It's been a hectic month so far, February. Particularly the Valentine thingamajig my class was handling. Classes was canceled (i hate that), lunch time were cut short (i really hate that) and heads were aching as we tried figuring out the best way to rack up astronomical profits by churning out the most can be churned out of a crew of six.

Me and Akak handled the singing telegram service quite well I must say. I was really very nervy at first since I've never ever played on acoustics all of the songs that was requested. Akak, well, she took it all as if we're running a 2-hour long arena concert and left everyone in awe.

All my life I've never bothered the vibe that Valentine's Day transcended. There's never a special day in my life since, every single day is always special on its own. But a week before, it took just a giggle, a face, and a smile. Ok, no butterflies-in-the-tummy thingie, but it was a sign for me pull another "what the heck?" job.

Her name's Nina, a Y2/S2 UEL student. All I did was spending RM5 on a pretty Selvam-made balloon and Akak acted as the messenger (she insisted). Wanna know what I said on the card?

Hey, I love the way you laugh.
Tea with me sometime?
019-2517394

Was it a bit too direct? Perhaps it was. But I'm not breathing down her neck, professing my love for her whatnot. I mean, it is the most sensible thing to do right? Having tea on the first date. I mean, first meet.

Despite all this Valentine hoopla, Ms. Mai still gives her news assignments and boy I'm kinda bored with it. Not writing, but the subject that we wrote about. I must learn the art of twisting boring stuff into something interesting. A good writer starts with that. I'm really looking forward to the court case write-up.

The family's off to Perth this Monday till Sunday. Sounds fun. But my fun factor dropped to an all-time low since most assignments are due right immediately after the holidays. Sad, I know.

Telephony Delivery is doing pretty well these days. Both our February shows are over and done with. The private party was our most decent show and Indie-Licious being a disaster of sorts. Initially we were suppose to take the stage after Project Ei8ht, but then IG Collective requested to play on our slot leaving us to play theirs. Out of courtesy, we agreed.  The Collective mesmerized the largely club-going crowd and for a moment there, I thought Jam Asia was Alexis Bar. Things started to fall out of place when the Collective were packing their gears, allowing us on stage. The whole crowd literally left the scene! We played to less than 20 people that night. Half of it were made up of friends and other bands. The bad mojo kept on flowing as by the 3rd song, my guitar string snapped. Whether having Adib's SG is a blessing or not, I'm still thinking over it. It was badly tuned, and when it was locked in tune, it slipped instantly as we struggled through our 4th song. Nightmare.

But that horrid experience was somewhat a revelation to me. I said to myself, "Now you've been down at your lowest point, time to rise up. Rise up!".

Ajil mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Phang's doing a review on the Bear With Me gig. Then some nights ago I was browsing through Kakiseni.com. It was up! Here's what he has to say about our set that night:

"Easily the best newcomer to the scene that night was Telephony Delivery. I saw them play at Giggers' Café a few weeks before -- and although their potential was obvious at that time, what I heard at Bear With Me was far beyond my expectations.

A crew of six, Telephony Delivery delivered a stellar post-rock experience. Armed with relatively complex equipment (an array of effects for both guitarists, a vintage synthesizer, and a DJ playing god-knows-what-the-hell-are-all-those-knobs-and-buttons) the band created vast, intoxicating soundscapes and meshed them perfectly with details, resulting in intricate musical designs. The band's rhythm section fuelled the pace, weaving the entire set into a tapestry that would have put magic carpets to shame. Telephony Delivery is now on my personal 'Most Underrated Bands in the Scene' list".

That man was too kind with his words. And a couple of errors too. Were not a crew of six (we're a quintet) and I am the only guitarist. We were so hyper that night and everything went blurry that he might get the impression of us having another member. Heh.

We have 2 new songs in the works. Hopefully it may be unveiled by next month (we've 3 shows so far). March will definitely be a busy one. Adib's planning on doing a 3-way split with Deepset and Teenage Glory For The Wasted. If this goes through, we might do a mini-tour around the state/country(?).

The family did a surprise BBQ for my dad since it's his 60th birthday this year. We had sirloins, lambs, fish, chickens, bubur kacang, bubur jagung, fruit salad, freeflow-homemade pizza, mushroom soup, sup tulang, sandwiches, and so many more I can't even remember. The house's side lot turned into street-side warong with all the tables and chairs.

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I have been neglecting this space for a long while now. Well, I have been neglecting a lOt of things lately.

So December's finally here. It's been a wonderful November. So where was I ever since the fated car crash? Allow me to regale...

(Click photos for further descriptions)

The moment I came home from Sg. Buloh, the only thought that ran in my head was, "could we pull this job?". Oh, for those who's just tuning in, Hafeez requested a song from us to be used in his short film entry for RTM's Anugerah Filem Pendek. He gave us the assignment way more than a month before the deadline but given my previous state (exams!) we were forced to put works on hold for a while longer. What made me ponder even more is that what we're asked to do is something the band isn't used to; "short, brooding and magical".

So the following day after my 'unscheduled' crash we had a practice session at my place. I somehow came up with a riff suitable for a piano rhythm section back in campus so that was pretty much the starting ground. And not forgetting the faux percussive riff I stumbled upon when playing around with Azhar's Triton somewhere during Ramadhan. Safe to say that  we can basically picture the song from start to finish. Typically, I already have the song title in my head prior to practice. Simply, Mubarak. I was told that the short is about a defunct father - son relationship with the son having a monologue wondering what went wrong and how he wished that they're on speaking terms again. I read the script, tried consuming the whole theme but I guess what made the process easier is Hafeez himself. I've known him long enough to get the point he's trying to get across. I think.

Day 1 of Mubarak went pretty breezy. It took Azhar a little over 5 minutes to translate the whole tablature onto the keyboard. Yeah, the riff is that simple. We did discussed a while back about the gears we used. Like how the KAOSS Pad is becoming a monotonous staple to our sound, the limitations we imposed on the EMX and how the microKORG is clearly untouched. I personally was kinda bored with guitars so this soundtrack is a perfect test run for both EMX and microKORG, and a good window to throw the guitar away out of the picture.

We spent the day literally looking for the right beats to suit the mood. This is where Shah's EMX unleashed its wrath. Rummaging the many patterns it has to offer might take more than a year if it falls in uncapable hands. We settled for desert-ish whooshesh and cymbal chimings which we thought back then, was minimal enough. Ended the session with the customary drinks at Pelita.

Mubarak Day 2 @ Azhar's

Mubarak Day 2 @ Azhar's

Adib's been busy with his job at the design firm so he was left out from practice sessions. Day 3 of Mubarak saw us hitting the studio for the first time with hope that somehow his drumming will whip up something inspiring. But fate has it that a day before, Shah's home was struck by lightning and all his gears was electrocuted so yeah, we hit the wall pretty hard that night. We spent the studio time locking thedrums for the faux percussive part -another frustrating episode- and left with yet another dissapointment in our minds. We braced for the worst as the electrocution might cause the whole project to cease.

We took a brief break from the whole process. Some perspective outlook was needed. Day 4 of Mubarak started on a high note. Shah's rig was done in a day since the lightning only caused damage to the power supplies. But that alone costed him RM400. Ouch. But everyone was relieved nonetheless. As we were taking a breather from figuring out the song's arrangement, I accidently played something. Something sensible.

Mubarak Day 4 @ Pa'an's

Mubarak Day 4 @ Pa'an's

As I plugged my iPod to my room's mock up sound system, listening to the raw recording caused a wave of ecstasy to gush in my veins. The then potential song was by far, the most engaging piece of music we've ever conjured in the shortest amount of time.

Mubarak Day 4 @ Pa'an's

Day 5 of Mubarak was our 2nd studio practice. We were the last patrons to use the space so we pretty much have all the time in the world. But that seemed too much as it only took us an hour to finish up the song. We switched off most of the lights in the studio so the atmosphere was kinda serene with flickering LEDs from our instruments guiding the night away. We were so uplifted that night that we even played a new rocky tune (tentatively titled Instant-Teriyaki Romance) to wrap up our session. Had a blast at Mango afterwards. My banana shake was surprisingly Slushee-ish. Yummy.


As the deadline for submisson was dawning upon us, we decided that the song's ready to be recorded. After a few phone calls, Meng's studio (officially known as StandingWave Productions) was the place to get it done since Mokh's filled to the brim with metal noiseniks. Another session at Azhar's was no more than just finalizing details. But it went pretty dready with the weather and all.

Mubarak Day 6 @ Azhar's

Mubarak Day 6 @ Azhar's

Then came Thursday.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

We initially booked a 10:30 p.m slot but since Meng was somewhat late, and Lied's Adlin and Wan were still laying down drum tracks, we loafed at the lounge talking crap and making fun of Shah and his neverending quest for the perfect body. Bono decided to tag along since her band didn't record that night. Meng summoned us when the watch flashed 12:30 a.m.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

Despite being awfully wasted (I had monstrous of chores that day) everyone was pretty up for it. I was told that Meng's the silent type who doesn't get in anybody's way and allow you to flow the way you wanted but that doesn't stop us from being slightly panicky around him.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

When we unpacked our gears, he suddenly stopped moving and said, "Are you guys endorsed by KORG or something? Did you guys robbed CK???" Haha. That very much broke the ice and we had a good laugh about it. But seriously, that's a flack we need to bear from our peers. They think we're KORG ambassadors. 

-_-"

Adib was in a rush since he had to session for ElmKids gig the next day so we had to make it quick without rushing it. The one-all approach suggested by Meng complimented the whole process greatly as it saved us a lot of time (and money). But that wasn't such a smooth sail. We were kinda lost with the proposed tempo that it took us almost 5 minutes to get back on track. Come recording time, Adib majestically took just one take and it was good for keeps.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

The rest of us took turns in fine tuning our respective parts. It felt like paying a visit to the local clinic. It was a "Next!" kinda feeling to it.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

By the time we were done it was already 3 in the a.m. Took a final listen, asked Meng a few vital questions then me, Azhar and Bono headed for Pelita. The rest had a long day ahead so home they went.

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

Mubarak: Documenting Waveforms @ StandingWave Productions

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Damien Rice

     The world was recently bombarded with new releases from reputable acts across the globe. Alexisonfire proved they can mean 'serious business' with Crisis, Deftones once again reign the throne of 'most intelligent heavy meta band with Saturday Night Wrists, The Black Parade showed that My Chemical Romance are worthy of pulling a Queen theatric and Sparta's back in the fold with a much-welcomed maturity showcased in Three.

    Flipping the other side of the coin, the singer/songwriter realm isn't enjoying much of the mentioned optimism. Association with such tags as 'sef-indulgement', 'woe-is-me', and the likes of it can't do much good to the whole genre.  Unless you're playing in a band, represented by a logo of a bleeding heart. That'll sell like condoms on spring break.

    Few in recent times have avoided the cliched potholes. The likes of Damon Gough, Sondre Lerche, Rufus Wainwright, Tim Kasher and Conor Oberst are genuinely blessed with a sense of vision that set them apart from their contemporary peers. Damon's penchant for evoking the child-like innocence in us is impeccably charming that beneath all the sweetest surrenders, lies a complicated foundation of instrumentation and gadget wizardry as a common feature in most of his beautific ditties. While most singer/songwriter greats are somewhat sounding alike , Kasher and Oberst paved a way for restless indie kids who just can't sit still in bored silence to appreciate this undermined genre by incorporating fresh electronic bleeps and angular arrangements in their compositions. Still for those with acquired taste, a hero is yet to emerge.

Then sometime ago, an Irish lad dropped the bomb and stole the hearts of many with his debut offering. It was plainly titled O.

    Taking the music scene by storm, Damien Rice was already a household name by the time his poignant love ballad, Cannonball hit airwaves the world over. No one was prepared for his blend of soft/loud folk-rock. It's the kind that sweeps you off your feet when you're not looking, the kind that melts your heart without you even knowing. The debut received rave reviews and critics were left standing on their feet that this was finally, the arrival of the next best thing.

9

Damien Rice

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Thumbsucker

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