THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

In this double billed compilation, the so-called ‘Taiwanese Godfather of Electronica’, DJ @llen, offers over twenty disparate tracks of electronica, performed by an impressive array of international artists, including Lee Coombs, Marco V, Cloud 9 and Havana Funk. Despite his cool attitude (check that cover), the veteran beat matching master doesn’t mess about; he blends tempos, pushes records and balances rhythms with meticulousness precision. On the Electro Acid and Tribal House CD, Oscar Goldman’s playful “Thrust 2” is laid into Mark Knight’s mesmeric “Inside You”; SuperChumbo’s fiesta-style “Dirtyfilthy” is faded into Smokin Jo and Washington’s late night house “State of Mind”. The attitude on the Funky Club and Latin House CD is more lighthearted and uplifting, as befits a selection of summer tunes. Cloud 9’s anthemic “How Shall I Rock Thee?”; Soul Central’s (featuring Kathy Brown) gospel-influenced “Strings of Life”; Havana Funk’s groovy Brazilian “Bakiri Ban“ and Belezamusica’s soulful “U Got Me Spinning” are all held together by DJ @llen’s turntable expertise.
High Note Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

Jolin Tsai’s popularity is inversely proportional to the size of the mini-shorts she wears on the sleeve of Dancing Diva. At the tender age of 18, this Taipei-born singer broke into the entertainment industry, and after eight years of catchy chart toppers (and fine-looking photos), Tsai, the “Teenage Boy Killer”, has won a strong fan base throughout Asia – and the US. Dancing Diva, released in May, is her first album with EMI/Capitol Music, and at first listen something of a letdown. The album’s tagline – “Trend setting! 39 perfect mins!” – is a wild exaggeration. In fact, this CD offers ten, less than perfect tracks of hip hop, R&B, dance and saccharine pop that set no new trends, except, perhaps for pastel-blue pants. That said, all ten cuts are so easy on the ear that 39 minutes seems almost too brief. Take “Dancing Diva”; this slick dance number, with its Middle-Eastern influence, is only three minutes long, barely enough time to warm up the dance floor. Duration aside, other tracks offer rock fused with break beats, “Mr. Q”; funk, fun and rap, “Nice Guy”; or classic Mando-pop, with violin and emotional choruses, “The Finale”.
EMI Capitol Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

Mr. Zhou’s Melody 967 is undeniably influenced by the brief, but brilliant, Brit Pop of the mid 1990s, acts such as Radiohead, Suede and Pulp. Yet, this is Britpop with Chinese characteristics, as one might expect from a band founded by Beijing-based frontman/singer/guitarist Zhou Fengling and lead guitarist Zhou Guangbin. The band may have been formed just five years ago, but the two Zhous are veterans of the China rock scene. Indeed, Zhou Fengling has been on the scene for nearly two decades. He first won fame back in the golden age of China rock, with bands like The Face and Hearts 5, sharing the stage with the likes of Dou Wei and even Radiohead itself, at memorable gigs in Hong Kong in the 90s. With such a wealth of experience, you might expect Melody 967 to push the boundaries a little more. The melancholic “Peacefully Brilliant” and the mesmeric “Outsider” are admittedly bright pop numbers, but the band never really offers anything that might be called unique. True, the atmospheric, ear friendly tunes sound remarkably like a Brit Pop record of yore – on “Gate” and “Pupil”, Fengling’s falsettos sound uncannily like Thom Yorke’s – but even the melodic guitar attacks and effects are too reminiscent of times past. This is a pleasant enough soundtrack for the summer, but one can’t help but feel that Mr. Zhou (both of them) are capable of much more.
Modern Sky/Badhead

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

When one considers modern Irish folk music, the names that come to mind typically include Sinead O’Connor, Altan and The Corrs. With her delightful brand of folk/country/blues, 31-year-old Ireland-born vocalist Cara Dillon makes a worthy addition to the list. At age 14, Dillon won the All Ireland Traditional Singing Trophy; at 20, she joined what was then the most exciting British folk band Equation, before eventually going solo. Released in February 2006, her third album After the Morning, produced by long time collaborator Sam Lakeman, is arguably her best effort. Whether she’s performing new numbers or covering traditional Irish favorites, Dillon displays considerable flair with catchy melodies and emotional hooks. Both “Never in a Million Years”, which features crystalline vocals atop an acoustic guitar and discreet drums, and “I Wish you Well”, accompanied by virtuoso banjo and a mesmerizing chorus, are instantly memorable. While these cuts offer a fine example of folk and pop crossover, Dillon also refreshes folk classics such as “Brockagh Braes”, “Here’s A Health” and “The Streets of Derry” (a duet with fellow Irishman Paul Brady). To date, with few notable exceptions, Irish country/folk music hasn’t broken much ground beyond the British Isles. Dillon’s albums could very well break those boundaries.
Rough Trade Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

Compilations for clubs, bars, beaches or even restaurants have become a trendy, and lucrative, marketing tool of late. In recognition of this, the temples to electronica and hip hop that are the two Guandiis, located in Shanghai’s Fuxing Park and Suzhou’s Shantang Jie, have released their own compilation, purportedly offering a taste of the clubs’ true ambiance. Yes, this double-CD release mixed by DJ Email (CD Two is all remixes), provides solid progressive trance from an international line up, including DJ Steve Lawler from UK, but with nary a hip hop joint in sight. The trance beat dominates: there’s heavy-hitting BPM from Mooncat’s “Bad Ass”, as well as Paris & Sharpe’s soulful and hypnotic “Temptation”. This is, of course, before DJ Email gets back on the throttle, with the supersonic paced and altogether otherworldly House cut “Filth” from Rowan Blade and Chris Lake, and a couple of anthemic numbers, “Seven Cities” and “Rebounce Indicater”. With the hip hop half of the music missing, this isn’t a complete album, but then again, that just means Guandii will have to bring out a hip hop compilation. Perhaps what they intended all along.
High Note Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

In A Lively Mind, Londoner DJ/producer Paul Oakenfold adds more to his sound than just dance club vibes; he includes his experience of the cinema world of sounds and imagery. “Oakie”, in case you didn’t know, is an iconic figure from the late 1980s Trance and Acid House scenes. He was also prominent in the development of Ibiza as a clubbers paradise. Resident in L.A. ever since his monumental US tour in 2001, Oakenfold quite obviously mingles with the jet set and cinema crowd. Between remixes for Madonna and U2, he worked on the soundtracks of Swordfish, Planet of the Apes, The Matrix and Collateral. It makes sense, then, that A Lively Mind (three years in the making) draws its influences from the cinematic and social environment of Hollywood. Take the heavy beat laden “Sex ‘N Money” which evokes the superficiality of La-la land. Or the torrid first single, and homage to Russ Meyer, “Faster Kill Pussycat” to which Sin City actress Brittany Murphy lends her voice. At 43, with three movie scores currently under development, the Brit DJ is certainly exploring new horizons. After shaking the planet with phenomenal electronic sound for the past fifteen years, that Oakenfold is looking to the future should come as no surprise. Still, this is a matter of taste. A number of critics have faulted this release, including that bible of sound, Billboard: “With nods to rock, dance, hip-hop and electronica, Oakenfold has created an eclectic song collection that does not always jell. While there are moments of pure bliss (the New Order-hued “No Compromise” featuring Spitfire), too many tracks meander aimlessly without finding the perfect beat.” To each his own.
Fairwood Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

Jem, aka Jemma Griffiths, must be the envy of every British musician. In a very short period, she sold a quarter of a million albums in the US, and became the biggest selling British female debut artist last year. Indeed, breaking stateside is no small accomplishment. It happened thus: the 29-year-old Cardiff-born singer/songwriter was studying law at Sussex University while hanging out with DJs and music producers. Next, in the autumn of 2003, she went behind the mike and recorded the EP “It All Starts Here”. A year later, she released her debut CD, Finally Woken, and got a big boost from Elton John, who touted its breezy melodies and diverse rhythms. And he was right. Jem’s catchy sound is easy on the ear and wide-ranging: “Finally Woken”, has emotional trip hop beats; “Wish I”, playful electronic melodies; “Save Me” and “24”, reggae and rock tempos, respectively; and “Missing You” boasts some fine fuzz-box vocals à la Portishead. Jem’s sound is eclectic and fits into any medium. Which is why she succeeded in the US mass market. In the States, you can hear her everywhere: on the radio, on TV (The O.C.; Desperate Housewives; Six Feet Under), and in the movies (Closer, 2004 and Ultraviolet, 2006).
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

There’s not much to be said about Shanghai ‘alternative’ band Cold Fairyland, that hasn’t been said already. Most every music critic in the country has taken a stab at pigeonholing this band, but the band, and its front woman Lindi, refuse to cooperate. The best we can offer is that Cold Fairyland thinks out of the box. The band – Lindi on keyboard and pipa; Su Yong on bass; Zhou Sheng’an on cello; Li Jia on drums; and Song Jianfeng on guitar – incorporates elements of various music genres (world music, gothic, jazz, funk, dream pop, etc.,) with traditional and contemporary Chinese sounds. And they do it best live, not in the studio. Hence, this live album recorded at ARK in Xintiandi in 2005, is Cold Fairyland at its best, from the surrealistic “The Cat from Paris” to the social commentary of “The Dead Children in the Newspapers”. But whatever the song’s provenance, Lindi’s vocals drive the melody from beginning to end with a meticulous precision. Unfortunately, the live recording sometimes suffers from less accurate reproduction – the price of independence, perhaps.
Cold Fairyland/available at www.miyadudu.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

Chinese independent and experimental music may be looked upon as something of an oddity in its homeland. And to Western ears, it may sound odder still. But that hasn’t stopped Yan Hun, the founder (in 2000) of the Sub Jam label, and one of the pioneers in China’s experimental music scene, from doing what he does best. Which is just about everything. Yan is involved in many arts: poetry, music, film and literature. But his most lasting accomplishment may be that he has proved that the fusion of electronic sounds with poetry works. Last year, Sub Jam released Nowise Assault, a 60-minute CD of made-in-China electronica, more specifically ‘leftfield electronic music’ blending artificial sounds with spirituality and poetic ambience. In this entry, 718, aka Sun Lei, a central figure in the experimental scene, offers ambient music and down tempo beats featuring ethnic or/and industrial influences. “Taoism or Calm” intermingles drum solos into a spiritual atmosphere; while “Over and Over” provides more than seven minutes of noise with an industrial edge. “Aluminum” is a straight piece performed on the piano, the crystalline purity of which is at one point corrupted by lowfi noise. Say what you will, this is highly addictive, hypnotic music.
Sub Jam/available at http://www.subjam.org/

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Osaka-born songwriter/singer Ken Hirai is known as the ‘King of Japanese R&B’. Influenced by Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, Hirai’s sound features warm vocals atop beats borrowed from soul (“Miracles”), funk (“Strawberry Sex”), dance (“Style”) and pop music (“Kiss of Life”). This two-CD release offers 23 chart topping singles in chronological order from Hirai’s debut “Precious Junk” in 1995 to “Pop Star”, released last October. Along the way, this disc provides a fair overview of his progression from saccharine to emotional, passing by sentimental, mushy and blue. Still, Hirai’s success is based on his appeal to middle-aged housewives, be they from Japan, China, Korea or the West. And as such, his success owes as much to his unique falsetto as it does to his appearance – for a ‘pure blooded’ Japanese, Hirai looks pure Caucasian. In any case, Hirai has sold 6.5 million units in Asia alone. Following recent live shows in the US – he appeared at the high-profile 2002 FIFA World Cup concert with Lauryn Hill – what can we say? The King is back.
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

In the early 1990s, Irma, an Italian label, altered musical perceptions with the first of its jazz/house/fusion series of compilations. The Jazz House Independent compilation is the fourth in the now classic series, and thanks are due to High Note Records for making this gem available in the Chinese mainland. This entry blends jazz, house and afrobeat (American funk rhythms fused with African percussion), in a double bill of atmospheric electronica. CD one (unmixed) was compiled by one of the original Irma artists/producers, Black Mighty Wax (BMW), while CD two was mixed by label mate, Dino Angioletti of the Pastaboys. The various international artists gathered here attest to the global success of jazz house music genre. Examples include the groove-laden “Mafe Disco” by France’s Claude Monnet; the powerful “Happy” by the UK’s Max Sedgley; and the mesmeric “Madame Blanche” by US DJ Moses. This disc also includes some of the most successful club tunes recorded for Irma Records: a fantastic re-edit by US DJ Danny Krivit (from Body & Soul in New York) of “Starlite”, and Don Carlos featuring Michelle Weeks on “Take Me Higher” remixed by Japanese house DJ Yukihiro Fukutomi.
High Note Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Since the turn of the century, Japan’s most popular female vocalist, the 23-year-old Mika Nakashima, has enjoyed huge success and a long run at the top of the charts. As the title states, this release compiles the best of the diva’s work, from 2001 until the present. That said, Nakashima’s pop superstardom owes much to her publicity agent, whose promotional efforts have made her a household name. In 2001, Nakashima made her debut with the song, “Stars”, the theme song for the Fuji TV drama Kizudarake no Love Song, in which she also starred. Other works have appeared in a number of the very popular anime series; “Find the Way”, for example, became a massive hit (and a karaoke favorite) after being featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed series in 2004. Later, the song was covered by Korean singer Park Hyo-shin and featured in a Korean soap opera. Indeed, Nakashima’s music travels well; she currently enjoys acclaim in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan Province and, as mentioned, South Korea. In addition to covers of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” and L’ Arc en Ciel’s “Glamorous Sky”, this CD includes the Valentine’s Day song “Aishiteru” and the sexy, up tempo jazz number “Love Addict”, written by Nakashima herself. If J-Pop is your thing, this is the one to get.
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

This record is a third in a series of classy compilations of urban electro and downtempo bar music, designed to give listeners a taste of the dance scene from an Asian capital (Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong). Clubbers may take a bite of the Shanghai bun (on the cover) to taste this regional specialty, but shouldn’t expect to find local electronica here. Why? Because the Pearl of the Orient is a melting-pop of sounds. Which is the main selling point of this assemblage phunnily mixed by Kenneth Phun, if you’ll excuse the phun. This CD’s list of soulful club-house tracks serve as a reminder of the city’s former foreign settlements: Hanna Hais’ “Doucement” from France; Colette’s “Feeling Hypnotized” from the US, Shik Stylko & Virginia’s “Feels So Right” from Germany and Stonebridge’s “Show You How” from the Netherlands. However multifarious, this 2-CD release (Disc one: the original version; Disc two, the “Club Heaven Mix” – by far the better) contains ten tracks and two options: Relax with the downtempo cuts or shake your hips with the club house numbers. Perfect for Xintiandi night owls, The Trendy certainly doesn’t prove Shanghai is the Pearl of Oriental Electronica; it does however, provide clubbers with a map of the city’s beats.
High Note Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

With Five Primary Elements, Beijing-based sound designer Wang Fan offers one hour of pure meditation, a piece of soothing electronica where nature speaks; no break beats or high-frequency BPM tempos here. Much like being lost in a tropical forest, with all the modern comforts – naturally. Wang is a composer and vocalist, a pioneer in China’s experimental/improvised music scene. Born in 1970 in Lanzhou, Gansu province, he relocated to Beijing in 1996. The same year the self-taught minimalist noise-maker created China’s first formal experimental music piece. Ten years later, he’s still at it, experimenting and mingling sounds together. On this release, Wang has ventured out of town, out of Beijing at least. The CD is filled with the sounds of nature: flowing water, singing birds, quivering leaves and Buddhist bells, woven, with no small degree of poetry, into a synth matrix. At the seventeenth minute, ethnic vocals and drums offer a semblance of melody. At the twenty-fifth minute, the human voice is exchanged for the sound of wind. At the forty-seventh minute, one hears reeds bending in the wind. In a world of facile pop purée, Wang’s experimental music offers an alternate reality we should all meditate on. That is if music, in any form, doesn’t interfere with your cosmic vibes.
Kwanyin Records

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

In the West, circa mid-1970s, rock music was ridden with arthritis. Little wonder then that a new generation of musicians turned to nihilistic punk. Thirty years later, such posturing is at best laughable, at worst, bizarre. Fortunately, the punkoid foursome Joyside, established in 2001 in a Beijing basement, presents a tribute to the punk ethos rather than a caricature. Even if they might bring a smile to the faces of the originals. Joyside have the Sex Pistol’s attitude down pat with their messy, greasy hair and beer fragrance. And their music is equally crude. The sound, as you’ve no doubt gathered by now, is basic raw punk, created by Xin Shanug’s three-chord-guitar riffs and Bian Yuan’s much-abused voice. It sounds authentic: noisy, loud, and, like the Pistols, surprisingly melodic. That said, explicit lyrics are Joyside’s main asset. Numbers like “I Want Beer” and “I Wanna Piss Around You” say it all. Or almost all. There’s rebellion too – “I Don’t Care About your Society”, and a nod to the band’s great inspiration: “The Saviour Johnny Rotten”. But that was then. This is now. Joyside’s latest release -- the demo B_tches of Rock’n’ Roll – is less raw, more over-produced pop. Which is to say it’s an improvement. Less vicious than Sid, and less rotten than Johnny.
Modernsky/Badhead

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue