Ukulele music

Ever since I came across this Youtube video sometime last year of a cute little Japanese kid playing the Ukulele I have wished that one day soon I'll take up Ukulele lessons. In fact you could say I fell in love with the Ukulele when the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo 'ole was a hit some years back. It sounded so nice. I Recently I noticed a photo of my old friend Gerard posing with a Ukulele on Facebook. This was followed by a series of events which triggered in me a greater urgency to follow this through. My friend Carl Homan from Oregon USA was in town early this year. Somehow he popped into Ukulele Movement (UM), a shop which specializes in Ukulele, while touring little India and chatted with one of the partners of the shop Ms Glyn. He is a really friendly and talkative guy. He'll strike up a l-o-n-g conversation with any stranger in the street in an instance. He came to visit me after that and told me about the Ukulele shop. I Googled on the subject of Ukulele in Singapore and found a number of people teaching this musical instrument. I thought I should seek advice from someone who have some experience so I asked Gerard. He recommended UM as their lessons are more structured. I checked UM's and other websites and found out that Ukulele courses were really popular. Most classes are fully booked and there's an average waiting time of about a month or more. Yesterday Gerard forwarded me a newsletter from Ukulele Movement about forthcoming workshops in June. There were Sunday sessions and that's perfect for me because weekdays are almost impossible. This is a 2 hours workshop. Having learned to strum the guitar when I was young I hope it won't be too difficult. I am really excited and looking forward to it.

Check out my Youtube channel music playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAR-LsBt38lxQ-vKjfB7J0KXyE30TmfkF

Old Gramophone at Sungei Road

I spent last Sunday afternoon at Sungei Road thieves/flea market. Every visit to Sungei Road is always fascinating browsing through the many old, odd, quirky and at times offbeat merchandise that could have come from somebody's discarded rubbish after a spring cleaning.

Photo credit: Wikipidia

On this occasion I striked out a conversation with a Mr Koh Ah Koon who sort of specialise in sound systems like gramophones, turntables, amplifiers and speakers besides other odds and ends. Mr Koh was an event organiser. Not the type that does conventions and exhibitions but "pasar malam" (night market) or what is sometimes referred to as trades fairs. Due to intense competition in the trade fair organising business he started to deal in secondhand goods.

Among the items on sales at his stall was an old gramophone. It was a familiar one because my family had an identical one when I was a child.  This was an early 1930s portable wind-up phonograph from His Master's Voice. The familiar trade mark of the picture of a Jack Russel Terrier listening intently to the sound coming out of the horn of the gramophone goes way back then. EMI and RCA used to own the trade mark. It is now the trade mark of HMV.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

An item like that attracts a lot of attention without fail. And to add to the excitement of the moment was the sound of an old familiar Cantonese song from a 78 rpm record being played. The casing had some dents, but other than that it works fine. A short while after I took this video clip a Eurasian looking gentlemen bought it. He seemed to be a regular and a familiar figure with the stall holders. As soon as he appeared a number of stall holders greeted him and started chattering.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia;
The phonograph, record player, or gramophone is a device that was mostly commonly used from the late 1870s through the 1980s for playing sound recordings. Usage of these terms is not uniform across the English-speaking world (see below). In more modern usage, this device is often called a turntable, record player, or record changer. When used in conjunction with a mixer as part of a DJ set up, they are often called decks.

Singapore Wonder Girls - "Nobody but you"

I was at the SAFRA AGM 2010 on Sunday 31 October 2010 at SAFRA Mt Faber. In the entertainment segment after the meeting a cute version of  the Korean Wonder Girls song "Nobody but you" was presented in Mandarin/Hokkien dialect by Singapore's Wonder Girls "BIG" - Big, Intelligent and Glamorous. Pay attention to the chorus - everybody mei you (mandarin=do not have) bak chew (Hokkien=eyes).



For those of you who likes this catchy tune, here's a pretty cools cover version done by a Vietnamese boy living in Singapore. Enjoy : )

Hawker food song, sung in Hokkien to Shang Hai Tan (上海灘 ) tune, .

I heard this song probably twice at some clubs, I can't remember clearly where. I was surprised to see the video titled "Kuching Food". In any case any Singaporean listening to the song would have no difficulty identifying the food dishes in the lyrics. Enjoy! Anyone knows who composed the Hokkien lyrics and who's the singer?

China Got Talent - China Talent Show 中國達人秀

America Got Talent, Britain Got Talent, and now China's Got Talent (China Talent Show 中國達人秀). And I am not at all surprise. I'll be surprise not to see greater or more talent from China. We've seen all the great sportsmen/sportswomen in the Beijing Olympics, the migration to other countries of these chinese talents in various fields and even now here in Singapore at the Youth Olympics Games, YOG 2010.

You'll be moved to tears watching this video. Liu Wei, 23, an armless, self-taught pianist from Beijing playing  “Mariage D’amour” in ”China’s Got Talent” competition. Using his toes, he played the piano to a stunned audience and impressed the judges. Liu lost both his arms at 10, in a freak accident after touching an electrical wire while playing hide and seek.

One judge was speechless and asked instead that he relate how he is able to master the piano in his condition. His reply  “I feel there can only be two paths for me in my life; one is to end my life swiftly and the other is to lead a wonderful life. Nobody stipulates that one can only play the piano by hand." On participating in the Chinese Talent Show, he said his objective is to be in the Top 3.

Singapore Heritage Fest 2010 Concert

English Concert - 20 August 2010, Friday, (8-10pm), SMU Campus Green
Lovers of local Music and supporters of local bands party the night away with popular bands from the past and rising artistes of the present. The English concert features a tapestry of musical genres and local bands such as The Great Spy Experiment, Tania, Gypsy featuring Mel and Joe Ferdinands, Wendi Koh, former members of the Flybaits and The X-Periments – all hosted by popular Radio DJ and Host, Hamish Brown. 

English Concert - 21 August 2010, Saturday, (8-10pm), SMU Campus Green
If you are a big fan of Chinese evergreen songs, then mark this date on your calendar right now. Featuring artistes such as Chen Wei Lian, Chen Diya and Carrie Yang, Yi Ge Da Liang Ge Xiao, Xian Hong, Hong Shao Xuan, Pan Ying, Li Fei Hui, Ye Pei Fen, Li Chuan and Huang Qing Yuan, it's going to be an evening of songs and music under the stars.

Admission is free.

ONCE UPON A SINGAPURA, A journey through local music

On 7 & 8 August 2010 Esplanade presented National Day Celebrations ONCE UPON A SINGAPURA, A journey through local music at the outdoor theater. Bands of the 60's The Mysterians performed their hits such as Please Don't Tease, The Vadham family's Moses and Regina delivering familiar oldies and Sausalito in tribute to their brother Chris Vadham of Western Union Band, Terry Mortimer of Tony & Terry and Peter Diaz of the Surfers played some memorable rock & roll songs. This is such a wonderful event to reminisce about the good old music of the 60's and our very own local bands.

Regina & Moses Vadham singing Sausalito







Terry Mortimer of Tony & Terry and Peter Diaz of The Surfer "Can't Buy Me Love"

Brian Richmond interviews Terry Mortimer of Tony & Terry and Peter Diaz The Surfers.

Singapore Flash Flood 2010 Song

"The Wave Song" Lyric credits to MrBrown Production. Music from K'NAAN - Wavin' Flag. Enjoy..

Shanghai Paramount

Shanghai Paramount was built in the 1930s. It has undergone many changes. Today it is a popular modern dance hall with well-preserved old-time charm of  "Night Shanghai" where Ballroom dancers congregate. You can come along with your dancing partner or hire one. Guys can hire hostesses clad in shimmery sequined Qipaos by the hour. According to some writers they are called Taxi-Dancers. Ladies can hire male dance partners. I have no idea what they are called. Here in Singapore they are known as DIs (Dance Instructors) . They are also referred to as "Ducks" in the ballroom dancing circle.

Due to time constraint and my wife undergoing her knee treatment by the TCM doctor we didn't go dancing there as I have wished. But we had to at least pay a visit. Too bad it was past 4pm in the afternoon and the Tea Dance session have ended. There were two couples on the dance floor; one gentleman practically with two left feet being led by a hostess dressed in Qipao doing the Rumba and a lady with a DI dancing the Waltz. You may be wondering how on earth can they be dancing to two different beats. Ah, yes that's the wonder of the dancing world. You see, instead of waiting for the correct music which would be a waste of time, the professional dance partners will just make the best use of the time adapting the dance to the music. After all patrons pay by the hour. A band plays at night so it is likely to attract a bigger crowd.

East-West Fusion Music at Xintianti Shanghai

East-West Fusion Music at Xintianti 新天地 Shanghai. It is a car-free shopping, dining and entertainment district. The area comprised of restored traditional Shikumen 石库门 (stone gate) houses on narrow alleys and some adjoining houses which now serve as tourist souvenir kiosk, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls.

Beautiful Fusion Music played on a nice sunny morning in front of a shopping center. It's clearly an adaptation of Peking Opera music. Note the drummer is a black guy. The girls on the Chinese musical instruments were pretty and chic.

Brazilian Baby Dances Samba

Now you know when it comes to doing the Samba nobody does it better than the Brazilians; Samba the Rio De Janeiro style. The little toddler still in disposable diapers is already dancing like a pro. Pure natural and unadulterated : ) Excellent musicality, perfect rhythm and great styling lol.