Lonely Afternoon

bevlyn April 22nd, 2008

I went down to Sembawang Music’s HQ yesterday morning to deliver 100pcs of CDs. Yes 1 huge box, heavy until ~~…

But Colin (person-in-charge) was very very nice and supportive.
Sembawang Music is really cool because it gives people the ‘home’ feel,
and it lives up to its ‘feel’ - Colin said that SM (oh dear, not very
nice acronym) would help local artistes out whenever possible, so album
sales by consignment at their shops is not a big problem (I don’t speak
for them, or all local albums though, just saying they’re usually cool
with extending help to promote local music).

So, please spread the word…the outlets are located here.

bevlyn April 18th, 2008

Ok here goes my first post regarding making of my album. Let’s talk about song choices.

The idea of doing an album splashed onto my head in Dec 2006, but
choosing the songs, believe it or not, was such an arduous and
head-breaking process that it lasted right up to March 07 when I had to
finally go into studio - I was still trying to finish up the lyrics of “When I’m 80” then. And the first song that went for recording was, also in March.:)

Concern #1: With such tight budget that allowed
only 5-6 songs, I was really nit-picking when it came to song-choosing.
Would this song represent Bevlyn? Would this song be commercial, just
enough, to attract the mass’ attention?

I think it is a very delicate balance when you were to weigh between
commercialism and self-expression. Honestly, even though I have my
moments of wanting a song to be in a particular fashion and style just
because I LIKE, I will not spend a couple of
thousands on a song unless I am at least fairly confident of a small
group of people who might possibly be as mad as me. Take for instance, Play with me.
This is such a dark and personal song, I didn’t know if people would
find it a weird one sticking out from the rest, or worse, a regularly
skipped-over song when people play down the list. I decided to take a
gamble, and luckily for me, the feedback I’ve been gathering is that Play with me
is one of the songs they take to the most in the whole album. So…it’s
really a gamble (I am counting my blessings I stop-short at Play with me
and didn’t put more over-the-top Bevlyn-indulgent songs). You just have
to trust your instincts, or …yah, be mentally prepared to waste money.

Concern #2: Should I have an all-English or all-Mandarin album of songs? Most people I’ve come across advised me to do a pure one,
and I don’t blame them. I understand that the market doesn’t have much
time and attention for someone whose identity is not strong (R&B
dudes like Gary Cao Ge or Fang Da Tong; or Ballad queens like Joi Chua
or Liang Jing Ru; or Rock-infused bands like FIR or 信乐团; or Jazz
personas like Olivia or Lisa Ono), and there may even exist the problem
of where to place my album in a record store when it’s out - does it
lay under the Chinese or English or Jazz section? (Just for the record
- I eventually chose to have songs of 3 languages because it’s supposed
to be a portfolio for what I can do beyond a singer-songwriter (yes I’m
using this as an excuse so I can explain my indulgence in a nice way),
and I don’t have the problem of where to place my album in the record
store because they’re simply at the new albums section, voila!)

The reason why I was facing so much internal conflicts (after
hearing so much from the external), is because all of the above are really just common sense. So which piece of common sense should I choose to accept if two are conflicting? Therefore, perhaps the most sensible thing I can hence say is: Believe in yourself and just go for it.

Because I think…when you lay something out there – anything -
there’s bound to be like and dislike from people who come across it.
Talk and opinion will always exist. What’s most important is your core, your own decision after you’ve weighed your likes, analysis of market sensitivity and objectives of doing this album.

So choose only songs that can speak for you without you opening your mouth.

This is especially so, if you are the one footing the bill - You must feel shiok.

bevlyn April 4th, 2008

Play With Me, originally uploaded by bevlynkhoo.

It is 3.53am and I am still working! I’m
so tired now I really feel like sleeping through Friday. But I’ve an
appointment with NUS tmr..zzzz…

While printing some stuff..let me blog a bit…

I think I want to mention some stuff here:

1. I welcome all DIY singers to contact me, or potential DIY singers
   to contact me to ask about my experience. I really think we ought to be
   more united, and perhaps even come up with a movement within Singapore.
2. I am not managed by Music and Movement; I am managed by myself.
3. I can speak both Mandarin and English fluently; I don’t blog in
   Mandarin here because I am still unaware of how to make wordpress
   support Mandarin characters *sob*. So yes, you can speak Mandarin to me
   if you want to.

I’m so excited to finally post a picture I took using my handphone,
a scene of what I was seeing while my songs were being burnt into the
master copy. OMG trust me I could hardly breathe during that process. I
will post more entries on the technical aspects of DIY-ing my album,
and a music review published in the Nanyang Chronicle, very soon (after
I get some decent rest).

Bonne nuit!

I was invited by My Paper
to submit another article after the one that was published on 5 Mar…the
deadline was 31 Mar and yes, of course I submitted my ‘draft’ on 31
Mar. To my utter surprise, Esther emailed me at 8.55pm on 1 Apr and
told me that they’re taking the ‘draft’ and it would be out the next
day i.e. today.

I was like “WHAT!”

It was already 2am when I read her email (after 1003fm). I didn’t even have a chance to contact her lol.

Err..it was only a draft…..

Honestly I can’t work in the news; it’s too much for my heart. I almost thought it might be an April fool’s joke.

Download here.

Btw, my initial title for this article is “Fear? Just paint”.

Will post my original article (pre length-edit) later on..

Edit: To all who have emailed me or left comments for me here, thank you so much for dropping a note. Here is the original:

BTW � Fear? Just paint.

After
sending my father off at the airport just the other night, my mum and
some relatives decided to grab some food and drinks. I did not know the
way to the café then, and it had seemed to be such a long walk.
Strangely, I gained a new perspective out of it.

The journey always feels longer when you are travelling towards a
destination using a path you have never taken before. All the
unfamiliar scenery that passes you by will make you look at them,
perhaps a split second more. You will absorb as much as possible
whatever that comes your way because you’re wary of danger, of getting
lost, or simply the fear of what lies ahead.

However,
when you reach the destination, and decide to go back to where you came
from, the journey seems shorter, and you may not even pay as much
attention to the scenery which you had witnessed earlier. This time
round, you may only pay attention to the few landmarks or eye-catching
things you had remembered to lead you back.

Life is such, isn’t it?

At
times it seems so difficult to move forward because we are simply so
scared of what lies ahead. The journey to the unknown is often so much
more difficult than a simple act of reflection.

Each
time we put in our sweat working it out for what seems like endless
days and nights to conquer major exams like ‘A’ or ‘O’ levels or
tertiary exams, we only remember a few scenes of mugging at the library
or study places, and maybe a tiny weeny bit of hardship upon reflection.

We
are all so used to having the government set the paths for us (PSLE,
‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, and the stipulated exams in Polytechnics or
Universities), some of us may feel lost when suddenly we have full
control of what we can do with our lives. When there are no more goals
set by others to reach, some of us lose sight of what we want because
we were simply not trained to think about what we really like to pursue
in life.

Isn’t
it such a wonderful thing to be able to think, choose, and plan (unlike
animals or plants in this living Earth)? So why not indulge in this
privilege?

We
can choose to use black/red/blue/yellow/neon green etc crayons to paint
our canvas of life with circles, dots, stripes, patterns or other
unique designs to call our own. We are the ones holding the crayon, and
we can have colourful lives if we choose to. We know it cannot be with
the use of a pencil because actions are not erasable, but that is where
it is interesting.

The
whole picture is colourful just because you have used many different
types of colours - even black (which initially might have been a
mistake) could bring out the best of the other colours in the whole
picture. We all know the marks left behind by an erased pencil trace
are ugly, so don’t adopt the pencil attitude. Don’t leave an eraser for
‘what if’. If you like something, believe in it, choose it, plan for
it, do it and make your portrait colourful.

Many
years from now, when we have flashbacks on our lives, hopefully we will
see streams and streaks of exciting colours to call our own.

In 2 weeks’ time, I’ll be in Hong Kong for my holiday! Yeah! I need a holiday sooooo badly.

All thanks to Blue Butterfly, I get to know about this Hong Kong indie singer, aniDa, who is also the boss of Mackie Bookstore, a very cosy bookstore which sells all sorts of fantastic books and indie CDs,  and newly setup kitchen Mackie Kitchen which not only sells daily-planned saliva-inducing food but also allows live acoustic shows, and I’m gonna be performing there! Woohooooooo!

I’m happy that Tien-yao will also be going along with me. Honestly
just being around him gives me the ‘high’ because he is simply so
positive. It’s like…anything in the world is possible to conquer. Yes,
he’s that mad. (”,)

Details as follow:
Date: 01 May 2008
Venue: Mackie Kitchen, Hong Kong
(Address: G/F, 9 Caroline Hill Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong)
Cost   : HK$90-$100(exclusive of 1 drink)

If for whatever cosmic fateful reasons you happen to be in Hong Kong on 1 May, do make time to go there for a short 1 hour performance cum dinner!

Ta-da!

Actually I wanted to put this behind me, but the very kind-hearted
Kangyang actually recorded (on tape, then transferred to mp4) for me as
a surprise, so this has to come up here for all the efforts he has put
in

SPOP Interview Video
L-R: Wallace, Nathan, Angeline, me

Yah…I told you it’s very short already. *grin*

All thanks to Yan, now I can blog in chinese! Wah!!!!

有时候，有些事情，只有华语才能够带出我要说的东西。。。。

This blog problem is solved at the right time..

最近，因为一些事情的发生，突然间发现自己。。。长大了。真的grown-up了.

是的，现在说这样的话好像又有点迟钝。可是。。真的，发现自己越来越懂的爱自己，流言蜚语，刻薄的话不在那么影响我的情绪，很享受能够为自己做选择
而负责任，面对感情问题时也能比较坦然，直接， 为自己为身边的人负责。”Love-wise”, as someone said to me
recently.

虽然有时看太多韩剧后，会有允许自己做一个”love-fool”的冲动。

可能就是要有这样的挣扎，才能写更多歌吧。

Blue Butterfly has wrote another review
for my album, this time round on SINA Music. It’s great that my music
can be heard by people in China. He is quite a popular music reviewer
and author in Guangzhou, and I’m really honoured. My HK trip is coming,
I’m sure we can meet up then!

Sometimes it really makes me feel like marshmellow when I see how
supportive he is. Looks like I better start thinking of what to buy for
his upcoming birthday

I know I should have done this long ago..to share the process of
doing a DIY album with people who are interested. Hmm…but better late
than never :p

I will post more entries in this page
very soon, do check back regularly if you would like to find out more.
I will write about erm, objectives of coming up with the album,�
song-choice, arrangement, recording studios, recording tips, what is
mixing, what is mastering, album artwork design, CD and album booklet
printing, photography, advance and royalties involved if you do a cover
song etc. If you want to know about any other issues, do leave a
message here!

11 Apr 08 @ Republic Polytechnic, originally uploaded by bevlynkhoo.

Even though I was super tired
(same for Kangyang and Ken) that morning, I was really happy about the
performance @ Republic Polytechnic.

Will post more thoughts very soon, after Kang Yang sent me the pics! One thing for sure: RP people are so nice ahhhhh!

Edit: Finally, some time to rest and blog about this gig. :p

My first contact point was Ms Celine (on my left in pic) who very kindly took to me and my music soon after she heard my songs on MySpace Music. Soon TRCC (The Republic Cultural Centre) and CAP (Campus Arts Production) fixed a meeting with me to confirm a performance when school reopens, and voila!

I would love to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one  from TRCC and the CAP team for doing such an excellent job (thanks for the email blasts and checking that everything was ok for me).

Also a big thanks to talented Kang Yang (the FELLOW who re-arranged La Vie En Rose in my album into gypsy-jazz style, and played the insane guitar lines and arranged the insane
guitar chord progression for me) for generously agreeing to accompany
me on guitar. And of course, the handsome and kind and sweet Ken from 1003FM (he forced me to write this one),
who really did a fantastic job hosting the programme. The 3 of us were
like zombies that morning, and were even late for the soundcheck, but
I’m glad everything went very well.

I was really forward to this show because I realised that I have 3 friends who work there! One is Annie, whom I got to know from Muchuan (The Ark); Wenyang, who was my junior @ NUS, and Joseph,
my ex-secondary classmate whom I’ve lost touched with until recently!
I’m glad we had lunch to catch up..time really flies; it’s amazing how
we have all changed but memories don’t…they always remain

And thank you to all who bought my CDs after the performance! (”,)

I was also really thrilled when Celine told me she’s leaving RP to
pursue her dreams to take a study on pastry cookery in Bangkok. I was
like WOOOOWWWW!!!! So exciting! I can’t wait to eat the pastries she
makes already. Honestly the first thing that struck me when she told me
that was the Korean show “Wo3 Jiao4 Jing1 San1 Shun4″, a drama-serial
that made me cry my heart out last Jan. The female lead in the show was
a patissière. Go catch it
if you haven’t watched it, the dialogues are mind-provoking, and the
whole show was full of lovely cakes and chocolates *gulp*. I wish her
all the best (so I can taste the delicious pastries when she’s back
haha).