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

Established fifteen years ago, Jogoya remains one of the most fashionable restaurants in Taiwan. Customers can enjoy elegant fusion cuisine in an unusual setting that combines hi-tech and the traditional. Their new menu offers just the sort of thing you’d expect to find in these surroundings: polished, groove heavy relaxing fare with an Oriental flavor. This two CD release (the second disc remixes the first), Jogoya assembles a 14 course bill – a mish-mash of Indian vocals, Europeans beats and Thai and Chinese sounds. This sounds like a recipe for indigestion, and as one might expect the quality varies. For starters, Karunes’s "Solitude" makes for a pleasant Indian dish, while Phak Rattap Khan’s "Hari Hara" is more a sickly downtempo appetizer. The Shakamunyi’s "Tantra" is altogether delicious and Edson X & MA3’s "Rhada Krishna" makes a delightful main course with traditional Indian flute with drums. Atman’s "Distant Voices" is just another Indian groove cut and as such too much to swallow. At this stage, the listener needs a strong liqueur before tasting the remaining courses; unfortunately, a digestive is not on offer.
High Note Records

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

Purity of sound is not in fashion these days; most bands prefer a musical stew. And Luxia is no exception with their eclectic blend of electronica, vocals, jazz and bossa nova. The project combines the talents of Jon Kingsley Hall and Peter George Stewart with co-production credit to Australian DJ Steve Hill and Mat Cook and vocals by Tiffany Nan Brace. It was conceived when Brace met with producer Hall at a music therapy workshop, and she proved that her powerful voice could compete with Hall’s beats. Indeed, her very emotional vocals are the most attractive features of Luxia’s sound (more compelling than Alexis Hart’s or Tom Ecologist’s). Though soulful, she can hardly be called melodramatic; the sound is much livelier than Portishead and less narcissistic than Bjork, for instance. Stewart and Hill’s production skills add a certain slickness, the lineage of which can be traced back to synth-pop Brit act, Kissing the Pink, Swedish/Danish DJ Stonebridge and French electronic artist St Germain. Like St Germain, Luxia’s beats provide the foundation upon which musical textures can grow, which make this music more suitable for the lounge, than the dance floor. Especially “Cool Mountain” and, “I Feel So Good” with their Nu/Soul jazz, trip hop, Bossa Nova sound; this is mellow, urban music at its best.
High Note Records

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

As the title suggests, this release is one part sexual innuendo and one part black humor. Formed in 1998, the Black Eyed Peas is an American multi-ethnic quartet that currently features three male rappers (a Jamaican-American, a Filipino, and a Mexican) and the very fit Californian female, Fergie. This is their fourth album, and their best effort to date. Most of the cuts feature musical dialogues between the boys and the girl, i.e. seductive word games with explicit lyrics. Take the anthem “Don’t Phunk with My Heart”; here, the lads express their interest in Fergie, who is not at all assured that intentions are honorable. The ambiguous nature of the lyrics has caused some US radio stations to play an edited version: “Don’t Mess with My Heart”. Another witty number, “My Humps” complains about women who use their looks to part men from their money. The ‘humps’ and ‘lumps’ referred to in the song stand for Fergie’s bottom and bosom. The CD has many more of these hilarious (to some) alternative hiphop/rap pieces, as well as guest appearances from James Brown, Sting, Talib Kweli, Macy Gray and others. With four Grammy nominations, BEP appears unstoppable; they’ve even been contracted to write and perform a song for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Now that should be a kick.
A&M

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

This is a come back album for the Florida quintet, who went from being the new kids on the block in late 1990s, to the old chips off the block in the early 2000s. Following their Grammy award in 1998, the boy band became extremely popular, mainly with young girls. They sold tons of albums, 87 million, to be exact. But fame, ego, and drug and alcohol problems resulted in the band’s breakup two years ago. Now the backstreet boys are back. This release, after a five-year hiatus, is the band’s fourth effort and perhaps their last chance to prove they still have the right stuff. They do. Never Gone sold over two million copies in seven days and went number one in America, Europe and Asia. This release has it all: catchy hooks across the musical spectrum – ballads ("I still…"), soft rock ("Just Want You to Know"), R&B ("My Beautiful Woman"), pop dance numbers ("Poster Girl"). All sung in the usual soothing, uplifting vocals. That said, after one listen, it all sounds about the same. But no matter. Fans loved The Boys concert in Shanghai last January 2006, proving they do have staying power.
Sony-BMG

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

If you think you know Pierce Brosnan, think again. The stylish, phlegmatic British gentleman, James Bond, is no more. In The Matador, Brosnan is Julian Noble, an unsavory hitman sent all over the world to ‘facilitate fatalities’. Noble is anything but. He’s an asocial, alcoholic, middle-age killer, whose social life is limited to nights with hookers. ‘Matador’ means ‘killer’ in Spanish, and killing is what Noble does best. But even hitman get the blues, and Noble suffers a middle-age crisis; he senses the shallowness of his life; becomes depressed; fails to do his job. Of course, this leads to some serious consequences. Despite the nature of the story, this is not an action film; rather, it is drama laced with black comedy. With a well-written script, a wicked soundtrack, great performances and slick photography, this film is a sure hit, if you’ll excuse the pun. The real draw though is Brosnan’s portrayal of an inept, sleazy killer, and it’s evident that the actor enjoyed the part, meticulously deconstructing his screen persona. Check out the scene in the posh hotel lobby and you’ll understand why he was nominated for Best Comedy Actor at the 2006 Golden Globe awards.
The Weinstein Company

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

For the past five years, Zhang Yimou has switched back and forth from action blockbusters with mass appeal to the more personal art-house film. His latest work falls in the latter category. Or does it? With a modest budget of RMB 56 million, this movie might best be described as an ‘art-house blockbuster’. It has been promoted and distributed like a blockbuster and has enough appeal to reach audiences across Asia and beyond. But at the same time, it’s the sort of work that will wow film-festival goers. The plot concerns a Japanese fisherman who travels thousands of miles to Yunnan province in search of a local opera performer who was supposed to sing for the fisherman’s terminally ill son. The story is an excuse to throw a taciturn Japanese guy - played by ‘Japanese Clint Eastwood’ Ken Takakura - into the Chinese countryside and see what happens. While the film has definite commercial potential (just ask the Yunnan tourism board), its also addresses father-son relationships and the culture gap in a thought-provoking manner. So is this hybrid a sign of what’s to come? Perhaps Zhang’s next flick, Autumn Remembrance, will be a ‘blockbuster art-house’ film.
Toho Company

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
March 2006 issue

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Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

Kung Fu movies aren’t famous for providing anything more than kicks, back flips and thrills, but Fearless breaks the mold; indeed, it is a movie with a message. Produced by and starring Jet Li, this film tells the true story of Tianjin-born Master Huo Yuanjia (1869-1910), the heroic founder of the Jing Wu Sports Federation. In Shanghai, in the first decade of the last century, Hou set out to prove the superiority of his (and China’s) martial arts. He challenged all comers and in doing so earned the respect of some of the most ruthless and brutal opponents ever to appear in the ring (the fight scenes are extraordinary, choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping [the Matrix]). But there’s more to this movie than action. Huo’s motto was: ‘Never give up’ – even when he lost a fight, he came out a winner. Li seconds the motion. Like Huo, he also founded an organization with a noble aim, the One Foundation which offers support to the suicidal. Its message: ‘Life is worth living’. And Fearless, both for its cinematic qualities and uplifting message, is worth seeing. Indeed, it is the best Kung Fu film we’ve seen in years.
Columbia Tristar Asia

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue

Following his highly successful adaptation of Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson tackled another classic, Cooper and Schoedsack’s King Kong (1933). Of course, he had a far bigger budget, and it shows in this latest version. Jackson’s Kong is an epic, though the story remains about the same: An ambitious, ruthless moviemaker persuades his cast to travel to the mysterious Skull Island, where they discover a giant gorilla. Indeed, this is the most expensive film made since Titanic – USD 207 million (equal to the total Chinese box-office revenue for 2005) – and much of the cash was spent to grand affect. Emotions, action and special effects are state of the art, which is to say they are overblown. True, Jackson has worked hard on character development, and roughly the first third of this three-hour long movie serves to introduce the players. The 7.6m ape appears some 70 minutes into the film, and he does look real, courtesy of the motion-capture technique (the same used for Gollum in the Rings trilogy). That said, this high-tech, megabuck version has nothing on the original.
Universal Pictures/UIP

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

(c)that's Guangzhou
Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
March 2006 issue