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.