#ALSO he produced and did the instruments and backing vocals on this one

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

Written by Russ Ballard

[write4cench]

distractions.

summary: central cee and you decided to collaborate together on a track together, but when things get a little too heated your minds drive… elsewhere

pairings: single!central cee x reader

genre: smut.. just smut

word count: 2.6k+ (unedited)

a/n: this is my first smut lmao can't believe i've done this, i mean i couldn’t help it central cee too fine. i’m not the best at it though.. 😁😁🙏🏾

central cee and you both spend your time in his private studio, located in his apartment. it's decently sized but not too spacious, regardless it gets the job done and the both of you manage to produce and record your lines for the track.

you've both wanted to work with one another on a song together and so have your fans, they've been awaiting this for so long that your management team decided it was the best decision.

you stand on inside of the booth looking down at the lyrics sheet that lies in front of you, humming the rhythm before the track plays within your headphones and you begin to sing along over your back vocals.

cench sits in front of you layed back in one of the wheely chairs that sit behind the booth, he watches you sing nodding his head to the rhythm of the song but also impressed by your vocal abilities.

it's the two of you alone in the studio which is quiet unusual considering the fact that during the last studio sessions the studio was filled with friends of central cee who decided to show up.

but instead this time, it's only the two of you. but it feels far from awkward it feels comforting and you both focus on getting the work done.

the song's chorus comes to and end and he stops the instrumental from playing again, upon finishing you glance at him and put a thumbs up asking him if you did good enough of a job, he nods and you do a small celebration that makes him laugh.

he begins to speak but it's too muffled due to the soundproof booth so you take your headphones off and open the door slightly to hear him better, "you did great, we don't even have to run it over again." he admits and you smile.

"you sure, i feel like some of it was a little off." you tell him but he shakes his head in refusal so you decided to leave it since it is his song after all.

"can i hear it over?" you ask him and he nods playing it over again, you put the headphones back onto your head and listen to it carefully.

the song starts off with central cee's wonderful rap that as usual never miss, the song then slips into the chorus that you sing and the beat drop before it sounds perfect.

the booth of you glance at one another in satisfaction at the song so far, sharing a smile as it continues before stopping at the progress so far.

"i think it's great so far." you say with a sigh as you sit behind the booth on one of the wheely chair turning yourself side to side.

"it's more than great." he mumbles.

the room is quiet and you decide to take out your phone, you glance at the time to see it read 10:43pm, it's getting later and you consider leaving within the next 20 minutes.

he finds an interest in the piano in front of the two of you, playing random notes that don't even sound too great together, you watch him finding the sight hilarious he notices so and shrugs embarrassed.

"i'm not too much a piano player," he sighs shaking his head trying to save himself, "i took lessons for a week and gave up on it." he clarifies and you nod your head numerously in a joking manner.

"can you even play any instrument?" you ask him genuinely and he shakes his head, your mouth drops in disbelief.

"maybe it's something i should get into, i don't play anything." he admits before smiling sheepishly.

"i'll show you something."

your hands find a placement onto the keyboard, testing out the position by pressing down on the notes to get the right keys. you begin to play something small and watch how his face turns into full surprise.

you smile as you continue before you get to distracted by him watching you and pause, "i can't focus with you watching me like that." you tell him annoyed and he laughs.

"forget i'm even here." he sighs closing his eyes and leaning back into your seat; you watch him do so frowning.

"how am i supposed to forget your there." you tell him but he doesn't respond so you exhale deeply before continuing to play the piano.

you'd admit, it's been a while since you've last played the piano but you've impressed yourself by still remembering the notes to the piece you play every single time.

you continue to play the piano forgetting he's even there until you come to an end, when you turn to look at him he's still laid back into his seat with his eyes closed, his hood lying over his head.

is he sleeping?

you hit him on the side of his arm and he winces before sitting upright, his hand rushing to soothe where he was attacked, "that fucking hurt." he groans and you smile to yourself.

"were you sleeping whilst i was playing?" you question him and he sighs still whining over the punch you just gave him.

"you didn't need to punch me like that," he starts watching how you only smile, "i wasn't sleeping, i was just resting my eyes innit."

you hum in response and watch how he sits upright in his seat rolling the chair over to stand beside you, he glances over the keys on the piano before speaking. "teach me something." he says.

"what am i supposed to teach you." you question him, he shrugs his shoulders with a yawn not helping you one bit.

"i dunno, maybe a chord or some shit." he utters and you bite your lip in thought of watch chord to do. he watches as your hand runs along the keyboard thinking of a position before it plays a chord.

he watches you carefully and when the pleasing sound rings he glances at you only to find you looking at him already, "did you see that?" you ask him and he shakes his head.

you roll your eyes in response, "what, am i supposed to get it on the first try?" he questions you confused only to see you nod.

you watch as his tattooed hand reaches over attempting to do the same hand movement that you did, but it doesn't succeed to make the correct sound.

"no, your supposed to do it like this." you mumble, your hand reaching over to correct his. you move his hand one down along and place it on top of his getting him to push it down as it sounds the correct chord.

"what chord was that?" he asks you curiously, you glance to look at him and it's only then you both notice how close you are to one another.

"c." you say. upon hearing your response he laughs to himself and you watch him confused, after seeing your confused face he stops laughing.

"it wasn't a c, for central cee." you mumble.

"yeah, definitely."

"you're not that special." you joke to him as you move your hand away from his and he nods gazing at you, it's only when you look up that your eyes meet his.

"mhm."

silence. you don't know what to say to him and you won't lie the way that his voice sounded when he hummed did something to you. you feel your cheeks begin to redden and you mentally curse at yourself.

luckily, the room is tinted dark blue so it's impossible for him to notice a thing; or it could just really be due to your melanated skin.

it's obvious that he notices how he's caught you out of words as a smirk grows upon his face, you watch his lips do so until he brings you out of your thoughts. "i got you quiet, i won." he mumbles.

you remain quiet not saying anything until the space between the two of you becomes smaller, before you could think of anything your lips press against his.

you can feel his smirk widen against your lips wider before he kisses you back, deeper but not too desperate. you don't even notice the fact you've just kissed central cee, your mind is just completely filled with.. desire.

the kiss runs long and you feel his arms wrap around your lower waist bringing you close to him, but the inconvenience of the chairs makes you get up from your chair and sit up on his lap instead.

it's then that everything hits you and you pull apart from his lips, your chest heaves numerously in sync with his and you eyes glance all over his face as you realise what's happening.

his gaze reads something completely different, his once playful eyes have turned dark and hazy showcasing lust instead it makes you ache for more and the position of you siting up on him creates even more need within your lower region.

"fuck." he says and before you know it, he's kissing you again. the kiss is more desperate and you fall into it, he takes the dominance but you try to keep a hold of everything by wrapping your arms around his neck.

you feel him grow harder and harder beneath you just how you grow desperate and desperate, you need him badly just as bad as you need him. you'd never ever think that tonight would turn out the way it did.

your hips subconsciously begin to move slowly against his but he grabs a hold of you stopping you, his lips part away from you and you frown at him, he sees this and smiles.

he kisses your neck and you lean your head back giving him even more space, you don't care that you'll probably end up with hickies all over your neck when you feel him slightly bite you, all you need is him.

"i need you so bad." he mumbles against your neck before pecking your neck all the way up to the side of your face, you look at one another before it hits and you share a smile.

before you know it your up from his lap and your hands occupy themselves into pulling his sweats down, when you see the sight of his harden self through his pants you glance back up at him only to see him covering his face with his hand.

you pull down his boxers and he springs free his member hitting you against your nose catching you aback, you stare at him for a moment but a moment too long and he peers down at you.

"don't just stare at it." he groans and you smile, you lick the tip of his cock and the pleasing sensation sends a moan to leave his lips. you tease him, your tounge running around the tip where he's most sensitive and he moans.

he grows to desperate and before you know it his hand comes up to your head, he finds a comfort in your hair before he pushes your head down his shaft slowly.

you breathe through your nose as you take in his size before growing used to it and beginning to pump your head slowly down his shaft continuously causing him to groan quietly.

he uses your head to help him reach his high, pumping you slowly down him but also muttering how good you are occasionally. you feel your eyes begin to water slightly but luckily you don't have to much of a gag reflex.

"fuck, you're so good." he groans as he watches you take him, his hand helping to move your hair away from your face, he closes his eyes tightly as he approaches his orgasm.

his moans become shorter and more intense and it's then you can tell that he's about to release any minute. perfect. you pull away from him and he looks down at you confused.

you watch as he glares at you annoyed, "what the fuck was that for?" he asks you but you don't say anything rubbing your mouth clean with the back of your hand.

his eyes don't leave you once, reading nothing but pissed at the interruption of his orgasm, he watches you as you take off your trousers and pants; his cock twitching ever so slightly as it pleads for your attention.

"you think i'd let you cum first?" you ask him and he furrows his brows in complete denial.

you approach him as you kick away your lower clothes that pool around your feet, glaring at him "fuck me then." you tell him, he watches you with his mouth agape never expecting to see you turn into a completely different person.

you lean against the producing equipment waiting for him expectantly, but when you feel his presence behind you and his hands hold your ass you let out a moan.

he slaps your ass, making you gasp at the sudden pain before he rubs your cheek to soothe it. he pulls out a condom from the inside of his pocket and you turn around to glance at him at the sound of it opening.

"you had that on you all along?" you ask him and he grins taking it out before pulling it over his cock.

"knew i'd need it." and with that he pushes himself into you slowly without warning making your mouth agape.

he waits for a moment until he's all the way in you before he starts to move, thrust in and out of you each time causing you to moan.

your bodies are in sync as he fucks you getting turned on by the sight of you bent before him as he fucks you senseless. he gradually becomes more faster and his thrusts become stronger.

"shit." you moan although your words sound all messed up due to the rocking back and forth you experience from his thrusts.

your hands hold onto the bumpy toggles in front of you trying to find something to hold onto as you take each thrust that runs through you. you're floating in ecstasy and it all feels too good.

he moans many things under his breath that you can't pick up on too busy by being engulfed in the intense pleasure you experience as you gradually approach your high.

you feel his hand reach over underneath you, rubbing your sensitive clit whilst he takes you; the feeling of him inside you, but his hand rubbing on your sensitive bud makes it all eventually unbareable.

your moans become louder and more desperate as you feel your high approaching; once again his hand slaps your ass earning another loud gasp from you.

your hair is held up my his hand and it's obvious your makeup is probably fucked up by now, but at this point that doesn't even matter to you anymore. everything just feels too good.

you reach your orgasm and pant vigorously, he notices this and pulls out of you rubbing himself with his hand as he releases himself inside of his condom.

you rest your head on the equipment in front of you as you both catch your breath, it's only then that you feel your legs become to grow all achy and weak.

"shit, my legs." you laugh to yourself as you wobble; he notices this and laughs tying the condom and obviously throwing it into the bin.

"good luck." he jokes and you roll your eyes.

"i need to shower." you complain feeling all sticky as usual after sex, he hums in agreement.

"i'll shower with you." he smiles.

you attempt to push him away but due to your growing weak legs you fail, instead complaining about how sore they are. seems like central cee has won in keeping you quiet.

"so are we gonna work on the track again?"

"probably not for now."

[harrysfolklore]

grammy at wembley - bandmate!yn blurb

gif by @londonharry <3

BANDMATE!YN MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

Wembley Stadium buzzed with excitement as the crowd eagerly waited for the big night to start. Feather boas, cowboy hats, pride flags and colorful signs were everywhere in sight in typical Love on Tour fashion.

Tonight was one for the history books. Harry was closing out a successful run of 4 sold out nights at Wembley Stadium, and his family, friends, colleagues and all kinds of loved ones came together to support him.

To celebrate said shows, Harry had a lot of surprises in store, including letting each of his bandmates be an opening act for a different show; and even though it took a lot of convincing, his girlfriend agreed to take part for the final night.

"I'm not sure, lovie. I mean people like what I do as your bassist but my own work? I don't know if they would like to hear that." YN said when Harry brought up the proposal.

"They would, because you're insanely talented and everyone deserves to see it."

And with a few more kisses and sweet words, YN accepted to perform and delivered an impeccable set that was loved by everyone in the stadium, specially Harry who greeted her as soon as she was off the stage and held her as he said how proud he felt.

Now, the band was getting ready to hit the stage together one final time, gathering around in a circle as they always did.

"Okay, I'm not trying to get sentimental over here," Harry spoke to his bandmates, "But these past shows wouldn't had been possible without you, so let's do it one last time for London."

"Let's go!" Pauli cheered hyping everyone, and then they were off to perform.

The evening went on filled with music, excitement and love. Harry charmed the crowd as usual and the band gave their best playing their instruments.

"I'd like to take a few second, no, not a quick second, a brief moment to introduce you to my wonderful band." Harry said into the mic and proceeded to introduce each of his bandmates, leaving his girlfriend last as usual.

"And finally, in bass and vocals, YN!" she waved out to the crowd, but surprise filled her face when instead of moving on with the next song, Harry continued speaking about her, "YN, you're not just my bandmate, you're also my girlfriend, my musical soulmate and my partner in crime," Harry said, putting a hand into his heart and making the entire audience become emotional, "Tonight is a very special night, and I want to give you something that is just as special, and celebrate with everyone here."

A trace of confusion flickered across YN's face, not sure about what Harry was about to do, she leaned closer and her voice came out in barely a whisper, "Harry what's going on? Don't tell me you're proposing becau-"

"I'm not proposing, yet," Harry interrupted her with a wink, "Just wait here."

He walked towards the side of the stage where a crew member handed her the a shinny item that YN and the rest of the crowd was yet to identify, it was when she took a proper look at the golden trophy that a wave of realization hit her body.

"No way, Harry. Is that?" YN said off the mic to him when he was next to her.

"It's your Grammy, baby. Came in the mail the other day and I decided this was the best way to give it to you," Harry shrugged, pulling her into his arms in hug, "Congratulations, bandmate."

YN pulled back to look at him, she was aware of the thousands of fans watching them but she still pulled him in for a quick kiss before speaking, "Thank you, this is magical."

Harry only pecked her forehead before speaking to the crowd again, "Give it up for YN! Grammy Award winner for her collaboration as a songwriter and producer in Harry's House!"

The audience broke down in cheers and screams as YN held her award up, and as the crowd continued to celebrate, she thought that the award not only symbolized a musical achievement, but also the strong bond she shared with Harry, one she wishes would last forever.

taglist: @lightsoutstyles @waitingroomharry @willowpains @straightontilmornin @sleutherclaw @gimsaysay @hazzassmirk @platinumbarbie143 @musicforcinemas @celesteblack08 @scntfrhs @eleanordaisy @lomlolivia @iceebabies

tell me if you want to be added to the taglist <3

[allamericansbitch]

since y'all seemed to want this.... here's the live notes i took while listening to each song for the first time (bold are thoughts i had during later listens)

fortnight: 

‘i was a functioning alcohol till nobody noticed my new aesthetic’ what the fuck does that even mean…

love the fact she gave post the female collab treatment. don’t wanna hear what he has to say. 

they’re voices sound actually good together? 

some pockets of the melody are catchy

okay i don’t hate this 

ttpd:

her red flags are on fire in this song lol

this seems very half-cooked

also jacks weird mixing continues to plague us all

CHARLIE PUTH???? WHAT THE FUCK WHY HE HERE

tattooed golden retriever??? ……no way

my boy breaks all his favorite toys:

i blinked and it’s half over

this also is like… half cooked and didn’t need to be released tbh

i love the way she sings the second verse tho

down and:

the production does not match the vibe

did tpain produce this

i’m… kinda bored lol

like i have nothing to say this also didn’t need to be released tbh 

this grew on me a lot actually

so long london 

the production is so futuristic? 

oh im obsessed with how she sounds on this one

her talk-singing in the verses is great

honest lyrics without any clunky unnecessary metaphors! a win!!

the fast-paced verses with th slow chorus is really really cool

a favorite so far

daddy i love him

i can barely hear her? the bad mixing continues 

‘growing up precociously sometimes means not growing up at all’ oh yeah WE KNOW

is this…… is this about her dating matty and loving how people hate him… no fucking way she’s this stupid

SHE IS BEING THIS STUPID

‘it’s white noise’ yeah yeah that’s exactly how id describe him  

.... anyway y'all remember when fans really believed the little mermaid theory and this song was supposed to be about how 'joe stole her voice' lmaooo

we will pretend this one doesn't exist!

fresh out the slammer

are we getting another ‘i didn’t cheat technically’ song lol

what is this weird tempo change….

okay kinda catchy

it’s sounds exactly like you are in love at the end….. jack is really out of tricks

florida

‘my friends all smell like weed or little babies’ what the fuck is she even talking about anymore 

i’m sorry but i’m laughing at the phrase ‘fuck me up florida’

again the production sounds so detached from the vocals 

i honestly still have no idea how i feel about this one

guilt as sin

an real instrument?? wow crazy 

okay she’s kinda cute? catchy and fun, love the melody

i love when she goes up at the end of the vocal 

okay…. i don’t mind this one she’s catchy, a little too long and drawn out but cute

who’s afraid of little old me?

what is this production? it’s way too soft to be as threatening as they’re trying for 

why did jack push her vocals back so far when she’s supposed to scream…. that’s ruins the whole thing…. she’s supposed to be screaming and threatening….. not quiet and far away…. hello

this song is trying very hard to be threatening but it’s not... vigilante shit 2.0

‘you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum they raised me’…………… upper middle-class pennsylvania? 

‘i’m drunk on my own tears isn’t that what they all say, that’ll  sue you if you step on my lawn’ okay bar?

the bridge was good but that’s about it.

i can fix him 

…………… not another matty song oh god

‘i can handle a dangerous man’…… im too stunned to speak this is so embarrassing 

wow taylor really is that girl who like ‘women supporting women’ and then dates/defends a racist bf…. a walking example of white feminism

intersectional feminism found dead.... twice....

loml

okay this is really nice? 

I WAS ACTUALLY ENJOYING THE SONG WHY DID SHE RUIN IT BY SAYING ‘MR STEAL YOUR GIRL’ 💀

if we ignore that one line we're good this is good. im refusing to let that line ruin such a good song

i can do it with a broken heart

‘bitch smile’ why are there so many cringey lyrics on this album lol

what is this song omg why do i kind of like it 

taylor please learn depressed isn’t a synonym for sad 

they recycled the mastermind production 

wait till taylor finds out most of the entire world is sad while they're doing their job and has to pretend they're not

smallest man who ever lived 

oh i think i like this?

‘you said normal girls were boring’ GIRL AND YOU DIDNT IMMEDIATELY GET UP AND LEAVE??? EWWWW??? she's not beating the pick-me allegations

'i just wanna know if rusting my sparking summer was the goal' okay love that line

i like this a lot

the alchemy

no….. no way this is real

i cannot

THE SPORTS METAPHORS WE JOKED SHED DO THAT AND SHE ACTUALLY DID IT OH NO 

touchdown ✅ teams ✅ benches ✅ winning streak ✅ the league ✅

she’s doing…… the worst thing ever this is so laughable 

the corny lyrics are on overload 

‘this time it’s heroine with an e’ didn’t she write folklore? i can’t remember 

that literally was an snl parody of a taylor song

clara bow

love how the guitar sounds… bet money this is an aaron track 

a stevie nicks reference!! a win!!!

i like this one a lot no cringey lyrics yet

nope never mind she name-dropped herself don’t like that

overall really liked it tho

the black dog

i think i like it?? this is kind of what i expected the album to be

okay for once the weird production choices kind of pay off

imgonnagetyouback

kinda catchy? 

she loves a fancy car getting wrecked line

the pre-choruses are the best part 

this would’ve been better without the jack of it all bc he loves a song that doesnt build to anything

this just comes down to personal preference: i don’t like her lighter vocals with jack’s heavy production (ie most of lover lol)

the albatross

a real instrument!!! production that matches taylor’s voice and is well mixed!!! aaron’s arrived!! 

i think it’s solid, has good writing and she sounds great. that's about it.

chloe or sam or…

took me a solid minute to have any semblance of a fuck to know what was going on but okay

okay i love this one

wayyyy more emotive than like… most of the original album

a lot of the 2nd version (or whatever this is lol) are way more emotive, maybe because her voice isnt drenched in reverb so we can actually hear her voice emote better

how did it end

this sounds like an old school adele song? 

i love this one too…. 

her being upset people wanna know what happened but then also feeding it while promoting the album oop 

i love the story of this one it's so refreshing

so high school

THE PRODUCTION is so good ugh aaron never fails 

the man here is a walking red flag girl and the lyrics are ~not it~ but the production is too pretty to hate it

fuck these lyrics are so bad lol

maybe if i disassociate hard enough i can ignore the lyrics and just listen to the production and vibe

give me a karaoke version of this song and we'd be so back

i hate it here

i mentioned disassociation and she made a whole song about it!!!! this one’s mine!!!! 

‘without all the racists’ GIRL HUH

WHAT WAS THE REASON

also... girl don’t act like we don’t know you’re fine with that lololololol

if i had a dime for every time i was liking a song to then have it slapped away because of a bad, out-of-pocket lyric…… 

thank you aimee

this isn’t grabbing my attention 

oh the bridge is interesting 

it’s meh 

i will never be thanking the people that bullied me thanks tho

i look in peoples windows 

what do you mean aaron didn’t produce this??? it’s well-made and has instruments? 

i love this one, again a really interesting and unique concept that's very refreshing to hear at this point when a lot of the songs feel repetitive

the prophecy

aaron guitar!!!! 

she’s nice i like her 

i've really grown to love how she sings this one, the melodies are cool.. however i feel like we've heard the same melody.. like on this exact album... where she upturns at the end of every line...

cassandra 

this seems very…. familiar… idk i feel like we’ve covered this (i mean there are 31 songs we’ve already covered everything lol)

this is such an aaron song, that's a classic 'the national' piano

i like her voice in this one tho, sounds good

peter

oh love i love this

now this? THIS feels the most like a taylor swift song

once again she’s at her best with a simple instrument and emotive simple lyrics

the piano reminds me of champagne problems

the bolter 

i like this! the chorus is so cute

oh i like that ending line a lot!

she’s cute, a little long and drawn out but cute

robin

i haven’t seen anyone talk about this one

welp…. i literally have no feelings toward this one but sounds pretty! 

the manuscript

oh this is soooooooo powerful 

i love this concept 

her ending the album on another introspective album that sums everything up a la dear reader yep yep!!

if you actually read of this ily 💗

[arewedoneyet]

men's folio article via mens-folio.com/my

With buttery vocals, princely features and the penmanship of a lovelorn poet, Jeff Satur is about to sing his way into your heart — one story at a time.

What makes a good story? And what makes a good storyteller? For music savant Jeff Worakamol Satur, these are the two questions that have kept him on his feet the past decade, fuelling his fearless desire to know, love and showcase his most authentic self to the world.

Magnetic in look, sound and craft, Jeff has managed to dabble in multiple genres of music — and play various instruments — without losing his signature, velvety sound. While he did skyrocket to fame portraying Kim on the TV show KinnPorsche: The Series in 2022, Jeff singing its theme song, “Why Don’t You Stay,” was what converted many casual onlookers into full-time Jeff fans (or SATURDAYs). They are now hooked onto his buttery vocals — which not only eloquently and evocatively sing in Thai, English and Chinese — but Jeff is also the very person who produced and wrote the stories in these tracks.

With ancestral roots tracing back to China, India and Italy, it is no wonder that the Phuket native navigates expression and interaction in these vastly different languages without losing their nuances. It is the openness to embrace diversity in cultures and ideas that his fans continue to grow in numbers from all corners of the world.

Since starting his personal studio — Studio On Saturn — at the end of 2022, Jeff has held concerts all over the region, most recently completing his Space Shuttle No. 8 Asia Tour in April to celebrate the release of his first full album. His appearances on music variety shows like China’s Call Me By Fire Season 3 and, most recently, Chuang Asia: Thailand — a Thai idol survival show spin-off based on the Chuang franchise in China — have also appealed to fans in a new way. His hold over both seniors and juniors in the music industry is a testament to the piercing allure he has that transcends age and gender.

Then there is his relationship with Valentino, which comes to a surging point in this interview’s accompanying visuals — each party egging one another in their courageous pursuit of new, creative frontiers.

This is not the end. There is still so much more power that Jeff has yet to harness from stories — which communicate and entertain without the boundaries of time and space, and have decidedly become a grand purpose that he is working to fulfil. From music, the big screen, and finally the horizon, Men’s Folio sits down with the prodigious artiste to discover what makes him tick and perhaps what kind of tale he would charm us into next.

Hi Jeff! How have you been?
I’ve been very good. Fantastic, actually.

We noticed you have said goodbye to your signature long hair. Why did you decide to cut it?
I had to change my hairstyle for a movie I was filming. I also had to change many other things about myself, including how I spoke, reacted and moved — so much so that I had to attend workshops. So, I thought changing my image would help me immerse myself in the role.

Congratulations on completing the Space Shuttle No.8 Asia tour! You have mentioned before that going on a solo tour has been your dream for the longest time — now that both your debut album and solo tour are done, how are you feeling?
It’s a pretty weird feeling — I just want to do more and more. I wanted to tour more and create more songs. It’s a strange feeling to me. It’s more fun to me now, especially since I’ve completed it. It’s like the end of one dream is leading to the start of another.

What is something new about yourself as an artiste or person you learned from going on tour? It must’ve been tiring, but seeing all that support (from guest artistes or close friends attending) must have been very empowering too.
What I’ve learned along the way is to be present with the audience. They give you so many different experiences and learnings from place to place. The show is never the same, even if the song and setting are. Everything is different. For me, I like to be there with them; I give my all and soak in the moment from my fans. Being in the moment without a script really pushed me to be a better artiste, and I believe it made me a better human being.

We have to talk about about your first on-screen mentoring stint on Chuang Asia, especially after that “Dum Dum” performance. How was it like mentoring so many aspiring artistes-to-be at once?
Guiding and mentoring new artistes is a dream that I only just recently realised (I had). It means a lot to be there, to guide and watch these artistes where they are now, doing things they previously couldn’t. I just have so many feelings. I’m so proud. There are many things in the industry that might break you along the way. While I don’t know it all, I hope what I’ve experienced in my career can be, in some way, helpful to them in their journeys. I hope that with my stories, they can break their boundaries and avoid the same traps they might find along the way. I hope that they not only become great artistes but also become better humans, stay positive in the industry, and are able to create and find themselves along the way.

Did this experience help you reflect — in any way — on your artiste career so far? In retrospect, would you redo anything?
It reminded me of my childhood. It was a time when I had so much passion for music, and seeing all the high-intensity passion in them brought me back to that time. It freshened me up. I wouldn’t change anything because I love the way things are now. Changing the past would mean changing the present, and I love where I’m at and what I’m doing right now.

What do you feel is the most important trait that any aspiring performing artiste should have?
Every artiste is different, but all artistes should try to be themselves. For me, I want to be true to myself, to be able to discover my own direction, create my own work, and be brave enough to show that to the world.

What about in a song? Everyone likes to ask questions about your views on music because your personal touch does not escape any part of your music’s creative process — from melody-making, lyric-writing to the final performance. What is your definition of a good song?
“Good” in itself is a subjective word, and a good song, to me, can mean something very different to another. You can love jazz; you can love metal. So long as you’re satisfied with what you have released, be able to listen to it back and forth, and even enjoy that track after 10 years — that’s what I define as a good song.

Regardless of shape or form, good music should always capture the essence of a story, one’s feelings, or who the artiste is at their core.

Does any existing song come to mind? Either one you are proud of or one from an artiste you look up to.
The first song that comes to mind is “Endless Rain” by Yoshiki Hayashi. I’m not too sure if he wrote it when his mom or dad passed away. But it’s a song written with lots of emotion, and it very clearly shows his style of music. It’s just very Yoshiki.

I have many songs that I am proud of — actually, every song. But if I had to pick one, it might be “Dum Dum”. I had a lot of bad feelings bottled inside me when I wrote the song, and I really wanted to release that toxicity from inside of me. It sounds as angry as I felt when I wrote it, so listening back and feeling that anger gives me satisfaction. I think I wrote it in an honest and heartfelt manner that was true to my emotions at the time.

In your previous interview with us, you talked about the different charms (and challenges) that come with writing lyrics in Thai and English. Your debut album has both English originals and English translations of your Thai songs — which song’s story or specific lyrics are you most proud of putting together, and why?
Like I said, I love and am proud of all my songs. But if I had to pick one, it would be “Black Tie”. In that track, I had to relive many memories and feelings. Honestly, even at 29, I still feel like a kid. Until today, I still address everyone around me with “P” — how people in Thailand show respect to those older than them — because l feel I have a lot more growing up to do, and that spirit to learn is still alive inside me.

As a kid, I was always told to do this and that, learn this and study that. In retrospect, those who ended up following these instructions all somehow turned out the same. I really don’t like that. I don’t want all these rules and boundaries to limit who we can be, and who I could be. That’s why I chose to sing about this in “Black Tie”, using the concept of the suit to talk about breaking those boundaries, tying in with the freedom and individuality that the Valentino collection at the time championed and empowered its wearers to embody.

Are there any stories you are looking to tell with your next music release?
It’s a secret. You’ll know when you know.

More on your love for story-telling — which seems to be a common thread that links all the creative works you have released so far together — what do you think makes a good story?
All stories are worth telling, even those without a happy ending. What makes a good story is how you tell it. Capturing the essence or feeling of the story and delivering that to the listeners is more important. You know it’s good if the listeners can experience the story with you,

You mentioned in an interview that if you were not an artiste today, you would be a writer. These days, it is hard to have an original voice, yet yours (both literal and figurative) is quite luminous in its own way. How do you maintain that voice despite all the noise?
I don’t think an original voice is something that can be created. An original voice can only come from trusting your instincts, being honest in your work, and staying truthful to your feelings. Only then can you create work that represents you. You should never lie to yourself.

And more importantly, never lose that kid inside of you. That’s who is creating the all the art, instead of you.

More importantly, how do you rest? Are there any go-to activities (or non-activities) you like to do to return to yourself and rest your voice?
I actually have a lot of time to rest. Then again, I also don’t feel like my work encompasses “working”. It’s also my vacation. Sure, even when I’m actually on vacation, I have to think about work. But I don’t mind it; I love what I do.

If we’re talking about physical rest, I prioritise resting my voice. I used to sing during my free time, but I try not to use it that often now to be ready when I actually have to sing. I think it’s important to know how to control and use my voice in the right way.

For those who are only discovering your music today, can you compile a three-track introduction to Jeff Satur’s playlist and explain why?
“Dum Dum”, “Fade”, and “Loop”. “Dum Dum” shows my darker side because it’s a release of some pent-up frustration and anger. “Fade” is more romantic — it shows you how I experience love and what I am like in a relationship, and I try to tell that story in a more emotional and evocative manner. Then we have “Loop”, a more introspective exploration of who I am. Listening to these three songs will give you a good idea of the breadth of my personality and style as an artiste.

In recent years, you have been bolder with your style. How would you describe your current relationship with fashion? Has it changed over the years?
I think fashion is about doing what you love, wearing what you love, and enjoying what you see in the mirror. Every morning before I go out, I feel like I should love what I see in the mirror — regardless of what other people think. Your body is a canvas, and whatever colour or pattern you choose to put on yourself that day is a form of self-expression you should enjoy.

Over the years, I’ve definitely become more confident about trying on things out of my comfort zone. I used to be scared of wearing certain things because of what others might think, but I’m no longer as shy. I’m just breaking one boundary at a time.

What values of Maison Valentino does Jeff Satur — the artiste — embody?
I think Valentino and I have many things in common. Fundamentally, we both embrace the act of constant reinvention and enjoy the challenge of finding new ground, and there’s no better expression of this chemistry and kindred spirit than the soundtrack I created with and for Valentino. The brand is quite sentimental and romantic, and my body of work doesn’t stray far from these sensibilities — especially if you listen to the three tracks I mentioned earlier. A valiant kind of courage persists throughout, and I feel like that syncs up nicely with what Valentino stands for as a brand.

What is next on your cards? Will we get to sees Jeff Satur, the actor again soon?
Without a doubt. In fact, more and more because actor Jeff Satur is an important part of me, and there are a lot of upcoming projects that I’m passionate about and very excited to share with the world.

Last but not least, you have said before that any interaction or activities you do for SATURDAYs feels like an everlasting dream. Is there anything you want to say to your fans right now?
Always be happy. Yes, sometimes it’s hard, and sometimes the world isn’t as beautiful as the ones we read about in our favourite fairytales. Focus on the good and avoid the bad. Surround yourself with good people. Never give up on yourself. You’re beautiful, you’re great, and you’re you — and no one else can do what you do. Even I can’t do what you do. Everybody has something unique they can do. Appreciate and love what you do. Follow your dreams, and I’ll follow mine. Someday, we’ll sing together again.

[medra-gonbites]

Baldur's Gate 3 Companion Head Canon Music Edition

Ok soooo ! Recently my bestfriend and I wrote and composed a song about BG3 (which we might release one day) and it got me thinking about the Tadfools (as if I don’t already think of them 15 times a day) and imagined what their band would look like and which instruments they would play and thus voilà my rendition:

Karlach | Drums

Look at her and tell me she does not play the drums. She would sometimes have to be asked to stop because she would not notice everyone has stopped playing but her. She just has the proper energy, rhythm, not to mention arms, to rock that drum set and start a solo Whiplash style.

Lae'zel | Harmonica

“What is this shiny rectangle? “whistle metallically” Oh. This sounds… beautiful. Like the screeching of a blade on a sharpening stone, but… Better!” And that’s how Lae’zel picked up on the harmonica, true story, I was the harmonica!

Wyll | Main Vocal and Violin

Yes, Wyll would absolutely sing and dance and become an icon on the Sword Coast. He also plays the violin. I don’t know, maybe it’s the horns, but I could also see Duke Ravengard enrolling him at conservatoire at age 6 to play the violin. He writes most of the lyrics

Shadowheart | Bass and Back-up Vocals

Shadowheart is a bass player. Look at her smoky eyes and her pout: she obviously plays the bass! She matches her nail polish to the colour of her bass (black, purple, white). She is always down to jam and she also provides Wyll with beautiful back up vocals when he needs it. Her timber is quite ethereal as well.

Astarion | Electric Guitar

Astarion has massive rockstar energy. He did try to play with his teeth on more than one occasion but that breaks the strings. He has several guitars, guitar straps, dedicated stage outfits and hundreds of guitar picks (which he does not even use but hoards like a dragon).

Gale | Synthesizer

Gale is a piano player but why constrain himself to a regular piano when he can make it sound like space music. Or any other instrument really. Fender Rhodes with a distortion and reverb to the max? Yes, please. He tried the keytar and while he does like the funkiness of it, he prefers the horizontality of regular synthesizers. I also believe he’d compose a lot of the songs.

Now for the one who are not part of the band but do play an instrument:

Minthara | Band Manager

Sorry I do not see Minthara as a musician. She’d be an amazing band manager or music producer though. If I must attribute her an instrument I would say the harp as she canonically has a lute but I imagine the discipline it takes to learn the harp is quite in character and would be a funny contrast; the angelic sound it makes, opposed to… Well, Minthara.

Halsin | Bansuri

And he made it himself from bamboo or wood. He plays it during his session of guided meditation or when he is alone in the forest. Usually attracts dozens of critters and little animals and it makes him look like a Disney princess (Although he has never seen a Disney film himself.)

Jaheira | Steel Drum

She learned during her hippie phase in college back when she would travel to Puerto Rico and/or Jamaica twice a year. She still has her old steel drum and will take it out if you nag her long enough or if she is in a celebratory mood. She might play it at your LuAu themed birthday party if requested.

Minsc | Triangle

It is the only instrument that he can play. It looks relatively simplistic but it is actually quite tricky to play as it requires great timing and a little bit of technique. Minsc is a natural at both. He likes being part of an orchestra and finds the agitated man with a stick the funniest of all people.

Boo | Church Organ

I have no argument to justify this but the hilarious image of a miniature giant space hamster playing the phantom of the opera on a huge cathedral organ. 

Gortash | Acoustic Guitar (but not really)

Gortash will claim he plays guitar. He will claim it even faster if he is flirting (approximately 2 minutes into the conversation and/or maybe before even asking your name). He, however, does not. What he can do is play one song (wonderwall or alleluia take your pick) that he learned by heart back in highschool specifically to brag at parties and bag dates. In adulthood it works way less.

[kasugas]

Notable things from the EE intimate acoustic session i went to:

I know this is probably a mix of old and new information but i wanted to put everything from the set in one post so i can keep it for posterity.

Jon fucking cracked his head open on the morning of the show on an Uber boot lid while taking merch out of the boot.

Jon said the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel were inspirations to him as a kid.

Jon got his first guitar at 13 and had a dream to make music by then.

Alex mentioned playing viola and cello as a kid and mostly knows stringed instruments. He said he wasn't good at the piano and Jon mentioned he's shit at the drums.

They both talked about how the band got together. Jon poached Alex from another band that broke up 2 weeks before they were gonna get signed for a band, by literally messaging him on old timey email or Facebook and saying "do you want to get a burrito".

Jon tried to impress him by eating the same spicy burrito as him and he was dying the entire time.

Jon also talked about how he loves it when he makes songs that give the impression that he has strong feelings on things but it's ambiguous as to what those feelings are.

Jon said man alive was a very nervous energy album, where ideas where just smashed together because these songs were the beginning of his songwriting. He mentioned photoshop handsome having conflicting messaging talking about surgery and photoshop at the same time, which he thought muddled the idea of the song.

They thought arc was more put together, and for every album they make they try and think of what makes a better sound for a live experience.

Talked about how their career is very much due to luck. They have had it very lucky with getting their songs circulated in radio space when they were such a small band starting out.

Suffragette suffragette was a single produced for a small label which very luckily got radio time

Photoshop handsome was rejected for radio because it was "too weird" but the music video gave them the success they needed. They made the music video themselves in their garage using a greenscreen, and submitted it to a competition on MySpace. The winner got played on MTV 2 for a week or two. They spoofed tons of votes with the help of their friends to win the completion.

Some big radio name (i unfortunately forget the name of) heard it on MTV 2 in a random hotel room and really liked it, so he ended up getting that song radio time.

The producer for get to heaven (Stuart Price) wasnt paid big manager money at all because he was doing it BC he was a fan. And the fact he was a "pop" producer didn't change ee's sound because they had everything written beforehand and he couldn't change their weirdness.

Apparently Jeremy's back was up when working with him until Alex and Mike met Stuart and confirmed he was chill.

Jon talked about the fact he was extremely moody on get to heavens creation. Alex said an anecdote where he tried to get Jon to do the vocals for warm healer and he did the main melody and then went "this is the worst song I've ever done" and then left the studio.

Jon talked about being the emotional heart of the team while Alex was the techy guy. Except Jons emotional heart was being a moody dickhead, in his words.

There was no cover of a song from a fever dream because it was too hard to convert one of the songs to acoustic, according to Alex.

Jon said Re-animator was the album he would change the most on and that it was the most unpolished.

Alex said he was very stressed in making mountainhead. It was the shortest amount of time they had made an album in. He was juggling home life and his work quite extremely. And by the end he was stubborn on his production choices.

With mountainhead being an exception, Alex mentioned that normally they have 5 or 6 versions of a song recorded before they choose one to go with.

Alex talked about their boiler suit troubles in the early days. Jeremy was insistent that their boiler suits be tailored which he recalled was terrible for movement.

Jon mentioned that he has had no formal vocal training. He didnt even do vocal warmups The falsetto was something he did in his early career and by the time he realised he did it he had settled into it and it had become "his thing".

He also admitted he didn't think he had a strong voice which I think is a. Fucking lie.

Alex talked about how touring is a LOT of waiting. And that they have exhausted every single avenue of conversation with each other so they end up just going to inside jokes they've had for 15 years they don't even remember why they're funny anymore.

During lockdown when the building their equipment was in burned down, they got into an argument with the owner of the building because he thought it was an insurance fraud job.

Jon still uses his guitar that got burned in lockdown in shows. Its the same body but has a new neck. Alex's also got restored but he doesn't play it because it's really difficult to play. Jon said Alex puts really heavy strings on his guitar because "it's what the jazz musicians do". But because it got burned apparently it sounds "a bit shit".

They both have talked a lot about how Spotify and streaming has decimated the music industry. Alex also talked about how songs don't even need albums anymore you can just made a compilation of singles and how he is averse to singles. Him and Jon joked about the idea that albums don't need any singles. Alex also talked about how cohesive albums are a dying breed of music made for a dying breed of fan.

[sleepanonymous]

i saw in a passing comment somewhere, i believe it was on a video of iv’s vocals in rain, someone said he previously did harsh vocals in another band and my brain.. oof. if that is indeed true i wish there was a way to listen to them without things being spoiled. but for right now if the closest we get to appreciating his growls are from rain, vore and tmbte we are blessed. and the antIVist performance, never forget 🙏🏻 that one altered my brain chemistry in the best way

I’m feeling ballsy today, I guess, so I’m gonna answer this one. Under the cut though, so people can scroll past if they wish 🖤

Okay Anon, ty for bringing this up because I’ve wanted to talk about this forever. It’s likely, of all the band's he's been part of, that the comment you saw was talking about an EP IV made with a total of five members from two other bands, one being Wilderness. (UK) and the other being another band that IV was a tech/guitarist for.

This group called themselves Mourn, and IV was the vocalist. They unfortunately only released four songs on an EP titled The Next Life. Mourn’s genre was metalcore, and they described themselves as delivering “a powerful sonic experience of crushing instrumentals, vicious vocals and relentless energy.” The lyrics have a heavily religious undertone, backed by the The Next Life’s artwork being a distorted rendition of the Annibale Carracci painting Christ Crowned with Thorns.

It’s unclear exactly who wrote what for Mourn, as all five members are listed as composers. There are also no credits to a producer, so the EP may have been produced by one or multiple band members as well. In Wilderness. (UK), Mourn’s bassist is credited as the lyricists, and Mourn’s drummer is credited as the recording, mixing, and mastering engineer. In a playthru video on the band’s YouTube channel, IV is the lead vocalist and he is backed up by the bassist (he’s definitely been working on breath control and stamina, compared to some recent videos of his screams in Rain). I was thinking about taking the Full Band playthrough on YouTube and editing IV out, but I have no energy for that 😅 I do have the ripped MP3 in the Lost Media folder, if you want to give it a listen.

The Next Life EP was released September 3, 2021, just a few weeks before TPWBYT. The band was only set to have played one live show, in February of 2022 supporting Decapitated, but it’s possible the band dropped out or the show itself was canceled. All I could find online for the date were some news articles/Facebook posts from the announcement but no photos or videos from the actual concert for any band listed on the bill.

It's theorized by fans that this band dissolved after IV left to focus solely on Sleep Token, but I’m not entirely sure that’s the case, or the sole reason. The first tour Sleep Token did in 2022 began in August, and the last tour they did ended in November 2021, so it’s not exactly like IV would have been incapable of performing with both bands. It wouldn’t be the only instance of one of the members of Sleep Token performing in multiple projects at one time.

I’m not confident enough to upload the music onto Tumblr, but I’ll happily share the band name and YouTube/Spotify links with anyone who asks. I ended up compiling the lyrics to the four songs on the EP in a Google Doc a while back for a fan who wanted to avoid IV’s name (since his name and face are plastered onto this band). Also, there were two posts from last month (? maybe September) that brought this band up, and I’m pretty certain they both had audio attached. Unfortunately, I could only find @kaddyssammlung's post for one song, and its the studio version of the same song I added to the Lost Media folder.

If anyone can direct me to the second post, please do so and I will link it here 🖤

I’ll leave you with this gem of a photograph from the band’s Facebook page. Man loves his hoodies and sneakers istg.

[hinamie]

some notes/hcs from th jjk band!au ! read at your leisure i have written a novel 🫠

tl;dr guitarist brothers suku/ita bassist megu drummer nobara band name BL4CK FL4SH

i imagine them slightly aged up in this au, i'm thinking yuuji n them are around 17 and sukuna is 2 years older ( i would make the age gap wider to account for canon but i feel like any older and sukuna wouldn't be caught dead playing in his little brother's band)

it /is/ technically yuuji's band, he /was/ the one who started it even though sukuna would argue that he's the one funding the whole thing and nobara would argue that she's the one organizing and promoting every one of their gigs and megumi would argue that he constantly loses sleep writing mixing and producing their songs,, they all love yuuji tho so they go along and let him put his name on it

don't think too hard about how sukuna, 19, makes enough to fund a band . wholesome legal stuff, promise

yuuji's current guitar is a hand me down from sukuna after he had saved up enough to splurge on the double necked monstrosity he has currently. because they were strapped for cash growing up, for years yuuji played on a beginner kid's size electric guitar that sukuna (serial music snob) couldn't stand the sound of and may or may not have violently smashed before tsundere-ly shoving his old guitar into yuuji's hands.

that being the case, sukuna thinks what yuuji has done to his old guitar is atrocious bc he's the type to take /meticulous/ care of his instruments. we're talking regular tune ups, wax, mods, the works. man carries spare strings and a microfibre cloth on him at all times just in case and Will Not let yuuji near his gear because yuuji is a hurricane of a boy and has dropped and broken his equipment more times than any of them care to count . they do however make a game out of placing bets as to what he'll knock over during practice

yuuji usually does lead vocals because his energy is quite frankly contagious and he's a natural at working a crowd . Sukuna sings backup vocal but there are a handful of songs where they switch and he sings lead and those songs are . hm . a very different vibe ! and some of their most successful releases much to his brother's chagrin

megumi had always noticed and admired sukuna's voice and thought it would be a waste not to give him a lead vocal part so he was originally the one to offer to collaborate with sukuna to write a few songs more tailored to his style ,, yuuji felt a bit snuffed but couldn't deny that megumi had a point so he agreed to take a back seat

once sukuna had gotten a taste for the spotlight and saw the stream count on the songs he led he and yuuji started bickering a lot more over who gets to take over lead vocals. they've tried duets before and it's simply out of the question so instead they fight over megumi to get him to write for one of them. it still usually ends up being yuuji which irks sukuna but he's placated by how explosive the reaction is when he /does/ get a song to himself

megumi can also sing !!! he's really good !!!!except he's shy and stubborn and won't do it in front of others. he once drunkenly admitted that he has a secret folder on his laptop full of audio files of himself singing unreleased songs and they (mostly nobara) haven't let him forget it and pester him relentlessly to let them listen. he will not because his songs are emo and sappy and pining and definitely not about yuuji

this is MY brainrot so this au is not immune to pining megumi x oblivious yuuji. one time yuuji kept inviting a girl he liked to their rehearsals and megumi's mood would get so sour that most days they had to call practice early and the ensuing show was one of their worst performances ever because their practices had been so unproductive. nobara is 95% sure she knows what was up but in the interest of keeping megumi in the band she kept her mouth shut ((she did admonish yuuji afterwards that no more outside spectators were allowed at practice no matter how hot he thinks they are))

in the days leading up to their first ever show yuuji was an anxious wreck to the point where the rest of them were legitimately concerned for his health but completely at a loss as to what they could do to help. megumi's love language is Not words of affirmation so instead he got yuuji a new set of audio cables accompanied by a note that read "good luck -M" to help ease his nerves. yuuji keeps the note taped to his guitar

megumi and nobara can both play piano and alternate covering the keyboard parts if a song requires it. (((megumi is a lot better at it which annoys nobara but she attributes the skill difference to his "freakishly long fingers and perfect pitch, which is basically cheating anyway")))

nobara gives the boys hell for making her play manager most of the time but she honestly thrives when a gig is coming up and she gets to order them around and use sukuna's credit card to book photoshoots and print promotional materials and buy them new outfits to match the concept

everyone but sukuna dreads the aforementioned shopping days. yuuji is a chronic protag who just wants to sing with his friends and megumi thinks coordinated outfits are frivolous and a waste of time . sukuna however /loves/ the visual aspect of performing because he's a dramatic bitch and wants to make sure they leave an impression. he and nobara are a force to be reckoned with and megumi and yuuji fight for their lives when they bust out the eyeliner

gojo is in this au because i guess he has to be smh i am never free -_- he was megumi's old music teacher and he runs the studio they rent out ("friends and family discount for my favourite student! aren't i kind, megumi-chan?") and they're pretty sure he's famous overseas or a retired star or something because whenever he comes to their shows there's a flood of paparazzi and tabloids that he miraculously manages to avoid??? they have no idea how he does it but they're happy to leech off the publicity

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today - March 5th, 1976

Eddie Howell "The Man From Manhattan" 7" single released

Freddie Mercury: producer/piano/bvs

Brian May: guitar

Excerpts from an interview

Jacky Gunn-Smith - Official International Queen Fan Club

Eddie Howell’s ‘Man From Manhattan‘ is one of the best known and best loved of all Queen’s collaborations.

Recorded in mid January 1976 at Sarm East Studios in London, the song was produced by Freddie Mercury, who also played piano and sang backing vocals on the track and featured Brian May on guitar. The record is so reminiscent of “A Night At The Opera” in both instrumentation and mood, that many fans regard it as virtually an “Opera” out-take. When it was launched as a single on Warner Bros records in 1976, it became a turntable hit in the UK and looked set to chart until music industry bureaucracy halted it in it’s tracks.

Birmingham born Eddie Howell began his professional career in the late 60’s, when Chrysalis music picked up on his songwriting demos and introduced him to an independent record producer, who in turn licensed his first single “Easy Street”, as a one-off deal to Parlophone in 1969.

Working as a songwriter throughout the early 70’s, Eddie’s next venture into recording came in 1975 when he signed to Warner Bros records as an artist. thursdaysHe released two singles, “Long Story” and “Can’t get over you”, and his debut LP “The Eddie Howell Gramophone Record”, which featured members of “Brand X” and guitarist Gary Moore.

The album was launched at a promotional gig at Thursday’s club in Kensington. Eddie’s band included Phil Collins on congas, Jack Lancaster on saxophone and Robin Lumley on keyboards. Explains Eddie, ”In the audience that night was Freddie Mercury who had been brought along to the gig by my manager David Minns. It was there that he first heard “Man From Manhattan”, which was a newly written song included in the set. After the gig we met and he was very complimentary about the song and offered to produce it. I remember we all went down to ‘The Elephant on the River’ to celebrate”.

Enthused by the prospect of his first foray into production, Freddie wasted little time in getting started. ”I gave him a two track guitar/vocal demo of the song” recalls Eddie, ”and a couple of days later he called and said let’s get going. Studio time was booked at Sarm East Studios and true to form, Freddie quickly took control of the sessions; ”He did lots of pre-production work on the song’s structure and the harmony arrangements”, reveals Ed. ” He had a mini cassette recorder loaded with ideas for the track, backing vocals and answering phrases”.

”We took a week to record the song”, remembers Eddie, ”which was a long time in those days, but because of Freddie’s involvement, Warners gave us a blank cheque. The sessions were quite intense, there was never a lull. Brian came in to play hismikestone2 guitar parts and the musical rapport between him and Freddie was plain to see, they were on the same page. One day, a hand-held spinning bell-cymbal in the key of ‘D’ was required by Freddie for one ping at the end of the track and the studio didn’t have one, so a runner was dispatched to scour the streets of London in search of one. The session was adjourned for half a day while we waited down at the Shazam Indian restaurant in Brick Lane for the bell to arrive. It eventually arrived and took about a minute to record, it must have been the most expensive ping ever recorded”.

On the final day of recording, a trio of Warner Bros top brass flew in from California and made a beeline for Sarm East studios to meet Freddie. Recalls Eddie, ”They probably thought the red carpet would be rolled out as they were paying for the recording sessions, but instead they were kept waiting in reception for about four hours. When they were eventually granted an audience, the charm offensive was full onlongstory3 and it was all smiles and bonhomie. At the end of the session, after the final playback, Freddie turned to me and said, ‘If this isn’t a hit, sue Warner Bros ‘ ”.

The finished article obviously had a heavy Queen influence with the presence of Freddie and Brian on the track, but ”Man from Manhattan” was far from a tribute to Queen. ”I wrote the song after my first trip to Manhattan in late 74”, reveals Eddie, ”I was reading ‘The Godfather Papers’ by Mario Puzo and the song was about those mafia characters who lead a double life. Musically, I had ‘Dead End Street’, by the Kinks in mind, complete with trombones and a walking double-bass”.

Prior to the ban, ”Manhattan” made top 50 in the UK, top 20 in Australia, Belgium and South Africa and top 5 in Holland, but sadly, as a consequence of the ban, it was never released in America or many of the world’s other major territories.

When it was issued as a single in 1976, Warner’s publicity department played up the Queen connection as much as they could, and “Manhattan” rapidly became a turntable hit in the UK. The record received heavy rotation on the airwaves – particularly in Europe where it became a big hit. Then, just when it looked set to climb the charts in the UK, the Musicians Union mysteriously discovered that Jerome Rimson, the American bassist hired by Freddie for the sessions, had been working in Britain without a permit. This obliged them to place a ban on any and all further UK media exposure due to his ‘Illegally’ recorded playing. A decision which effectively killed off the record.

Having recently regained the rights to his back catalogue recorded during his time with the label, Eddie is now releasing the tracks digitally. ”Man from Manhattan” is first up, more to follow…

(source: https://manfrommanhattan.wordpress.com/)

📸 Pic: Freddie Mercury and Eddie Howell in control room

[datclassicrockfan42]

Who are the monkees?

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

DEAR LORD YES

(Sorry I don’t get this question very often)

Anyways, allow me to introduce you to The Monkees

They were a 60s rock band with a TV show(like the Aquabats). Originally created to make money and sell records but after a rebellion from their music producer, they truly(at least in my eyes) became a true band. Unfortunately a lot of factors caused the bands decline in popularity and their dissolvement. They did get back together in the 80’s and 90’s with a little surge in popularity, and thoughout the 2000s and 2010s they continued to tour. Currently the last remaining Monkee(Micky) is doing shows to honor the band these years.(this is definitely a cliff notes version bc(well I kinda lost my Monkee Autism for MCR autism and there’s no way I can fit the entire story into a single post, we can keep talking about this through dm through)

Now for the members. This group consists of four members. Davy, Micky, Peter, and Mike

Here’s a photo

The first member is Davy Jones.(Bottom Right)Short, British, and babyfaced. He’s basically the “Paul McCartney” of the group, the one that all the girls love(at least when the show first aired). In the band lineup, he does vocals, tambourine, and maracas(usually has like fifty maracas) In the show, he’s the group’s hopeless romantic. Always going after a girl and falling in love. However that whole “Davy falls in love and now it’s our problem” is much more of a season one plot line than season two(not to say doesn’t happen there too.)

Next is Micky Dolenz.(Top left). The bands…(for really lack of a better term here) wild card. He’s very energetic and comedic. In the band he’s the drummer but also does vocals most of the time. In the show, he’s wild, chaotic, and the jokester of the group.

Next is Peter Tork( bottom right). Sweet, sensitive Peter. Look at him isn’t he cute? In the band, he’s the bassist, but also plays a multitude of instruments. In the show he was the dummy. The butt of the joke all the time. His shy, awkward(auto fill suggested knees here, and I’m questioning everything), personality and lack of social skills was a constant joke during the series. Actual Peter is pretty intellectual.

Last but certainly not least(especially on this blog) is Mike(top right, in the green wool hat) the second Michael in my life(Mikey was the first). Ah Michael Nesmith. Where to start? Stoic, quiet,aloof, but a total goof sometimes.(starting to sound familiar here)He has what this website calls…autism swag. Usually wearing a little hat(okay now that I type this here I’m starting to realize the similarities between the two Michaels in my life), this Texan is the “serious one.” The dad of group basically. In the band he plays guitar and actually wrote a few songs(oh we’re gonna talk about this). In the show, he was basically the voice of reason. Not really focused on that much,but he had his moments. I should mention that he got rid of the hat around season two, but you can still identify him by his massive sideburns.

Look at these

Look at the size of them

NOW THE SHOW AND MUSIC.

The show: The show aired from 1966-1968 with two seasons. They also had two tv specials and one hella trippy movie. Currently a lot of the episodes have been taken off YT(damn copyright) but we have archive.com and many drive folders containing these episodes. Episode plots can go from “guys Davy’s in love again and now it’s our problem” to “Crap we can’t pay the rent” to “crap we gotta save America from spies”. And season two only gets weirder. Each episode usually contains two “romps” which are basically music videos that showcase songs(like I said made to sell records)

(I do gotta warn you tho. This show was made in the 60s…so some of the content is not actually…politically correct according to today’s standards. So yea just be prepared for that)

Episodes I’d personally recommend for beginners are

Season 1 Ep 8: don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A simple episode. Displays each of the characters personally traits pretty well. Has good songs.

Season 1 ep 23: Captain Crocodilez a pretty funny episode. Got a lot of that typical Monkee rapid fire random humor(which is kinda Aquabatsish). Some good romps and I find this ep quite enjoyable

Season one ep 12: I’ve got a little song here. This is a Mike focused episode and is a little bit sadder than the majority of eps, but is overall good. It’s got the bands superhero personas, the Monkeemen. Good songs too.

Season two episode 16: fairytale. An iconic episode.(so sometimes the guys would dress up in drag to make their schemes work and there’s lots of that in this episode) it’s a bit more off the walls(which is normal in season two) but still overall a good episode.

Here’s the link for the archive(kinda bad quality but pretty accessible)

Edit: so i checked and something is wrong with the link….so yea

Ummm if yall want I can dm you a link to one of the drives

NOW FOR MUSIC

(Buckle up)

So the group(in the tv show years) released(holy shit) 9 albums.

The Monkees(a classic album of songs from the show) notable tracks include Last train to Clarksville, Saturday’s child, Sweet Young Thing, and Papa Gene’s blues

More of the Monkees(another classic, once again full of songs from the show) notable tracks include Mary,Mary , I’m not your stepping stone, the kind of girl I could love, and(you probably know this one) I’m a believer(yep the song from shrek was a Monkees song)

However, these albums were made with little to no creative control. Opting for studio musicans and writers than the actual guys themselves(who were all pretty good musicans) but after some rebellion, the producer getting fired, and a hole in a hotel wall(before the producer got fired,(guess who did this one lol). The band was able to play their own instruments.

Which brings us to an era which I personally consider the bands finest:

Headquarters: a masterpiece with the group playing almost of all their own instruments. Notable tracks include: Sunny Girlfriend, for Pete’s sake, and Randy Scouse Git

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones(thats actually all the members zodiac signs, expect Davy’s bc him and Mike are both Capricorns and they actually share a birthday(Dec 30): this is their psychedelic album(hey it’s 1967 everyone’s doing it) Notable tracks here include: Pleasant Valley Sunday, Love is only sleeping, Star Collector and the door into summer.

The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees: another classic👌. Notable tracks here include: Daydream Believer, Tapioca Tundra, and Dream World.

We then have the HEAD(that trippy movie i was talking about(that’s a little advanced tho, stick to the show for now) soundtrack: notable tracks here include: Porpoise Song, As we go along, circle sky, and daddy’s song.

Now for some mythbustijg bc oh boy

They didn’t play their own instruments: actually a lot of the guys were originally musicians before the show(Mike and Peter were folk singers, and Davy worked in broadway(not an instrument but still cool to know). We kinda already debunked this one though so let’s move on to the next:

They didn’t write their own songs: kinda true. The studio did bring in some studio writers to write songs, but the guys actually wrote some songs themselves(mainly Mike, but the others did too)

Ok well I’ve been typing for quite a while now and my hands tried soo ima leave this here. DM me if you want any more info(I have a master degree in the history of Micheal Nesmith with a minor in the band and show history)

[appears]

15th Anniversary

Perfume: ⊿ (2009.07.08)

Back in 2009 I named Perfume's ⊿ (pronounced "triangle") one of the most disappointing albums of the year. Disappointing didn't mean it was bad, but rather, I had oversized expectations that weren't met, and can you blame a fan for having such huge expectations after GAME? GAME was Perfume's first studio album, and the perfect blueprint for the Perfume-sound worked out and solidified after a string of experimental indie singles, all spearheaded by mastermind Yasutaka Nakata. But⊿ was the album that could prove that Perfume was more than just a novelty, and that Nakata was more than an over-hyped producer-of-the-month. The album did extremely well: It hit #1 and stayed in the top 20 for six weeks. It has spawned some of Perfume's most well-known and beloved singles, including "love the world," "Dream Fighter," and their last #1 to date, "ONE ROOM DISCO" (most of their subsequent singles, including the eight immediately after this one, stubbornly peaked at #2). So why was I disappointed at the time, and how has hindsight changed the way I see this album?

⊿ is one of the more innovative albums in Perfume's discography, and today it's seen as one of their best, the type of album able to marry classic pop music with the broader electronic and house styles that Nakata was increasingly pushing into his productions. At the same time, it also managed to retain some of the jazzy finishes of his Shibuya-kei roots, all while retaining a fresh, commercial appeal perfect for shilling chocolate on television. In many ways, this was peak-Nakata: in 2009, the year ⊿ was released, he had just released Supreme Show, his collaboration with Ami Suzuki; STEP, his second album with MEG; and the house-heavy MORE! MORE! MORE! with capsule. You could forgive the guy for being a bit burned out less than a year later, and to me, one half of ⊿, the half not consisting of songs written over the course of 2008, shows that fatigue. There's the largely instrumental "edge (⊿-mix)" that meanders well past its welcome at nearly 10 minutes long, the mid-tempo duo "Kiss and Music" and "Zero Gravity," and the navel-gazing noodle of "Speed of Sound." These are songs that I initially disliked upon my first listen, although now I have to admit I find them charming call-backs to all the things I miss about this period of Nakata's music, from the push and pull between commercial resistance and total capitulation, to the self-indulgent instincts tempered by moments that feel catered to the broadest audience possible, culminating in great album cuts like "The best thing," "NIGHT FLIGHT" and even "I still love U."

I've spent a lot of time talking about Yasutaka Nakata, but the three women of Perfume, A-chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka, are the ones who really bring it all together with their personality and talent. Nakata once again focused on making the most out of the ways he could manipulate their voices, rather than on whatever unique vocal traits any one of them brought, tweaking everything to suit the music, and leaving the other half of Perfume's highly-skilled team of costume designers, choreographers, and light technicians to sell the unit. And they all do, fulfilling crucial elements that move in lockstep. So much of ⊿ was also finally committing to everything that has now become iconic about this group, from haircuts to wardrobe quirks, and the group has rarely deviated from it since. If at any time the group was going to do an image overhaul, this would have been it. Instead, they doubled down on and cemented what is now a comfortable, reliable space that fans have taken for granted.

Though I understand why I was disappointed when this album first came out, I've definitely come to appreciate it a lot more since it was first released, especially in the last five or so years, as Perfume have have gone through even more disappointing, lackluster phases, losing the innovative spirit that made anticipating new releases so fun. But whenever you joined the fandom, whether it was through this album, their earlier work, or that phase where dance music was reluctantly putting itself back together after the EDM firework burst, there are things to love about ⊿. It's hard to dismiss an album that includes so many classic J-pop songs that went on to change the sound of popular Japanese music for a long time (not taken into account when Billboard critics only ranked "love the world" the #7 best Perfume song of all time, but they put "TOKYO GIRL" and "FLASH" in the top three, so the whole list is sus), inspired a plethora of copy-cat groups, and forever carved Nakata's name into the game-changing J-pop producers Hall of Fame, right next to men like Haruomi Hosono and Tetsuya Komuro.

Since Team Perfume had mostly come to terms with the group's lack of forward momentum in 2016, they really focused on pushing Perfume as a legacy group, and like all legacy groups, that means cashing in on whatever they still could by recycling old music into new formats. That meant that many of Perfume's studio albums that had been originally released in regular CD-only and limited-edition CD+DVD versions were re-released on limited-edition vinyl. All of those were collected in a limited-edition LP box set that also included their second best-of collection, 2012's Perfume Global Compilation "LOVE THE WORLD. But perhaps it was a bit premature. Or rather, it's been a bit of a yo-yo recently -- while Perfume seemed to be making a bit of a comeback in recent years with PLASMA, "Moon" said don't hold your breath. Still, it's been encouraging to think that like now-iconic albums like ⊿, I might find myself re-evaluating "LOVE CLOUD" someday, too.

[gavinfair]

Jay-Z's & Kanye West's Watch The Throne Album Review

The collaborative album was originally released in 2011. The idea for the album started during studio sessions for Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted fantasy, Jay-Z originally wanted it to be a 5 song EP, but since the chemistry between Kanye and Jay-Z was so good it became a full length album. The album was created in many different luxurious locations around the world, with a very iconic recording session at the Le Meurice hotel in paris. Although Kanye has a lot of verse, he mainly focused on producing while Jay-Z did the vocals. The album features a lot of well known producers like Mike Dean, Hit-Boy, Q-Tip, and Swizz. SInce Jay-Z and Kanye had very different styles (Kanye being more Risk taking and experimental  while Jay-Z is more of a traditional rapper) there were tons of debates in which way the music would sound. The album talks about a lot of themes like wealth, power, and fame but it also brings up a lot racial issues in America (The murder rate in Chicago being mainly mentioned). After one year of development the album was finished in july 2011 and released August 8, 2011, and debuted No. 1 on the billboard 200 chart. “Otis” the fourth song in the album won Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song at the 2012 Grammys. During its first week it sold 436,00 copies, and 321,000 Itune downloads which was the second highest at the time, and on November 23, 2020 the album was certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA. Now that you are all caught up with the general history of the album let's see if it deserves all the praise it got.

No Church In The Wild

This is the opening track of the album which features Frank Ocean in it. The song talks about rebellion, morality, and questioning religion. The song is very dark with haunting vocals. The song challenges traditional beliefs and highlights the struggles of the modern world. I really like this song a lot, but I remember when this song first came out I did not. 8/10

2. Lift Off

The song features Jay-Z’s wife who is an up and coming artist, her name is Beyonce. This is one of my favorite songs on the album as Beyonce’s hook is so perfect with the trumpets, synthesizer, and if you listen very carefully you can hear Kanye’s Roland TR-808 board which single handedly made 808’s and heartbreaks. Even though there is not a lot of depth in the lyrics it is just very catchy and uplifting, 8.7/10.

3. N***** in Paris

When people hear someone talking about Watch the throne this is the song they immediately think of. This song is one of the most iconic songs of the 20th century, everyone and their mother knows this song. Now while it is the most popular song on the album I don't think it is the best, even though it is incredible. The song is funny, it flows really well, and it features some scenes from the movie “Blades of Glory” which is one of my favorite Will Ferrell movies. Overall I would give it a 9/10. Fun fact, when Kanye and Jay-Z went on tour they sung this song 11 times in a row when they went to paris

4. Otis

Best song on the album, one of the greatest songs all time. During this song Kanye and Jay-Z just ping pong verses back and forth and each one is better than the last. The instrumental samples Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness”. The song mainly boasts about how wealthy and powerful both artists are, the lyrics don't really have a deeper meaning to them as they are all pretty surface level, My favorite being “I made Jesus Walks so i'm never going to Hell” which is Kanye claiming that since he made a song about talking about jesus he is guaranteed to go to heaven (later doubling down and making an entire album about jesus called JESUS IS KING). Overall 9.9/10

5. Gotta Have It

This song is also really good, it is really fast paced and playful. The song samplesJames Brown’s “My Thang,”. Like all of the songs it talks about how wealthy both the artists are but this is the fist song that talks about race. The song opens with Kanye saying “Hello white America, assassinate my character” which touches on all of the predominantly white critics that were trying to almost blacklist Kanye and other black artists from the music industry. The song is a very good hype song as I do have it in my gym playlist. Overall 8.9/10

6. New Day

This song slows the album down and it mainly just speaks to the listeners. It talks about how all the fame and wealth that Kanye and Jay-Z were just flaunting is actually hurting their children. Kanye stated how he doesn't want his children to be hated because his father is such a controversial person, even saying “Don't be like your daddy that would never budge. Kanye then proceeds to say how he is going to raise his children to be very respectable people in society. Jay-Z then takes over and immediately apologizes to his future son for having the paparazzi already all over him, and says that his fathers sins are going to make his life 10x harder. This is a very emotional song and the lyrical depth makes up for the lack of depth in Lift off. 9.3/10.

7. That’s My Bitch

This song makes me feel like I'm in a jungle, and I like it. A lot of critics say that the lyrics in this song are too boastful but I think they are wrong, if they were Kanye or Jay-Z they too would be flaunting the money they have. The song in itself is very bold and it stands out in the album. It's not my favorite song but I still enjoy listening to it 8.4/10

8. Welcome to the jungle

I recently listened to this song and I just started liking it. This song is the reason I'm doing this review as it reminded me of how good this album is. The track's raw intensity really resonated with me which makes it a good addition to the album, even though it is not as popular as some of the other songs. I do agree with it not being as popular as it is a good song but it's not as good as the other tracks, so I give it a 7.9/10.

9. Who Gon Stop Me

This song definitely stops as it is almost like a techno song, Kanye has this filter over his voice in the beginning and the synths in the background  remind me of a 2010 call of duty montage. Just like That’s my Bitch this track is very bold and stands out in the album. Overall I rate it a 8/10

10. Murder to Excellence

This song does not follow the trend of flexing money and power and it tackles the racial issues in America. It talks about the killings in Chicago and compares it to the war in Iraq. Jay-Z makes comments about how the higher you go (more successful) the less black people there are. The song mainly suggests that we need to celebrate black excellence more, and to stop killing in these urban neighborhoods. Overall 8.3/10

11. Made In America

Frank Ocean pops up again in this album, sadly it was on the weakest song. I was never a huge fan of this song, it's mainly just Frank Ocean thanking all of the black leaders and saying that “He made it in America” meaning he is successful. 6.5/10

12. Why I love you

I really do enjoy listening to this song, this one you're able to sing to Charlie Wilson’s hook. The track talks about love, loyalty, and appreciation which goes against the whole money and power theme the beginning of the album talked about. The lyrics are very heartfelt and I love it. 8.4/10

[presumenothing]

ZHOU SHEN: UNCONDITIONAL SURVIVAL

translated from 《人物》 magazine, part 5 of 5 | previous post

An Unburnt Sesame Seed

Even with having listened to this melody hundreds of times while writing the lyrics, upon first hearing that version of 人是_ prior to post-production mixing and editing, Tang Tian still cried on the spot. "This calls for great sense of compassion to mankind, yet also that sense of shattering of a struggle to the death, and Zhou Shen's voice contains all of it."

In Tang Tian's view, Zhou Shen's greatest uniqueness lay not in how wide his vocal range was, or how skilled he was in singing, but rather in his ability to realise an unstoppably contagious communication of feeling through song. She could also understand why Zhou Shen had now become a popular choice among various major galas, music programmes, and drama soundtracks: it was because these songs that he sang could achieve a universal resonance.

Zhou Shen always carries with him a kind of care and understanding for those around him, allowing him to realise empathy through song. Producers who have collaborated with Zhou Shen laughingly term him "a particularly good Party B", whether in his abilities or personality both.

Being of service to the needs of others – that has always been the most important guide for Zhou Shen's actions. One of the reasons Keep Running's director Yao Yitian decided to choose Zhou Shen as a regular guest for season 6 was exactly because of this strong consideration towards other people, allowing him to merge in well with any and all other guests. He held nothing back during shows, and would also proactively initiate bits for others to catch and respond to.

During a game in one of the episodes, Zhou Shen accidentally exposed his "undercover" identity midway through. Right after the recording concluded, while everyone was still eating, Zhou Shen had already sent messages to Yao Yitian, saying that he was worried that he'd ruined the original design and entertainment value of the game. Even until the day it aired, though the final effect turned out well, Zhou Shen was still stubbornly talking to Yao Yitian about it. "He's very concerned with whether he can help create a nice effect to our show through his efforts, with making sure that he doesn't drop the ball – he's always very concerned with that."

Being overly considerate of others is also a double-edged sword at times. Zhou Shen lacks a certain capriciousness as an artist. Those who understand him know that Zhou Shen does have the capacity for composition; should the need arise to add a harmony line while recording a song, he needs no scores to write on or instruments to cue him in, merely to sing it right then and there. The high notes in the highlights of 大鱼 was also improvised by him in the recording booth. But when it comes to an album where he can express himself without restraint, he instead finds himself on the thin ice of analysis paralysis.

Zhou Shen himself too acknowledges that, by this juncture, "no matter what, it's really time that I tossed out an album". He knows that everyone is eagerly awaiting the emergence of a work where he can come yet closer to expressing himself, with richer and deeper meaning than before. Last year, he also did much preparatory work for his new album, but still kept feeling it wasn't good enough.

"Actually I'm still not confident, even now," Zhou Shen says. To let go of himself has never been an easy thing for him. Each time he arrives to a new show, or a new environment, Zhou Shen still experiences "social anxiety", but he always forces himself to adapt just a little faster, and a little faster yet.

The good side of a double-edged sword is that Zhou Shen has made himself develop a kind of unconditional ability to survive. Regardless of how the external environment changes, he can adapt very quickly, finding a place suitable for himself, and laying roots down there.

Zhou Shen credits this adaptability to his experiences while growing up as a young child. With his parents busy, he grew accustomed to always taking care of himself. One incident that left a particularly deep impression was from when he was around seven or eight years old; he'd cooked a meal, and had been on the way to deliver it to his parents. There was a large pit on the road a metre or two deep, with a layer of tarp covering it, and in a moment of inattention he fell in with a thump.

When his mother saw him, Zhou Shen was carrying the food with a blood-streaked face, and a large bump on his head from the fall. He didn't even think about having his parents bring him to the hospital, but instead set the food down, and went back alone to get his injuries bandaged at a clinic. From that time on, in Zhou Shen's consciousness, whatever the situation was, he had to learn to deal with it himself.

To put it frankly, the last few years have not been the best of times for musicians. With the pandemic, physical performances have all but stopped entirely; under the impact of short videos, the logic underlying the creation and spread of music has fundamentally changed; as the album format declines, the space for musicians to express themselves and diversify their creations is slowly and steadily reducing.

In such an environment, Zhou Shen has opened up more space for himself through a kind of tenacity. He is now becoming a "greatest common denominator" in music for the people of today, fulfilling the needs of a highest majority of audiences across a comparatively wide spectrum. He too hopes that, when the audience needs him, he will always be "here".

September of 2019, still a few months away from Zhou Shen's participation in Singer 2020. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, a friend was baking mooncakes at their mother's house, but they ended up utterly burnt; the whole tray of mooncakes was charcoal black when removed from the oven.

That friend took a photo, and sent it to Zhou Shen as an embarrassing anecdote. Zhou Shen got very excited after seeing it, zooming in to the maximum on that photo to screenshot the few lone sesame seeds on the mooncakes' surface that still remained unburnt, and sent it back over five or six times as a sticker, saying: "See, on each completely-burnt mooncake there's always some sesame seed that worked hard not to get burned – that's me." ■

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2004 - Number 22 - Kaare Thøgersen - "Lykkelig i nat"

This is Kaare Thøgersen's one and only entry into Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and pretty much his only lasting solo piece of music to find it's way on to the various streaming sites. Prior to this, he's a jobbing singer, with a few backing credits and playing Danny in a stage production of Grease. His biggest moment approaching the spotlight was as a singer in the band Momb with some school-friends who somehow managed to bag a deal with BMG in 1997.

The most notable person associated with this song is the writer. Mette Mathiesen has four DMGP credits - but what credits. She has been working with Lisa Cabble since they were in Miss B. Haven in the 1980s. They wrote Fra Mols Till Skagen, they wrote Uden Dig. Lykkelig i nat (Happy Tonight) represents the one and only time Mette entered a song without Lise at DMGP.

It's an earnest song about being into someone so much, that all you want to do is get tangled up in quilts with them and howl like wolves. Otherwise it's waiting alone, eating crispbreads and waiting for the phone to ring. And then it does! Cue another chorus.

It has those Cabble/Mathiesen compositional flourishes all over it. Strings. Joyous chorus. In fact just joy and love all round. Of all the regular Eurovision composers, this team are the ones who can most readily just express pure and sometimes not so innocent joy. Kaare's a fine singer, but you can also hear how the joy is infecting him as he sings. It's a song you can't help but sing with a huge grin. If this feels a touch like the joyous instrumentation of ELO, perhaps that's because Mette was once in a relationship with Jeff Lynne. There are shared musical sensibilities here.

Unfortunately it didn't finish in the top five of DMGP and failed to make the final. Denmark - we need to have some serious words.

Following this disappointment Kaare disappeared back into relative obscurity although there were still backing vocals and presumably musical theatre. Momb reformed and produced a new album in 2017. Mette Mathiesen did get back with Lise Cabble and they wrote at least one more DMGP song in 2007. Beyond that she continued as a song-writer and drummer.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 26/06/2023

voiceless

Season 2 Featured on: The SiIvaGunner Christmas Comeback Crisis – Original Soundtrack

Composition/Lyrics by dante, wolfman1405, MtH and Chaze the Chat Performed by Lea Jaffe Visuals by Sonicheroesfan1, HugelDude, Maggie and Jasper

Part of Voiceless Week!

That's right – to celebrate the track's 6-year anniversary, I've decided to dedicate this full week to coverage of voiceless from the SiIvaGunner Christmas Comeback Crisis. Hope you'll be able to bear with it for just this week: It's a track that's really important both to me and to the history of the channel

SiIvaGunner is, as we all know, a channel built on legacy. Okay, that's a pretty nebulous wording for it: What I mean is that SiIva's creative endeavors stem from and build upon other media, paying tribute whilst building its own identity. That's the inherent beauty of the channel, every part of it stems from some form of pop culture, bent and molded into the larger identity of SiIva. Even Wood Man, the inofficial face of the channel and effectively a fully original character in terms of his writing and characterization, still has his roots in a boss from an old Mega Man game. And though its what makes the channel what it is, it also makes it all the more exciting in the rare few moments that the channel produces something thats wholly unique to itself.

Not to say that voiceless isn't still a derivative work, in a sense. As sound director of the entire CCC and through his presence on the channel as a whole, dante has made it no secret that he's heavily inspired by the works of Hiroyuki Sawano, even crediting him in this song's Special Thanks section. Indeed, voiceless seems almost perfectly fit for a soundtrack like Xenoblade Chronicles X or Guilty Crown. But inspiration is still all it is: in its debut in Season 2 during the 8th episode of the CCC, it still absolutely shocked viewers on its debut out of just how viscerally "original" it was. The CCC, as I've shown before, already had an excellently defined soundscape, though it was again very much  one tied to other tracks part of SiIva's legacy. That's not to imply there's anything worse about that approach - far from it, it's what makes the channel what it is. Yet what it meant was that voiceless came as a completely unexpected, yet overwhelmingly positive shock to viewers.

With close to 10 people involved in its production, the track is an undeniably high-effort project with tons of love poured in from every angle. The lyrics and vocal performance hold up tremendously both as a standalone inspirational anthem, whilst also tying perfectly into the ongoing conflict and themes of the story - the fight against The Voice and his aims to restrict the creative output of the channel. On every front, its a performance that's emblematic of everything the CCC stands for, and by extension much of what the channel itself strives to be: a creative outlet for all kinds of creators to share equal spotlight. The vocal performance is also just genuinely fantastic, being very clear throughout whilst hitting goosebump-inducingly beautiful highs: It's genuine in a way that only truly heartfelt passion projects like SiIva can be, and Lea Jaffe did an outstanding performance even in working with lyrics she had no hand in making. Backing these vocals is of course the immaculate instrumentation, ebbing in and out of the hard-hitting drums and guitars alongside calmer moments of introspection. Its all too befitting of a the clash of ideals that the track is set to: Raw battle interspeced with moments of desperate understanding. Yes, even if the opponent just so happens to be Angry Joe.

All of this is wrapped in a beautiful and memorable melody, with an absolutely unforgettable chorus. The track is, as I mentioned before, six years old now, yet its melody has stuck with many old fans for so long: No other creators or music online uses or references the melody, yet its immediately recognized in rips using it at later points. The sheer impact and quality of voiceless has lent it the strength to sit toe to toe with other iconic anthems of the channel: ones whose popularity were in many cases built on an already existing legacy. In the coming days, I'll be covering rips of just that nature. Ones that highlight how SiIva isn't only a channel about celebrating memes from the rest of the world, but is also very capable of celebrating and adoring its own creations, right alongside the equally passionate fanbase.