was nominated for THREE Grammys last year, for crying out loud (not that Grammy nominations were a benchmark of quality music, but this time round it unarguably is). As usual, I only got to know about him after listening to one of Gilles Peterson’s radio shows online (where else?). My curiosity piqued, I knew I had to get hold of his music. » Continue reading My January Playlist, Part 2
By bapester, on January 26th, 2010% Thought I’d like to share my latest musical finds. For no real reason, I have been surfing up a lot of new music this month, and loving a lot of it.
1. Jazzanova
» Continue reading My January Playlist
By bapester, on January 17th, 2010%
By bapester, on December 29th, 2009% 
Sometimes I wonder how much poorer my musical experience would be if not for that fateful night in my UK dorm room when I tuned in to Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 1 four years ago. I love how his radio shows have and continues to expand my horizons in music, introducing me to new musical styles and artistes – usually left of centre, lo-fi music spanning jazz, soul, hiphop, electronic, experimental and everything in between.
Another gem that I discovered from his radio show is soul singer Shuanise. Born in Dallas but hailing from North London (and of Nigerian roots), this mishmash cultural background is a sufficient indicator that she is no cookie-cutter soul singer.
» Continue reading Shuanise- A voice everyone should hear.
By bapester, on December 17th, 2009% If you are an average English-language radio listener in your mid-20’s, I sometimes wonder if you are satisfied with listening to the same radio stations that have been in existence since your growing up years. You know the ones I am talking about, owned by a particular satellite TV provider? » Continue reading Tune into something different.
By bapester, on November 25th, 2009% With the exception of the electronic acts that have been performing in Zouk/Barsonic (Shinichi Osawa, Shitdisco, Gareth Pugh), there seemed to be quite a dearth of noteworthy alternative acts coming to KL this year. Two names I can think of were Battles and Jens Lekman.
 Battles in KL In the meantime, neighbour Singapore has been enjoying playing host to NIN and the Ed Banger Crue, among others. Singapore continues to attract quality acts next year (thanks to events like Mosaic Music Festival and Big Night Out), like The Killers, Cat Power, The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s , Green Day and Muse. Just name-dropping is enough to make me cry.
Still, fret not because in the coming weeks, it isn’t just the monsoon that is coming down hard on KL but also some top draw electronica acts. So electronic music fans, keep these dates free:
» Continue reading Something good this way comes.
By bapester, on September 6th, 2009% 
There is a certain rewarding feeling to be had from discovering new music, particularly if the discovery was accidental, say from a friend’s playlist, a movie or a shop’s speakers. You become intrigued by the sound you hear and the emotions it evokes that it piques your curiosity about the song, its performer, its origins.
Today I had the fortune of coming across this very beautiful studio performance upon visiting the American Trad blog, Ivy Style. The performance is the 1966 studio recording of “Waltz for Debby” by Swedish jazz singer, Monica Zetterlund and the Bill Evans Trio. While the song in itself is a beautiful melody combining Monica’s smoky (no pun intended) voice with the trio’s deft accompaniment (replete with mid-song tempo changes), the visual component also contributed to the enigma of this Youtube video. The video begins with the camera on Monica chatting, glass in one hand and cigarette in the other, with the band playing at the background. She then saunters towards the grand piano to begin the session, then has a little discussion with the trio. Bill Evans plays the intro once, then again and this time magic begins as she joins in.
The coolness she exudes in this video exceeds anything seen in today’s MTV. I will spend the rest of my afternoon watching her videos on Youtube.
By bapester, on August 4th, 2009% m[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSvNPRjWqA&hl=en&fs=1&]
Sauntering along the banks of a Parisian canal on a summer night, following the lead of a band who performs with gentle vocals and light strumming. All I need is the love of my life walking next to me on that night, and I can declare my contentment in life.
Maybe I am a nocturnal person, but I love about coming out at night as long as the weather and personal security permits. I love it when a place finally settles down, and there are no crowds, traffic or noises to clout my view and mind. On holiday, it is not difficult to capture the essence of a place by strolling along the streets of a foreign city, walking along the beach, or looking out the balcony. But what I discover is that even the congested and impersonal Klang Valley could exude a different side in the quiet and darkness of the night (burglary/sex industry/drugs/alcohol notwithstanding). What a pleasant surprise that within the madness of KL and PJ lies hidden abodes that exude calm and character after the sun sets.
Visit La Blogotheque for more videos such as these- live performances by indie bands set in the most unexpected and unconventional places (high school, sidewalk, apartment building, elevator!) all around the great city of Paris.
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