LP

Hello guys!

LP performed yesterday in Polish morning show on TVN (DD TVN – Good Morning TVN) with her new song. I’ve also heard today Girls Go Wild on the radio, so I call it a sign to write about LP, since I wanted to write about her at some point anyway.

I think she gained so much popularity these last few years that she doesn’t need much introduction, does she?

Maybe some of you already know that but LP is an acronym derived from her name and surname : Laura Pergolizzi. She has Italian roots, her grandparents come from Naples and Palermo. Since she turned 15 years old, and after her mother’s death she decided to immerse herself completely in music and later on try her luck in the musical industry.

Unfortunetely her first three albums, although critically acclaimed, didn’t bring her much recognition and success. Personally, I think it’s due to bad marketing, because they are quite good! That and maybe the fact they don’t really fall into mainstream music, not the way her new songs seem to. It’s been 17 years since the release of her debut album, her music style changed a lot, it’s true. She started out as a wild, bad-ass rockstar, then sort of slowly transitioned into pop and indie music. In the meantime she co-wrote many songs for such artists as Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Rita Ora, Cher and many others.

Interesting fact :

She can play the harmonica, the guitar and the ukulele – the last of which kind of became her signature instrument. Most of her new songs has ukulele sound embedded into it as well as her whistles!

The breaking point for LP was when she released Lost on you in 2016. Still to this day, it’s her most watched video on youtube with 172 millions of views. And I mean, no wonder, it’s such a great song, it made me a fan of hers in an instant. LP is to put is simply musically gifted, she has not only a very powerful voice (her operatic vibrato gives me goosebumps!), but her writing and composing skills are excellent too. I think these years are her BEST yet, all her new stuff is incredibly catchy, she’s a mood and trend setter! Also don’t get me started on her stage presence, I mean, her stance is so cool, she’s basically oozing with self confidence and I think that’s what really attracts people to her and her music in general, me included.

Last but not least, small announcement guys! LP is about to release a new album called Heart to Mouth on December 7, 2018. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to hear it! Any LP fans in here? 

MIKA

Although he’s a quite well-known artist, I think he’s a bit underrated. You might have already heard some songs of his, like Grace Kelly or Relax, take it easy. They’ve become worldwide hits quite fast, I still remember it vividly, I was in a primary school at the time and every other phone ringtone was Mika’s song.

Interesting fact : Mika was born in Beirut, and his roots are Lebanese. Since he was a little child he was moving a lot with his parents, but he lived most of his life in the UK. Little does anybody know that he’s a poliglot! He can speak fluently English, French, Italian, Spanish and a little bit Arabic and Mandarin.

Mika (or rather Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr.) has about three and half/four octaves. He’s been classicaly trained since he turned 10 years old, by a professional Russian opera singer. His phenomenal control over his voice and vibrato is a good proof of  that. Mika can easily sing in low as well as in high register and his timbre is very distinctive from other voices in the music industry. If you recall for instance the chorus of Grace Kelly, you’ll know what I mean. This way of expression was and still is very innovative and impressive.

I absolutely adore his way of singing, how confident he is on the stage, his charisma is out of this world! He truly enjoys performing and it’s as clear as day that he’s not faking emotions while singing. He’s a nuclear bomb in fast, funky and dance songs and an emotional story-teller when it comes to ballads. I think it’s essential for a vocalist to have this kind of depth and urge to express their feelings through their voice, to be a soul exhibitionist, as weird as it may sound. And I think Mika is a good example of such artist.

To tell the truth, I’ve only really started to listen to his music when I become hooked on the French edition of The Voice : la plus belle voix. He’s one of the judges in there since 2014, so for 5 seasons in total for the time being, but it is already confirmed that he’s also going to participate in the next season in 2019. For a long time, The Voice : la plus belle voix was my favourite singing competition and I believe it’s the best edition of The Voice including The Voice US, UK, Poland etc., at least in my opinion. Why is that? Because it never ceases to surprise me one way or the other. Each episode is not only exceptionally pleasing in terms of music, songs choices and arrangements, but the ambiance all in all is why it’s worth it to give it a try. The contestants are also very creative too and from the get-go! There are very few blind auditions from other countries which are as striking or as thrilling. Besides, I really like the judges and their banter, they make a great team of their own. And thanks to this show I’ve realised that Mika has another trait I didn’t know about : he’s a good teacher! He’s so enthusiastic when he explains and gives tips and advices, how one can improve his/her voice or performance, the ways to interpretate the song, how to go about on the stage. He’s painfully honest when he has to but his criticism is constructive and argumentative and he’s just sharing his experience with newbies or wannabe singers, he makes them come out of their shells, which I find admirable and make me like him even more. And to top it all he’s a really funny guy!

I wrote that The Voice : la plus belle voix was my favourite singing competition, because I like I am a singer better now, which I already talked to you a bit about in my post about Dimash (stay tuned, I’m preparing a special post about this show!)

For now, I recommend you to listen to the live version of Grace Kelly in an exquisite arrangement with Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Simon Leclerc.

Guitar solos

I thought it’d be interesting to make a post about one of my favourite instruments in the world : the guitar!Although I’m not going to bombard you with technicalities because it’s an enourmous topic which may bore you if you’re not playing it, so if you’re really curious you can make a reasearch on your own, because that’s not what I want to focus on today.

I assume all of you know what guitar looks like and that it’s a string instrument which varies in three main types : acoustic, classical and electric.

I’m playing acoustic/classical guitar since I turned 11 years old. Initially, I’ve been taking guitar classes at my school, about 2 hours a week, but since I’ve graduated my primary school I’ve been practising all by myself, mainly through videos on youtube, or posts on blogs or forums.

If you want to start playing on the guitar, my advice is that in the beginning you need to have someone to teach you basic chords, how to tune your instrument and replace broken strings. Whether someone shows you that in person, or online I think it’s important, because not only you’re not wasting time on figuring it out yourself, you can progress more quickly and efficiently and move on to more advanced stuff. All in all, I think the guitar doesn’t require much money when you’re starting out, it’s relatively cheap (300zł> for classical guitar, +other expenses like guitar case) and  most of all, it’s an instrument that it’s quite easy to learn to play on, even on your own. Personally, I’m not a very advanced player, I’ve been playing on and off on it since I started, but my goal wasn’t to play professionally, but for the pure joy of playing, creating, jamming and making covers. I’d also love to learn playing on electric guitar in the future, I’ve already played a couple of times on my friend’s guitar and the feeling is definitely one of a kind.

For today’s post, I figured, why not making a list of my favourite guitar solos and share it here with you with some additional commentary? I’ll narrow it down to japanese rock music, because I feel like I’ve neglected it a bit and I’d love to introduce you to some of the amazing bands that at some point were inherent part of my life. It’s extremely difficult to choose, but well, here goes nothing!

X Japan

Do I even need to say anything? I’ve already written about them in here. Hide (the guy with pink hair) is my number one guitarist and a huge musical inspiration. Guitar solos : 5:57-7:05, 8:00-8:35, 9:58-13:00

Deluhi

Sadly, they disbanded in 2011 after only 3 years of playing together. Amazing sound and distinctive style, not the mention the unbelievable musical skills of each member. About a week ago they announced that they’re going to release a 10th anniversary album at the end of the year and held a special, one-time reunion concert in BLITZ Akasaka on 12 April 2019. Guitar solos : 0:55-1:18, 3:30-4:15, 5:17-5:53

Versailles

They’ve been in Poland a couple of times, amazing band! Their music concept is "the absolute youshikibi (beauty of form) sound and extremes of aestheticism". Faith&Decision is one of the most polished rock songs I’ve ever heard. Guitar solos : 1:33-3:14, 3:30-4:25, 5:17-6:50, 9:18-9:30, 12:13-12:50, 15:05-15:48

Galneryus

In this particular song symphonic orchestra music meets power metal. This sort of combination is so powerful and beautiful to me, I literally feel like it pierces my soul. Galneryus is a top-notch band! This song is deeply inspired by Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op 35. Guitar solos (by the one and only Syu!): 2:27-3:13, 4:37-5:50, 6:14-6:43, 8:04-9:28, 12:40-13:24

Luna Sea

A legendary band formed in the late 80’s, very popular in Japan. Sugizo and INORAN are well-known and very skillful guitarists. Guitar solo: 2:00-2:53

L'arc en ciel

One of the biggest bands in Japan. I have a soft spot for them in my heart, it’s actually the first japanese band I’ve listened to and fell in love with. Guitar solo : 3:30-4:04

Dir en grey

They had a concert in Warsaw about a month ago, they very often include Poland in their World Tour Concerts, so it’s worth it to follow their schedule. It’s one of those bands that leave a huge impression on you. Poetic lyrics, unique sound and very charismatic, controversial and emotional vocalist. And good guitar solos! Guitar solo : 3:00-4:00

Do you have any favourite guitar solos? If yes, please share it with me in the comments, I’d love to hear it.

Sleeping at last

I’m really jealous of you guys, because I’m going to introduce you to someone truly special and I know I say it a lot, but this time, it’s a big deal okay? I’d gladly lose my memories of this band, just to get to fall in love with their music all over again. I said band though it’s not really the truth. Ok, let me just clear this out : Sleeping at last started out as a band in 1999. It consisted of 3 musicians back then : Ryan O’Neal, Chad O’Neal and Dan Perdue. They released 4 albums together, then two of the members left, and since about 2011, Ryan O’Neal was the only one left. He pursued to write new music under the name of the band, though it’s more of a musical solo project now.

Basically, Ryan is in charge of everything seeing that he’s also a multi-instrumentalist, though he very often collaborates with various musicians and instrumentalists. He’s not only self producing but also writing lyrics, composing and singing. Don’t ask me how he does it, because I’m wondering myself, but he seems to handle it quite well, I mean he’s been doing that for some time already and he’s releasing new stuff now and then, just like a regular band would do. However, now that I think about it, he’s rarely touring and having live concerts, so that must be the answer. Though I’m not complaining, quite the contrary! I’m amazed, always.

His creativity is just out of this world and is contagious as well. Listening to his music is like drinking a magical potion stimulating the right hemisphere. It also has a healing effect on me, so he’s the number one for me in that aspect as well. And don’t get me started on his song-writing skills, he’s equally putting as much effort into lyrics as into music itself, and the final effect very often  leaves me breathless, emotional and dazed.

Interesting fact : What’s also worth mentioning is that he’s making podcasts about the whole process behind his music, and I absolutely adore them. Before that he was also making long post about it on the official site (it’s easy to navigate and the aesthetics is so lovely) – just look for a tag How it was made to find his older posts. Not only they put some light on parts I wouldn’t normally pay attention to, but he’s explaining step by step his thought process, why he wrote it the way he did, how did he choose instruments for it, where did the general idea come from and many more. Here you can listen to it yourself through this link (just select one of the options).

Let me shortly describe you some of his big projects :

1. Yearbook – consists of 36 songs in total, which were released regularly throughout the span of a whole year, 3 songs per month.

2.Many Beautiful Things – an original motion picture soundtrack; it’s a documentary about the life and art of watercolorist, Lilias Trotter. Here’s the trailer : 

3.Atlas : Year One – that’s absolutely one of my favourite albums ever! It consists of 30 songs, but they are divided into 6 thematic EPs : Darkness, Light, Space I, Space II, Land & Oceans. If you ever wondered how the whole solar system may sound like, then here you go. 

4. Atlas : Year Two  – it’s an ongoing project, which is a sort of continuation of the other album, but it mainly focuses on Human Life instead of the whole universe. It has 5 themes : Life, Senses, Emotions, Intelligence and Enneagram.

If you don’t know what Enneagram is, it is a model which focuses on human psyche.  It’s divided into 9 basic personality types which are more or less connected to each other. It is said that each person has one personality type throughout his/her whole life, with possible influences from other types, which are called wings.

And what Ryan attempts is to represent as accurately as possible all the personality types, with all their characteristics, strengths, insecurities and hopes. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job with it! What’s more, each Enneagram song has various sounds weaved into it. Ryan calls it fingerprints, these short sounds are recorded by his friends and family who represent certain type of personality.

He’s done it before in other songs too, I think it’s a wonderful idea and makes the whole experience of listening to it even more significant and special.