《二樓陽臺》 Ariel 郑惠心

留意。。。

留心。。。

聼。。。惠心的音樂。。。你會發現。。。

2009年的夏天，惠心从俄罗斯回国度暑假，而这一次回国与往年略有不同，因为她决定将自己在这一段成长的岁月中，所记录下来的、陪伴了自己多年的音乐展示。动机非常简单，就是为自己的声音做一个交待。在努力的部署着、规划着这一个动念的同时，她遇上了编曲人Euywein和乐伟，在替惠心制作Demo的同时，Euywein把惠心的Demo推荐给大马音乐人周金亮。

Ariel郑惠心首张创作《二楼阳台》於是在8月19日诞生面市。。。

钟情于独立音乐的惠心，希望自己的作品能够在不需要多加修饰的前提下，以着最原始的面貌见人，因此她的音乐保留了她最朴实的动机、她的文字散发了她最真诚的感受、她的声音展示了她最自然的情绪。

专辑中，《贝壳》是惠心在制作队伍要求下为此张专辑所谱出的最新的歌曲；《蓝天》则是她在14岁的那一年写出的、生命中的第一首作品，两者之间时空的差距，让我们听到惠心生活上的思考转弯和创意上的思维转变。

就只听惠心这四首创作，肯定难于满足对她的好奇，然而，匆匆的，她又即将飞回俄罗斯继续她的医学课程，所以，就让我们祝福及等待，祝福她身体健康；等待她学成并带着满袋的音乐归来。

欢迎所有关心Ariel 鄭惠心的朋友们，请游览http://www.arielchang-music.com

台北我来了！ 【taipei here i come!】

sorry for the silence, guys...

will be traveling to taipei for the first time tomorrow...

hope to show you some photos then...

i am looking forward to a mad mad CD shopping spree, yahoo!

又一好評 [another feather in the cap]

音乐的路 [the never ending road of music]

音乐的路

路永远都不会容易走因为一切皆在变迁。
世事没有任何一个方案是可以一劳永逸运用到底的。
选择了就要坚持，不断学习就是唯一的力量、信心和方向。

人的一生最值得我们回味的，说到最后其实就是：
在于抉择，不在于期望。
在于追求，不在于等待。
在于投入，不在于埋怨。
在与冲击，不在于安逸。

热量是因为燃烧；火花是因为磨擦。
所以燃烧的灼热是必需的；磨擦的痛楚是必然的，两者都是珍贵的。
我们害怕是因为每天不曾停止过的对未来的难于掌控的恐惧。
我们勇敢是因为终于明白生命其实没有什么是不可能失去的。
置之于死地而后生，破釜沉舟，这就是决心，这就是完成一件事情的一个先决条件。

大家都在说：唱片不能做了！
如果你真的相信，那最好就是改行，这也是一项选择，是身为人者的一项权利，没有所谓的失意或者是难堪；更不该抱有埋怨和不舍。
世界之大，何处不是天地？

唱片是真得不能做了吗？
也许是。
但是，音乐在人类还没有历史记载的荒蛮年代就已经存在了，这是事实。
人的一生都在生老病死中度过，其中每一个环节皆音乐，这也是人类从古至今不变的事实。

所以，若是唱片真的不能做了，那我们就回到做唱片的最初：
我们做音乐。

共勉之。

周金亮
30042009

2v1g 迈进台湾! [2v1g enters taiwan!]

after many futile attempts, finally, 2v1g will be entering taiwan!

many distributors have expressed interest on 2v1g last year, but none could clear the mechanical rights for the song (since they are all cover versions written by taiwanese composers) and none worked hard enough to bring 2v1g to taiwan....

one year later, finally, one suitor shows enough interest to woo us.... and the marriage is almost certain....

you may ask - what's the big deal since many malaysian artistes also appear in taiwan. the big deal is we are merely a small indie label and we have no connections in taiwan. we are able to go there purely based on the strength of our music!

this is another milestone for us! yay!

学无止境 [we never stop learning]

mr. cha seng tiang - famous baritone and vocal teacher

i remember what evelyn, the boss of NBT told me after 2v1g's maiden performance in NBT: "your two girls are good but they can still improve given the right tutor... why don't you send them for classical training?".

that got me thinking. yes, i want my 2 voices to scale higher heights. i got in touch with evelyn's good friend - mr. cha seng tiang, famous baritone and vocal teacher - and was about to bring regine and winnie to see him. that was last november 2008. in december 2008, regine annouced her retirement from showbiz and the whole plan was halted.

now with sheena in the team, i reconnected with mr. cha again. i brought our 2 voices to meet him last friday. mr. cha is a very humble but highly articulate man. his is so good that he could tell the strengths and weaknesses of my 2 voices just by hearing them sing a few notes. i was mighty impressed! mr. cha doesn't normally teach pop singers but he made an exception this time.

mr.cha thinks with my 2 singers' strong foundation, all they need is 3 months' of training to strengthen their foundation and overcome their weaknesses.

you can expect an all-new 2v1g in 3 months' time!

2v1g 第二张专辑开案啦！[2v1g's sophomore album kicks off!]

so after many hurdles and delays, finally we kicked off our 2nd album's production!

it has been a year since we last had our kick-off meeting and it is so exciting to be able to do another album of 2v1g! it is going to be another memorable chapter in our lives!

the committee, with our new "V", sheena lim, met today to discuss several things, chief of all is the songs selection for the 2nd album.

we have shortlisted 15 songs and the girls are going to have a practice with my producer by the end of the month to finalize the songs. we also would like roger to consider doing one solo as a bonus track.

the economic climate is very bad now but with less competition, we are sure 2v1g will shine!

all we can say is that all the songs we chose have very strong characters. compared to last album, which is ballad-centric, this time we have more mid-tempo songs and more power ballads.

overall, the melody is very strong and it has got plenty of variety.

we wish to launch it by end of july.... god willing.

are you excited? we certainly are!

歌在呼吸 #4 [song we cherish #4]

一个来自大陆的歌手； 一个实力派 R&B 的唱将。

刘沁虽没有大红大紫， 但 [影子]却在我们听觉中留下了深刻的记忆。

一首叫好但不叫座的好歌， 我们永远爱戴。

sorry, can't seem to download into imeem for reasons unknown to me... however, you can download from youshare and play it on the window media player or itune. enjoy!

歌在呼吸 #3 [song we cherish #3]

身为制作人之一，我最享受的就是把经典老歌重新翻唱，造福新一代的歌迷。

我和金亮老师和 jz8 主音 lydia 都是周璇的歌迷。

用歌姬来形容周璇一点也不过时; 周璇是天后中的天后。那一把出谷黄莺的嗓子和许多余音绕梁的曲子，的确疯迷了那年代的年轻人。

你以为[老饼]才听周璇吗？我们都很年轻！

[永远的微笑]是经典。 蔡琴在[金片子]以轻爵士的风味玩出不一样的味道。

现在，jz8 勇敢的翻唱了！ 很期待 lydia 和 cher siang 的演出！

Songs That Touch Us #3

jz8 练习 [practice session for jz8]

[sorry for the poor photograhy... i was experimenting something]

it is ultra difficult to get the two members of jz8 together due to their hectic schedule. so whenever we find time, we get them to practise and get the chemistry going.

song selection contributes more than 60% to the success of an album and we are not taking it lightly. jz8 can play many styles, but we would want it to sound a bit mellower than what most western jazz music would sound. in particular, we want cher siang not to over-play on the piano, which is the tendency of most western jazz pianists to showcase their skills and versatility. because this is chinese pop jazz, we would want a slower and mellower presentation to suit our targeted audience.



jz8 practised a few songs, all chinese pop classics re-arranged by cher siang (whose titles we would like to keep it confidential at the moment); some immediately strike a chord with me and chow and some not. as i have said many times before, not all chinese pop tunes can be rearranged into jazz, due to their rigid structure. cher siang tried on zhao chuan [赵传: 当初应该爱你], the results are contrived to say the least, so we immediately dropped it.

at the end of the practice session, we finalized on two songs only.

lydia also proposed to include some real oldies (think 40s/50s, think zhou xuan!) in the repertoire, which chow and i approved. some chinese oldies are real winners if the singer can carry it well and the arrangement is good.

the first practice session gives the production team some ideas on how far jz8 can go. we think the real jz8 hasn't come out yet but in time to come, with more practice and understanding, we would see something magical.

the next practice session is fixed on next monday, 16th march.

as a producer, the practice sessions and the recording sessions later are the best and most memorable part of the journey!

台灣流行音樂200最佳專輯 [best 200 chinese albums]

no serious chinese pop music lover can do without this bible.

get it and see how many out of the 200 albums are in your collection. i think i have at least 70% of the titles listed in the book.

cheer chen's debut album [讓我想一想／陳綺貞] is listed at number #11. read the reasons here. what more can i say? all these reviewers have got excellent tastes and standards.

sorry, neither F4, fahrenhiet nor S.H.E is listed ;-)

roger wang 的新玩具 [roger wang's new toy]

our guitar man has some exciting toy up his sleeve!

says roger wang: "I have commissioned a new guitar to be built for me by a local luthier. It's in the building process right now and should be completed by April. I would like to use this guitar for the recording. It's actually a special kind of guitar called the Harp Guitar. It's rare and with only a small group of guitarist around the world using it, but interest in the harp guitar is growing. It's actually a regular 6 string guitar with an extra 6 open bass strings on top. This will give me the bass notes that I would need to get a fuller sound. I believe it will help a lot with 2V1G's songs".

he adds further: "I think the harp guitar will work well for 2v1g .... I am already reaching the limits of what 6 strings can do. The limited style and similar chord progression in Chinese pop music makes it even harder to stay fresh and different. The extra bass strings will open up more possibilities for the arrangement without having to move away from the voice and 1 guitar format".

but roger, we hope your toy wouldn't look as big and ugly as the one in the video! smaller and sexier, please!

fans of 2v1g, you can expect a new sound in 2v1g's new album~!

歌在呼吸 #2 [song we cherish #2]

喜欢陈洁仪。喜欢梁文福。更喜欢《担心》。

从以前在民歌餐厅驻唱到今天重听这首歌，没有一次不是唱着唱着，自己就哭了起来。

这首歌，总是让我想起我的家人。想起他们的呵护，想起他们对我的爱和包容。

歌词仿佛在道着他们正在我背后，默默支持我做的一切。

陈洁仪没有再唱歌了。可惜。。。。。。

梁文福的《担心》让我在这样的夜晚，想起她这把感动的声音。

[winnie ho]

《担心》 词曲：梁文福
我的你 总是迟疑
连吻别 也要隔着玻璃
我的你 在我指缝间远离去

这城市太过拥挤 满座的爱情电影 我用力推不开回忆

担心 你的单心 怕你将我想起
在那微寒的夜 寂寞来寻 最好是摒住你的呼吸
担心 我的单心 你就这样放心
我却如此愿意 竟然愿意
用白天 用黑夜　用思念　拥着你

歌在呼吸 #1 [song we cherish #1]

[歌在呼吸]将会介绍一些感动过我们的歌曲。它也可能会成为 2v1g 或 jz8 收录的歌曲.

那些在我们患得患失的岁月里令我们热泪盈眶的歌。

我倒不怎样喜欢那英， 但这首[一个人的事]却是难得一听的好歌。

李思菘的歌，林夕的词。

第一次听倒不是那英的版本， 而是孙燕姿在电台清唱的版本。

燕姿介绍她自己喜欢的歌，说她恩师李思菘写给那英的[一个人的事]是她最喜爱的歌之一。 然后她就开始唱了。。我记得我听得全身鸡皮疙瘩， 连喉咙也像有一点硬件塞住了。。。

[你不愿意， 我都可以， 把这段情变成一个人的事]。。无奈， 怀疑， 失落， 种种的情感都尽在不言中。 林夕很绝的词。

一个人的事

我以为你叫我
我以为你说我
原来是我自己
呼吸的尾音太多
我以为你爱我
我相信你爱我
但是没有人
没有人证明我没错
我以为你找我
我以为你看我
原来只是日夜
在我的窗外擦身而过
我等待你陪我
其实你刚来过
你不要理我
爱情会让人不甘寂寞
走在一起好不容易
没伤害自己的勇气
只好相信不要怀疑
错觉比真实还美丽
走在一起好不容易
如果你觉得有问题
只要愿意我真可以
你不愿意我都可以
把这段情变成一个人的事

you can download the song here.

jz8 开麦啦 [jz8 on camera]

4th of feb 2009 - jz8 on camera!

we wanted to capture some photos of jz8 for marketing and promotion purposes as well as for MTX.

the photo session started early at 9am, at cher siang's house. the reason for the choice of venue is because cher siang has a beautiful kawai grand piano.

we hired two young and talented photographers for the task, one is a lomography expert too! despite their age, they looked professional and they took the task with meticulousness and style.

while cher siang is at his usual straight-n-serious self, lydia is all sassy and sexy, ready to show the best side of her infront of the camera. she brought a whole suitcase of clothes for the occasion! women, are they vain? ;-)

as they posed, jz8 also jammed along. cher siang's repertoire of chinese songs is amazing and he is so versatile to adapt to lydia's style. they are an impressive duo!

the photo session ended at 12 noon. we have yet to see the final outcome but here you get to see my photos, captured using my point-n-shoot camera!

排行榜 [interglobal top 20 audiophile chart for 2008]

the results are out from interglobal, our distributor in malaysia!

for the year of 2008, 2v1g ranks 2nd in terms of sales, slightly behind all-time best seller, emi fujita camomile!

hooroy for such a feat!

[interglobal top 20 audiophile chart for 2008]

1. Emi Fujita - Camomile Best Audio (igmj 60019)

2. 2V1G (mtp20081)

3. Best Audiophile Voices (PR 27831)

4. Susan Wong - Like You (evsa023s)

5. Nah Youn Sun (igm-009-2)

6. jaja - i love you (hori-0003-2)

7. Stacey Kent - Collection 3 (PR27892)

8. Connie Talbot - Over The Rainbow (evsa029)

9. Kevin Kern – More Than Words Best Of (RM2602)

10. Audiophile voices (pr27905)

11. Emi Fujita - Camomile Classics (PMDJ 10004)

12. Audiophile Female Voices (pr27921)

13. Simply Love (simplycd010)

14. Susan Wong - Best Of (rm120)

15. Eriko Ishihara (pmdi 30114)

16. Audiophile Male Voices (pr27933)

17. Takahiro Miyazaki - Nostalgia (pmdi 30078)

18. Audiophile Female Voices (rm112)

19. HRP7234-2黄红英 ~ 初次尝到寂寞

20. Eva Cassidy - Songbird (G2-10045)

吉他之神 [guitar god]

no wonder our roger wang says tommy emmanuel is his idol.

jz8 开案了! [jz8 kicks off!]

it has taken us close to 2 months to convene our first official meeting, even then tay cher siang (our pianist) couldn't make it tonight.

the meeting took place at oldtown kopitiam, south city plaza, all the way in seri kembangan. i have never traveled so far for a meeting!

the three of us - chow, lydia, myself - spoke about jz8's repertoire, the kind of music we want to play, recording schedule and many other issues. chief of it is we would like to launch the debut album in july 2009 (to coincide with the hifi show at j.w.marriot), so we have to work backwards.

since we haven't even started work on renovating our recording studio in nzx mall, we decided to start asking cher siang to rearrange 6 songs in the repertoire so that lydia could practise. we would like to get the overall "feel" of cher siang's piano playing and arrangement style. we are condifent that our pianist is versatile enough to play any "style" that we want provided we give him enough feeeback. as i have said repeatedly, arrangement is key in doing cover versions. it makes and breaks the song. but one thing for sure, jz8 is gonna be "jazzier" than 2v1g!

i also told lydia that i would be featuring jz8 in our magazine, MTX, which will be launched after CNY. so the duo has to attend a photography session as well as an interview session with our writer. i would like to promote jz8 well ahead of its debut so that people would know them early.

tentatively, we expect the recording to start in mid/late-march. it is going to be more challenging as we would be recording piano, which is a difficult instrument to record due to its wide dynamic range.

since lydia is a versatile vocalist who can sing in different tones, we would like her to sing in a lazy, more laidback, husky tone that is suitable for jz8's music. in any case, we are confident both lydia and cher siang would partner well since both of them are so experienced.

so, do monitor this blog closely if you want to follow the blow-by-blow account of the jz8's exciting journey in the next 6 months!