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