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

Norah Jones needs no introduction, unless you've been in hibernation the last four years. But for the few of you who are thawing out, well, here's a brief bio to bring you up to date. Jones is the daughter of Indian-sitar master Ravi Shankar - mentor to the late George Harrison – and her brand of pop-jazz is extremely popular on long wave, medium wave, indeed any waves you choose. Her music combines elements of American country/jazz/blues and influences as diverse as Johnny Cash, Billy Holiday and John Coltrane which may come as no surprise: the 26-year-old Texan began singing at age five, and has dedicated her life to music. In 2001 Jones signed with the New York-based Blue Note label and has not looked back since. The 2002 release Come Away with Me was one of the biggest sellers of the year. And she practically owns the Grammy awards. This deluxe edition of Feels Like Home includes a 16-track CD, as well as a DVD featuring a live performance, several music videos and an interview with the singer taped in London. In sum, if you've never heard Jones this release is the place to start; if you have, then pick it up for the extras.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

Easy-listening music à la française might be considered a cure for insomnia, but Borel enlivens the mix with her Gallic wit. Featuring acoustic guitar, violin and flute, this release on the Taiwan-based label Hinote Records, just might win over fans in China. And why not? All things French appear to be quite trendy in the PRC these days. Schmaltz included. Indeed, Borel's "Oserai-je t'aimer?" ("Will I dare to love you?") surpasses Hélène's schmaltzy "Je m'appelle Hélène" in the cornball department. But for those of you with no grasp in the language of Molière, Borel's wordy romanticism matters not. A pity, because a close listen reveals more than wistful goo – at times, her lyrics equal those of the late, great Serge Gainsbourg. Indeed, Borel's collaborator, composer Jérémie Lefebvre, who also provides backing vocals on a few tracks sounds remarkably like Gainsbourg. And Borel herself displays the same caustic sense of humor on a number of cuts. Note: this CD contains one English-language track, a sensual cover of Madonna's "Get into the Groove" sung with heavy French accent. Mon Dieu!
Hinote Records

French version/version française
(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
December 2005 issue

Armed with a new contract with Capitol Records, Faith Evans makes a fresh start with this release. Evans is not a new face, of course; she's worked in the industry for a decade, first as a songwriter and backing vocalist with the famous and infamous (Mary J. Blige, Usher, Notorious B.I.G.), and later as a platinum-selling solo artist. On this, her fourth release, the 32-year-old Grammy winner, has written and arranged each of the 12 tracks and regained control of a career that had seemingly gone sour. In 2004, she was married (and divorced) to the late Notorious B.I.G and arrested on drug charges. Clearly, she's put all that behind her, and the title The First Lady speaks of self-confidence and dignity. The result is an album of her best songs to date, an exquisite collection of warm soul, R&B and funk, with hooks that will reel in the listener. Who says life doesn't offer a second chance?
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

This Swedish band of four, Caesars, formerly known as Caesars Palace, has been trying to revive 60s rock and retro garage for a decade now, dusting off the sounds of McCartney, Lennon, the Sonics, The Stooges and so forth. In large part, their success depends upon the degree of nostalgia one holds for this period. Listening to the Caesars certainly evokes a sense of déjà vu, though it is difficult to pinpoint the exact source of this queer feeling. The fuzz-box filtered vocals and the retro-psychedelic organ definitively sing of the 60's but there's an element of sound that suggests 'now'. Paper Tigers was mixed by sound engineer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, The Rolling Stones), adding a Brit touch to an already very English sound. Perhaps he's also responsible for the band's modern sound, so modern that Caesars' catchy "Jerk It Out" was sampled for an i-pod TV-commercial. This fourth album, supposedly their most mature, offers a number of potential hit singles, in spite of the fact that each track might have been in the top forty, forty years ago.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
December 2005 issue

Classical music is often regarded by the young generation as outdated and dusty. Well, they should listen to multi-platinum British soprano Sarah Brightman. This classical collection assembles an accessible list of tracks culled from her albums Eden and La Luna. Brightman proves that, if smartly produced, time-defying tunes like “Ave Maria” or “Serenade” will appeal to all generations. Indeed, classical melodies are brilliantly and tastefully re-orchestrated with modern beats and arrangements that cater to today’s tastes. Classics proves that any form of music, if well packaged, can be mass marketed, though purists will probably be appalled.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Rap’s a very polymorphic music genre. It ranges from raw and minimalist, to well-polished more complex forms, from tunes sung by kids in suburb streets, to ferocious gangsta rap, to songs spit out by young yuppies from downtown. This release is another kind, the very first rap album in Shanghainese. Not only well produced - signed by Sony-BMG after all – it’s also enjoyable at first contact even for those not grasping the subtleties of the Shanghai dialect. Heavy bass, plenty of swear words, cool female vocals and catchy choruses – with odd English bits – Shanghai Rap features an array of talented and young local artists, Bamboo Crew, Blakk Bubble, Pimp Q et al. Heavily influenced by the North-American Mcs (Eminem, DR.Dre, 50cent and the likes), many Shanghai artists copy their styles or sometimes even sample their tunes, yet still manage to deliver sweet, pop-ish rap. It may not be gangsta-style, but its home-style at least.
Sony-BMG
Available at http://shanghaining.com/features/SHrap/


(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

4 Da Loverz/Sharam Jey/Hinote Records
This release took DJ Sharam Jey five years to produce, and it was worth the wait. He was once a crusader on the dance-music Promised-Land Ibiza. Lavish in electronic beats, with a strong pop feel, the release is as fine for night booty shakes as for a daytime fix. Don’t miss this wealth of club anthems.

Human After All/Daft Punk/EMI
French duo Daft Punk recorded their third international album at their Paris home studio in just six weeks. Beats, loops, scratches and remixes sometimes, disappointingly, keep the melodies from emerging. Fortunately, three massive tracks “Rock Robot” “The Brainwasher” and “Television Rules the Nation” save the album.

Destination Lounge San Francisco/Various Artists/Hinote Records
The “Destination Lounge” collection proposes international soul/downtempo music with jazzy, chilled and soothingly delightful tracks and includes a stylishly packaged guide of San Francisco (or Bali). The package features info on the local night-scene including top-notch nightlife destinations, plus a profile of talented local artists.

Pyramid In Your Backyard/Praful/Hinote Records
Praful’s urban music explores Indian and Brazilian sounds with a hint of jazzy and funky sax thrown in new and groovy tracks. Dance and chill vibes spread from the mixing tables to the speakers, eventually seducing the ear drums. Pyramid in your Backyard produces haunting tunes in your head.


(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
November 2005 issue

While expats might regard Kenny G (G for Gorelick) as an abomination, the Chinese, ladies in particular, consider his music first-grade foreign stuff. Male listeners probably won’t understand this infatuation, but they likely know nothing of the G-spot, either. Indeed, G’s sax sound is mellow, jazzy, sensual and instinctively attractive, turning on any female listener. He did study with the master – at age 17 he performed in Barry White’s orchestra. For this 15th album, the Grammy-Award winner saxophonist has invited the world’s most prestigious singers (Barbara Streisand, Earth Wind & Fire…) to sing, while he blows the pipe on good-old tunes that have ben lingering for years in the Western collective psyche. Kenny G will probably make many other albums after The Duets. He may blow forever; Kenny holds the Guinness World Book record for playing the longest note ever, an E, for over 45 minutes…
Sony-BMG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

Nowadays, to launch a superstar in China is a hazardous business and no one wants to take the risk. The Super Girls TV-show producers found a riposte. They sold many teenagers a show with complete strangers and wannabe-stars, and aired a several-week long competition sparking a nationwide mania. No pirate copies or mp3 could ever top that, and the benefits made with commercials, sponsorships and SMSs were phenomenal. Super idea, everybody wins - producers, sponsors, fans and Super Girls.
Here’s the offspring; an album made by the ten finalists, including a VCD with MTVs, that cost virtually nothing to produce and distribute as massive pre-order profits have already been made.
Fresh, young, as talented as any Chinese pop idols - for what it means – the Super Girls deliver eleven super sweet, neatly studio-produced pop songs.
A Super Boys show is on its way.
Meika Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
November 2005 issue

In “X&Y”, Coldplay’s highly-anticipated third album, massive tune upon massive tune just keep on coming. The melancholic “Speed of Sound;” the punchy and catchy “Talk” and the lackadaisical “X&Y” and “Fix You” – at this rate we could catalog the whole track list. After two impressive record-selling albums Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, this release is obviously more mature and unruffled. Off course, frontman Chris Martin’s stark vocals still lead the sorrowful and mellow tones the British band has been famous for. Yet the band is still adventurous, defining their sound more specifically, which distinguishes them from any other Brit-pop act they have been compared to – Radiohead being just one. It took 18 months for the quartet to polish this release; needless to say it won’t disappoint long-time fans, or anyone who likes well-crafted melodies and neatly-written lyrics.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

If pop rock and Brit pop are the most popular music genres in Shanghai, The Lanterns manage to have it their own way. The band of five’s debut album/demo To The Light House proves that dazzling guitar riffs, mesmerizing vocals and sonic melodies aren’t only the prerogative of US alternative-rock bands. “Turn Into cloud” (“Zhuan Duo Yun”) and “Nearly Got rescued” (“Ji Hu Bei Zheng Jiu”) could top charts – if any producers deign to lay an eye, or an ear on them and bet the money. Although The Lanterns don’t break new grounds in the rock music world, they deliver ten deeply enjoyable and beautifully written tunes. A very promising start. A new album is currently on its way - still between the mixing table and the CD press. Who said Shanghai bands are not up to the task?
The Lanterns Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

This second album from the indie-rock band Super VC (in Chinese “Fruit Taste Vitamin C”) is a tasty surprise. They’ve pushed their sound a bit further after their debut Dual Life released in 2001, but there is no denying their dream noise-rock sound is intact. With Dublin noise-band My Bloody Valentine among their main influences, this Irish-British quartet was typed “shoe-gazers” by the British press, after the tendency of this subculture to stare at their feet while on stage. Probably not short of vitamin C, Super VC doesn’t need to bend the head, but their array of shoe-gazer elements -- a wall of sound with thick, multi-layered guitars and subdued vocals, never overwhelms their strong sense of melody. All said, Super VC are no clones; hey, they even include one song, “Amy & Betty” in French.
Modern Sky

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

This ninth album from L’ Arc-en-Ciel (French for ‘rainbow’) has just been released on Chinese territory by Sony music. The sound from the J-rock band with an old-fashioned rock-n-roll attitude can be described as “Rock FM” a la Guns N’ Roses. The type of uplifting music you’d listen on the radio while driving at full speed on the Ring Road. But their music carries a typical Japanese flair, indeed, most songs could be movie scores for Japanese animation feature films. In fact, “Lost Heaven” is the theme song for Fullmetal Alchemist, a popular animé in the archipelago. With half Japanese/half English lyrics, sharp guitars, aggressive drums and reverberated, tenor vocals, “Awake” is a sample of the best of what the current Japanese music industry has to offer. By the way, last September L’ Arc-en-Ciel performed a unique Chinese gig at the Shanghai Grand Theater with tickets prices at RMB 5,000.
Sony Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

At first sight, you might laugh at the flying, cosmic spud on the CD cover, but what’s inside is serious stuff. Make no mistake, lead singer/guitar player Ma Yulong’s sorrowful, shy vocals are not to be taken lightly. The quintet delivers strong bass lines, storming drums, distorted guitar solos, and hushed vocals a la Radiohead or Coldplay, which may not sound original, but is beyond a doubt effective. Sound Fragment (Shengyin Suipian), a Chinese band founded by a poet, a doctor and an art teacher, delivers mesmerizing tunes and catchy, melodic outbursts in their second album. They really get it right towards the second half of the record conveying terrific intensity and power. Pop, funky, jazzy, atmospheric, ghostly at times, even lyrical, but hypnotic all the way, Under Life Is… is one finely and tastefully produced release.
Modern Sky/Badhead Music

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue

Break beats, samples, solid bass, and funky bits, you’ll get it all from Gorillaz’s long-awaited second studio album – which is even better than the 2001’s debut Gorillaz. England’s most celebrated virtual hip-hop/break-beat/dark pop act was founded by Blur’s Damon Albarn and comic writer Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl) in the late 90s. At the time, however, there was much speculation about the identity of the members of this band, but that was all part of the fun. Turned out the band was virtual! In fact, the animated character/performer Noodle is a ten-year-old Japanese guitar virtuoso and martial-arts master! Bits and bobs, sounds and noises are mixed and sampled together with catchy melodies that surface, with a little patience, from each of the 15 tracks. Gorillaz also goes to town with vocals: “Dirty Harry” features the San Fernandez Youth Chorus and “Don’t Get Lost in Heaven” the London Community Gospel Choir. Nothing virtual about Demon Days; this is the real thing.
EMI

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
October 2005 issue