Step aside Che'nelle, and make way for Zee Avi, a honey from Miri, Sarawak who has the most divine voice I've heard from a Malaysian artist since Nessa's sister Mia Palencia (who I was lucky to see perform live a few times, and whose CD I have yet to get my hands on). Most of you who frequent Youtube would have probably already found her since she's posted on the front page, with a new album coming out soon! XD I am honestly stoked, and I haven't been this stoked for a Malaysian artist since Bus Company, only Bus Company hasn't gotten signed yet...well they were still nice.
Anyways this wonderful girl does wonderful RnB (not the contemporary kind) and alternative rock music, and her style is very much like two of my favorite artists of the same genre, Corrine-Bailey Rae and Norah Jones (I know what some of you are thinking...shocker!). Her voice is deep yet subtle, and very soulful. She started getting famous on...yep, Youtube, by posting home-made videos of her singing her self-written songs.
Please listen to this video at least until the third song Kantoi (to those who are Malay music-phobes, don't worry, stop being a douche cos' she sings English songs too).
I read on her Amazon album page that her videos got circulated to Ian Montone, manager of The White Stripes, through Patrick Keeler, drummer of The Raconteurs! Talk about getting a lucky break! Next thing she knows, she's on a plane to LA to record her new self-titled-album and touring the United States! Her album is currently up for pre-order on Amazon and will be released on May 19th, I AM SO GETTING IT. She is worth every US dollar I'm gonna spend (with my new PayPal account w00t) on it.
And I just noticed that all these great talents came from East Malaysia haha, Zee, Che'nelle and Mia...there must be something magical in the water there lol.
And I do have a good explanation for the title of my blogpost. The Adelaide Japanese Animation Society has weekly screenings in uni, and despite the fact that they play anime that I have never heard of (which is really weird okay?), they do show some pretty kickass shows (discounting the shitty stuff like Chaos Head). One of them is Bounen no Xam'd. It reminds me very much of Eureka 7, and it was done by BONES animation studio which is my favorite studio (Gonzo a close second). And it has one of the most kickass anime opening sequences I've seen in a long time.
The song is called Shut Up and Explode by electro-rock band Boom Boom Satellites, and it's pretty good shit, despite the bad English pronunciation. Not only does it have a prominent (and catchy) drum back-beat, the dynamics (lolwhut) of the song, the strong burst of guitar and drums in the chorus makes for awesome action scenes. And duh, the camera part was like the coolest shit I've seen in an anime opening in like...ever.
This is the official video for Vacancy, Bounen no Xam'd's ending song, which is also in English. This time, better pronounced, because the singer Kylee Saunders is of Japanese and American parentage, raised in America and used to sing the national anthem at NBA basketball games lol. Very nice pop/punk rock beat to the song, albeit it being a very typical J-Pop/Rock tune. Sentimental lyrics, her voice is nothing special, but pretty easy on the ears. And she's only 14!
Okay done being a geek now.
Also, I watched Star Trek and Angels and Demons lately, I will post a review on them soon.
Oh and three cheers for me, with my new Visa Debit, I now have more than one plastic purchasing method in my wallet, and I have a PayPal account with which I got my first international art commission for USD30.
I AM OFFICIALLY HAPPY. In the words of Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr....
