Currently finishing up my EP, cleaning up my room, doing house chores, and re-designing a website that I've owned for 10 years. (wow, it's been that long!?) New updates as soon as I finish all of these!
After sporadically posting and ranting about recording and writing songs for a LONG time (since 2005 I think), the project is finally particles away from completion. It's been a blast writing, recording, tinkering around with sounds and doing all the mixing. Oh, and I have to warn everyone, I'm definitely putting my voice on this project, so get your umbrellas ready! The still-untitled EP will contain a total of 6 tracks. Here's the track-listing:
An old demo version of "Passerby" along with some old snippets I've made are available at my MySpace page.
By the way, I have a poll on the sidebar to let you determine the price for the EP! If you have any suggestions or questions regarding the price or EP itself, do drop a comment!
Samples of all the songs will be available really soon! Now, I need to dust my MySpace and my website which I've owned for almost 10 years and redesign them...
On the 27th June 2009, I went to KLUE Urbanscapes at KLPAC, Sentul with fellow blogger Anisah. It's my second time at KLPAC, my first time being around sometime last year for some bazaar. I didn't stay all the way until the end, so I'll just be blogging on what I think is noteworthy.
We arrived at KLPAC around noon. Bumped into a few friends and saw a few fellow bloggers, including Lisa Farhana and Afi. There were many stalls selling all sorts of interesting stuff, though unfortunately I didn't get anything. One thing that I noticed was the cleanliness around the food stalls. At most festivals, you'd see lots of rubbish and food packaging all over, and the backs of food stalls would be really dirty, but at Urbanscapes, I couldn't spot even a trace of dirtiness. Kudos to the organizers and stall-keepers for that! Plus, the vendors were using recyclable material instead of polystyrene. Extra marks for that! And while I'm on the topic of cleanliness, I have to say, the toilets and suraus were impressively clean as well. However, the prices for food and drinks were a bit on the high side. RM3 for just a 500ml bottle of mineral water, anyone? But it's a festival I guess, and it was hot too, so people had no choice unless they brought their own bottle of water. I also think that alcoholic beverages shouldn't be sold, but I guess that can't be avoided because perhaps the sponsor is a beer company, but oh well!
One thing about something indie (festival, expo, bazaar) that you might notice is the way people dress. Right now, it seems that checkered shirts with skinny jeans seem to be the current trend instead of the 'just woke up from bed' T-shirt and torn jeans style. I wish that the guys could try to be a bit more original. As for the girls however, it was nice seeing more hijjab-wearing girls. At most festivals, some girls may opt to forego their hijjabs to 'blend-in', so it's nice to see people proudly wearing the hijjab! I hope it's not a trend thing though, because of the popularity of a certain hijjab-wearing indie icon!
As for the performances, they had a few separate venues for different kinds of performances. I did think it was a bit odd to charge people to see the acts at 'The Lawn' though, because you could actually see and hear the performances clearly from outside the fence covering The Lawn. Plus, some of the performances I heard and saw from far away... I think that some of the artists at the 'free' sections actually deserve their slots, seriously!
As for me, I did have a few personal favorites during the whole event. The first is the performance by KL Stompers, who perform by banging drumsticks and making songs not on drums, but on bins, pots, pans, and bottles! Here are two vids of them that I recorded with my newly-acquired video camera, among a crowd that mostly brought SLRs!
However, my personal favorite is Shahridir & Nizam P, a really cool acoustic blues rock duo. Here are a couple of vids! I have to warn, there is usage of vulgar language.
I'm certainly looking forward to more festivals! Apparently, there will be festivals in campus this coming semester as well. I'm really looking forward to the coming KAEDFEST '09, because I've been hearing great things, plus I loved last year's KAEDFEST. The performances were amazing! and no, just because it's uia means it's all nasyid. There were band performances, poetry recitals and much more! I know, I'm no longer a KAEDian, but hey, it's a great event, so I think it's not wrong for me to mention about it!
Now, I can't wait to perform for next semester! I find the performances by Shahridir & Nizam P really inspiring, especially Nizam's percussion playing. Time to finish up my songs and rehearse some stuff...
Yesterday, I was revising for my BM examination. However, I can't exactly study non-stop. I think it'd be neat to share a glimpse of the EP I'm working on, so I recorded myself playing during the break. Yes, I love Phonetics and Phonology so much that I named the song after an M.O.A. The song's titled "Retroflex". Sorry, but no vocals yet on this snippet! Still need to work on that before I can let the world hear it, or else it'd rain really bad...
Oh, I'm not left-handed! Snapped this with my laptop's webcam, so it appears the other way around for some odd reason...
Technical note: This song is NOT in standard tuning
Reverted back to the old layout because I kind of lost the idea for the new layout for this blog. Yes, I'm blogging during exam week, I've just a paper left, then I can finish up my songs!
I'm not exactly a typical animal lover per se. I don't even own any pets, unless teddy bears count. However, I do adore the way cats look, especially when they're asleep or at rest. It's also nice to see a cat having fun whenever you massage or tickle or play around with it. Anyway, here are some pictures of cats which I've taken since my days in PJ all the way to main campus:
I was eating rather blissfully at this cafe when I heard a meow from underneath my table. Turns out that it came from this chubby feline! No, I'm not peeping at the girls from under the table -_-
I thought only people sleep in suraus, looks like even cats have begun to find solace here!
Found this cat on the staircase on the way to class. Something about its expression just tells that this cat must be deep in thought about something.
Ok, not cat-related, but this is a picture I took way back in PJ. Yes, it's IIUM PJ, at the road in between Mahallah Khadijah and the football field. No, this is not somewhere overseas!
A more recent picture. This cat was spotted outside the library. It looks pretty full, maybe it just finished eating...
It's kind of weird, all my life, I've been dreaming about doing communication, media and video-based work, but it didn't even occur to me to consider studying it. Even weird because I enjoy most projects and assignments that involve video-work. So, when I found out that they offered Video Production as a subject, I literally went nuts! No use crying over it, it's just one subject (easy to say, but the calling and temptation for it is intense...). Anyway, to make up for the fact I'm not taking the subject, plus the fact that I love making videos anyway, I finally got myself this:
Now the question arises: What am I gonna shoot with this vid-cam? Maybe I'll do a vlog thing, or do some comedies, or even document the recording of my songs, or heck, even make my own music video!
Thing is, I have my midterms to contend with before I can start going trigger-happy!
Whenever I have no idea what to do when I'm walking around campus or if I happen to be early to class or a meeting, I usually read whatever posters and notices that are around, like the crazy motorcycle ad I posted earlier. The campus seems to have a lot of these funny posters. However, I found one that is truly funny, not because of any error, but because it actually HAS humor and is kind of witty too! Have a look at this:
In case it isn't clear upon zooming in (click on the image to zoom), here's what's written: (I'm not typing out everything, I'm just typing out the parts that I find humorous)
Step 5: How long does it take for the smart card to be ready?
Under terms and conditions: 5 minutes or days. Huhu...
Muamalat Bank Number: It's a secret...
Problem with the ATM card: Don't disturb us. Go ask Muamalat.
Class attendance: Your lecturers know what you did last class... hihihi.
THANK YOU!!!
Please don't come again! Or you have to pay penalty for losing your card again, again, and again.
It's nice to know the admin guys want to have some fun, too! It's a breath of fresh air after seeing too many error-laden posters!
Not the final version, but this is pretty much how the cover is going to look like. Samples and tracklisting will be up later. I know that it's taken so long, but it's finally nearing completion! I hope to release it around June or July. I hope I can, considering I've to juggle the production and recording of this project and my academics!
This is a pretty common question, often poised to kids in school. Among the typical answers would be:
Kid A: "A doctor!"
Kid B: "A lawyer!"
Kid C: "An architect!"
Kid D: "A dancer!"
Kids A, B, and C: "HUH!?"
Ok, Kid D's answer isn't exactly the typical answer you'd hear from a kid when you ask him what he wants to be!
Anyway, this is a sort-of example of how society's norms are. People are expected to do something that is 'typical'. When somebody doesn't conform to that, you get lashed out with names! But hey, at that age, you don't exactly know what you want to be. Some may need time to discover where their talents lie and what exactly interests them. Some on the other hand, have an aptitude for certain things. I don't think it's right to put down someone who has an ambition for something, no matter how whacked out it is! With support and patience, anything can be done!
As for me, my ambitions have changed over the years. I actually wanted to be a traveling chef! There were times where I kind of had to bow down to both peer pressure and society's pressures, so I kind of thought I'd be a lawyer or dentist one day. And now, here I am, wanting to pursue a communication-based career and maybe a bit of media stuff (music, videography, etc).
Over the years, I've made mistakes regarding choices, here and there. Everyone makes mistakes, really. Nobody's perfect. But it's what you learn from your mistakes that makes you a better person. Some people like to look down on the mistakes we do. But mistakes just give us more opportunities to improve. It's never to late to turn around and make a change.
Everybody would want something that's free. That's why they're used to attract people to buy products. The most famous example would be 'buy 1, free 1', and some products may come with free gifts and much more. But well, have a look at this:
Ok, it's not a motorcycle for free, it's basically somebody wanting to sell a motorcycle. Oh, and the colour is pretty funky, never knew they had vehicles in "Merah Cili" (Chili Red), that must be pretty... spicy! But the next line reads:
FREE ACCIDENT (TIPTOP CONDITION)
Whoa, they're giving us FREE ACCIDENTS, in TIPTOP CONDITION?! 0_0
Wrong word order can surely change the meaning a lot. Accident free and free accident... I'd go with the former!
Thank God I don't even know how to ride a bicycle! (For the record, I can drive and am licensed)
What do you think is the best price for a self-produced homemade EP with six songs?
The Author
Nazriq
Nazriq is a 21-year-old Malaysian, often mistaken for a 35-year-old uncle from another country. A son, friend and student determined to master the art of waking up with his eyes closed without walking into a wall. Give him a lifetime supply of chocolates and tomatoes and he'll listen to whatever you have to say. :)
This blog is the culmination of the author's thoughts, ideas and works, weaved with the threads of over-active imaginations. Nothing is to be taken to heart, as this blog is meant strictly to entertain and to inform from the author's point of view. As for the URL, it's actually the word 'slow-cooker' in Engrish. Yes, ENGRISH, no typo was made! For maximum authenticity, exaggerate the pronounciation of the URL and make sure your eyes bulge out like an anime character. And don't forget to smile! =) Oh, and the layout? It's made by yours truly!
