HotWave Landy热浪

Category: Music
Genre: Pop
Artist: Landy 温岚


Since her last album, the greatest hit collection, it's been almost 2 years. I'm still dulging into her old songs like "Blue Rain蓝色雨", "Back to Love爱回温".... and also one of everyone's favourites (Tat day karaoke with the starceleb contestants)"祝我生日快乐". Her ballads is always my favourite all the while.

Joining the new record label, SEED Music, Landy releasing her 1st solo studio album in 3 years, HotWave热浪. I don't like this album much on the first fews listens, however, it sounds like a very commercial cheesy album, but it stills carries a very strong Landy's element--the classic listen. This album manages to match up to her previous work, if not better. Can't comparable to Elva, Jolin or Yanzi, her works is more timeless classic than mainstream pop market. Anyhow, it's a pop album.

Spinning off first with the hot on topic-"hot erotic naked man" MV of hotwave热浪,a 80's-electro-pop disco track, to goes with the VOGUE dance moves of the 80's, to create a new trendsetting in pop world. Follows by the must-have track, ballad-"fool傻瓜". written by Kenji Wu, who now wrote much of the hits ballad songs under the same label, e.g.valen hsu's hao teng(good listen) This also becomes another big wave of karaoke hits.

Landy always poses a very good two sides of her, slow and uptempo beats, which in this album she balances it very well. Too bad it gets too predictable. Not much of surpise. Ballads like Pocket口袋 and Brotherhood同手同腳 both very high possibility become another karaoke hits too, and to the surprise, Landy had written the lyrics not just these 2 songs, another 4 as well. Uptempo tracks like Sevilla塞爾維亞舞曲, A happy symbol開心符號, and the one produce by the Invisible Man. (Hanjin)Blower喇叭嘴, a very crunk & B influence.

Surprise track would be The Flower Thief採花賊,the china folklore tune, and OS OS不一樣, a new trend of duet with TOTEM圖騰樂團 about love relationship. Why love always hot before you have your hands on? And cools down when you had it?

Landy had been well known to her record company as a slow producing artist, and it seems it's getting longer by albums. I would say, however, a worth of wait.

Review: My Cup Of Tea

Category: Music
Genre: Pop
Artist: Hacken Lee

After the 2 hugely success of the "Concert Hall I & II" albums, which had crowned him the 2 years in a row of best selling artist in Hong Kong region 2005 & 2006, he had return with a loud bang of this new album of 2007, My Cup Of Tea.

The first single "Will the flowers still falls"花落誰家, written to go with the Earth Day theme, hoping to awakes us to take care our earth. It solves his fans hunger for Hacken's new song, but didn't manages to create much of buzz in the charts. A regular ballads melody but very meaningful lyrics. The loud splashs comes from the 2nd single, "Time of an Era"歲月風雲 the theme song of the TVB this year biggest drama series, by the same name. A crossover of of mandarin and cantonese duet with 周傳雄 reassemble the meaning of the tv series, a cooperation betweeen the hong kong and china tv station to mark the 10th anniversary of reunion of Hong Kong district to mainladn China.

Having a group of remarkable musician behind the album's production team had become a signature in Hacken's album. This time he intro us to the new raising star of violinist David Garrett. He soon making a headlines in comtempory music scene in asia. Watch out people...Maksim are no longer in trend. Haha.. David Garrett's appearance gives the song "紙婚paper wedding" a very classical touch. this track proves that this album is not a regular Hacken Lee albums, but also up to standard and with a very classy, french-up, cafe-rized mood.

To celebrate the involvement of these great musicians from the retired 顧嘉煇, Eric Kwok, Hong Kong Sinfonietta香港小交響樂團、馮翰銘(piano)、 蘇德華(guitar)、Anna Kwan(violin)、Mathew Wu(flute)、李嘉齡....etc The bonus DVD comes with 3 music videos, and a mix of different versions of the songs using different intrsutments as a choice to listener to choose. A new approach that been made.

Review: Smile Again

Category: Music
Genre: Pop
Artist: Baek Ji young

Baek Ji Young-Smile Again
You won't knows who she is unless u are very busybody or a very muck a korean pop follower. She is nothing special, but a a overnight diva, she step into the scene with a huge bang with her latin influcenced dance beats debut single, "choice". After releasing 2 successful albums, her career take a bigger turn that no one could imagine. A porn tape, between her and her former manager, is leaked out, cuasing her career on the end of cliff. She stood proudly in the music industry waiting for the big break to arrive to her. This album "Simle Again" release in March of 2006, made her No 1, in charts.

The first single, "사랑 안해" (I Won't Love), the first single released, a ballad, which lift her to the top once again, to reclaim the dance diva throne. Very appealing track, I was bewitched by this opening track the moment i listen to it. Sad, sorrow ballads, always have a room in my heart.

The follow up track, "Ez Do Dance", also the second single plugged, a sexy latin track is what she did best. The rest are an usual numbers of korean pop. RnB swings, Latin, ballads, are the main components. It's been a long time I had come across a forgien record like this one. This album also won her the best performcance ballad singer of 2006.

Review:Mood Of Poet, Meaning of painting詩情,畫意

Category: Music
Genre: Pop
Artist: IVANA王菀之

"Ivana is very beautiful-melody, voice, feels, heart, keep these beautiful"
A thank-you note from the sleeves of the album, to be known written by her mom, a musician in your her youth, and a father who plays classical music. Since being found by Jacky Cheung and written one of his hit song "I'm really hurt" back in 2001, she managed to released 2 albums. Without a beautiful face to lure the fans, but with her voice and her songwriting ability, it manages to carries her to this third album. Her birdie icon, and the artwork cover had become a trademark for all her album. It's not something new, but it's creative too. This album comes in a painting hang ups, which drawn by Jeana Sohn from USA.

All songs (as usual) are written by Ivana herself, with lyrics half by Lin Xe(the famous lyricist) and her herself, addding a new producer, THE INVINCIBLE MAN, to team up to create the mood of poet and beautiful songs. It did managed to keep up to the standard of her previous two album.

This album is suits to listen as whole. The refreshing sounds, makes her to be differ from the other current cantopop artist, as it carries a very strong of her character with a dare to try different music style.

From the first plugged single, "Poet's Mood詩情" a drink advert song, is a rare cheerful and cute song from Ivana. It's up lifting which suits her voice and carries it well, lyric are very easy-listening too. Second theme song "Paint means"畫意 , an usual trademark ballad of her that showcase her voice, with a deep meaning of an artist's life, the conflicts they faces in producing whether to goes on their own wills, or the commercial market. Ivana had balance this very well. The power of the song to touch others not only comes from the lyric alone, as well the melody. Songs like, "(Paris have no)Ferries wheel" (巴黎沒有) 摩天輪's romantic, "happiness"幸福's a typical pop song, "wanting to love but not想愛不相愛",a cantonese theme song written for the japanese movie (a litre of tears) also worth of listening.

Take note, there's a hidden track too.