SOUND CLIPS




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VIDEOS
FREQUENCY CANNON - Fame And Glory


FREQUENCY CANNON - GIRL Music Video By Tofu Production

FREQUENCY CANNON - BLASTOFF SEMI FINALS

FREQUENCY CANNON - GIRL Rock The World 6

FREQUENCY CANNON - Fame & GLORY (LIVE)

FREQUENCY CANNON - Celebrity Cookout with Dino Frequency Cannon Part 1 of 3

FREQUENCY CANNON - Celebrity Cookout with Dino Frequency Cannon Part 2 of 3

FREQUENCY CANNON - Celebrity Cookout with Dino Frequency Cannon Part 3 of 3

 FREQUENCY CANNON - GIRL

 FREQUENCY CANNON - FREE FALLING

FREQUENCY CANNON - 2nd Chance MTV



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ARTICLES

NEW SUNDAY TIMES: 7th NOV 2004: SHOWTIME SECTION
CANNONS a-Blast

Frequency Cannon don't look like your typical rock group, but they sure
know how to "rock" the stage everytime they perform, writes
ARNI SHAHIDA RAZAK. 

Frequency Cannon is loud, if you ask me. But I guess, cannons are supposed to be loud, right? and Fcannon (as they like to be called) is after all a rock group.But dont be fooled. The lads are quite mild, really. And no, they dont have long hair or wore torn jeans. 

The group comprises of Kua Chee Seong (Kua Chee) on vocals, Wong Yu-Ri (Yu Ri) on lead guitar, J. Siva Shanker (Siva) on rhythm guitar, Azril Dino Malik (Dino) on drums and Azrul Farique (Azrul) on bass.And though they play mean music, they all have decent jobs during theday.

"We're simple down to earth guys. See, we even use our real names, "says Kua Chee, who is a dentist. Everyone in the group is 25, except Azrul , who is 27. "He is like our big brother,"quips Yu Ri, who is an analyst at a management consultant firm. Since everyone's busy with their career (Dino works in an IT company,Siva is a business development executive while Azrul works in a bank),the boys can only get together for jamming sessions after work, or duringweekends.

"Its tough, and yes, we do have to compromise our social life sometimes.But we're lucky that we have understanding families and friends," says Yu Ri. The boys may be busy corporate citiznes during the day, but they do take their music seriously. In fact, they are now completing their very first album and all the recording and producing of the songs is being done in Kua Chee's bedroom.

"We've just released an enhanced EP that has four tracks all written by us plusvideos and pictures," said Yu Ri.  "But we're hoping that our debut album will hit the stores some time next year.It's about time we come up with our own album." FCannon has been around since 1996, but the members come and go. The present lineup was formed about two years ago."We uses to play for fun, in school functions and all. Then some of us left
to further our studies , so we sort of disbanded tempararily," explains Kua Chee, one of the founding members of FCannon."Now that we have all completed our studies and hold decent jobs, you can say that we're 'back in acton'."

Apart from completing their album, the group has been quite busy performingat funstions and pubs to promote their music.This year alone, they had performed at the Asian X-Games, Chronix Tour (in Penang and Kuala Lumpur), French Festival and at the Siti Nurhaliza Fantasia Tour at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

"We love to perform. Especially when we have friends sharing the same stage as us. Yes, groups like Pop Shuvit and Disagree have all become our friends over the years," says Yu Ri. When the boys perform, they usually play their own songs. "We dont really do cover versions, simply because we've written too many songs. And we want our audience to listen to them," Kua Chee interjects. The only problem is that each of the group members have different influences. Hence, choosing a song that is agreeable to all could be a headache.

"Though we basically listen to everything, we have our preferences too,"says Yu Ri. "But I guess, at the end of the day , when deciding on a song , we will pick one that we know will please the crowd." Second Chance, one of their favourite songs, is about having second chances in life, while Girl is about a band member's girlfriend who died of cancer. " We may be a rock group, but we hope people will be inspired by our songs," says Yu Ri.

For more information on FCannon check out www.fcannon.com.
Fans can also download the band's songs from www.musiccanteen.com.

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NEW STRAITS TIMES: MUSICCANTEEN.COM FREE SONG OF THE WEEK
PANGLOBAL ROCKS! WITH FREQUENCY CANNON

Cannon Blast

This week's featured song comes from a group of not-so-young musicians. Frequency Cannon's music has been described as "music that comes from the heart... music that makes you want to jump and shout and have fun with your friend".Basically, these guys from Kuala Lumpur love nothing more than putting up "live" shows for fans. The guys recorded their first demo in vocalist Kua Chee's bedroom in 2000. The stuff of dreams, eh? Frequency Cannon started hitting the studios around February this year to record its first do-it-yourself EP!

For now, check out its song Fame & Glory for FREE.

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THE MALAY MAIL: 17th Feb 2005: BUZZ

MUSIC: Enough of copycat mindset
Terrina Hussein
Feb 17
 

Blast Off participants should aspire to be more than just soundalikes

You’D expect the last semifinal of Blast Off last Friday at Orange to fiercely competed.

You’d expect the six groups taking part to at the top of their game, stopping at nothing to earn their place in the final at 8 tonight, same venue.

Having made it so far, the time of making silly mistakes was over.

Now was the time to prove to viewers and judges alike, why they deserved to have their name called at the end of the show.

But all the past critiques by the judges that ‘there’s still room for improvement’ seemed to have fallen on deaf ears with hardly any of the bands/groups showing progress.

It seemed like the majority of bands didn’t take the competition seriously enough to lift their game.

For the most part, Blast Off Semi-Finals 2 looked and sounded like a dress rehearsal.

One wondered how some of the groups even made it to the semifinals in the first place.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that these bands had their friends, families and colleagues, armed with their mobile phones, ready to send in as many SMS votes as possible within the live show’s two hours public voting time frame.

Sadly, these days, it seems the emphasis has shifted from who actually deserves to win, to who gets the most SMSs.

The semifinals vocal group segment should’ve been called the ‘Usher Karaoke Show’, what with two out of the three R&B acts choosing to cover Usher songs.

All other song selections were also cut and paste efforts, taken off the US Top Ten charts.

Frankly there should’ve been a little more effort in song selection.

Choosing a track that best suited their vocal capabilities, instead of just opting for a recently popular foreign number, would not have gone astray.

There’s more to R&B than just Usher. What about Barry White, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson Five? And as for the rest of tracks, it was pretty much more US Top Ten hits from No Doubt, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Backstreet Boys.

Let’s just say, it ain’t so hard to get a crowd jumping to Yeah Yeah Yeah by Usher and Ludacris.

It’s not even difficult to get the crowd dancing to the ska sounds of No Doubt and Sean Paul.

It’s easy to start a mosh pit too, when you’re screaming a Linkin Park or Pearl Jam song.

And it’s easy to make girls swoon when you’re singing, well, more Usher tracks.

But it’s all been done before, and quite recently, by the original singers!

Getting the audience’s attention while singing something that isn’t already overplayed on radio – now that would’ve been something.

In any case first up was the vocal group, Soul Dinero, who sang In A Rush, by Blackstreet, and Yeah Yeah Yeah by Usher and Ludacris.

Their acappela intro sounded promising enough, even though the ending wasn’t so tight.

One hoped they would improve. But from their second song, it was plainly obvious that they were singing out of tune and their harmonies were painfully flat.

Next up was the nu-metal band, Poseidon, whose vocalist proved how he could go from Linkin Park’s Chester-like screams, to a not too bad imitation of Eddie Vedder in their two tracks, Breaking The Habit and Last Kiss.

Still, a little more originality, rather than being a copycat act would have scored more points.

By the way credit had to be given to the majority of guitarists, drummers, bassists and keyboardists who played commendably.

I guess their true test would be in the finals when they would have to play their own original compositions.

Next up was vocal group, Siarra.

Although they chose two extremely obvious tracks, Usher’s You Make Me Wanna and the Usher and Alicia Keys duet If I Ain’t Got You, with an acappela rendition of Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me A River.

At least their vocals stood out from the others.

The only female fronted band, Fiezzta was next. They caught the eye with their red and white co-ordinated outfits and energetic performance.

Their tight deliver of No Doubt’s Hella Good and Get Busy by Sean Paul showed they were of professional calibre.

But if only they did more to show they were more than a hotel lounge band and threw a little more of their own identity into their set.

As Jakeman said, “It’s obvious you guys are a show band,” with Pacai adding that they should’ve injected more dynamics in their performance.

Vocal group B5ive was next, and left a lot to be desired.

Even their synchronised dance moves were not enough to save them from a poor vocal performance of Backstreet Boys Larger Than Life and Mario Winans’ I Don’t Wanna Know.

Pacai’s comment, “you had five people on stage, but it sounded like only two people instead,” just showed how unbalanced their harmonies were.

But the last band of the night proved there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Frequency Cannon blew their competition away with their set, playing a little heard of rock track, Take Off and Landing by the Atari’s, and showed just how creative you could be while performing a rock version of Britney Spear’s Toxic.

Their tight playing, on-stage comic presence and crowd pleasing antics (with their mid song Matrix poses), and most importantly, their originality proved that they were definitely a cut above the rest.

“You guys made my day … you rock,” was Pacai’s response to their set, while Jakeman explained how his wife had just given birth to their baby daughter earlier that day, but Frequency Cannon made his trip down to Blast Off worth it.

Deservingly, Frequency Cannon and Siarra landed in the final where they would go head to head with K-Town Klan, Admonition, Media Puppets and Curtis Blues Review.

Hopefully the RM10,000 prize money, an all expenses free trip to London and a Maestro recording deal would result in an explosive finale to Blast Off.


* To vote in the finals for your favourite act, vote by typing BLAST followed by the bands code, and send it to 32888.

(SMS code in brackets)


* K-Town Clan (KTOWNClan)

* Admonition (Admonition)

* Media Puppets (MediaPuppets)

* Curtis Blues Review (CurtisBlues)

* Siarra (Siarra)

* Frequency Cannon (FCannon)


Make sure to catch the last six acts going up against each other on Astro Hitz.TV (Channel 16) on Fridays.

Or, you head down to Orange Club tonight.

Flash this page at the door and get free entry for two (based on first come, first served basis) and watch these bands perform live. For more info, log on to www.blastoff.com.my.

 

 

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THE MALAY MAIL: 2nd Feb 2005: BUZZ

MUSIC: Young, crunk and dangerous
by adly syairi ramly

Feb 2:

A FRIEND recently asked rather pointedly: “How could Below the Radar dedicate its pages to questionable acts for the past couple of weeks?”
This friend wondered how critically and musically unproven acts like Soul Dinero, Siarra, Frequency Cannon and Admonition were given full writeups.
Well, there are two reasons.

First, since December, notable acts have not been doing much. Not that the scene has lost its drive or anything, but it's just that most of them were either in the studio or simply taking time off.

Bands like Pop Shuvit, Love Me Butch, Rebel Scum and Furniture for instance, had been really hard at work finishing on their albums or EPs. At the same time, some prominent names in the fringe music scene like Radhi of OAG and Naza of the Times took some time off to tie the knot (not to each other of course). So, during this period of inactivity we decided to check out acts competing in Astro Hitz.TV, bands and vocal groups' competition, Blast Off: Hot.New.Now.

We have to say that initially, we were a bit disappointed with what most of the acts had to offer – one-dimensional musical references, lack of creativity and imagination. Then there's the image-over-substance crisis and the lack of understanding on why were they in a band/group in the first place.

Anyway, after going through the prelims, we noticed there were bands/groups that stood out and deserved mention.

Admonition for instance, exploded into the scene with a No. 1 hit on Xfresh FM; members of Siarra have been backing up established names like Ferhad and Dayang Nurfaizah to name a few; Frequency Cannon, despite its not so envelope-pushing music, is definitely one of the craziest and energetic live acts to emerge in the local fringe music scene in such a long time.

These acts are yet to lay claim to anything of significance (credibility-wise), but we strongly feel that they have something to offer and we are more than happy to listen to them.

Whether they will make it or not, depends on the acts themselves. We pave the way, the rest is all up to them.

The act that we will be highlighting this week, the frontrunner in the vocal group category, K-Town Clan, surely has a lot to live up to, especially after what the Kajang-based trio – Vidya, Master G and Roshan – told us recently.

"Our immediate goal is to win Blast Off. Then our next step is to make it really big in Malaysia and we are giving ourselves one year to achieve that. Then, I know this may a bit hard to achieve, but then again, the way we see it, the sky's the limit. In five years' time, we really want to make it big worldwide," 18-year-old Roshan said confidently.

"And of course, our other main goal is to introduce crunk rap in Malaysia," Vidya added.

Whoa, talking about having goals. Naive as it may sound, but the group is more than determined to prove that its goals would not just remain only as mere goals. It all started back a couple of years ago. Inspired by the success of Poetic Ammo, the very young Roshan and Vidya decided to start a group on their own. They called it, er, Big Bullies. The two of them then hooked up with another budding MC, Master G, who had been actively performing at their hometown in Kajang.

Sharing the same love for crunk rap, a style popularised by Southern rappers like Lil Jon and Ludacris, the three of them decided to join forces, resulting in K-Town Clan.

When the news came out that Astro Hit.TV was looking for acts for its upcoming reality talent show, Blast Off, sometime late last year, the rather inexperienced group decided to give it a go. "Almost all the groups competing in Blast Off have their own songs, EPs or at least have written their own very first song and have some sort of experiences being in the underground scene. In our case, we are totally inexperienced. We entered the competition as nobodies," Roshan said humbly.

It didn't take the group that long to build a following though. Right after its performances during the prelims, praises were fast circulating.

"We met a lot of other established underground acts through Blast Off like Admonition and KLG Sqwad. Thanks to them, we now have four gigs waiting for us," Roshan said.

"Not just that, we also hooked up with other established names in the hip hop scene like Damian (of the vocal group VE) and MC Syce who thought that we were good. Having such words of encouragement from them has really inspired us to move forward," Vidya added.

Although the group has yet to cook its own beats and rhymes, it strongly feels that once they drop their beats, it's surely going to be hot.

"We have a rough idea on what we are going to give to the listeners and to us it really sounds good because our style is very different compared with what is already available out there. "In Malaysia, no group has ever done crunk rap and that is one thing that has been missing in our local hip hop scene," Roshan said with a smile.

Well, self-promotion aside, the group do have the talent to back them. All three of them are in fact good MCs. Put them on stage, they'll bring down the house effortlessly. Then again, as we stressed many times before, riding on other people's hit songs has never been a good tool of measurement. We need to hear the group's own compositions before we could pass any verdict.

So, when can we expect them to do so? "If we win the competition and get ourselves the record deal, it's definitely going to be very soon. Even if we don't win, it's still going to be very soon. We don't want to sound like bragging, but a lot of people have come up to us and said that they will try to help us, especially after they saw our performances in Blast Off," Roshan said.

"Whatever the outcome is going to be, it's not going to be the end of us. The bottom line for us, is to deliver," he added.

And till that happen, we'll give K-Town Clan the benefit of the doubt.

* IF you feel K-Town Clan has what it takes to move on to the next stage, vote for them by typing BLAST KTOWNClan and send it to 32888. Make sure to catch K-Town Clan and the rest of the acts going head to head in the semi final legs of Blast Off at Astro Hitz.TV (channel 16) every Friday.

Or even better, you can head down to Orange Club this Friday, flash this page at the door (entry for two and based on first come first served basis) and watch these bands perform live. And who knows, you might bump into your favourite bands or groups there. For more info, log on to www.blastoff.com.my.

* Blast Off: Hot.New.Now is brought to you by Astro Hitz.TV and The Malay Mail is the official newspaper.

 

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THE STAR: 20th Feb 2005

The Star Online > News

Sunday February 20, 2005
Sacrifice pays off for band members
KUALA LUMPUR: They had taken time off from work to compete. 

Their sacrifice paid off on Friday when their band, Frequency Cannon, won the music group category in Astro Hitz.TV’s Blast Off! 

Vocalist Kua Chee, 25, Wong Yu-Ri, 25 (lead guitar), J. Siva Shanker, 25 (rhythm), Azrul Farique, 27 (bass), and drummer Azril Dino, 25, wowed the audience and judges with U2’s Vertigo and their own original number, Girl. 

Besides the RM10,000 cash, they also received a six-day holiday package to London and a one-year record deal with Maestro Talent and Management Sdn Bhd. 

“We have been playing in the band for fun as all of us have our own steady jobs. In fact we took leave to take part in this competition. 

“When we took part in Blast Off! it was just for the fun. And as you can see I’m still in a daze so at the moment we haven’t decided what we want do with the prizes,” said Kua Chee. 

In the vocal group category, the trio of K-Town Clan won with their energetic and rousing performances of Salt Shaker and the group’s original composition entitled Let’s Get Crunk. 

The band's members, Roshan Chandrashekar,18, Ganesh Kumar, 20, and Vidyasager Panchasaram, 18, took home RM10,000 cash, a six-day holiday package to London and a one year record deal with Maestro Talent and Management Sdn Bhd. 

Roshan said the victory came as a surprise. 

“We took about three hours to practise our cover song and another three hours to compose our own song. We never thought we could win.” 

The show had attracted over 150 bands and vocal groups after auditions were held last November in Johor Baru, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. 

Three bands and three vocal groups made it to Friday's finals.  

 

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BERITA HARIAN: 25th Feb 2005

- Hiburan -

Blast Off bagaikan konsert
Oleh Hanisah Selamat

SUDAH banyak pertandingan nyanyian diadakan untuk mencungkil bakat baru. Namun, kebiasaannya ia lebih bertumpu pada acara solo berbanding Blast Off anjuran Astro yang bukan saja cenderung mencari vokal berkumpulan, malah band muzik.

Melihat potensi besar calon yang ditonjolkan sejak saringan awal tiga bulan lalu, kebanyakan peserta menonjolkan persembahan bertenaga biarpun ada antara mereka kelihatan sekadar mahu mencuba nasib tanpa persediaan rapi.

Selepas lima saringan diadakan secara berperingkat, hanya enam kumpulan berjaya membawa cabaran ke final yang berlangsung di Kelab Orange, Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur. Pembahagian kumpulan diberikan kepada dua iaitu kumpulan muzik yang menyenaraikan Frequency Cannon (rock), Curtis Blues Review (blues funk) dan Media Puppets (rock funk) manakala vokal berkumpulan - K Town Clan (hip hop), Siarra (pop R&B) serta Admonition (hip hop/dance).

Melihatkan sambutan peminat terutama remaja, pasti ramai terkejut dengan kehadiran penonton kerana pusat hiburan berkenaan penuh sesak setiap kali peringkat saringan diadakan, begitu juga malam kemuncaknya, baru-baru ini.

Bagaikan satu konsert yang menggabungkan pelbagai nama besar dalam industri muzik, penonton yang mengikuti pertandingan itu turut membawa sepanduk, tertera nama kumpulan kegemaran masing-masing.

Sebagai pembuka tirai pertandingan malam itu, Frequency Cannon dianggotai lima anak muda; Kua Chee sebagai vokalis, Run (gitar utama), Siva (rythem gitar), Azrul (bass) dan Dino (dram) menyajikan lagu Vertigo daripada U2 disusuli sebuah dendangan sendiri, Girl.

Khabarnya, vokalis kumpulan berkenaan baru sembuh daripada jangkitan denggi. Bagaimanapun, kemantapan persembahan mereka terutama kelebihan mainan muzik tidak boleh dipertikaikan malah hakikat ini diakui ‘orang kuat’ sebuah syarikat rakaman yang mengikuti pertandingan itu.

Tidak hairan, mereka mengungguli kategori terbabit dengan membawa pulang hadiah wang tunai RM10,000 serta tiket percutian enam hari lima malam ke London. Mereka juga mendapat kontrak rakaman di bawah Maestro Talent & Management Sdn Bhd.

Bagaimanapun, Media Puppets yang mendapat kritikan panel juri memaklumkan persembahan mereka agak bercelaru dengan tempo berterabur meraih tempat kedua dengan memenangi wang tunai RM5,000, selain percutian ke Sutra Beach Terengganu serta sebuah trofi.

Sungguh mengecewakan apabila kumpulan Curtis Blues Review pula hanya memenangi tempat ketiga yang menawarkan ganjaran RM3,000 berserta percutian ke Sutra Beach Resort Terengganu dan trofi.

Namun, apakan daya, seperti yang diperkatakan seorang juri, Sham (Kamikaze) genre blues yang dibawa mereka bukan untuk pengundi remaja dan sudah pasti kumpulan berkenaan kurang mendapat perhatian undian SMS peminat. Selain tiga juri yang dilantik khas mengadili persembahan dengan pemberian 60 peratus markah, Blast Off yang mirip sebuah pertandingan realiti TV memberi peluang kepada penonton memberikan markah menerusi undian SMS.

Bagi kategori vokal berkumpulan pula, trio K Town Clan yang mengakui mereka 100 peratus dari Kajang dengan bersandarkan genre Crunk Rap pula menggondol hadiah utama. Persembahan bertenaga mereka turut mendapat pujian barisan juri.

Kumpulan Siarra yang pernah menjadi penyanyi latar Ferhad pula bergelar naib johan, manakala Admonition yang mencuri perhatian ramai menerusi gabungan rap dan bangra terpaksa berpuas hati di tempat ketiga. Mereka menerima ganjaran sama seperti kategori band muzik.

Biar apa pun keputusan, kumpulan yang dilahirkan menerusi Blast Off diharap mampu meneruskan perjalanan seni dengan cemerlang. Sebagai permulaan, dua juara itu berhasrat menghasilkan album sulung secara bersama tidak lama lagi.

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ASTRO F1 CONCERT REVIEW: 20th MARCH 2005

- GIG REVIEW -

REVIEW ON ASTRO's F1 GIG: By John Fred (Status Quo Reviewer)

Right, the gig. Well, you have to remember that it wasn't strictly a Status Quo gig in the sense that you got the atmosphere of having thousands of loyal fans who appreciated the band. If fact, I don't think there were more than a few thousand people there, altogether! The stage was in the middle of the F1 circuit, which meant we had to walk across the track, (which was kind of fun), to get to where the stage was. Luckily for me, there weren't that many people there, when I arrived at around 5pm. So, obviously, getting to the front was no problem at all..

Anyway, the gig itself started at 5.30pm, on a rather warm afternoon, (nothing new for Malaysia.) Each act was introduced by some, "Emcees", Paula Malai Ali, (nice to look at), and DJs JJ & Rudy, all from local radio stations. Obviously, with it being an Asian affair, all of the acts, (except you know who), I'd never heard of. And, most probably never will hear of again. Out of all of them, there were really only 2-3 other acts, Quo aside, who had any real interest to me. Most were these rap and R'n'B artists...  Someone even shouted, "Boring!!", to one of the first acts. And, who could blame them...? I don't know why they had to have so many, "special effects", either. There was one in which a fire-bar was lit right in front of where I was stood, just what I needed, with it being such a, "cold", day..!  Anyway, let me tell you a bit about those which were worth watching.

One was called, "Spider." No, not that one. These were an Asian group, but they could play instruments and sounded great, (unlike the other aforementioned, "acts!") Never knew any of the songs, or understood a word, (being in Malay), but they sounded like the business.

The other noticeable act was called, "Frequency Cannon", and they were somewhat, "eccentric", with their performance. (My other half said the drummer was cute!) The lead singer reminded me of a cartoon character who kept leaping about the stage, with his funny dances and face-pulling. Somewhat gimmicky, too, what with fireworks, (more about those, later), coming out of the heads of their guitars and off the sides of the stage! But, musically, they'd got it right. Again, didn't know any of the songs, or understood a word, but still worth listening to..

Plenty of eye-candy for the men, in the form of Shanty, an act from Indonesia. Who were wearing rather tight yellow racing leathers.... Hmmm..... One main singer with a few other backing dancers. You know the sort of thing. Nothing much to write about, really.. The same, old R'n'B routine.. Prior to Quo coming on at the end, there was Tata Young from Thailand, (now, she was nice....), who was wearing a rather fetching outfit which didn't leave too much to the imagination regarding her, "top bits", and was open right down to her bottom, at the back, too.  Oh, music? Oh, she could sing, but by now, I was getting impatient for Quo to come on, as it had already been 3 hours since the gig began! If only I'd known..!

So, finally, at 8.30pm, they arrived. The drone came on, as usual, and that got the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. There was a huge screen at the back of the stage with the Quo logo on it, which made me feel very proud. They came on and it's straight into, "Caroline!" Straight off, the one thing that you notice, that's very unusual about this performance, is a distinct lack of response from the crowd. But, I suppose you couldn't blame them all that much. They didn't even know Quo, and seemed somewhat bemused by my short-lived efforts, (it was too warm to be jumping about to much), to get the crowd going. There were pockets of others who'd heard of Quo, (I could hear them), and possibly some fans who are on this message board, (anyone else there??), but by and large, the crowd weren't all that enthusiastic. Most seemed quite bemused by it all.. So, it was a bit of a novelty to be able to hear Quo without a lot of applause. But, still.. I thought that the whole performance would only be roughly 20 minutes, but they were on for well over an hour and a half! 

Anyway, next, they did, "something 'bout you baby I like/Break the rules", in which I made Frame laugh, part of the way in, by pulling a face at him, and got told to, "stop it!" the sound was very loud, where I was stood, (right in front of the speakers! My ears are still singing. (I'll never learn..) Once these songs were done, Frame had a bit of a chat and remarked how warm it was in Malaysia, whilst taking his waistcoat off, then asking if anyone would like it. A few shouts go up, so he proceeds to wipe his nose on it, then rub it on his crotch..  This got a few laughs, as well as him comically attempting to throw it to the side of the stage, twice, but then just drops it nearby.. Anyway, next it's 4500 times/Rain, followed by Hold You Back.... got another giggle off Frame and Rhino indicated that to me that it was, "rather warm", on a few occasions, and none of the band were jumping up and down to HYB for very long, unsurprisingly....

Next, Frame has another chat about the next 4 songs being from, "the last 10 minutes, 4 years, I don't know...", latest, "Heavy traffic", album, (plug...plug...plug), and remarked that one, "The Oriental", was more popular but unfashionable in the UK, but perhaps, would be more fashionable and popular, here, (in Malaysia.) All Stand Up, (Never Say Never)/Solid Gold/The Oriental/Creeping Up On You.) followed.. Rhino doing his John Travolta/Saturday Night Fever bit during the break in The Oriental.. 

Next up was the Mystery Song medley and the humidity was starting to take it's toll a bit, particularly on Frame's voice. Poor soul. He had to stop singing for a short while, (a few seconds, that's all), to get his breath. Gerdundula with Matt's solo followed. Despite was some say, I quite like this arrangement. A lot of the people in the grown looked like they were enjoying it, too. Although, some seemed to be doing a modified version of the, "hokey cokey", to it...   Oh well, better than just being stood there, looked bored, I guess..

Next was Down Down/Whatever You Want before the final song being RAOTW. Rhino doing an impression of a whale, squirting water up out of his mouth, on a few occasions..! Halfway through, everyone near the front barrier was told to move back because of some fireworks which were, in my opinion, placed far too close to the front of the stage, that were due to go off at the end of Quo's performance, (some had already done so, which were situated elsewhere), Frame looked somewhat puzzled as to why this was all going on. Stupid place to put these things, anyway. They can't have been more than 6 foot away from the barrier. But, as it was, they didn't go off! They failed to ignite, so that was that!

Anyway, once Quo were off stage, a few of us started to do the, "Quo-ooo-ow", bit to try and get them back on, but to no avail. So, it was time to go home. A somewhat tiresome but worth-it experience.

I did have my camcorder going and also took a few photos, too. Unfortunately, my battery conked-out 2 thirds of the way in, so only have it up to, "Most of the Time", on the Mystery Medley. But, nil desperandum, I've been told that Astro, (the satellite company, here), recorded it and will be showing it on TV, here, some time in the future. So, at least, I can get to see, (and video), the ending part!

All in all, it was a good show. I felt a little bit bad for Quo not getting quite the recognition that they're used to from the crowd, but I'm sure they understood why.

 

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THE STAR: 5 APRIL 2005

- IN TECH -

A word from the artistes

AMONG the ocean of unknowns in Musiccanteen were a few familiar names. In.Tech spoke to three artistes to find out why they have chosen to give their music away on Musiccanteen.  

FREQUENCY CANNON

THIS group recorded its first bedroom demo in 2000 before graduating to professional studios last year to record its first DIY (Do-It-Yourself) EP. The band enjoys putting up high-energy live shows for everyone and loves going crazy onstage.

Frequency Cannon's past gigs include playing for the 2004 Asian X games, the 2004 Chronix Tour (Penang and KL legs), 2004 French Festival (Fete de la Musique) and recently at the Siti Nurhaliza Fantasia Tour at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

The drummer of this modern rock band Azril Dino, who loves “headbanging and horror movies,” responded to In.Tech's questions.

How many downloads have you sold?

About 20 downloads so far. Pretty good for a new band, considering we haven't yet received any airplay on the radio.

What advice would you give to other artistes who want to be frequently downloaded?

Play in any gig – big or small. The main intention is to get the public to listen to your songs/music.

The secret is to keep playing everywhere. You know you're doing something right when you get one song downloaded. Pretty sad, but hey, that's where you start.

The bulk of Musiccanteen downloads are free. Do you feel that Musiccanteen is like a radio station, in the sense that it gets your music heard rather than sold?

Hmm ? for a new band, we see it as a great way of promoting our music. Any promo is good for us. Again, our main intention is to get the music out. At least people actually take the effort to listen to free new downloads.

Do you think there will come a time when you will be able to live off the sales of your downloads?

Possibly in 20 to 50 years down the line. Haha. Seriously, we don't think it has reached that stage in Malaysia yet. We have a really long way to go. We still prefer to buy CDs – you know, having the satisfaction of holding a real CD album and browsing through the booklet etc. But you know, Musiccanteen is doing an excellent job.

Are your downloads available on other sites?

We have links to Musiccanteen on our site (www.fcannon.com). Fans can stream songs from our site and then click on the link to Musiccanteen to buy them.

Do you think Musiccanteen is different from other similar sites?

We're not too familiar with the others. As far as we're concerned, Musiccanteen rocks because it takes artistes in and gives everyone a fair chance to gig with all the other artistes. That way, we stay motivated and it improves the local music scene as well.

Are you also signed with a label? What are the differences between being an artiste signed the traditional way and being solely online?

This is actually a tricky question because we're currently in negotiations to sign with a label. We haven't signed anything yet, so we'll try to answer as best we can. We think being signed the traditional way covers the whole package (from recording to making the CD and finally to marketing it). Of course, that depends on the terms and conditions in the contract. Perhaps we only need to sell fewer units online to make the same money the traditional way. But then again, remember, the market for downloadable music is pretty small and new. So in the end, it's probably the same.
 
 JUWITA SUWITO

JUWITA is of Indonesian-Singaporean descent.

Her debut R&B pop solo album, launched last year, was produced by seasoned producer Aubrey Suwito (her brother), under local independent record label Oops! Asia. Entitled Brand New World, the album is all about hope, love and making a difference in the world we live in.

Fans of local reality talent show Akademi Fantasia might recognise her voice from Menuju Puncak, the theme song of the show.

In.Tech: How many downloads have you sold?

Juwita: Around 30. (We only have three songs available at Musiccanteen.)

How many free downloads of yours songs have been given away?

No idea.

What should other artistes do to have their songs more frequently downloaded?

I've only been in the Top 5 for a couple of weeks. But judging by the songs that have been downloaded and when they became “hot,” I think radio airplay helps. Guest appearances and gigs also help as they stir up curiosity among the public.

The bulk of Musiccanteen downloads are free. Do you feel that the site is like a radio station, in the sense that it gets your music heard rather than sold?

It's more target-oriented compared with a radio station ... surfers actually get to choose the previews they want to hear, and we take the free downloads as promos for the artiste's music. The sales aren't substantial, but it's been encouraging nonetheless. It's also our avenue to “overseas sales.” Right now, my music is only retailing in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong. So, we like the idea that it's also available to people everywhere else in the world.

Do you foresee a time when you'll be able to live off the sales of your song downloads? Or do you think Internet-based artistes will always need a day job?

It's not something I would count on in the near future, but hey ... anything's possible!

Are your songs downloadable on any other site?

Not at the moment.

How is Musiccanteen different from other music sites?

It's only 78 cents (RM2.97) per download! And Musiccanteen actually makes the extra effort to promote artistes who have their music available there.

What are the differences between being an artiste signed with a label and an Internet artiste? Do you need to sell less units online (as it cuts out the retailer and manufacturing costs) to make the same amount of money as you would the traditional way?

The “online way” provides opportunities for many artistes who may never be signed the “traditional way.” This could be for many reasons. Some artistes may also just want to get a feel of how people respond to their music. There are also more “established” acts that are not mainstream because major record labels still don't believe in the sales potential of their genre of music.

This scene has undoubtedly flourished recently with more gigging avenues and the launch of sites like Musiccanteen.

It also costs less to sell online when you've got a “ready-made portal” available to you.

JASON LO

LO'S first album titled Days Without Dawn was released in Malaysia in 1999, spawning a radio hit with the catchy Evening News. Lo, who is of Irish/Chinese parentage, followed up this album with Firefighter, which garnered critical acclaim.

How many downloads have you sold? How many free downloads of yours songs have been given away?

No idea. Frankly, I don't really keep tabs on it as I have other things to worry about. I'm not counting but every now and then I have a quick look. I would guess that it's probably around 1,000 (altogether) but I wouldn't really know. I don't feel it's as important as songwriting or anything like that, but if it's a high number then all the better as this means people are listening (to my songs). I have given away loads of songs, even albums. I never was in it for the money – it doesn't exist in this market anyway. Every time I meet someone or someone comes over to the studio to meet me, I give them an album. It's like my business card – “Here, have an album.”

Why do you think you're the most downloaded artiste at Musiccanteen? What should other artistes do to be as frequently downloaded?

Am I? I didn't know that. It must be because of Evening News. And also because it's not that easy to find my albums in shops. It might just be easier to download. In order to be frequently downloaded, I would guess that you need people to hear your music on other media like live shows, radio or TV. Also, I guess, I had already built a name for myself before I went online; that probably makes things easier. If people know what you sound like from one song, that might just make them open to listening to your other songs. For that I am very happy.

The bulk of Musiccanteen downloads are free. Do you feel, that in some ways, Musiccanteen is like a radio station?

In a sense you might be right, mate. But let me reply by saying that local artistes fight an uphill battle against foreign artistes with big budgets, great music videos, promotions, pop culture “iconism” from magazines and MTV, etc.

Should I even be concerned that I might not be able to sell as many songs / albums as Justin Timberlake? Local English music doesn't really “sell.” But it is heard.

Is there a time in the future when you think you'll be able to live off the sales of downloads?

I think the download business is still two to five years away from really taking off. Sure, there will be a time. This market is singles-driven. I believe one day someone will hear a song on the radio and be able to download it straight to their car. That's the future.

Are your downloads available on other sites?

I think they were, but mostly illegally...

How is Musiccanteen different from other music sites?

That's just it. It's not really different, other than it's more about the music with the highest number of Malaysian artistes under one roof. It comes down to the way it's managed and the onus is more on the artiste to promote his or her music. It's quite exciting to see how it has grown and it does allow immediate access to local independent music. Go to the Tower Records (music shop) and you have to fight your way past all the Linkin Parks and Britneys to find a local indie album. Yes it's a niche, and it's ours.

You're also signed with a label right? What are the differences between being an artiste signed the traditional way and being an Internet artiste?

It's more about how much you spend on promotions and stuff. That's the advantage of having a label; there's a team to push your stuff. Though the Internet offers ease of distribution, it also takes away your promo team. Every artiste should have a team of people to promote his best interests, regardless of the medium.