Browse Month

April 2011

Jay Park – ‘Take a Deeper Look’ album review: About time!

It’s finally here! Jay Park finally makes his solo debut!

2011 may only be into its fourth month, but with the deluge of idol groups hitting the Korean pop scene, the music has gotten pretty stale to me. Every time I heard the line “Check it out…” “…Brand new sound!” as the intro to some song from new idol groups, all I kept thinking was: “Nope, it’s the saaaame sound I heard yesterday from that other girl group who debuted!”.

There have been a few decent songs this year, but after being disappointed by the comeback offering from my second favourite girl group (first being SNSD), I had all my hopes pinned on Jay Park to actually bring something fresh to the K-pop scene.

I’ve been anticipating Jay Park’s solo debut for a while now. Ever since I heard “Demon” last year, I knew this dude was destined to be the next big star. Not a star like how Rain is popular as an ‘Asian star,’ but a star of Asian descent who will become a worldwide superstar!

For one, he has the advantage of being American (of Korean descent). Born in Seattle, Jay Park grew up dancing and performing, and his influences are deep in R&B and hip-hop — not cutesy idol pop. Not to mention his love for b-boying.

Since ~~leaving~~ getting kicked out of 2PM, Jay Park has been slowly whetting the appetite of his fans, a.k.a Jaywalkerz. A few YouTube covers later, he’s now out with his first album ‘Take a Deeper Look‘. He’s on his own now, so he has the freedom (I guess) to do the kind of music that he wants, not what ~~JYP~~ any labels wants him to do.

Which brings us to his first single “Abandoned”.

My review: “Abandoned,” if sung in English, would sound like a lot of the modern day R&B one would hear on radio. I love the chorus, the overall look of the sets, and the choreography by Andrew Baterina is slick! It’s not a ‘fresh new sound’ but a good track in the same vibe of many other good pop R&B tracks from artists such as Ne-Yo & Chris Brown. For a self-penned track, it’s a great effort — given how rare it is that K-pop stars make their own music. If I were to nit pick, it would be Jay looks so awkward from 0:05 to 0:07. Yeah he’s short, and quite shy in real life so I can imagine how awkward it may have been to do some of the scenes in this MV :). I hope he recorded an English version of the same. Or at least has a dance only version of the music video!

My rating – 4/5

As for the other tracks:

“Touch The Sky (Feat. The Quiett)” – Kicking the album off with a smooth hip-hop track, Jay Park straight away reminds listeners he can rap too. Love the beat and the retro loop music. (This track also reminded me of the late Nujabes) – (4/5)

“Tonight” – I’m guessing this was supposed to be the first single, but after BIG BANG released their hit “Tonight” a few weeks back, Jay Park and SidusHQ may have had second thoughts on pushing back this track for a second single release. It’s more fast-paced and only the pop-sounding track on the album. Not bad, but I’ll probably like it better with the video.

Update (11/05/2011): The MV is out!

Here’s my review:

I’m kinda disappointed :-/ When I watched the behind-the-scenes from a news interview a few months back, the concept seemed cool: dance all the way to a party. But seeing the final result, to me it comes off as a half-assed effort. Stepping out of the house, I would have thought Jay and the ‘public’ would be pulling off slick dance moves continuously and pulled along more people on the way to ‘the club’. At least that is what I thought the concept was. But instead, the dancers seem restricted by the set. Maybe, they should have stepped out and filmed this in the real world and on the streets. Another thing, it’s as though the camera cuts away every time the director felt Jay’s facial expressions (or acting) wasn’t good enough. (Jay’s really got to improve on his facial expressions!) Also, did Andrew Baterina work on the choreography for “Tonight” as well? Because some of the moves look recycled from “Abandoned“. Overall, it’s a cute video which his younger female fans will appreciate, but it really doesn’t improve the song much for me.

My rating – 3/5

“I Can’t Be Without You” (너 없이 안돼) – A slow-tempo R&B ballad. I don’t know, Jay’s vocals sound a bit off to me on this track. (2/5)

“Don’t Let Go” – Keeping the tempo, another smooth R&B ballad. Listening to the track, it makes you wonder if Jay writes a song in English and then translates it into Korean. (3/5)

“Level 1000” (Feat. Dok2) – Essentially a rap track with a gangsta vibe. Jay Park raps pretty well and is joined by his buddy Dok2, who also appeared on “Abandoned”. (3/5)

Update (14/05/2011): Even this track got a music video! (Although on a much, much lower budget)

“Bestie” – Essentially the Korean version of “Bestie,” an English track Jay Park released last year and performed at his fan meets. The chorus is concert-friendly and a fun track Jay performs with his AOM posse.

Listening to the album, you know Jay Park is striving to be a R&B star, and not a pop star per se. All the tracks, with the exception of “Tonight,” have a strong R&B/hip-hop vibe and I wonder if they would have sounded better had they been sung in English.

Overall, for a first mini-album, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is a solid effort from Jay Park. It’s not a ‘classic’ by any means. The production could use some improvement but regardless, you have to give credit where its due. Jay Park worked on this album by himself and his friends, mostly Cha Cha. Not with any industry big shots — and for that, ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ gets an overall rating of 4 out of 5 from me.

(By the way Jay, when is “Demon” getting an official release?!) Edit (05/09/2011): Well that just came out of nowhere! The “Demon” MV is released!

Hmmm, doesn’t look…erm, very good. Very poorly produced in my opinion. I know it has 3D sequences but anyway, even Jay himself tweeted about the MV:

Jay Park Demon MV tweet — Even he didn't know the MV was going to be released!

I agree with him. The sound in the MV doesn’t do the song justice. They should have just released the single.

(/end Edit)

Last November, I delayed my return journey from Bangkok just so I could see Jay Park live (you can read about my fan meet experience here). It was money well spent to see Jay’s talents at that stage in his career. He’s only going to get bigger now.

There’s still some awkwardness in his appearance, but I guess its got to do with his shyness and humble nature. He’ll probably grow more comfortable in front of the camera in due time. (Actually, act all hip & cool in music videos, I really get annoyed when people act like that in real life… so I hope he stays the same in real life). ‘Take a Deeper Look‘ is Jay Park’s first solo Korean album, but with his recent meetings with Will.I.Am and getting to perform as Ne-Yo’s concert opener, Jay’s slowly gearing up for his US debut.

I can only wonder how good his first English album will be!

I Can’t Be Without You (너 없이 안돼)

Malaysia 2010: Leaving Kuala Lumpur… and about going back

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Apr 15, 2011
/
Malaysia

Date: 4th October 2010

Today was the last day of our trip, and what a trip it has been: 3 whirlwind days in Singapore, 6 full days in Malaysia (1 day in Penang, 2 in Langkawi, and 3 in the capital city)

We woke up at a reasonable time and since I was done with all my packing yesterday itself, after breakfast I headed to Times Square just to roam about and see if there was anything I could pick up for the last time.

Berjaya Times Square shops morning closed — Unfortunately most shops were still yet to open

Berjaya Times Square shopping mall floors — Most shops only post 11am

Exclusive Nikon centre Berjaya Times Square Kuala Lumpur — There’s a fairly big exclusive Nikon store on the ground floor

I did go around looking for camera tripods but as mentioned earlier, most shops were closed.

Once all three of us were packed and ready, we checked out of Irsia and hailed a taxi. We initially asked him to take us to KL Sentral, from where we thought of taking the monorail to the airport. Then the taxi driver offered to drive us to the airport for RM60 (Rs. 875/$20/€14). The three of us looked at each other and wondered about all the luggage we had, sighed… and then said “fine” to the taxi driver.

Taxi driving to LCCT airport highway — The journey was nice — and long

Onwards KLCC Sepang circuit Malaysia — Sepang Circuit, home to the Malaysian F1 and MotoGP events, is close to the airport

We arrived at the LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) an hour later, and were among the first to check-in for our 3:30pm flight.

LCCT plastic baggage wrapping service — First, we had to shrink wrap our IKEA boxes; cost RM30

We had pre-booked for 20kg luggage (per person) and fortunately all our luggage came just under 60kgs!

Relieved everything worked out alright, we went through customs and made our way towards the departures lounge. There is a Duty Free at the LCCT but liquor prices weren’t that great (read: cost more than Bangalore Duty Free) but you get good enough selection of international brands and chocolates. I instead went to a store selling traditional Malay sweets and snacks, and picked up tea biscuits, chips, etc. Something different for a change I thought.

We had to sit a bit longer in the boring departures lounge because our Air Asia flight was delayed by 45minutes. By the way, there is a new LCCT set to open by the end of the year.

Once it was time, we made our way in. We pre-selected our seats as myself and Ramesh were keen on window seats.

Air Asia LCCT baggage handling laptops — Even laptop makers want to cut costs on flying

Petronas stations KLIA — Kuala Lumpur International Airport is all the way there

Petronas station KLIA take off runway — In case you wanted to fill up before taking off, there’s a Petronas station here 🙂

Palm trees new LCCT construction Malaysia — We took off…

Palm tree farms near airport Malaysia from sky — … and flew over lot of palm trees

New LCCT airport construction site from sky — Guess that’s the site of the new LCCT

Port Klang Malaysia from sky plane — Port Klang

Pulau Selat Kering island Malaysia from sky — Selat Kering island

Ships Malacca Strait Malaysia aerial view — Container ships making their way to Malaysia

I took a break from taking photographs to reminisce about the last few days. I guess its always sad when a holiday comes to an end, especially when you think how fast time flies by.

We began planning for this trip as early as March. Booked our flight tickets in April. Made arrangements for stay in Singapore first, since we were going during F1 weekend. We made most of our booking via Hostels.com and Hostelworld.com, with only our Langkawi booking done via Agoda.com.

We flew Tiger Airways (one way) to Singapore (which cost Rs. 4500 per person) and our Air Asia one way journey from KL to Bangalore (with 20kgs luggage and pre-booked meals) cost us Rs. 3600 per person. All in all, this 9 day trip (10, if you include today) cost us around Rs. 36,000 ($810/€560) — that’s flight, stay, food, commuting fares, and sightseeing expenses! 🙂

I didn’t do a whole lot of shopping, so I spent the least among the three of us.

If we had gone via a packaged tour, it would have easily cost us more than Rs. 50,000 per person and I doubt we would seen all that we saw the past 9 days. Sure, we didn’t check out Sentosa Island (and Universal Studios) but that’s due to lack of time in Singapore. It was either Sentosa or the Zoo — we chose the Zoo. In Malaysia, we skipped Genting Highlands as well because it was another theme park and casino — places subsidized package tours include so that they bring in droves of tourists in hopes the tourists will spend some money.

Indonesia shores from Malaysia aerial view — Looking at the world map, I believe this was Indonesia we were flying over

The long wait at the airport made me quite hungry and I was looking forward to the meal I had pre-booked. Not that I had high expectations, I was just hungry.

So would I go back?

To Singapore, that’s a definite ‘yes‘! Mostly because the experience of being in Singapore during F1 weekend is just too good. The whole city really comes alive during the Grand Prix. The main lesson learnt from this Singapore visit is that 3 days isn’t enough, even for such a small city state. You can spend an entire day at the Zoo itself — go see the animals in the morning and then the Night Safari once it gets dark. You can spend an entire day at Sentosa, for which they have activities from daylight to sunset. Next time, I’m definitely going to Universal Studios Singapore.

Also, next time, I’m going to carry a lot more money. SGD$250 is enough to get by for 3 whole days in Singapore (which is what we spent on getting around, eating, some shopping, and the attractions we visited). But next time, I’ll probably triple my budget and stay for minimum 5 days. I want to have fun in Singapore!

Aerial photograph Tamil Nadu India — By now, we were flying over Mother India

Would I go back to Malaysia? Well, depends really. I felt I saw all that I needed to see and do in Langkawi. I also saw quite a bit of what I sought in Kuala Lumpur. The one place I do feel ‘incomplete’ about is Penang. Just one day in Penang was a bit of a stretch, plus I didn’t get to see what was on the other side of the bridge, which apparently has its fair share of attractions.

Funny thing though, until last year, I didn’t even know there are two ‘sides’ that make the nation of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi are all on one ‘side’ — but there is more to Malaysia, on the Borneo side.

Malaysia territories map — (Map image taken from Wikipedia)

Sabah and Sarawak are famous for its wildlife, lush forests and serene coast line — offering an experience quite different from that of the ‘main land,’ so to speak.

But because they are far apart, and not as developed, most tourists to Malaysia are often oblivious to Sabah and Sarawak’s existence.

Air Asia has flights to Sabah and Sarawak, so if I do go back to Malaysia, I would probably hop over to ‘the other side’.

Nandi Hills Bangalore aerial photograph view — Not sure if these are Nandi Hills

Bangalore outskirts aerial view from plane — The outskirts of Bangalore, from up above

As we descended, the nice and sunny outside suddenly turned dark and rainy.

Dark rain clouds from plane Bangalore — Rain

BIAL airport Bangalore rainy day — Landed at 5:30pm

After picking up some stuff at the BIAL Duty Free, we were out in half-an-hours time. We hired a cab who agreed to take us to Srajapur Road (near Total Mall) for Rs. 650. We opted not to take the airport bus due to the luggage we had.

If felt nice to return to the post-rain, fresh air and experience Bangalore’s greatest asset — its weather. But 30 minutes into our journey, and into peak hour traffic, it didn’t take long for all three of us to get frustrated and say the same thing:

“Man, I wanna go back!”

P.S: I also didn’t get to have bread ice cream in Singapore!

Other posts in this series:

Singapore & Malaysia 2010: Planning and preparing for the trip

Singapore 2010: Day 1 – Little India, CBD, Clarke Quay, China Town… and a lot of walking

Singapore 2010: Day 2 – Orchard Road, mall-hopping… and already shopping

Singapore 2010: Day 3 – Singapore Zoo, Marina Bay Sands; leaving Singapore for Penang

Malaysia 2010: Day 5 — Langkawi (Ferry ride from Penang, Cable car & Sky Bridge)

Malaysia 2010: Day 6 — Langkawi (Island hopping tour, Pantai Tengah beach, Night market)

Malaysia 2010: Day 7 — Kuala Lumpur (Low Yat Plaza, Petronas Towers, Jalan Alor)

Malaysia 2010: Day 8 — Kuala Lumpur (Batu Caves, Petaling Street/China Town)

Malaysia 2010: Day 9 — Kuala Lumpur (KLCC Aquaria, Merdeka Square, KL Tower observation deck)

Coldplayer – Live in Bangalore, India (Coldplay tribute concert)

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Apr 13, 2011
/
Concerts, Music/Videos

Date: 03/04/2011

After concerts by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd tribute acts, it was a time for another tribute concert organized by Gigbox. But this time, it was for a far more recent band — Coldplay.

If you are wondering “why Coldplay?,” well then, you probably aren’t aware of the slew of hits the British Band have produced since 2000. Coldplay (and Linkin Park) are undoubtedly two of the biggest bands to come out of the 2000s, and both are still going strong. Sales in excess of 50 million worldwide and hit singles from four studio albums — that is enough material for a tribute band to play in Coldplay’s honour.

I wasn’t expecting as many people as there were for the Breathe – The Floyd Sound concert, simply because Coldplay’s fanbase isn’t as big as a legendary band as Pink Floyd. Plus, April 2nd was the Cricket World Cup finals which India won, so most of the city was still reeling in the joy (and hangover) of last night’s match.

But being a massive Coldplay fan, there was no way I was going to miss this show.

The opening act was American solo artist Thom Chackon.

Thom Chackon singer concert Bangalore India — His music was mostly acoustic fare with a country vibe

Here’s a video of some songs he performed:

Thom Chackon performing Bangalore India — Thom Chackon performed a good 6 to 7 songs

Once Thom Chackon left, it wasn’t a long wait before Coldplayer hit the stage.

And they kicked things off with…

After “Politik,” the opening track from A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), next came:

I didn’t record “Violet Hill” in full because I needed to conserve space on my camera memory card.

Coldplayer band performing Bangalore — The band were dressed similar to how Coldplay dressed for the Viva La Vida tour

One of Coldpay’s greatest songs – “Clocks”

More songs from A Rush of Blood to the Head (“In My Place” & “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”)

Lead vocalist, who does a really good Chris Martin

“Trouble” and “Strawberry Swing”

(“Strawberry Swing” was performed two tracks later actually)

Coldplayer Gareth Whiteside guitarist Craig Johnson bassist Bangalore India concert — Gareth Whiteside on guitars; bassist Craig Johnson

Coldplayer drummer Jacob King Bangalore India concert UB city — Jacob King

Moving on to my favourite Coldplay album, X & Y (2005)…

Coldplay’s epic “Fix You” (followed by “Talk”)

And then, the song everybody knew (most of) the words to…

My card got full halfway through the song and had to swap the second one in, thus the break in recording. No worries… as you’ll see down below 🙂

The band then left the stage after “Yellow,” which didn’t imply the show was over. There was no way a Coldplay tribute act was going to end a show in 2011 without playing “Viva La Vida“.

Come back on stage they did. Now, it was time for a break in pace and some acoustic fare.

Besides “Don’t Panic,” they also sang “Green Eyes” and one other song which I wasn’t too familiar with.

“The Hardest Part/Postcards from Far Away” and that song which is now a Coldplay anthem…

From Vida or Death and All His Friends, they played “Lost,” “Strawberry Swing” and this:

Coldplayer Gigbox concert inspection — Hmmmm…

Coldplayer then performed the final song in their setlist…

But since the awesome crowd asked for more…

Coldplayer Gigbox concert band members talking — The band decide which tracks to perform (either that or they wondered what was for dinner)

“Life in Technicolor II” (from the Prospekt’s March EP)

“Shivers” (from Parachutes)

For the final song of the night, since the reception this song got the first time was so good, Coldplayer ended their gig with an encore performance of Coldplay’s first hit single:

With that, Coldplayer bowed to the audience and finally left the stage — this time for real.

Gigbox’s third concert was yet another stellar show. Sure, the UB City amphitheatre wasn’t as packed as it was for Breathe – The Floyd Sound, but you really can’t compare the fanbase Pink Floyd has in the city to Coldplay. The crowd was a lot younger this time and as you heard from the videos, they were very receptive.

Coldplayer concert crowd Nithin Divakaran — My brother (extreme right) and his friends surely enjoyed it

Coldplayer concert Gigbox crew — The folks at Gigbox who put on the show

So after tribute acts for Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Coldplay… who is next?

Ireland’s biggest musical export — U2, played tribute by U2UK. May 7th, see you there 🙂