If you think making a music video is easy with today’s technology, think again. This interesting and quirky video of Diane Birch’s Valentino shows how much manual work is required to synchronize with the actual processed one, you can hear the giggles and wows from the crew behind and you know how tough it is to get it all right.

If you don’t know Diane Birch, do check out our initial featured article of this amazingly talented artist.

Now, I wonder how many times they rehearse?

Over at Great Music Singapore, our team was actually scheduled to featured her performance at Esplanade with Clarence earlier this year but other commitments came up and unfortunately didn’t get the chance. A little quick search on Kewei and I realised she has been in the music scene since 2006, personally I’m not digging too much on chinese songs or media programmes so pardon my ignorance here. I was pleasantly impressed with the covers on her Youtube channel and er-hu performance on David Tao’s concert? Wow, that honestly to me is simply priceless and original.

I could go on and on here with Kewei’s many achievements and entreprenuership but I leave it to you to explore and support her talent to greater heights. And if you like to know more about Kewei, be sure to head on down to Cineleisure this Sunday at 2pm!

Download Kewei’s biography here.

Event Details:
What? - KEEP! Singapore Launch + Mini Concert
Where? – K-Box K-Union, Cathay Cineleisure Level 8
When? – 2 May 2010, Sunday 3PM
Admission is Free

Some Youtube videos:

Singer, song-writer, entrepreneur, erhu-player, are just a few words to describe Tay Kewei, a young Singaporean singing sensation.  Set to dazzle Asia with her smooth and captivating vocals, Kewei has come a long way since her Project Superstar days in 2006.  Then 22, this talented and sweet girl-next-door who is also adept with the violin, piano and guitar has garnered a sizable following from her Youtube videos, blogs and website.

Kewei is no stranger to the international scene, touring as background vocalist for Wang Leehom, David Tao, Amei and JJ Lin Junjie, and has performed at their world tours – in more than 50 shows at over 18 cities.

Einein, a fulltime keyboardist and songwriter, is actively performing in musicals, events, weddings and in her free time, she shares her onstage experiences with students. She has written songs for Fish Leung, Joi Chua, Kelly Poon and Jocie Guo.

Being unique is indeed important in the competition, or perhaps any competition. But time and time again, artists are always tested for their consistencies and nowadays we hardly hear anything that might be worth listening 10-20 years (e.g. Police, Queen, Eric Clapton, etc) or even 50 years (e.g. Elvis Presley) from now. Once the novelty wears off and listeners will still fall back to classics. Also nowadays artists take a stroll along money park, live happily ever with their MTV cribs episode and you never hear from them anymore, not many will stay and create good music for a long time. The music industry sure need some passion even though most artists aren’t trying too hard because somewhere down the road their music might just become a classic.

So who’s your favorite to be in the top 5? Here’s my pick:

• Crystal Bowersox
• Casey James
• Lee DeWyze
• Siobhan Magnus
• Michael Lynch

Don’t mind me being bias but I absolutely am a fan of Crystal Bowersox, her performances are incredibly consistent and a joy to look at and of course I hope she wins it… or maybe not. ;)

Here’s my favorite pieces of her performance of Come Together by the Beatles and Midnight Train to Georgia few weeks ago:

Many have also compared her vocals as the modern Carole King, Norah Jones and Diana Ross, but it’s no doubt she has come up with her own unique style of music and her debut album Bible Belt has brilliantly proven that. Billboard quoted her as “2009 ones to watch”, Huffington Post calls her the “future of singer-songwriters” and many critics has given the thumbs up to her music as well.

There are more than a few songs that kept me playing her album, and it’s musically clever that most of them are easy on the ears on any time of the day for example Fire Escape, Fools, Nothing But a Miracle, Rewind and Mirror Mirror, Ariel. Indeed, Diane Birch’s music is nothing but a miracle and I’m a big fan already. You can grab more of her music on her official youtube channel or her album Bible Belt on Yesasia.

Diane Birch is an American singer-songwriter born in Michigan, USA on January 24, 1983. Diane spent her childhood in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sydney, Australia. Her father was a 7th Day Adventist preacher and took his family wherever he worked. When she was ten, her family returned to the United States, and settled in Portland, Oregon.

Birch began studying piano using the Suzuki method at the age of seven. When she was old enough to leave home, she moved to Los Angeles and pursued work as a “pianist for hire”. Eventually she landed gigs at the Beverly Hotel and L’Orangerie. Prince heard her playing at the Polo Lounge in 2006 and invited her to jam with him and his band at his home. After being discovered on MySpace, Birch moved to London where she signed a publishing deal and wrote a majority of her debut album. In 2007, she moved to New York after signing to Steve Greenberg’s S-Curve Records.

Birch says that she was not exposed to pop music and culture as a child because her religious and conservative parents did not approve of secular music. She had only heard opera, classical music and music she had heard in church (Hymns) before she arrived back in America aged 11. She cites church hymns as a large influence on her song writing both lyrically and musically.

Birch plays piano, Wurlitzer, (Fender) Rhodes (with whom she has an endorsement deal) and guitar. – Wikipedia

Looking through the festival schedule, we spotted some familiar names like Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Kool & the Gang, Kings of Convenience, Makoto Ozone, etc. Tickets for the Mosaic festival range from $40 to $120 and some of the performances have sold out. So if you are looking to attend your favorite artists, do get them quick.

There will also be free performances at 3 sections of the Esplanade: The concourse, outdoor theatre and the library. There’s a lot of artists we are looking forward to feature and the ten-day event is packed with so many performances you won’t want to miss it.

Do check out the official schedule of the Mosaic Music Festival 2010 in PDF here and the official website here.

The annual Mosaic Music Festival gets underway in Singapore on March 12th, kicking off a diverse ten-day programme of international artists and bands.

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay hosts the event, which offers visitors an appealing mix of jazz, soul, hip hop, rock and world music.

Highlights of this year’s line-up include US alternative rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr, Norwegian acoustic duo Kings of Convenience and disco veterans Kool & The Gang.

People staying in Singapore hotels can also expect a number of acclaimed acts from south-east Asia, including Indonesia’s Goodnight Electric and the Hong Kong-based experimental jazz ensemble Signal to Noise.

Esplanade, a waterfront performing arts centre situated in Marina Bay, features several music venues which host the Mosaic events.

As well as the 1,600-seater concert hall, the complex also includes a 2,000-capacity theatre and the Heineken Music Club, which is a more intimate venue with space for 220 people.

Tickets for Mosaic performances are individually priced, with Kool & The Gang prices ranging from S$40 (GBP17.90) to S$120.

The festival was launched in 2005 and last year’s bill featured artists such as NERD, Indigo Girls and Brian McKnight. – Press Release

Looking through Kings Of Leon history, they had been slowly progressing into the charts since 2005 and achieve major success in 2008 with their single “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody”.

I believe the first song I heard from the MTV performance was the hit song “Use Somebody” and Jared’s unique vocals blew me away. Their rock style is rather uncommon to mention as they had mix in some bluesy characteristics into their music. When I saw their concert DVD on sale, it’s no surprise I took it off the shelf, check out the songs and headed for the cashier promptly. Watching through the DVD, there wasn’t any extras at all but that was perhaps the last thing to worry about anyway. The entire concert video was well directed and I enjoyed most parts of it although weirdly it was labeled as NC16, lyrically?

With 22 songs and 100 minutes of KOL, this is one DVD not to miss out for rock fans out there! You can also purchase it online via yesasia.

Some image captures of the concert video from the DVD:

Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999, consisting of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Jared Followill(bass guitar, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (lead guitar, backing vocals). Each member of the family group is known by his middle name (second given name) as opposed to his first given name.

The band’s early music was an upbeat blend of southern rock and blues influences but the band has gradually expanded their sound to include a variety of genres and a more alternative rock or indie rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album Because of the Times also reached the #1 spot. After the release of Only by the Night in September 2008 they finally achieved chart success in their native United States. The singles “Sex on Fire”, “Use Somebody” and “Notion” all peaked at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The album itself was their first ever platinum-selling album in the United States, was the best selling album in Australia of 2008, certified 8x Platinum and achieved 5x Platinum certification in the United Kingdom. – Wikipedia

Uncanny Sounds consists of vocalist Juliet Pang and guitarist Clarence Yeo from Singapore. They’re fluid, often indulging in the search for an unfamiliar but brewing chemistry of a lovely old song. Clarence’s choice of rhythmic finger-picking style often reveals strong groovy influences of R&B, Funk and Jazz. He has performed for numerous corporate and private events locally and abroad, including the opening for Soler in Singapore. Juliet seeks to express herself through the arts, and has dabbled in musical theatre, playing ensemble roles for SRT musicals such as Forbidden City, co-written “被风吹过的夏天” with JJ.Lin and sung the theme song for movie “Eating Air (吃风)” – Esplanade

 

and a video as well:

Bursting onto the local scene with his melodic folk-rock originals, Nick Tan is a young Singaporean singer/songwriter currently studying at the National University of Singapore. Inspired by the songs he listened to, the aspiring performer picked up a guitar in secondary school and wrote his first tune in a burst of youthful inspiration. There has been no turning back since.

For At the Concourse, Nick will be showcasing songs from past and present. Old tunes have been reworked for a fresh presentation, while new ones have been written with an optimistic air, together merging a pensive offering as we approach a new year. Much of his music revolves around the theme of the self and re-awakening, a cautious and self-conscious exploration of what it means for both rebirth and redemption in a climate of cynical fatalism. – Taken from Esplanade

Have you ever had the chance to watch an Italian opera for free? We almost had when a young Caucasian lady came up to us today and offer us 2 tickets to the famous and widely popular “La Boheme” play today(for free coz she couldn’t attend it) at Esplanade while waiting for Nick Tan’s performance. But of course being as professional as we were, just to bring you the latest performances here in Singapore, we kindly declined her offer(which left her puzzled for a while).

Leaving that weird encounter aside, we saw Nick for the first time and at 23 years old he’s really got a lot going for him right now strumming the guitar confidently on his self-written originals and not forgetting a couple of decent, perhaps self-arranged covers? All in all, a pretty good performance but perhaps a little lackluster in vocals and experience on interaction with the crowd. No worries though, I’m quite sure we will be hearing more from him soon.

In the meantime you might want to check out Nick Tan’s Myspace page.

Video of “Bright Lights” by Nick Tan @ Esplanade Concourse:

*P.S: Pardon me on the quality of the video as it was taken from an iPhone video capture.

As mentioned in our earlier posting, we are already impressed with this duo and it’s a pleasure hearing them again, very consistent performance.

Check out more pictures and video of their performance below:

Video of a song written from a poem, titled “Virgo” by Yi Sheng: