Well Well Well

Well, on first note, I no longer blog on blogger. I now currently reside with Vox, to me, a faster, more efficient, and better designed blog site.

Without further delay, here's the link to my new blog.

Of Ink and Charcoal.

Bummer

Well, i once saw this drawing at dA(deviantArt) where there was this messy room filled with all the necessities of a rumah bujang with a sofa in the middle and a guy lying down sleeping on it with half his body on the floor. I told myself, THAT was how i wanted to blog. Since i for one ain't that good with words. Okay, maybe i can twist a few tongues but since i was a child i read Lat's comics and how he autobiographed himself through his drawings, it inspired me to make one myself one day. And after reading this graphic novel i found at a friend's place(it was an American artist, i've always wanted to buy a copy of my own but it cost well over 100 bucks, darn you Izzy), i was more determined then ever.

But heck, when it comes down drawing itself without reference, i just can't pull ot off. Especially since lately i've lost my inspiration and my hand has just lost it. Idk why but it's just that it is. So i went on with simpler designs. Next thing you know, as i was reading Kenny Sia's blog(a very funny blogger), i found about, StickGal. I felt guilty all of the sudden. Especially after i read her April 21st entry. xI

She was there first. So I felt like this big Copyright Hammer hit my back leaving me helpless on the floor with my pants undone. Yes, it was a sight quite unholy. But i still managed to get on my feet with my boxers still intact and a "ehem" mechanical pencil in hand plus my cheap A4 paper sketchbook. I drew a rough sketch that later became this....


I knew if i started doing something like it i'd get eaten by that dog one way or another. But here's to chasing a fragment of my dream. Taking chances. xI

btw, i have a small phobia against stray dogs. they have this liking to chase me. :X

King of Kings

As i said, i'll be talking about Kaki King in my next blog. So, here it goes.

So, the first thing that comes to your mind must be a foot doesn't it? King of feet? No, it is in fact a name. Not a real name, but an alias to Katherine Elizabeth King. Known as Kaki King, although known for her guitar skils, she actually plays multiple instruments, in fact, the drums were her first serious instrument.

King's style combines fret tapping with slap bass techniques, using the guitar for percussional beats, as well as sound layering and looping, which creates a percussive and complex sound. She has appeared as a guest artist for several bands such as Foo Fighters, Northern State and Tegan and Sara. And believe it or not, the guitar shots of Evan Taylor(Freddie Highmore) from August Rush is in fact, Kaki's hands. Yes, she was the hand "stuntwoman" so to say.

Ahh and, yesterday i talked about Kaki King's newest video of "Pull Me Out Alive" right? Well, it's a really interesting video since it uses stop motion and light writing. A technique i'm quite familiar with but as a photography technique known as light graffiti and urban light sculpting. Though i'm still not capable of doing them because i don't have the proper gear and i haven't delved into the technique yet. But here are a few examples.





































I first heard about her from one of my close friend which also happens to be the source of most of my music, Syahir. I can't remember whether he recommended me it as he mostly did or i found it in his folders and just copied them onto my thumb. But the first album i mused into was her third album "Until We Felt Red". So far it is still my fav album of hers even though i only have three albums which are her first album "Everybody Loves You" and her most recent "Dreaming of Revenge". I still haven't downloaded(i'm sorry Kaki) her second album "Legs to Make Us Longer". Hmm, but then again Everybody Loves You is quite great too. Or maybe it's just that part of me that prefers songs without lyrics. Maybe that's why i'm so into orchestra? -_-"But to really appreciate her talent is to SEE her play. You can see a few of her vids on Kaki King YouTube account. And hei, if you have the time check her albums out. Wait, even if you don't, MAKE TIME. Because her songs are ones not to be missed. Oh and don't forger to watch her new video "Pull Me Out Alive" and the making of the vid as well. ;]

Okay, that's about enough blabber for one day. here's Playing with Pink Noise by Kaki. later. :D

Kaki King - Playing With Pink Noise

i scavenged the house for cents. off to buy ciggies. :I

Homemade Muses

It was 8am. And no, i didn't just woke up. I stayed up all night reading books that i haven't finished. Namesake, Alchemist, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime just to name a few. I like to chain read as much as i chain smoke these days. It's a sad fact but i guess the stress really got to me. But since i'm so broke lately i can't even afford a single coke, i've been off the nics for a while. Though i'm really eager for a few drags.

Anyhoo, i was going through youtube to look for vids of Kaki King after i decided reading was starting to really lose it's interest when i found her official youtube account(there's a new vid from her latest album "Dreaming of Revenge" but more on that in my next blog). So i subscribed it and ended up watching at my previous subscriptions which consist of only two other musicians which are Amanda Zelina and KokoKaina(it's her screen name, real name unknown). I stumbled upon Amanda when i was searching vids of Ray LaMontagne. She had this cover of Ray's song, "Trouble". More on that later too. The artist i want to preview here is KokoKaina. Though not an established singer(for now), she has more than enough potential to knock others off the stage and steal the spotlight.

Some might find her home made recordings reminiscent of Yuna, which is currently rising in Malaysia's underground scene. But KokoKaina in my bold opinion sings at a whole different level. Having a voice that could have been undoubtedly be from a 60's Broadway singer makes her a true jewel, yet again, in my own opinion. According to her profile, she resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All the more reason to appreciate her talent. She's a local girl. Her songs mostly consist of Jazz, Blues, Anti-folk and Modern Baroque. So far she has recorded and uploaded 8 cover songs consisting of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", The Beatles's "Cry Baby Cry", Audrey Hepburn's classic "Moonriver", Bob Thiele's "What A Wonderful World" and even Whitestripes's "We Are Going To Be Friends". Apart from the covers she also composes her own songs which so far are 10 songs.















Her vocal's really reach out the moment they are thrown at you. And her looks are kept secret. When asked she replied quote "Because i don't have one. Haha. Well, it's because i would like viewers to focus more on the songs and not have the attention shifted elsewhere (not that there is anything much anyways. heh.) This also practices both your and my skills to spot emotions that a song is trying to evoke. So, i'm not really hiding. I just... choose not to show my face. I'm not here to look pretty, i'm just here to share my music. =)" unquote. But hei, lower face and hair seriously reminds me of Shishi though somehow. As i like to say, KokoShishi. haha.









the resemblance xO

But hei, when you are this talented, looks do not matter! Heck, one of my favorite singers in Malaysia is in fact Adibah Noor. She can easily shove Siti off the stage, talent wise, in my opinion of course. So here's to you Kaina, hope u could make an actual recording someday so people around the world could enjoy your music on the go. All the best and goodluck! ;]

Koko Kaina - Just You and Me


btw, no offense to yuna. she's a great singer and composer too.

Of Irish Musicians

I've broken my own promise that i'll shan't make a blog until i've got my bloody pc reformatted and renewed. Because i can't help the fact i wanna share this freakin' creative vid of Fionn Regan's song "Be Good or Be Gone". I was bored one night so i went through Ray LaMontagne's myspace page to see if there were new songs uploaded. Though i was pretty sure that nothing was up. The man is hardly on. I also think that it's not him who manages that site. Don't think he's a myspace kinda guy. Heh.

Anyhow, i realized that he has Damien Rice on his first top friend's list. And hei, i was a regular fan of Damien myself. So i visited his site. And to my surprise, he has The Frames on his list!! Heck, The Swell Season, an album by Glen and Mar was there too. Glen Hansard is the guitarist/vocalist for this Irish band, The Frames(the one mentioned just now), and as of recently, an Academy Award winner as well. He collaborated with Czech pianist/singer Marketa Irglova to make the most melancholy album i've ever heard, The Swell Season(as mentioned earlier also). Mar too won an Academy Award alongside Glen at the Oscars for best song taken from the movie "Once" in which they co-stared together in. Beating both Enchanted and August Rush.

Anyhow, back to the main subject which is about that vid. I was checking out to what other tunes Damien listens to and i found Fionn Regan. I checked out his page and watched the vid there. I was baffled by it. It's just simply, GENIUS. Hah. Well, here's the vid. Sorry for the long lecture on my fascination towards the whole glen, mar, and frames thing. x]

Fionn Regan - Be Good Or Be Gone

btw, just found out Damien was Irish. -___- no wonder he knows bout The Frames.

Pain-tball.

My brother invited me to join him on some paintballing action today. I went up to cyber and stayed at his apartment for the night yesterday. There was a barbecue last night here though. Stayed up till morning. There were lots of chicks, ah moi's and people. Hah. Slept around 4-5 am.

Amazingly though, we woke up at 10 and left for KL at 10.30. The paintball place was in Desa Waterpark. There was an outdoor arena and two or three indoor one. The first indoor match area had an office setting with computers(dead computers) and other office stuff. The second one was more to barrels, tires and nets. We played at the second one. I think there were more settings upstairs but we didn't go any further.

But first we had to fill out and sign these contracts. Didn't read what it was about though. But i think it had something to do about the place won't take any responsibility for any injuries or something. They'd be bankrupt by now if they did. I mean, there's a lot of ways to get injured in this sport. We had this briefing on how important the face mask is. NEVER TAKE IT OFF DURING GAME ON! As long as the marshall(referee of sorts) hasn't said mask off you must NOT take your mask off. I mean, a stray bullet might hit yer face, at let me tell ya, it won't be pleasant. We were also briefed on the many game modes that were available. There's capture the flag, annihilation and deathmatch. We only played CtF and Annihilation though. In which Team A and Team B fought. But we only had nine people so it was 4 against 5. I was in the team of 4. Played for a few hours.

My brother upgraded his firearm to this M-16 like mark(mark is the name of the rifles). He said it was quite heavy and big but it had amazing bullet speed and accuracy. The others only used standard marks. But for me it was good enough. We played with no rules though. Meaning you can shoot at close counters. Which was bad news for me because i didn't wear any body armor. :/
I got shot on my back almost as near as 5 feet. Bloody Andrew. He's a good player but quite reckless and violent. And my brother's friends says he likes to wipe(a technique that is revered to be cheating because the person wipes the paint so that he'll look like he's still alive). Heh.

We got back around 2 pm and although i had bruises all over and a hell of a leg cramp. But hey, that's what you get when you don't wear body armor and not warm up before a game. :D

A good bruise. Hei, no pain no gain. :]













can't wait for another round. :]

Rantai 2007

A blog long overdue. Anyhow, i still remember going there and seeing a lot of kids that are still "new" to the art world. Some of them looked disappointed when there was nothing but art on that day. But hei, it's the Rantai "ART" event. Of course there's gonna be stuff like that. Anyhow, most of the people with skinny colorful jeans just stood aimlessly outside because they weren't interested in the exhibit. There was a lot of art on display. I was quite delighted by the way they made the whole house into this art exhibition.



I went there with Sue or i met Sue there, i can't remember.
























Anyhow, i also bumped into Aliaa, Faza, Adilah and Alysa. Alysa played with Alia's camera a lot. She'd say, "Aliaa, nak main.". Haha. Comel je. Anyhow, she and i crossed lens from time to time and we'd take pictures of each other. I can't remember any other details, nor do i want to take the time to remember. So that's all here.