My Glorious Years - A Triple Bill Concert Press Conference.

I was invited by ML(Leslie Loh, tha Pop Pop Man) to cover the press conference for the "My Glorious Years" a triple bill concert combining the talents of Z Yan(Bossa Princess), Lydia and Cher Siang of Jz8 fame. They will be backed by musicians from the WVC trio. The event was held at the latest hip & happening "Loud + Clear" music store. Here's a pictorial of the event.
The tastefully decorated Loud + Clear music store. Just a few minutes before the press conference.

A popular MY FM deejay hosted the event with humour.


Everyone tooks turns to share their feelings for the concert. Here's Cher Siang giving his bit.

From left, Cher Siang, Leslie, Lydia & Z Yan. Hey! Where's HiFi Maverick gone? He was here a minute ago!

The de-rigeur Malaysian thing do so after any event, let's tuck in some fo.. er coffee please!

My Glorious Years - A Tripple Bill Concert info:

Concert Date: 9th April 2011, Saturday.
Venue: Bentley Auditorium, Mutiara Damansara.
Ticket Prices: RM$105 & RM$85.
Ticketing Outlets:
CD Rama (Popular Bookstore) Ikano Power Centre (03-77288188/5832)
CD Rama Sunway Piramid (03-56377280/7286)
CD Rama Cheras Leisure Mall (03-91322435/437)
Loud + Clear Solaris Dutamas (03-62111683)

Last but not least, see ya all at the concert!

Brasileiro Z Yan

I have been listening to the Brasileiro Z Yan CD produced by PopPop Music for the last couple of weeks. The CD went into my player in every listening session. This is telling something - Firstly, the song selection is interesting and the performance are excellent enough to stand up to repeated listening; Secondly, the quality of the recording, especially the purity of the vocal part is fast making it one of my reference discs for the female voice.

With her petite frame, I half expected that Z Yan had a girlish voice, one that might sound saccharine sweet and veer more towards the school of Teresa Teng. Was I wrong! The first time I slipped the CD into my player, I was surprised by the body that Z Yan’s voice exhibited. Her voice also showed maturity, but it is one that is tempered with a dose of youthful sweetness plus a dose of innocence. Sort of like a girl growing up and on the verge of blossoming into a woman.
The innocence in Z Yan’s voice is the part I appreciate the most. Her technique probably does not equate to a Cai Qin or a Cheer Chen, but her innocence is a breath of fresh air after listening to too many modern day commercial pop artists.

I was surprised that the track I liked most was track 5 “Coyness”. I thought the original singer of this song, the Chinese pop diva Faye Wong, had it down pat. But out came Z Yan’s interpretation which impressed me and convinced me that there indeed could be another side to this popular song. Faye Wong, with her signature breathy style, painted the dreamy picture of a girl pining at a guy, fantasizing how it would be if the guy reciprocated her love. Z Yan instead rendered the song in a straightforward manner. Hers is a modern, confident girl, who resolved that she’d no longer be hesitant in expressing her love, and feeling certain that the guy would love her back just like she loved him.

On this track, I also love Roger Wong’s Spartan and minimalist guitar accompaniment. Roger is a great collaborator; he placed his notes at the right places, sort of filling in all the gaps in between Z Yan’s vocal and making the performance complete.

My other fav is track 4 “romance in the rain”. In addition to its slightly quirky tune, this track is also a good test of your system’s resolving power and how correct your system is in rendering timbre. There is a scratchy sound that goes ‘sha sha sha….’ throughout the track. If your system is resolving enough, you would know how the sound was made. I don’t want to spoil your audiophile fun, suffice to say that it is a creative yet simple way of making music not with a musical instrument. If you are in doubt, you can get the correct answer in the production note of the track. The resulting sound effect fits this track’s Chinese title, literally ‘sha sha rain’, perfectly.

The album has a mix of classic and modern Chinese pop songs, a mix of slow numbers and fast numbers, tracks that are simple in its arrangement, such as Roger Wang’s solo guitar, or tracks that have a backing band, including saxophone, drum, double bass, piano etc.. In addition, the recording quality is consistently high throughout.

With such varied combinations, everyone should be able to find something to love on this album.

Brasileiro Princess, Z Yan.

Brasileiro Princess, how's this for a musical Christmas gift idea?

As many of our readers would know by now, Brasileiro Princess is the pretty Z Yan, and she is Pop Pop Music's latest artist release. Her music is mostly Mandarin classics and modern pop re-interpreted with a lightly twist of Bossa. There's also one Cantopop track inside which at least for me, didn't amount to much.

From the very first intro prologue, the princess's voice struck me as being larger than her petite frame would suggest in real life. And she wisely avoided singing with that typical queer sounding "falsetto" that many Chinese female audiophile vocalist do, consciously or otherwise. Her voice has enough range to carry off the relaxing & easy going, songs presented here. ML has a knack for spotting talents and moulding diamonds out of carbon. He has also wisely retain the services of Maestro Tey Cher Siang on most of the arrangement and piano work, Roger Wang on guitars, last but not least the highly talented Salvador Guerzo of the Solianos fame, on saxophone. These guys are some of the best musicians in the local music scene.

Amongst my favorite tunes here are Autumnal Night, Let's Go See The Clouds, Romance In The Rain(Cher Siang's Jazz timing signature arrangement is very much at play here), Coyness(a Faye Wong classic remake in typical striped down signature of Pop Pop Music style!), and surely Autumnal Poetry which Salvador's saxophone is so well recorded, that beautifully warm burnish tone, finger and mouth piece control, breathing technique is all exposed evidently that it competes fairly for attention against Z Yan's vocal.

The recording quality is the best yet from Pop Pop Music. The excellent acoustics quality of The Ark Studios is well preserved, most evidently on the highs. Compared to my favorite Jz8 album(another excellent Pop Pop Music recording), the Brasileiro Princess album's highs are very much livelier, less dark and more open. There's more studio ambiance to be heard and instrument placing in the sound stage is less congested and more convincingly spaced, with good depth perception. There's very little additive EQ-ing or reverbs used in this otherwise natural sounding recording.

This is a highly enjoyable album, and during this silly season of giving, I think it makes a perfectly meaningful gift of music for any audiophile or music loving family member and friends.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

10Qs For Brasileiro Princess, Z Yan.

Our Brasileiro Princess looking pretty in white.

Z Yan, a.k.a. Brasileiro Princess, is the latest artist promoted by Pop Pop Music. Leslie a.k.a. ML very graciously invited me to have a chat with the pretty princess, during the Brasileiro Princess Press Conference. By the way, just in case you've not been following, Brasileiro Princess is a collection of Chinese(mostly mandarin) classic and contemporary tunes, re-made, re-arranged, and performed with Bossa influence.

Hey! Chatting up pretty girls is something I enjoy very much, and Z Yan's very positive outlook is a joy to endear. Here goes my 10Qs!

Big E: Please tell our readers and your audiences a little bit about your self?

Z Yan: I was born in Melaka and traveled often to Johor with my parents. It was much later in my life that I came to KL to study in a private college.

Big E: How and why did you get involved in the music industry?

Z Yan: I've loved music since my child hood days, but I never ever dreamed that I'll be singing as a recording artist. It all started when I moved to KL, where during the weekends, me and my friends would attend live concerts, like those now staged in No Black Tie. I half heartedly volunteered to audition, when the producer for Music Toxin, Mr Chow Kam Leong asked if any one in the audience wanted to record for them. I did my demo and eventually released my first CD album, titled "Wishes" under the Music Toxin label in 2007.

Big E: Is that how you meet Leslie and Pop Pop Music?

Z Yan: I was introduced to Leslie by Mr Chow, and I very quickly learned that Leslie had eclectic taste for music. When he proposed that I should be Brasileiro Princess, in a Bossa flavoured album, I was immediately in agreement, as Latin music happens to be one of my favourite genre!

Big E: Are you happy and proud of your Brasileiro Princess album, and how well do you think it'll do in the sales charts?

Z Yan: I am very happy and proud to be given the chance to participate in the Brasileiro Princess album, but Bossa music is still a fringe genre in Malaysia, and our Chinese music lovers are very conservative in their musical choices, so only time will tell how the market would react to the CD sales.

Big E: If there's another chance to record another Pop Pop Music album, would you still do Bossa?

Z Yan: Yes, surely! In fact should we do a follow up album, I'd like to add some Salsa, Samba and other forms of creative Latin Jazz repertoire just to push the music concept further.

Big E: How do find working with some of best talents in the Malaysian music scene today?

Z Yan: I like working with Pop Pop Music. They're a very open and flexible label which allows us to develop our selves as artist in our own time. There's very little pressure and every recording session is fun with the guys!

Big E: I know for a fact that every Pop Pop Music artist has a day job to pay the bills, what's yours?

Z Yan: No, I don't have a day job! It's a night job actually. I do sing at hotel lounges, events and cafes for a living. If you happen to be in Tropicana City Mall anytime this month(and this month only!), you can catch me singing live at Santini cafe there from 9pm onwards.

This CD is on sale NOW! Look out for it.

Big E: You'd know by now that Pop Pop Music is an Indie Label producing audiophile oriented recordings, and do you know any family or friends who enjoy hifi as a hobby?

Z Yan: Actually, Leslie is the first and only audiophile I know at the time! But when he brought me to his home, and showcased his music thru his hifi system and it all hit me, that an audiophile demands crystal clear recordings. Every vocal technique, emotion, musician play and recording detail is so realistically lay ed across, in between the two speakers!

Z Yan dedicating her thoughts on my personal copy of her "Brasileiro Princess". The CD inlay booklet has some pretty nice pictures of her for eye candy.

Big E: You're a very pretty girl. Has anyone ever done something romantic, like sending 99 stalks of roses to impress you?

Z Yan: I am totally flattered that you find me pretty, but thanks for the compliments anyway. At this point in time, the most romantic thing anyone can do for me is to buy 99 copies the Brasileiro Princess CD, and distribute it to everyone he knows! In fact, he'd really impressed me if he bought 999 copies of the CD!(She's really focus on the task at hand. What a gal!)

At this point Leslie was smelling something fishy and jumped over then said, "Hey! She's taken!!!

Big E: Ha! Ha! By the way, Z Yan, all of us handsome audiophiles here would really like to know about your "actual" status. Are you available still or "taken" as Leslie suggested?

Z Yan: That is a question I do not want to answer now. I'd like take a few more years to prove my self in the music industry. Perhaps you can ask me this question again in a few years time. Ha! Ha!(See, I told you she's really focused!)

With that question, I'd like to leave a little room for our fellow audiophiles to ponder over her status as we explore in to her Brasileiro Princess recording. By the way, do enjoy the nice tasteful photos of Z Yan in the CD inlay booklet as eye candy as we listen to her soothing Bossa voice and music.

Brasileiro Princess CD review coming soon!

Press Conference For Launch Of Brasileiro Princess Album.

The talents behind the Brasileiro Princess album. From left: Leslie Loh(a.k.a. ML), Z Yan, Stefano, and Cher Siang.

Last Wednesday, 08th December, Pop Pop Music held a press conference for the up coming CD, soon to be available in stores sometime this week, Brasileiro Princess album. I was invited for the fun and got to chit chat with the SYT(Sweet Young Thing) of a princess.

The press get to throw questions for the main production team, comprising ML, Stefano, Cher Siang and the princess in person, Z Yan.
An MC controlling the proceedings on the Press Conference.

Some of the princess's friends were there to lend support and throw in some fun and games. Light snacks and drink were complimentary of Fullhouse restaurant, who hosted the event in the Sunway Giza Mall, Kota Damansara.
A friend of the princess, throwing her some "pretty" difficult questions!

My chit chat, a.k.a. 10Qs with princess Z Yan will be featured in these pages soon. Stay tuned.

Brasileiro Princess Launch Party - A Pictorial

Pop Pop Music's Leslie Loh held a home party last Saturday for the launch of his latest creative effort - The "Brasileiro Princess" album. Here are some photos. Enjoy!

Leslie and his Bossa Princess Z Yen

Leslie making a point...

The Princess and...

...everyone else were rapt in attention.

Princess talking about her journey on the album...

... She was in turn playful,...

... contemplative,...

...but most of all, she was happy.

All the best to Leslie and Z Yen on their creative effort.
Please go to the pop pop music blog for the latest on this album.

Beauty in Audiophile Singers

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the prettiest of them all?

Susan Wong from Hong Kong

Lily Chen from China

Olivia Ong from Singapore

Z Yan from Malaysia

Hi-Fi is a predominately male pursuit and it is definitely not sexy. It is ugly actually, with those big huge, non-descript boxes they called loudspeakers. But modern Hi-Fi is improving on aesthetics, no doubt.

That's not the main topic of this post. We are talking about female audiophile singers who are good-looking.

You echo: Very few. Not Many. Hardly.

Ok. Let's put voice/vocals aside, this is a purely man-to-man discussion on a different aesthetics aspect of Hi-Fi.

You can't even remotely call Cai Qin pretty, not even when she was young. Lily Chen, nah, not really. Cherrie Mah, yes, albeit in a petite frame. Jane Monheit, yes (and what a bod!). Joanna Wang, no. Susan Wong, not quite and not young.

I think to this writer, the prettiest of them all is Olivia Ong from Singapore, although Olivia has gone pop recently. Olivia is not exactly drop-dead gorgeous but easy on the eyes: sweet and demure enough to bring home to meet your parents, pretty enough to show off as a trophy to your male buddies. Dang, even enjoy your Hi-Fi together with you sitting besides you on the sofa!

Now we have a local lass to join in the competition. I haven't met her yet (I am not sure about Big E) but from the photos, she looks like a cutie. I am, of course, talking about the Bossa Princess, the latest discovery from our local audiophile label, pop pop music, whose jz8 album Big E just raved about. Rumors has it that she is going to release her Chinese Bossa Nova audiophile album end of this month and I heard from the horses' mouth that it is gonna be a cracker.

So, when your audiophile singer is gorgeous-looking, would it be psycho-acoustically better sounding? Would you fantasize that she sings for you, with you and at you, no one but you alone?

Would the highs be stratospheric and sweet, the mids rich, meaty, full-bodied, tangible and the lows bouncy, layered and voluptuous?

Certainly, I want my favorite female audiophile singers to be pretty, given a choice.