I learned of this event (from a friend’s tweet; can’t remember who now) which pointed me to this post. After which a FB event page was created:
“Hey folks, just so you know who’s behind this meetup – I’m pulling this together with itinerant muso-artist-writer Fernando Gros (with special thanks to Brian Leery and the Pigeonhole, of course). We’re not a formal organisation, we’re just a couple of guys who have never even met face-to-face! …”
So came 17 May evening. Nice cozy setting at the Pigeonhole.
Saw familiar faces. And plenty of very new (and younger) ones. I went with one of my colleague, Isaac Teo (he used toperform, btw). Met Chinmay and Carrie. Nice short catch-up session that evening.
Before the session started, I had a chance to look at the gear that was set up for the evening’s performances.
A short panel discussion with (L-R) co-organiser Fernando Gros (soundcloud.com/fernandogros), Graham Perkins, and Esmond Wee. They talked about (as I remembered) their hopes for Singapore musicians to set differences aside and form a coherent group, the new Singapore Music Society, and an [then upcoming] Music Matters conference.
For the three of us, AGM stands for “Annual Group Meetup”.
Involving dinner, coffee, and philosophy.
Or for me it was “Another Grumble (about the lack of) Music” from Adrian and I-Ling 🙂
[Hmm… realised I didn’t record our last face-to-face meetup. Ponderosa at Toa Payoh Hub.]
We talked about I-Ling’s blog post on how she picked up making music again (how touching *sniff*), and at the same breath I poked fun at how she owed a few vocal pieces.
At one point, it led to Adrian quipping: “Our music is a form of expression. If people like it, it’s because they can identify with it. We don’t really write songs with a ‘hook’ deliberately. I think that allows us to be really creative.”
Though, I cautioned, that could sound like an excuse for not improving our musical craft.
I-Ling suggested we were “Starfish Stories :: The Excuses”.
Maybe. 🙂
Maybe we’re using our music as an excuse.
So that we can indulge in philosophical musings over dinner and coffee.
Here’s our 5th digital album. A StarfishStories project in support of the “Let The Dolphins Go” ACRES’s campaign, to free the dolphins at Resorts World Sentosa.
This is the title track, “Free”. With I-Ling on vocals.
The other two tracks are a rock guitar instrumental version, and a Minus-One. They can all be downloaded at Archive.org
This project came about after Adrian ran a marathon. It’s a long story and he tells it better. Anyway the gist was that he thought of his family to keep himself going. And it made him think of the dolphins who were torn away from their family and natural habit, to be part of a resort entertainment lineup.
Adrian felt compelled to compose something (apart from contributing to the general call for action). He emailed the raw draft for the song (on 1 Jun). Titled it “Free”.
He added this in his email: “Imagine dolphins porpoising in the water”.
It didn’t take long for I-Ling to come up with the lyrics:
Leap and turn in the air
Like a child at play
Whistle songs, sing your dreams
In the summer rays
Feel the rush of the currents
Find your way in the ocean
Glide along, ride the crest
There’s no turning back
Hold your breath and break the waves
Full speed ahead
Feel the rush of the currents
You’re a child of the ocean
You’re free. So free, oh, so free.
Breathe. You’re free, so free.
She emailed her vocal track to me. I mixed it, emailed a few versions (with subtle arrangement changes) to the two of them. I-Ling agreed to re-record her vocals to get a clearer take. While waiting for I-Ling to do that, I recorded and mixed a guitar instrumental version.
It was done out of fun, but Adrian and I-Ling gave it their thumbs-up, so it was considered to be part of the album.
After receiving I-Ling’s second vocal take (she decided to invest in an audio interface), two more email exchanges… and it was done.
Capturing intelligent creatures, who were roaming free, for the sake of entertainment. And calling the move as part of contribution to research. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
2011 Let the Dolphins Go by Starfish Stories : The Band is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Singapore License. As long as you ATTRIBUTE the music by stating this: “Starfish Stories :: The Band – StarfishStories.wordpress.com”* in your audio, video, website, printed materials etc., you are FREE to USE, COPY, SHARE, MODIFY, or SELL (yes sell!) any of the songs from this album.
Don’t know about Adrian or I-Ling, but I found Lunarin‘s 2010 New Year’s Even post witty, irreverent and inspirational. All at once. Oh, and what I have come to rely on Adrian is his QC role, as per Lunarin’s band survival advice #3 🙂
Lunarin’s post doesn’t have a permalink, so I’m reposting it here. Don’t think they’ll mind but I’ll email them just to be sure. ~ Ivan [Update: permission granted!]
The end of 2010 vs the start of 2011: A Band’s Survival Guide
Posted on 31 December 2010
Dear Friends
Here we are, on the threshold of a new year.
Most of us would open our eyes on the 31st and decide that it’s time to begin things on a clean slate. Some of us may aspire to be better people, to do charity work, to be better tempered, to manage time better, to be more patient and giving… Yes we know the feeling – that growing optimism that for once the passing of time is not something to be loathed, but to be embraced. It is a time for change and make things new. You may decide, on your way out to the party, to send an emo text message to that ex girlfriend you have not spoken to for years, that ex co-worker who used to steal your biscuits, your boss (good luck)… There is goodwill. There is hope. There is a feeling that nothing is insurmountable.
Fast forward 24 hours later and we often find ourselves lying face down at the foot of a couch in a hotel suite, our mouths reeking with the stench of a dead rat, mothballs or a pro-P** ballot paper (or all three), hearing the snores of an unidentified male sleeping on the couch next to us with a half drunk beer can in his hands and the words “Happy New Year!” scribbled in magic marker on his chest.
It is often in those sobering moments, under the glare of the harsh reality of daylight as we pick ourselves up, that we will often say, “Screw those lofty new year resolutions. Given the way the year has started, I’ll settle with bettering my scores in Angry Birds.”
And so that is how it often is with the band.
What have we done this year?
We finished recording an album that almost killed us. We flew to Maine to get it mastered. We pressed and released it and made it available for sale. We played at Baybeats 2010. We had an album launch on 1 October 2010. We did an acoustic rendition of our songs with violins and cello.
“Was it worth it?” you say, with a glint in your eyes, daring us to say that we surpassed [censored] in terms of number of downloads for our single (we didn’t), that we broke new records in terms of local CD sales in Gramophone (we can’t verify this but more likely than not we didn’t), that our single Zero Point Red made top 10 on national radio (yes it did! – oh wait that was level 3 inception…)
(Well we did make it on the lists of our favourite radio deejays on Unpopular Radio:
Are we to shift our eyes to our feet and twiddle our thumbs in embarassment? Perhaps, 5 years ago, we would have done exactly that. But frankly now, at this age and after doing this for as long as we could, we don’t really give a damn. Our minds are instead focused on the next recording that we will be doing (acoustic B Sides) and the gigs we need to prep for in the new year (Mosaic Music Fest). Life is too short to fret over the things you can’t control. And yet…
2010 was a good year for us because of the people we have met, the support we have garnered and more. For those of you who got that little signed note in the Duae CD (yes all 3 of us signed each individual note) we mean every word in it and still do. We still can’t believe that people would buy the CD, download the music and come for our shows. Thank you thank you thank you. We still can’t thank you enough.
For those of you aspiring to form bands (or are already in bands) and are curious about the secrets of our longevity, you would be pleased to know that one golden rule in this band is that we NEVER celebrate New Year’s together. We used to, in the past, and it often led to tears being shed, angry words being traded, and a wastage of time money and space. And the truth is, we hardly (have never!) been inspired on New Years’ Eve to write songs anyway. Goodwill, Hope and Forgiveness are not quintessential Lunarin traits. But that’s just us.
But on a more serious note, and in light of the spirit of giving, we would like to share the following “rules” as a survival guide for all you would be rock stars out there:
1. Never lose that interest/curiosity/focus in life. Observe observe observe. Watch people. Learn. See. Feel. Be angry with something. Be moved by something. Inspiration is synonymous with life. You do not live alone by yourself. In Yoda-speak:”To be inspired, to live. You need.”
2. If you want to stay on for long in a band, forgive but never forget. Don’t bear grudges but remember the key moments when something didn’t work out, or when words were said that shouldn’t have been said, and don’t repeat that mistake. Darcy of the Smashing Pumpkins once said that forming a band is iike being married to 3 people you don’t even want to date (although hang on, wasn’t she and James Iha dating?). She’s right you know. And because of that, maintaining a connection in a band takes a lot of work. Deal with it intelligently.
3. Be honest with one another. If a riff sucks, say it. If the lyrics suck, say it. If the song is going nowhere from the second verse onwards, say it. You are one another’s QC officer. If you want to put out something you will be collectively proud of, you need to be honest with one another. Otherwise you are better off playing FIFA than writing music together.
4. During songwriting, don’t take yourself (and the music) too seriously. You are not going to change the world. You are not Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain or [insert idol/guitar god of your choice] You cannot contrive a song. A good song writes itself. You do not sit down and say, “Today I am going to write a song in the key of E and the first verse shall start with a monotone melody with lyrics touching on global warning and then it shall develop into a rousing chorus with hopeful lyrics and heavily syncopated drums and then I shall change the key of the song for the bridge and then write a guitar solo comprising of 16 notes before wrapping things up in a thunderous outro with shouting vocal melodies. Ok, now let’s start!” It just doesn’t work that way.
5. Be open to the fact that the “reward” comes in various forms and perhaps not what you intended it to be. For us, it was not about stellar record album sales. Rather, it was the forging of friendships (old and new) and the gratifying feeling of knowing your music has been busy making friends with other people (i.e. The Void). It is priceless. Really
So there you have it. Our little tiny present that you could take with you before you start sending text messages. And on that note we shall leave you with the music video of The Sky (Algiers) because it pretty much summed up the highlights of 2010 for us (and because our bassplayer made the video herself and wanted to show off)
Here’s wishing all of you a very Happy New Year, good health, peace and joy for the new year to come.
In that remix, I extracted part of the spoken audio from the 1975 NASA documentary, “Time of Apollo”. Then I decided to make a music video with the NASA documentary footage.
Like his apprentices, Kevin Mathews also sang several originals. Plus the familiar “One and only” (YouTube vid, here).
That was my first time hearing Kevin Mathews perform “live”. Let me tell you, that guy can SING.
And then Lunarin was up next.
They went acoustic, of sorts.
A cello, violin, keyboard, and acoustic guitars (and very briefly, an acoustic bass).
“We normally do not sit down when we play” ~ Linda Ong.
There’s something about classical strings in rock tunes. I later found out that Victor Ong (on cello) was Linda’s younger brother. Natalie was on violin (a friend of the band, I think).
Lunarin played this list. Yesterday’s show featured several unpublished songs.
At this point, let me just say that Kevin Mathews, Vanessa (and I’m sure Debra) were really, really good. They can hold their own easily.
But to me, Lunarin just had that something extra.
While the band went through their songs, I scanned around the crowd. Particularly those in the cafe area. The incidental listeners. It seemed to me several dropped what they were doing/ eating and were listening intently.
I bet they were wondering about the strangely melodic, classical yet modern sounding music.
At one point in the show, I felt as if the whole world was standing behind and around, listening in.
Hearing Lunarin yesterday gave me those muse-inspired goosebumps.
I chatted with Kevin Mathews after the show. The affable stalwart of the SG music scene said it was the first time he’d heard Lunarin play “unplugged”. And their rock melodies showed a different, and equally positive, side of the band. It showed the strength of their song writing, he told me.
I couldn’t agree more.
I have heard Lunarin ‘unplugged’ before. It was their last show for 2007, fortuitously held at the library@esplanade too. But this time there was something different about their acoustic set. I’m pretty sure the cello and the violin had a lot to do with the (what I consider) their new signature sound.
This time, I also thought there was a certain maturity in Lunarin’s songs. Their overall performance.
Next time Lunarin ever go acoustic, you should catch them.
“… Although she was not necessarily inspired to play traditional music, the musician themselves provided role models that very early on, influenced the choices and direction of her life. “No matter what they did on a side job–some of these people were counsellors, teachers, lawyers, medical doctors–these were all people who lived and breathed music. So, to me, it was a lifestyle thing and it wasn’t just looked at as a job or a thing that you did to make money, it was something that people did to feel good–and alive.”
Her voice and compositions reminded me of… a quiet evening, lying on a couch, scented candles in the background, the mind at ease.
The remixed track has been uploaded at my ccMixter page. Some ccMixter reviews/ comments that made my day:
“(Linda is) a lovely soaring singer and the song has a pretty lyric“ – Admiral Bob
“Slowly seething beauty with the piano keeping time…“ – Fireproof_Babies
[This one is my favourite!] “i think a lot of people miss the musical fusion magic happening in Singapore (and Budapest, too). for me the best new music comes from those two areas.“ – panu moon
Linda was the first to respond to the remix.
She saw it fit to post about it via her FB profile:
And that was probably how SG music “heavy weights” like Willy Tan and Patrick Chng dropped by:
It’s obvious to me that all this CC remixing stuff gives as much exposure to the band and the remixers. This is just a bonus though. The real fun is in the musical process.
I cannot quite play like Lunarin, nor get their sound. Remixing them gives me that little taste of being with my fav band, or dare I say “In” it. If just for a little while 🙂
You can listen to the original version of “The Sky (Algiers)” in this YouTube vid from Lunarin’s live concert on 1 Oct 2010.
[UPDATE: Lunarin has uploaded the original track, here]
In my remix, I’ve used Linda’s vocals and sampled a bit of the track’s piano, bass and clean guitar. A very long “How It Was Done” post, over at MyRightBrain.
And of course boys and girls, let’s not forget that the very cool Lunarin (Linda, Kah Wye, Eng Teck) made this remix possible.
WOOT! Just barely after they have cooled their heels after their sell-out concert, my fav SG rock trio, Lunarin, announced that The Sky (Algiers) from Duae (2010), is available for remixing under a BY-NC-SA license.
From their post:
Dear Friends
Even before Duae was released, our friend Ivan suggested that we make one of the songs available for free download for remixing. We thought this was an excellent idea. The only question then was which song to make available for remixing.
Shortly after the album was released, we conducted a poll to ask people which was their favourite track off “Duae”. Interestingly enough, there was an overwhelming response in favour of The Sky (Algiers). We therefore decided to make The Sky (Algiers) available for free download for some of you peeps to take a shot at remixing it.
The file is available in Garage Band format and released under a Creative Commons License:
We would love for you to spend some time with this little song of ours and give it your own interpretation. Feel free to spread the link to your friends and disseminate it on your websites and blogs. Last but not least, we would love to hear the end product of what you’ve done. You can email us at lunarintheoracle@gmail.com .We would love to hear from you!
With everlasting love
/.D./
[No permalink at their website though; see the CC-SG blog post instead].
Ah yes, I’ll shamelessly admit here that I’m that Ivan who dropped them the suggestion (I’m the community manager for Creative Commons Singapore, btw).
I knew they were supportive towards Creative Commons, since I heard them speak at this library event. But I wasn’t sure they would be open towards releasing one of their track.
Starfish Stories :: The Band 
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