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.

Starmania

If you’ve read my old posts on this blog, you already know that I’m a huge fan of musicals, especially the French ones. Today I’m going to introduce you to one of them, as I promised not so long ago.

Starmania is a cyberpunk rock opera and its official theatrical premiere was in 1979. Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon are responsible for the phenomenal music and lyrics, that are remembered to this day. The proof of that is not only the fact that it is still played in various places, but as far as I know, there are also plans to make it a full, 3D movie.

So what’s the plot, you may ask?

Imagine that Occident is no longer divided into separate countries, but is united into one entity. Its capital, called Monopolis, is a city of everyone’s dreams, dreams of becoming a star. In the run-up to the presidental election, Monopolis is terrorized by the Black Stars, a gang leaded by Johnny Rockfort along with Sadia, a cross-dressed woman, who was originally born in the upper-class. They plan their attacks in the Underground Cafe right before the eyes of a waitress, Marie-Jeanne, who is wishing for a better life. Above this Underground Cafe rises the golden tower of billionaire and former military Zero Janvier. The latter announces his candidacy for the presidential election and defends the  model of a police state. His campaign is based on racism, liberal economy and anti-ecological conception: the "new atomic world". In the meantime, Sadia decides to contact Crystal, who is the host of a show called Starmania, with an offer one cannot just refuse: an exclusive interview with Johnny Rockfort.  And that’s just the beginning of a disaster.

It may sound a little complicated, because a lot of things is happening at once, and the plot gets more and more intense with time as the new characters appear, but it really pulls you in, and the music compliments the story so well, it makes the experience more wholesome, satisyfing and more powerful in transmitting the message, which by the way is very up-to-date : the world is threatened by terrorism and dictatorship, two forces that have the power to destroy the peace once and for all. It was portrayed perfectly by the main characters, who are lost, who are longing to love and be loved, who don’t know what to do with their lives, so they question the meaning of life in despair; the existential turmoil is clear and enhanced by media manipulation.

Interesting fact : There’s also an English version of this musical, it’s called Tycoon, and had its debut on stage in 1996. The lyrics were rewritten  by Tom Rice, who I reckon did a great job at adapting Starmania. What really surprised me though was that it starred Celine Dion, Cyndi Lauper and Tom Jones in the studio version. I also found a live performance where Celine Dion sung one of the songs from this musical, in French, in a duet with Bruno Pelletier, it’s so unbelievably epic I need to share it with you.

S.O.S d’un terrien en detresse – a song which all of you must know by now, and I hope are not bored of – properly depicts these feelings of loneliness, loss and uncertitude, and think it’s a good summarize of this whole musical. Thus one more time, I encourage you to listen to the original version, sung by Daniel Belavoine and also the English version Only the very best, performed by Peter Kingsbery, the lyrics of which are changed drastically, but I think the main idea stays there intact. It’s good to have many performances to choose from, don’t you think?

Tom Odell

I’ve been meaning to write about him for so long, so I thought no more delay, today is The Day.

Tom Odell is a British singer, songwriter and composer, officialy releasing music since around 2012, when he got signed to Columbia Records.

I’ve discovered him about three years ago on youtube and instantly fell in love with his authenticity, sensibility and his commendable modesty. More often that not he’s just sitting behind the piano, playing and singing to his heart content. Normally, there are also back up vocalists, or other instrumentalists as well, but it’s not obnoxious, if you know what I mean?

Not that I don’t appreciate and like special effects and all that commotion with dancers, props and so on; but that’s simply not what you expect when you go to Tom’s concert, and it’s completely fine. Simplicity wins me over.

Tom composes and writes his own music since he was a teenager. Although he wasn’t very confident at stage at first (he was especially self-conscious about his singing),but through trials and mistakes he gained experience in this area, and what I can say? He just has this certain energy flow when he performs and charisma that draws you in, like a moth to light.

Two years ago, when he was touring in Europe after realising his second album « Wrong Crowd » I had the absolute pleasure to hear him live in Poznań. It was a very magical and emotional night for me, and I think for him as well, since it was his 25th birthday. Of course we sang him Happy Birthday and prepared a special present for him to celebrate it : it consisted mainly of letters, fanarts, poem books and food. What’s more, throughout the whole concert we agreed on using special banners or light our phones up at the right moment.

Needless to say, Tom was very thankful and grateful, he’s just very attentive to his audience and vice versa and I think that’s how it’s supposed to be like between fans and their favourite artist – this sort of mutual respect and understanding.

Interesting fact : His third full album called « Jubilee Road » will be released on 26th october 2018. On his upcoming tour he’s also going to perform in Poland next year : on 25th January in Krakow and on 26th January in Warsaw. The tickets are still available, so if you’re interested, you can purchase them and see for yourself what kind of artist he is. :) Here’s a little snippet from his new album to encourage you to do so:

Bruno Pelletier

Do you remember my post about Damien Sargue? Well, I discovered Bruno Pelletier practically at the same time in high school, through a musical I think everyone at least heard about : Notre Dame de Paris. Bruno plays there as Gringoire, a poet, who falls under Esmeralda’s spell. I think one of the reasons I love musicals so much is that it is made and performed by actors, who make it believable, magical, emotional, who are truly passionate about what they do no matter how many times they have sung the same song already. And I believe Bruno depicts that perfectly. His vocal skills are truly exquisite, he shines in this musical with his rich and powerful voice, maybe that’s why he’s mostly linked to it, but I mean, there’s so much more to him, to his incredible talent, also in composing. I don’t think he’s getting enough credit for that, and that’s a shame.

He’s an experienced musical theatre artist and singer and a wonderful interpreter with a considerably huge discography (13 full albums!). The last of which ‘Soirée Intime au Théâtre Petit Champlain’ was released in 2018, and it’s a live album, from a concert where he sung a wide repertoire of songs from all his musical career, like « Le temps des Cathédrales », « Berce-moi » or « Règne ». It’s really amazing and I like the idea of an intimate concert, it’s cozy and warm like a blanket, but so so emotional nonetheless. It leaves you space to really appreciate the music.

Interesting fact : Before Bruno Pelletier played in Notre Dame de Paris, he became popular thanks to Starmania, a cyberpunk rock opera, which btw is one of the most famous operas in French history! (I might make a post about this opera in the future, just a small announcement :) One of the songs that’s been executed in there is S.O.S. d'un terrien en détresse. Sounds familiar? That’s the exact song, which Dimash interpreted in I am a Singer 2017 in China. You can compare it to Pelletier’s version if you want :

Dimash Kudaibergen

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! It’s been a while since I have written something in here, but I’m planning to change that and (hopefully) encourage you to listen to some amazing artists you may not have heard about before.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Dinmukhamed Kanatuly Kudaibergen, also known as Dimash.

I found him by chance on youtube (serendipity, y’all). There was this video : „The best voice in the world” or something like that, and I thought it’s just  a clickbait, because how many times have you seen a title like that? A lot, right? So I just smiled to myself thinking that someone is being uncreative but decided to watch it anyway, since I like listening to new stuff. But then I listened and the more I listened the more shocked I was. No, it was more than that, I was speechless, completely and utterly flabbergasted. Just listen :

So to give you a context : it’s a prestigious Chinese music show for professional singers from all over the world. It’s called I am a Singer, and Dimash was invited to participate in the fifth season in 2017. He has never been to China before, he doesn’t speak Chinese, but it was a huge opportunity to him, so he decided to fly over there from Kazakhstan (that’s where he comes from). He stole the hearts of everyone (including mine) with his very first performance, when he sang a French song called « SOS, d’un terrien en détresse »:

Interesting fact: Dimash is known for singing in different languages. In one of the episodes of I am a Singer he performed a Chinese version of Autumn Song. It was his first time singing in Chinese, but according to Chinese audience his prononciation was nearly perfect. This song later on also earned him a 'Favorite male singer' award (an award that could be compared to the Grammy Award) at the Chinese Golden Melody Festival!

It’s almost ridiculous how wondrous his voice is. Apparently he has 6 octaves (though he doesn’t care about this aspect himself), but what makes his voice truly distinguable is his timbre, he can easily switch between registers and notes, it’s like there’s a few people singing with one voice only. Although opera singing is not a hardship for him, because he’s been trained classically since he was 5 years old, he doesn’t want to sing in one particular style, but incorporate different sounds to contemporary music  as well as various instruments. As far as I know Dimash can play the dombra (a traditional Kazakh instrument), the piano, the guitar and the drums and he’s only 24 years old!

In my books, that makes him a prodigy. But you know what I admire about him the most? The fact that he’s very down to earth, very thankful, humble and hardworking. He’s not singing for fame, money or narcisstic reasons. He’s singing because he loves music, he was born to sing, he’s THE VOICE. And he’s not taking it for granted, he works on it, always improving and searching ways to make his performances more enjoyable. But I mean, I like him as he is. He’s an emotional artist and that’s that. He has a huge worldwide fanbase already (Official Polish Fanclub included!)who supports him and loves him any way possible. I think I’ve never been more proud to be a fan of someone and I hope his talent will get more recognised in the future. 

Here you have his official channel on youtube.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on him, are you also Dimashified? J