IndigNation's opening!

The full calendar's here!



Our organiser, Jun Zubillaga-Pow, has asked me to advertise the Gala Concert he's organised as part of the opening at 7pm on Sunday 7 August:

Pride and Prejudice

http://www.bytes.sg/EventDetails.aspx?EventID=243

How often do you hear a trumpet, a tenor and a recorder in a single recital? Come and experience the triple-bill of Romantic pieces presented by Edric Liew, Adrian Poon and Jun Zubillaga-Pow. The young musicians will revive luscious music from the 19th- and 20th-centuries by famous and less-known composers. As the opening line of Jane Austen is beloved novel goes, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Be smitten by these suave bachelors of the musical world as they weave spellbound tales of affectionate love. The reverberant setting of the Chamber makes it such an auricular rarity that nobody should give this a miss!

Venue: Arts House Living Room
Price: $28
Time: 7pm
Duration: 1 hr
Date: Sun 7 August 2011

"Perform This Way" by Weird Al Yankovic

Interesting story behind this parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" - read the text to find out more.



Strangely enough, without the image of the diva herself proclaiming these words, I feel like it's become a manifesto of sorts for my own costumed clownery. Viva la creativité secondaire!

Music videos I've been enjoying...

From Kenya...

Just A Band - Ha-He

... from France...

The Toxic Avenger feat. Orelsan - N'Importe Comment

...and from the United States:

Scissor Sisters - Filthy Gorgeous (Uncensored)

Videos from Zapin d'Muara!

I'll be uploading about all this on the Singapore Arts Festival Blog soon, but I decided to splash it all on my personal blog first.

Basically, Sunday I went to cover Zapin d'Muara, an event at the Malay Heritage Centre centred on zapin. Zapin's a form of Malay dance and music drawn from Middle Eastern culture. It's the most fast-paced of the five varieties of Malay dance.



These two guys are Syarhrial and Surya Darma (left and right). They're craftsmen and musicians from Indonesia, who whittle gambus (string instrument shown) and marwas (drum) out of jackfruit wood and goatskin. Here they're doing an impromptu performance of "Zapin Menjelang Magrib", which Surya wrote himself - singing starts around 0:35.



This is my attempt to learn the dance. (Very awkward.)



Here's a bit of a silat demonstration.

Will also upload some performance art later. Cya!

UPDATE:



I think it's performance art... why else would anyone be mopping a fountain?

"70 million" by Hold Your Horses

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

According to Youtube: (help us figure this out!)

1. Leonardo da Vinci, "The Last Supper"
2. Sandro Botticelli, "The Birth of Venus"
3. Rembrandt van Rijn, "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp"
4. Hans Holbein, "Henry VIII" / Johannes Vermeer, "Girl with the Pearl Earring"
5. Theodore Gericault, "The Raft of Medusa"
6. Jacques-Louis David, "Death of Marat"
7. Michelangelo Buonarotti, "Creation of Man"
8. Rene Magritte, "Son of Man"
9. Piet Mondrian, "Composition"
10. Frida Kahlo, "Self-Portrait" [they could've done much better, I think]
11. Pablo Picasso, "Portrait of Dora Maar" [looks nothing like the original; thought it was Dali myself]
12. Edvard Munch, "The Scream"
13. Vincent Van Gogh, "Self-Portrait"
14. Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe silkscreen
15. School of Fontainebleau's "Gabrielle d'Estrees and One of Her Sisters"
16. Giovanni Cimabue's "Madonna of Santa Trinita"
17. Caravaggio, "Salome with the Head of John the Baptist"
18. Edouard Manet, "Olympia"
19. Eugene Delacroix, "Liberty Leading the People"
20. Otto Dix, "Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden"
21. Gustav Klimt, "The Kiss"
22. Marc Chagall, "The Bride (La Mariée)"
23. Diego Velasquez, "Las Meninas"
24. Vincent Van Gogh, "Sunflowers"

UPDATE: Ooh, the whole list is up here. In Spanish, though.

Esplanade Concourse Show!

Hey guys, quick news: next Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be performing poems from "last boy" at the Esplanade. I'll be accompanied by indie musicians Clarence and Sam, who've created songs based on poems from the book. (They're the main act, really.)



That's them, btw. Yes, Sam is short for Samantha.



Once again:

Tue 26 and Wed 27 January
7:15pm and 8:15pm (same show done twice)
Esplanade Concourse

B).