Membedah Bunyian Indah

Sekadar coretan pendek, gua sekarang menulis dekat sini (yang diusaha bersama dengan jiran gua sewaktu belajar kat UiTM dulu). Hajat di hati nak buat seperti e-fanzine, tapi tengoklah directionnya macam mana. Tapi gua occasionally akan datang balik sini menulis la menda-menda yang gua rasa nak bitch dan whine. Sini bersifat peribadi (mungkin) manakala yang kat sana tu serius dan berbentuk...err keras kot. Rajin-rajin la ye tengok-tengok kat http://dissectingtheeuphony.blogspot.com/!

This your non-standard, darker jazz band!

Dulu bila sebut jazz, gua akan mencemik dan segera terbayang Sheila Majid serta imej-imej pemain saksofon berkulit hitam (antaranya). Pada gua waktu itu, jazz music yang bosan dan lemau. Hanya untuk orang kaya dan perasan nigger, paling kuat pun, nak kasi nampak cam high taste in music. macam prejudis jugak la. Tapi yang gua tak tau jazz ni banyak jenis, dan jazz ni main jugak pengaruh dalam music metal (sapa layan Atheist terutamanya mesti setuju!), takpun ada jugak yang gua jumpa band jazz yang ada unsur grind! Gila ah, two distinct genre bole kasi gabung pulak lol (band tersebut adalah John Zorn and the Naked City)!Despite the fact JZatNC plays a very eccentric music, I still don't see jazz as an interesting music,until...

I listened to Bohren und der Club of Gore! I must say I owed a huge thank you to this blog (to which I forgot the URL,damn!) for posted a video clip of BUDCOG's On Demon Wings. I was caught and fell in love with the band instantly. Instantly I tell ya! So uh..yeah BUDCOG jenis main jazz yang super slow dengan ada unsur-unsur ambient. Tak keterlaluan kalau cakap diorang ada nilai-nilai doom lah. Tapi ada juga label BUDCOG ni main noir jazz (ni gua lagi setuju,karang gua cite pasal apa). Bagi gua, band ni main porn jazz! Hahaha sebab mengingatkan gua kat scene-scene panas dalam mana-mana film (kan selalu scene camni ada soft jazz background music, ada saksofon terutamanya). Senang cakap, music BUDCOG ni tema yang sesuai untuk orang beromen! kahkah!

Still Am Tresen (dari Dolores,2008)

Bohren und der Club of Gore (akan direfer sebagai BUDCOG atau Bohren pasni), as the name implies (und der) berasal dari Germany. Yang menariknya,asalnya line up band ni berasal dari pecahan band-band yang sebelum ni main music yang jauh beza dari jazz. Sumpah dowh jauh gila beza! Apa taknya ada yang main hardcore punk la apa tah lagi. nak tau lagi pegi ah wiki, gua malas nak cerita,baik copy paste aje hahaha~ So anyway, album pertama yang gua dengar dari Bohren adalah Sunset Mission, yang bagi gua memang album terbaik hasil diorang la. Bagi gua, Sunset Mission telah meletakkan satu benchmark untuk music noir jazz. Apa taknya, lagu-lagu dalam ni semuanya catchy dan mmm,sexy. Senang cakap, lagu-lagu Sunset Mission semuanya boleh jadi soundtrack untuk film noir! Apa tu film noir? Tolong pegi search sendiri, tapi untuk sekadar menyedapkan cerita, noir film tu macam film-film gangster era 40s,50s gittew lah. Kalau film local, cuba refer kat Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang (ye film ni tahun millenium punya tapi dia bawak unsur noir). Film noir dia selalu ada unsur-unsur misteri, hardboiled detective,city infested with criminals pastu mesti ada damsel in distress yadayada you get the idea?Good!

On Demon Wings (dari Sunset Mission)

Tapi album sebelum dan selepas Sunset Mission memang sangat berlainan. I learnt that Sunset Mission was intended to be a mainstream and a very accesible album.It's true. All pre-Sunset Mission albums tend to sound like a very psychotic and scary (saxophone player made his appearance beginning from Sunset Mission,replacing guitarist), because of the detuned guitar sound, while post-Sunset Mission albums are very minimalist,almost like ambient and saxophone seems like almost wiped out from the records (padahal saksofon dia layan gila tuuuuuuuu!). Anyway, yang jadi faveret gua selain Sunset Mission, adalah Mitleid Lady dan Dolores. yang penting diorang punya sound memang jadi kegemaran gua, yang cuba nak lari dari bunyi bingit metal, tapi still nak music berunsur gelap dan depressive hahah.

Kekuatan Bohren pada gua adalah saxophone dia dan piano/mellotron/rhodes,yang mampu membangkitkan rasa ambient yang secukup rasa dan tak membosankan (lagu diorang panjang-panjang jugak sebenarnya). Dengan double bass (bukan bass guitar ya) dan drums (yang kebanyakan masa hanya mainkan hihat dan ride) yang sekadar bertindak sebagai filler, lagu-lagu Bohren memang untuk gua dengar bila masa bersantai. Bila masa gua dengar? Selalunya bila gua keja sampai malam, bila masuk waktu senja je gua pasang kuat-kuat kat office. Takpun kalau kat rumah, gua akan padamkan lampu bilik,pasang lilin dan pasang Bohren kuat-kuat. Cun habes. Takpun macam kawan gua, dia pasang lilin aromaterapi, rendam dalam bath tub dan pasang Bohren. Itu lagi hebat!

Mitleid Lady (dari Mitleid Lady EP)

Jadi apa tema music Bohren ni since diorang memang takde lirik? Judging from the song title sumanya, mostly berkenaan dengan dark side of life, urban decay, keruntuhan moral, kematian dan segala yang gelap dan negatif. Tapi tu hanya pendapat gua la. yang penting music Bohren memang masuk dengan gua dan sememangnya alternatif buat gua kalau nak lari dari music yang bingit. Recommended!

Instant Metalhead, are you one of them?

This is supposed to be the first posting of the new and improved After the Storm. Well, here goes nothing!

I must say I've been a fan of music since young. I remember I danced to Michael Jackson's Black or White, KRU's Awas when I was a little kid. Those were the days when cassettes and CDs were pretty much popular (I didn't get the chance to listen to Vinyl or even cartridge). And then when I get older, CD and MP3 replaced cassette. So does my musical preferences changed, from MJ to Grunge (yes, I listened to Grunge back when I was in form 2) and slowly shifting to more extreme; such as Metal (yea all those Black/Death/Thrash stuffs) as I get older. And then it's getting stranger, I started to listen to Ambient, Folk, Drone, Noise etc. Oh, that includes K-Pop and some female singers as well. Pretty weird huh? Well not really. OK fuck that, that is not the point of my writing.

The availability of Internet and MP3 technology have really changed the ways to obtain music nowadays. New artists can be shot into instant fame by solely advertising themselves through..let's say Myspace (I think the only thing keeping MS from getting obsolete is Myspace Music;pretty relevant til today) and Facebook, obscure bands can be re-discovered through forums, and many more (I can think more but I'm too lazy to write, fuck yeah I'm a lazy writer). I think Internet really killed the old method of tape trading and fanzine (again, I was never into tape trading and I read fanzine,never bought them). Seriously, does tape trading activity still alive these days?

Then came MP3. And cassette went into oblivion (though there are some people still prefer tapes over MP3) and MP3 reigns supreme. Then the real problem surfaced. Nobody is buying music! Well, let me rephrase, almost every people I knew (myself included) are no longer buying music! MP3 kills music,man! Yeap, it only took one people to buy a CD, rip it into MP3 format, uploaded it into the Net, and millions of people download it. Talk about making money from music, I think music is no longer a moneymaking career anymore, even Aaron Stainthorpe (of My Dying Bride) agreed to this. No longer collection of CDs (or cassettes or vinyl) being displayed on the racks, instead you have all your pirated stuffs loaded into your hard drives (all in digital format!). How sad is that?

Musicians no longer able to make money from album, and instead rely on concerts and tour to make a living. Well that only works if they go touring, what if those who doesn't? Guess they have to take up another job to sustain their living. Poor poor musicians! I am not surprised if the whole industry will go down and collapse because of this phenomena. The only to keep this from happening is buy original! Buy original CD/cassette/vinyl/or download from iTunes (99 cents?), go for to concert, buy their merchandise, or anything as long it does not involve piracy! And then you'll hear groans and complaints like:

"Bro,CD depa susah dapat kat Malaysia wei. Kena order"
"Merchandise diorang mahal dohh nak beli"
"Depa mana mai tour kat sini!"
"Gua belajar lagi la,mana nak beli dowh"
"Serius cakap, stuff diorang memang obscure bang!"

Right, I understand. BUT why is so hard to show your support? I mean, the older generation also faced the same situation. They even imported the CD and waited for almost 2 months for the CDs to arrive (from what an uncle told me), man that really proved 'Penantian itu satu seksaan'! Bottom line is, do whatever it takes to show your support. Doesn't matter if you are still studying, or already working, if you want the CD or shirt really bad, start saving your money for that stuff and then buy! It's just an excuse not to buy original stuffs. Okay I'm being ironic here, I don't really have that many original CDs and cassettes, but I've been really putting effort on getting the merchandise and stuff. Hahah,yeap! I think the only accepted excuse is when the stuff you are looking is totally hard to get (out of print, for example). Another one is, if the band willingly to spread their materials for free, then why not? You are a fool if you don't grab the chance. Everybody loves free item wei!

Then, we spawned a generation of instant metalhead/hardcore/whateveryouwanttocallit, A generation who does not buy, but downloaded all the shits from the Net, and turned themselves into metalhead (for example) overnight. Some people said Internet and MP3 gave birth to generation of posers, hell, I think they are right. I met kids who downloaded stuffs and bragging about how cool he is for listening to cool and upcoming bands, how he have huge collections of cool musics (all downloaded!) and then started to call people around him poser. To think he never have a physical copies of any bands he listens to, that is just sad. Even sadder, when he started calling other people poser, that is just like making himself even fooler (yeah, he's a fool, sadly). I even saw some kids online, sending comments to a band (who have a good potential and playing good music) saying "Where can I download your songs eh?". That is just fucking rude,man! You have the nerve to ask like that to your favorite band? Is that what you call showing a support? You fucking turd! Obviously you don't have a respect! They went through hell recording stuff (involving lotsa money definitely), and you simply ask where can I download your song? You motherfucking cocksucker, that is just plain rude! Dude, the truth that you just downloaded their stuff is just outrageous enough, must you really go and tell them? Same goes to that kid who've been bragging about his collection of downloaded stuff. Keep it to yourself, man! You are no different from the DVD peddler at Petaling Street (wonder they still are operating these days)! Haihh! I confessed, I did downloaded stuffs from the Internet, but I don't think I go around and tell people much like you. I'll be severely embarrassed if people know the truth I have more pirated music than the originals! Okay! So STFU and keep it to yourself!

Bottom line is, try to buy the Original albums, or at least get your favorite band's merchandise. I think that is the least you can do. But I don't say stop downloading, I think it's okay to download and at the same time you have the original (you keep the original for collection and downloaded version for listening purpose,get it?) copy. Well, are you one of them?

Who's afraid of changes?

There will be some changes in the future postings. I noted how crappy this blog is (well, it has been always crappy, but never been crappier than this). I think I should put all those emotional rantings aside (but not to the point of ignoring them, after all I'm a normal person heh), and include some new things in the process. Well, I don't know, maybe I'll write about bands, reviews, you know the stuffs I don't usually write (band and album reviews are nothing new in my postings, I've done it few times here haha). Or probably anything random. And did I said random? Fuck yeah I did!

Dunkelheit,not!

Awwwwhh would you just look at that! Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?Hahah. Well I was bored in the office (always bored!), a friend of mine showed me his newly bought Vuvuzela (to which I purposely mispronounced Vulvazela,get it?No?) and suddenly this idea popped into mind. Uhuh, why not remake a parody of Filosofem album cover? Kahkah, so here it is! I ust hope Varg Vikernes don't get upset if he discovers this hahah! Anyway, so it's true from what I've read from newspaper, Vuvuzela is indeed loud and annoying,man! Fuck yeah! Next thing I know, the studio dudes went down to the cafe to watch South Korea match (they lost,hahah) and they took their Vuvuzelas down as well! Fwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooommmm!

TnG

It's very upsetting, when you discover people only come to you when they are desperate or in a very bad situation. Later on, they will forget you as if you were never exists. As odd as it sounds, it's fucking true. I call it, a touch and go friend. No, they don't even deserve to be called friend. Not even a bit.

Now tell me, how would you react to such people? I say fuck 'em. True, they really need your help, but do they really deserve your help? No they don't. I rather laugh at them and say 'Wake up, don't be such a baby'. Why should I pity them? Why the fuck would I go into trouble to save you, are we even friends?

For me, there only two options, be a good friend, or don't be friend at all. If only they can see it, life would be much simpler. Now make your choice. Oh, jangan nak melenting pulak kalau orang refuse nak tolong lu. Sedar diri sikit.

A side story:


Finally, after struggling (and battling with my gastritis and imbalance disease at the same time) to obtain my driving license, I passed the the JPJ on 21st May (cite basi gua tau!), most importantly it's on my momma's birthday. Mom, this one is for you *emo*. 3 weeks after that baru lesen siap. The hell lembab sial. Ye ye ye toksah nak persoal pehal lambat sangat umur dah lanjut baru nak ada lesen. Wahkahkah, gua pakai duit gua sendiri ngoi, lu orang ada ke nak buat camtu? La ni dah pass semua gua duk consider nak pakai keta apa,since gua sebenarnya dah fed up travel by train (kena pulak sejak kena imbalance disease ni,fucking hassle sial). Kalau ikutkan sekarang pun dah boleh beli kereta, tapi gua rasa keadaan belum sesuai untuk gua memiliki kenderaan, atas sebab-sebab tertentu lah. Satu puncanya selagi karier tak mantap (yakni bergaji lebat), dan sebagainya, gua refuse nak amik risk. Hidup biar teratur (mak gua selalu cakap gua ni agak organised gak la berbanding ngan adik-adik lain hahah) dan ada perancangan. Toksah risau, gua dah ada everything lined up, dan satu-satu gua akan laksanakan. Orang kata, lek lu,sap kok lu!Hahah! Karier di NSTP dah jejak 6 bulan, another 6 months to go until confirmation. Nak kata gua sayang NSTP takde ah, nak kata tak suka tu takde ah kahkah. Its just ever since I've been working there, I've been plagued with diseases yang tak pernah gua kena. Gastrik? Kena gastrik? Memang gua masa mula-mula discover macam freaked out ah. Nak jadi cerita kena pulak imbalance disorder aka vertigo (pegi wiki tq). Gua rasa macam everything is ruined dan bikin gua jadi tak semangat. Gua sukar nak berjalan dengan betul, most of the time rasa nak muntah (macam pregnant!) dan menggigil. Weekend gua hanya dihabiskan kat rumah dan band practice (menda ni even affect drumming ability gua sobsob). Tapi gua belajar satu la, willpower memang mengatasi segalanya. Despite dengan sakit-sakit semua ni, gua berjaya gak obtain lesen gua (masa drive memang kepala nak cecah steering dah), gua paksa gak diri pegi kerja (jalan macam half drunk monkey) dan paling penting, gua dapat gak selesaikan gig pertama Raptor sejak reform semula. Gua rasa semua ni impossible nak harung kalau takde willpower. Fuck yeah. Ah gua ngantuk ah nak tido zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ok cop cop, gua sebenarnya masih takut memandu wahahahaha!Macam sial.

Goal for July 2010

Nah. Nothing special. I wanted so bad to get the Paganfest hoodie. Maybe July will be the best time to get one. It's gonna be costly, but hey, who cares? Fuck yeah!

Dethrock Dancing Fest 2010: An Autopsy

I'll make it short.

-Ini merupakan penampilan Raptor selepas 6 tahun berdiam diri dengan line up serba baru.
-Kami band ke 6 dalam giliran; selepas Nuclear Strikes (Iron Speed pinjam Iron Cobra gua, terer sial dia setup kan, sedap gua lanyak pastu) dan lepas kami Subculture lak (diorang pinjam kabel gitar kitorang hihi and btw diorang bawak lagu G6t3!).
-Lineup Raptor ada patches bendera Selangor kat denim masing-masing (kecuali gua dan Jeremy).
-Masing-masing cuak takut main kantoi kahkah.
-Lighting One Cafe sumpah macam haram. Kombinasi lampu biru + merah pancar selang seli bikin satu band semua mual. Dah rasa nak kena sawan pun ada.
-Asalnya main 3 lagu saja, sebab organizer cakap nak kejar masa. Mula-mula macam merajuk gak, tapi crowd duk request termain lak sampai 5 lagu hahah. Brape kali tah gua kena duduk balik kat seat sebab orang bawah duk cakap "woi main la main!"
-Ada band yang gua jumpa cakap "Raptor eh?Kitorang dah lama kenal korang ni." Okay gua line up baru so gua tatau aa hahah!
-Crowd tak ramai, sebab minggu ni banyak kenduri kawin. Wtf.
-Gua terjumpa junior gua masa sekolah dulu. Dulu dia hip-hop skang dia dah jadi mat rock kot. Dia tegur tapi gua duk mual-mual (sebab lampu bodo tu la) gua tegur-tegur camtu la.
-Ramai jugak budak-budak DMTM turun. Apis cipap pun ada (terlebih ramah lak dia semalam pehal tah). Exa pun ada siap jadi photographer merangkap make up artis si Udin lagi.
-Si Udin macam mamat 80 an yang tersesat masuk abad 21 hahah.
-Gua punya cuak takut gastrik gua makan 2 bijik Gaviscon.
-Overall, not bad for a start lah. Harapnya lepas ni ada lagi jemputan gig mana-mana kannn.

Check us out here



Perwira Bangsa



Kota Tong Sampah (Handy Black cover)



Mesin Masa



Surat Dari Hiroshima (Satira cover)



Heavy Chains (Loudness cover)

Terima kasih Fun Friends Music | Itna Tsirhc Merchandising | Allunan Symfonny Studio sebab jemput Raptor!

Kenapa gua cuak ngan 06062010

Ye gua memang cuak menjelang Ahad nanti. Bukan, gua bukan nak tunang apa lagi kawin. Amenda aaaaa! Umm okay, gua duk resah memikirkan gua dah lama tak perform kat depan orang ramai. Ye Dethrock Dancing Fest 21010 adalah Ahad ni kawan-kawan. Bak datang la, Subculture ada, Kugiran D'Tepi Pantai ada ala macam-macam lagi la. Jadi kami akan berkongsi ngan band-band yang dah lama yang boleh dipanggil veteran aa (Subculture have been around since early 90s, KDTP didalangi oleh Kombat, si mastermind band punk Pilgrims, satu lagi band lama). Kira gua ada reason ah kan nak ketar lutut kan?

Satu lagi gua masih dibelenggu penyakit vertigo yang affect hampir keseluruhan rutin harian gua dan bikin gua jadi tertekan, bermaksud nak jamm pun susah, sebab gua tiap kali main drum rasa nak tumbang.

Gua harap gua bole beri yang terbaik,sebab kalau okay nanti, maybe bole bukak jalan untuk main gig lain. Mudah-mudahan!