What Will Be Next?

Yes.. This morning start very common for me. The same things that I'll repeat it every day. Nothing much that can make my day a little bit different than others. Or maybe there is my day, my life are already different than others and I actually just don' realize it. My ramblings this morning after I ate so much this morning. After I've done cleaned the shop which was my working place now..



Well, there is something coming through my brain right now.. Ok, when we look at the our music industry nowadays, independent scene or indie or also we called it a DIY (do it by yourself) products dominated our music scene, I meant what I look onto the winning of Meet Uncle Hussien in Ajl23 stage (Malaysia), Estrange in Ajl22 (Malaysia), Death Cab for Cutie in the Grammy Awards (foreign) and the others independent artist that had been stand on the same level, archived the same or more success than the major artist.

In my country, Malaysia, we can see the independent artists had be in the peak of craze by the public nowadays and the question is after this era, independent scene, what will be the next? A couple years in Malaysia lately, independent scene seem to be an evolution for the Malaysia's music industry and it coming with it's new wave, fresh sounds. Maybe that are what the publics and music lovers want to and that make indie artists grown more and more..

Independent scene also been craze by the teenagers and many of them that have the ambitions to be an artist will choose the independent style. Again, my second question, will the independent scene in Malaysia will be dead? The music lovers in Malaysia will get bored because of heard the same songs, same sounds, same style? I hope not! I wrote this because in my tiny heart I keep my ambitions, to form a DIY band one day. And those questions keep coming to my head when I thinking about indie scene.

Ok, when we look onto the flows of music in Malaysia, started it with traditional music like Zapin music and dance and it used to popular trough Malaysia, then, Ghazal from Arabia also used to popular in the markets and malls of Kuala Lumpur and Johor and stars like Kamariah Noor are very success, later follows by Dondang Sayang, slow style.

Then the earliest pop music 'Tudung Periuk' sung by Momo Latif and P. Ramlee became the most popular singer and composers at that time with songs like 'Azizah', 'Dendang Perantau' and the evergreen 'Di mana Ku Cari Ganti'. Later come the pop yeh-yeh, the influenced by the British rock n roll and 'The Beattle' and song title 'Suzanna' sung by M. Osman in the 1964 seem to come in the fresh style with the band (kugiran) style..

And the flows will continue.. and continue... What's next?

p/s: the images definitely doesn't match with the post.. huhu.. :p

Review - Hacienda by Hacienda

The band is Hacienda and it’s a family affair, with brothers and a cousin making the kind of infectious, rootsy rock and roll that makes you wish you were living in some bygone time period where bobby socks and soda fountains were the norm, not online gaming and cell phones. It’s the kind of music that one can look to for the spice and for the retro-fitting groove, for the bass hopping that could speed up pulses, that could make you want to roll your shirt sleeves up to your mid-bicep and store a package of cigarettes in the fold..



.. It’s music that makes a person want to move their hips in bizarre and new ways though there’s no cognizant recognition that any of it is happening, just the spontaneous movement that springs from the ears comprehending what Hacienda is bringing to the table. It’s a home-cooked meal. It’s getting into a bit of a scrap. It’s wearing tight blue jeans and it’s smoking hand-rolled cigs. It’s a dirty and raw version of all of the amazing things that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Elvis Presley presented when they were walking and singing. It’s all that you can ask for in music that needs to felt, more than described, that needs to be witnessed to appreciate. It’s all inside – a direct reflection of the heart shining like it means it, the feet jittering as if they’re out of control and the sweat glands getting a workout.

There is something to get excited about in south-central Texas. In fact the buzz surrounding San Antonio's Hacienda may signal a rebirth of young rock n' roll -with emphasis on the "roll"- to the country's landscape. Formed by cousins Abraham Villanueva (piano/vocals) and Dante Schwebel (guitar/vocals), together with Abraham's brothers Jaime (drums/vocals) and Rene Villanueva (bass/vocals), this Mexican-American quartet blends a raw yet sophisticated style of pop music with harmonies reminiscent of the Beatles and Beach Boys. As fate would have it, a demo of 6 songs landed in the hands of Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, and the band's life was forever changed. Soon after they were opening for The Black Keys in Austin Texas, as well as for Dr. Dog, gaining some much needed exposure. Under Auerbach's watch, Hacienda would write and arrange more than twenty songs, sending him demos periodically in preparation for their debut album, ultimately recording in Dan's own studio in Akron, Ohio.

In order to keep the integrity of the music, "Loud Is The Night" was largely captured live in the room with a helping hand from new friends Scott and Frank of Dr. Dog. With them they worked on existing vocal harmonies and created new ones, greatly embellishing the album. The result is a beautiful collection of songs played with integrity and soul to spare, and while the band is aware of its 60's influences, the music on "Loud is the Night" is far from derivative, and the finished product is modern pop music performed with genuineness and taste.

Hacienda's official site
Hacienda on myspace

Hear them!

Review - Those Darlins by Those Darlins

Those Darlins are a four-piece band from Tennessee, led by three absolute devils, firecrackers who could sweet-talk their way into as much trouble as they could handle. Kelley Darlin, Jessi Darlin and Nikki Darlin chronicle it all in their songs, going down the storytelling route of the outlaws that came before them (the hard ass men and women who messed a lot of their life and others up, but still laughed and carried on heartily through it all), giving themselves all of the alcoholic lubrication that would be needed to pull off all of the embellishments and get to that point in the night where they’ve..



..forgotten more than they’ll ever remember the next day, when their temples are splitting and their voices sound as rough as a hog’s hide. Kelly Darlin sings, “Drinkin’ and pain go hand-in-hand,” and there’s no determination if that’s part of a chicken and egg riddle or it’s just a declaration of fact. It happens so often in Darlins music that there’s no clear-cut understanding – the drinking’s always there as an elixir and as an anti-depressant candy. It’s both the boon and the bane of any of the backfiring interactions that they’ve gotten mixed up in with (mainly) men who can’t handle their wooly, scrappy ways.

They probably get drunk under the table by these ladies too, whose capacity for the adult beverages can be confirmed from eyewitness testimony. They’re like three cacti, three spit storms and three ladies of the rodeo that every man could recognize as being dangerous commodities and not worth the trouble, but that doesn’t usually stop men and that’s why Venus flytraps work as well. There is everything enticing about Those Darlins as they dare you to come closer, to lean in, to buy them another round and then you’re sunk, but there will be a good tale to spin when you’ve come to.

Those Darlins, singing about being snaggle-toothed mamas without any shoes, having corncrib daddies and living so far out in the country that the milk’s gone sour by the time they arrive home, are an intoxicating blend of country fire and homespun charm and without knowing what’s happening, you’re suddenly smitten by their Wanda Jackson-ish ways and their tasty June Carter modes, had June Carter actually been Johnny and killed a man in Reno just to watch him die – amongst other things.

The music is built ramshackle and yet sturdy like that old house that is still standing in spite of the odds and in deference to its sagging floors, drafty walls and muskiness. Out behind that house is a pyramid of empty cans and bottles, all with a story to tell, all probably flung aside like an outcast, a failure when the last drop slipped from its glass belly. It’s just on to the next victim and the next headache.

Those Darlins official site
Those Darlins myspace