Japan famous freshly-baked cheese tart shop, Pablo, will soon open its first outlet in Malaysia.
Originating from Osaka, the first flagship store will be located in One Utama shopping mall this coming October, followed by various other locations all over Klang Valley.
Previously, everyone went gaga over bubble tea, but now, cheese tart seems to be the latest food craze in Malaysia because not too long ago, two other Japanese-inspired baked cheese tart brands had also landed in the country, and they are; Tokyo Secret from Hong Kong which will soon open its second outlet at One Utama, and Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart which recently opened at Aeon Mall Shah Alam.
Malaysia will be Pablo’s first Southeast Asia outlet and third overseas store after South Korea and Taiwan.
Pablo is popular for making a variety of baked cheese tart flavours, their most famous and iconic flavour is its green tea flavour.
Six years ago, 12-year-old Greyson Chance swept the world away with his take of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” – now, all grown-up, the 18-year-old singer is looking for a second “chance” at music!
Last Sunday, the singer who has previously visited Malaysia three times, returned to the country for the fourth time to promote his latest EP “Somewhere Over My Head” as well as his new matured image.
On the same day, TheHive.Asia got to interview the funny chap who told us about his music journey before and after the vocal change.
Are you worried about the fans' reaction toward your new music? I was a bit worried, because what I did in the past was a lot different and my voice was a lot different too, so I was worried that coming back with a new musical direction will make the fans say, “We kind of miss the old stuff”.
Because when you take 2 or 3 years off and come back, there’s going to be a lot of nerves. Yeah, so I was a bit worried at first, but luckily the fans like the new piece.
When you entered the music industry, you were so young. Would you say that now you’re more prepared for this? Did my voice change? [laughs]
Yeah, so everyone told me and reminded me all the time that it’s going to change sooner or later. Because when you were a kid working, you can’t really focus on that so I kind of just shoved it aside, and I think it changed officially when I was here and while I was doing a tour, or at least I think it started to change here.
So yeah, I knew that it was going to happen, it was extremely hard, it was definitely not an easy process to go through at all.
But I talked to a younger male artiste in Singapore, and his voice is quite high and is probably about to change soon too, and he asked me like what he should do after the change. Then I told him that he should just sing through it because there’s really nothing that you can do because it’s human nature and that’s how it rolls.
Which songs do you like and enjoy writing the most? I guess the most enjoyable song of the EP would be the last song called “More Than Me”. It is a piano-based song, and as a writer, the song was really fun for me to write.
The song is a lot about Oklahoma and a lot about growing up. It is fun for me to play around with the song in terms of lyrics. So looking back, that was a really enjoyable song.
We heard that you taught song-writing in Bali. Why Bali? There’s a song-writing camp that takes place in Bali. I went right after I got dropped by one of my labels in the States, which was really nice because that kind of reminded me of music again. Looking back at that camp, that was a significant change, it’s probably one of the reasons that I started writing again.
But why Bali? Because the camp was there and there’s a cool beach. [laughs]
Why did you decide to release an EP and not an album? I like the freedom of an EP because it gives me the chance to go back into the studio and it gives a little change. I just wanted to start off with a foot first, and then say “Hey, so here’s me again”.
To some people it’s just a reintroduction, but to others it’s an introduction, and these five songs just felt right. I just don’t want to force my way back with 14 songs, I feel like five would be good enough.
So if you’re going to do a full album after this, will it have the same sound? No, the next album is going to be all country and bluegrass music. [laughs] I’m kidding, it’s going to be very similar.
Do you put a lot of narrative in your songs and do you ever feel exposed about it? Maybe bit, because I don’t like to dwell like super deep into the songs. But I do feel rightfully exposed, but as an artiste you have to get over that very quickly.
But there’s also the sense that you want to share music with people, and hopefully people can relate and see some similarities in that.
How do you feel about some people who cannot accept the fact that you have changed so much, because there will always be people who compare you to the younger you. So how do you deal with that? Then you got to leave. [laughs] I’m sorry, but it’s a little hard, I mean you will always have some sort of negative dialogues – that’s just a part of the game. But in that situation, there’s really nothing I can do, I can’t go back to those days and I can’t go back to being that kid.
It’s same as when I listen to other artistes, I mean I don’t want them to stay the same, I want to see them grow, and they do grow.
So if you like “Waiting Outside the Line”, the video is still on YouTube, but that kid, well, he’s not around anymore.
Is there any artiste you would like or consider working with in the future? There’s nothing directly in the plan right now. I certainly have dreams and aspirations. I met Sam Smith four to five months ago, to collaborate with him would be incredible and amazing.
Now that I’ve been in L.A. for a while, it’s cool because I’ve been hanging around with some bands for a while, and maybe I can do something with them. But I’m very picky about collaborations, you got to make sure that it really fits before going with it.
You sure have a huge fanbase in Asia, and this is like your fourth time in Malaysia! Are you focusing on just Asia then? Well, no. I think we pretty much balance it out, we put the EP out last month and the first single started to come out in America, and I’ve done a lot of press for the last couple of months, and in between shows too. I think we did a good job balancing out, but I do love coming to Asia, and I love coming to Malaysia because the fans here are so passionate.
How fast can you write a song? Here’s a good example; “Hit and Run” was written in ten minutes because it was quite easy for me, and “More Than Me” took seven months.
Do you have any limitations when writing songs, like maybe you prefer that your song is not about sex? I guess that’s kind of true because I’m not the cool kid, I’m not Zayn Malik! [laughs] I don’t feel any limitations but there are certain things that I don’t talk about because I’m not that type of person.
What advice do you have for the youngsters pursuing music as their passion? I think it’s really important to stay confident, and to really think about why you like music and why you want to do it in the first place. I think nowadays there are a lot of kids who see a lot of internet famous folks like from Vines and Instagram, and think that “I also want followers, and music may be the way to do that.” If that is your thing it’s cool, but I won’t hang out with you.
But if you like music and you’re really passionate about it, then stay confident and keep on writing, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, I think that’s the most important thing.
Ultra Singapore is set to welcome a couple of huge names from the EDM industry for its inaugural Ultra Music Festival this September.
The two-day three-stage music festival has dropped the first phase line-up for this year’s event which will include big names like Afrojack, Axwell^Ingrosso, deadmau5, Kygo, Nero and DJ Snake as the esteemed headliners!
Moreover, the mega dance festival will also feature renowned supporting acts like Asian-American dance music collective Far East Movement, genre-blending DJ Jauz and the unknown and mysterious Marshmello who was recently revealed to be DJ Tiesto.
Ultra Singapore will take place at Ultra Park whichis located in a field across from Marina Bay Sands on 10 and 11 September 2016.
Early Bird tickets have been sold out, but Advance – Tier 1 tickets are now available at ultrasingapore.com/tickets.
Here are the deets of the festival.
Dates: 10 & 11 September 2016 (Saturday and Sunday) Venue: ULTRA Park, 1 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore Prices: USD160 (Advance – Tier 1), USD190 (Regular)
Legendary German rock band Scorpions will be performing in Singapore for a one-night show as part of their 50th Anniversary World Tour, this coming October.
Formed in 1965, Scorpions is one of the long-running rock bands consisting of longtime members Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (guitar) and Matthias Jabs (guitar), alongside James Kottak (drums) and Paweł Mąciwoda (bass).
The band is considered Europe’s most successful rock band as they have released 18 studio albums, 27 compilation albums and 74 singles, and six of those singles have reached number one on the charts in different countries.
The band also receives countless of silver, gold and platinum status for their albums, singles, compilations and video releases in different countries.
Their best-selling album to date is “Crazy World” (1990) which includes one of the best-selling singles of all time, “Wind of Change”.
The song holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist and peaked at number one in seven other countries including Austria, France, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Other famous songs include “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “No One Like You”, “Send Me an Angel” and “Still Loving You”.
Details for “Scorpions’ 50th Anniversary World Tour – Live in Singapore” are as below. Date & Time: Friday, 21 October 2016, 8pm Venue: Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre Ticket Prices: •Pre-Sale – SGD158 (Standing) •Standard – SGD168, SGD158 (Group), SGD148, SGD128, SGD108, SGD98
Ticket Launch:
•2-Day Pre-Sale starts on 2 July at 9am via lamcproductions.com •Standard sales open on 4 July, 9am via sistic.com.sg
Get ready to join the most intense superhero race which brings forth two of the most iconic superhero figures in DC Comic universe – Batman v Superman Malaysia Run 2016 is set to take place in September.
Based on the recently released “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, the team behind Hello Kitty Runis here to present another exciting fun run which will definitely get all the DC Comic fans’ adrenaline rushing.
Runners will have to pick a side – Team Batman or Team Superman – and race for your team with a 5km / 10km timed fun run around the Padang Merbok, where each of the team will be running on different routes.
There is no age limit for the 5km run but for the 10km run, participant needs to be at least 12 years old and above.
Here are the full details of the Batman v Superman Malaysia Run 2016:-
Date: Sunday, 18 September 2016 Time: 6:45am Venue: Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur
Register hereand get entitled to a running singlet, e-certificate, finishing medal, cape and drawstring bag.
Less than two weeks more to go before Hari Raya, and everyone is getting excited for the celebration!
Every year, there will always be new Raya songs released, whether they are covers of old evergreen songs or something that are completely new and original!
And it is our job to recommend some of the new songs for you to listen to during your balik kampung journey!
From dangdut to ballad and rock, we sure have quite a range of genre for this year’s Raya.
Djakarta Warehouse Project (DWP) returns this year, and has secured some of the biggest international and local stars from the EDM scene for its first phase line-up!
The festival which is known to be the biggest dance music festival in Indonesia, and also one of the biggest in Asia will take place for two days in Jakarta on 9 and 10 December.
Last year’s event was a huge success with Axwell ^ Ingrosso, Major Lazer, R3Hab, Tiesto, Kaskade, and more as part of the line-up, so this year DWP is set to raise the bar even higher with renowned DJs like Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Zedd, KSHMR, Yellow Claw and more to be announced soon!
Ticketing details are as follow and they can be purchased at djakartawarehouse.com, but hurry up, because the pre-sale tickets are selling out fast!
Check out the official aftermovie from last year’s Djakarta Warehouse Project!
As one of the most popular television series at the moment, "Game of Thrones" is most well-known for its strongly driven characters and far reaching network of deceit and intrigue between them.
With its wide cast of characters, both still living and ultimately dead, it calls for a large assembly of actors to play their roles, large or small as they are in the game of thrones.
With the success that it has become over its six seasons, there is little surprise that some of the actors playing as some of the most iconic characters in the series so far would move on from the small screen to the silver screen. But that transition doesn't always go one-way as some of these characters are played by actors with far more experience and familiarity in cinemas than television.
As we bid farewell to season 6 of "Game of Thrones" today, we look at the talented cast of the series and the movies they have appeared in.
Peter Dinklage
Long before his turn as the most famous dwarf in all of Westeros, Peter Dinklage had already made his big screen debut in 1995 as a struggling dwarf actor trying to find roles outside those given to him in "Living in Oblivion". Although he made a breakthrough in 2003 for Tom McCarthy's "The Station Agent", it was still a little indie that didn't bring in a lot of attention, even though he was also remembered for his role in both the 2007 and 2010 rendition of "Death at a Funeral". It was after his appearance as Tyrion Lannister that would give him a big boost to his profile, making his appearance in movies post-"Game of Thrones" more noticeable. Aside from that, Dinklage has also used his glib tongue to voice characters in "Ice Age: Continental Drift", and most recently in "The Angry Birds Movie".
Movies appeared in: •The Station Agent (2003) •Death at a Funeral (2007 & 2010) •Knights of Badassdom (2013) •X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) •Pixels (2015)
Lena Headey
Before joining "Game of Thrones", Lena Headey had a long line of works in cinema (and television), starting in 1992's "Waterland" by director Stephen Gyllenhaal (father of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal) and getting her big break in 2005's "The Brothers Grimm". By the time it was for her to be Cersei Lannister, a ferocious mother and queen-regent, it was not a role unfamiliar to her. She has played as a Spartan queen in Zack Synder's "300", and a mob boss affectionately called Mama in the 2012 remake of "Dredd".
Movies appeared in: •Waterland (1992) •The Brothers Grimm (2005) •300 (2006) •Dredd (2012) •Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
Kit Harington
From ignorant bastard to resurrected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Kit Harington's fame and supporters have certainly had an upsurge since he became known as Jon Snow in "Game of Thrones". Shortly after being sent to Castle Black, Harington made his cinematic debut in a supporting role for Michael J. Bassett's "Silent Hill: Revelation". He would later get his first cinematic leading role in Paul W. S. Anderson's disaster flick "Pompeii" in 2014. Harington has made small accomplishments since then, and there will be certainly more roles to come that we don't know nothing about.
Movies appeared in: •Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012) •Pompeii (2014) •How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) •Testament of Youth (2014) •Seventh Son (2014)
Emilia Clarke
Equally as supported on the show is Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons and Breaker of Chains, played by Emilia Clarke who made her cinematic debut shortly after walking out of the flames that gave her her first title in 2012's "Spike Island", based on the 1990 concert of The Stone Roses. She continued to have a supporting role in the vulgar "Dom Hemingway" in 2013, and became a lead in the 2015 reboot of "Terminator Genisys" as the pivotal Sarah Connor (a role also previously carried by Lena Headey in a television series).
Movies appeared in: •Spike Island (2012) •Dom Hemingway (2013) •Terminator Genisys (2015) •Me Before You (2016)
Sophie Turner
After becoming the eldest pure-born of the surviving Stark family, Sophie Turner snagged her first cinematic lead role for her debut in the 2013 adaptation of "Another Me" by Isabel Coixet. For her more well-known appearances, she can be seen in 2015's "Barely Lethal" as a rival agent to Hailee Steinfeld's brainwashed agent, and as Jean Grey in the recent "X-Men: Apocalypse".
Movies appeared in: •Another Me (2013) •Barely Lethal (2015) •X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Maisie Williams
Young Arya Stark may have taken her time to plot for her revenge, so has Maisie Williams' acting career, as she made her cinematic debut in 2013's "Heatstroke", where she is a daughter of a naturalist who gets hunted down by illegal poachers in the African savanna. Aside from that, Williams have stuck mostly to drama fare in 2014's "Gold", and "The Falling", but she has also managed to secure a recurring role in "Doctor Who", and is also busy advocating against bullying in media campaigns.
Movies appeared in: •Heatstroke (2013) •Gold (2014) •The Falling (2014) •The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2016)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was already a household name in his native Denmark since 1994's "Nightwatch" and had already made his Hollywood debut in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" before he came to be known as the Kingslayer. He continued to work in American and European films, starring in award-winners along the way like Morten Tyldum's adaptation of Jo Nesbø's "Headhunters", before Jaime Lannister took off. After "Game of Thrones", he started to have more mainstream American appearances from a small role in the Tom Cruise-starring "Oblivion", a three-time cheating husband in "The Other Woman", and a major role in this year's "Gods of Egypt".
Movies have appeared in: •Nightwatch (1994) •Black Hawk Down (2001) •Kingdom of Heaven (2005) •At World's End (2009) •Headhunters (2011) •Oblivion (2013) •The Other Woman (2014) •Gods of Egypt (2016)
Aidan Gillen
A strong performer for British and Irish television, Aidan Gillen's film outings may be a little hard to find at first since he was formerly credited as Aidan Murphy, which goes as early as 1987. Before he wrapped players of the Game around his Littlefinger, you may have had a glimpse of him in larger fares such as 2003's "Shanghai Knights", but his first prominent appearance after "Game of Thrones" is in the final installment of the Dark Knight trilogy in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises". Petyr Baelish's manipulative voice and character is unmistakable in second part of the Maze Runner's "The Scorch Trials", and his most recent work is in the Irish Sundance darling, "Sing Street".
Movies appeared in: •Circle of Friends (1995) •Shanghai Knights (2003) •The Dark Knight Rises (2012) •Calvary (2014) •The Scorch Trials (2015) •Sing Street (2016)
Gwendoline Christie
A stage actor by training, Gwendoline Christie had made her cinematic debut in a small production known as "The Time Surgeon" in 2007, but can be spotted in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" and "The Zero Theorem". Given the role of Brienne of Tarth, almost hands down before an audition, it had certainly done her favours in winning other roles of strong female characters that needed an imposing image. Starting with Commander Lyme in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2", she is looking to be a mainstay in the new "Star Wars" trilogy as the chrome trooper Captain Phasma, first seen in "The Force Awakens".
Movies have appeared in: •The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) •The Zero Theorem (2013) •The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) •Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Natalie Dormer
Despite making her cinematic debut shortly after graduating from drama school in 2005's "Casanova", her acting career was off to a rocky start, without work for almost 9 months. Much like Margaery Tyrell, her rise to fame was swift but steady, since her breakout as the real-life Anne Boleyn for the television series, "The Tudors".
From there, she slowly made her way back to film, stealing a sexy moment in "Captain America: The First Avenger", and engaging in noble subtlety in the Madonna directed "W.E", as another English queen-to-be, Elizabeth. After making her entrance into "Game of Thrones", she continued making her presence known for major directors in Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" and Ron Howard's "Rush", but would come to be a force of her own in the last two-part finale of "The Hunger Games" as propaganda director, Cressida. In 2016, she had her first leading role for film in the Jason Zada horror "The Forest".
Movies appeared in: •Casanova (2005) •Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) •W.E. (2011) •Rush (2013) •The Counselor (2013) •The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) •The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) •The Forest (2016)
Kristian Nairn
Openly gay Kristian Nairn may be best known for his DJ career since he became everyone's lovable gentle giant who says one syllable more than Groot. Though now everyone's sadly missed door holder, it is the catalyst for his new acting career, particularly in the fantasy genre, which started in 2015's "Four Warriors", where he has more lines as Baliphar the wizard. He is expected to be seen again in "Mythica: The Godslayer", expected to be released in October.
Malaysian athletes Syakilla Salni Jefry Krishnan and Sharmendran Ragunathan are certainly no strangers in the karate world as they have been actively involved in karate since young. Sharmendran is the team captain for Malaysia and he just recently won a gold medal at the fifth South East Asia Championship 2016.
Meanwhile, 25-year-old Syakilla is ranked number 2 on the World Karate Federation (WKF) ranking in Karate 1 for female kumite 55kg and champion for Asian Games 2014.
The two good friends have been winning a number of national and regional tournaments, and are currently punching and kicking their ways to Olympics 2020.
The Malaysia karate team! (Photo source: Sharmen's Facebook)
Not too long ago, TheHive.Asia had a quick talk with the two martial artists during the premiere of “Independence Day: Resurgence” where the two shared about their backgrounds, personal lives and upcoming plans.
When did you first start karate? Sharmendran: It started as a hobby at first. When I was a kid, around 10 years old, there was an open space near my house, and my dad was like, “Hey, let’s play some karate!” So it all started just for fun!
Syakilla: I started at the age of 4, and it was because of my grandfather. He was the one who took me to the karate classes. At first, I wasn’t so interested, but then I got my first medal at the age of 7, and after that I started to like it more and I got involved in karate a lot since then.
Syakilla and Sharmendran are close friends. (Photo source: Syakilla's Facebook)
Do you have any hobby other than karate? Sharmendran: Of course, we sometime spend our free time with our friends like playing futsal or just having a small get together, but it’s very rare because we’re very committed to our training. We trains from Monday to Saturday, so we have like only one day to rest, and we use that time to spend with our family and friends.
What about you, Syakilla? Syakilla: Like what he said, but I also love to read novels during my free time.
What is the last novel you read? Syakilla: It’s a Malay romance novel titled “Adam & Hawa”.
Syakilla won the 2014 Asian Games! (Photo source: Syakilla's Facebook)
So how is your daily training programme looks like? Sharmendran: Well, we train six days in a week, two sessions – three hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the evening. We have a short rest in between, that’s when we sleep, do physiotherapy, massage and everything to regain our strength for the next session. But on Wednesday and Saturday, we will have only one session, so all together we have ten sessions per week.
What do you both have next, any new competitions? Syakilla:This year, the major competition is Karate World Championships in Austria, but before that we will have Karate 1 Premier League in Germany and also Istanbul, Turkey. Those are the main three competitions for this year. Sharmendran:We are also looking forward to Olympic 2020 in Tokyo, hopefully we will be qualified for that. The final announcement will be in next month where 90 contestants will be picked. So, hopefully we will be chosen too!
Yuna is making Malaysia proud again as her latest album, “Chapters” has been named one of the best R&B albums so far this year by US entertainment bi-weekly Rolling Stone.
The 29-year-old singer was ranked alongside renowned pop icons like Beyonce and Rihanna for their respective album, “Lemonade” and “Anti”.
“Yuna's Chapters, which boasts cameos from Usher and Jhene Aiko, demonstrates that the Malaysian pop star is an insightful lyricist who only needs a stellar single or two to earn mainstream attention,” according to Rolling Stone.
Earlier this month, Yuna’s album peaked at number 8 on Billboard’s Top 10 R&B Albums and number 16 on Billboard’s Top 20 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
“Woke up to this lovely article. “Chapters” made it to the list. Thank you so much Rolling Stone this means a lot to me,” Yuna wrote on her Instagram.
Kanye and his wife Kim sure like to get people’s attention in the most unimaginable way.
Last Friday night, the 39-year-old rapper debuted his controversial “Famous” music video at the Los Angeles Forum which is now available for streaming on Tidal as well.
As expected, the video receives many negative reactions from the public as it features naked figures of famous celebrities lying naked in a very long bed together with West.
The naked celebrities include (from Left to Right) George W. Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Trump, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, West himself, Kim Kardashian, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner and Bill Cosby.
Apparently, West tried to recreate Vincent Desiderio's painting, Sleep, in his music video.
On the exception of West, his wife Kim, and probably Caitlyn and Amber Rose, the other celebrities are obviously fakes, especially Taylor Swift!
They are most probably just lookalikes or are made using digital trickery.
So far, Taylor Swift, Ray J and Chris Brown are the only celebrities responded to the video, while the others are yet to say anything.
Here is a short clip of the super NSFW music video, watch it at your own risk!
Due to the lack of reaction from the celebrities, Kanye tweeted on Saturday, “Can somebody sue me already, I'll wait.” But he later deleted that tweet, E! Online reports.
As usual, the internet is now going crazy with plenty of hilarious memes. Here are some of the best ones we found!
Relive the era of “Young and Dangerous” as Chan Ho Nam, Chicken, Dai Tin Yee, Pou Pan and Big Head, take you on an unforgettable journey of brotherhood and friendship in this amazing concert.
Venue: Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
Face various obstacles such as running through some really creepy and gooey green slime at the run which celebrates the release of the new all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters”.
YouTube sensations, Sam Tsui and his frequent collaborator Kurt Hugo Schneider is back to deliver another fantastic performance in this one-night only show.
Catch Megan Nicole, Mike Tompkins, Andie Case and Max Schneider performing clever medleys, and mash-up tunes as well as several originals on this one-night only showcase.
Get ready to experience the first ever music festival in Asia which celebrates the digital music evolution, featuring Asian performers like Hyuna, Namewee, Miu Le, Joyce Chu, MC Mong, Top Combine, Mikey Bustos, S.White and more!
Venue: Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, Bali, Indonesia
Dirty Vegas is set to debut its first show in Malaysia and also be the first international act at the newly opened three-story alfresco bar, Le Noir KL.
Can’t keep your hands to yourself? Well, we all can’t, ‘cos pop star Selena Gomez will soon have her first ever solo concert here as part of her second global tour in support of her album, “Revival”.
Apparently, Malaysians are not the only ones excited for Raya!
Tomás Ford, an Australian alternative cabaret showman recently gained fame in Malaysia through his cover of Rihanna’s “Work” – but in Malay language!
After gaining many Malaysian fans, Tomás decided to dedicate a special Raya song about ketupat, using Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling”.
“Selamat hari raya, Malaysia! After I covered her version of “Kerja,” I worked with ZE REBELLE on a new cover. I'm pretty sure my pronunciation is as good as my terrible cooking skills. Hope it gives you a laugh,” Tomás wrote on his Facebook.
Tomás started to have interests in Malaysia after working with ZE REBELLE, a Malaysian electro artiste, on a song titled “’Till Death Do Us Part”.
ZE REBELLE is the one who has been writing the Malay lyrics of popular songs covered by Tomás.
Though Tomás is not very fluent in Malay language, he admits that he is still learning.
“I’ve been slowly starting to learn Malay myself (to be honest, I am at the “numbers and colours” stage of language learning but having so much fun) and making plans to make a new show to bring to you. So hopefully we'll get to meet this year!”
Renowned French-Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan are set for their Southeast Asian tour this September, and guess what? Malaysia is also included!
The last time the quintet band visited Malaysia was four years ago during their “Get Your Heart On! Tour”, and now, they are returning to KL Live for their “Taking One for the Team Tour Kuala Lumpur 2016”.
The tour is to support their fifth studio album, “Taking One for the Team”.
Made up of Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums), David Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), Simple Plan is known for many popular hits like “Welcome to My Life”, “Perfect”, “Jet Lag”, “Summer Paradise”, “Shut Up” and more.
The band will kick off their Southeast Asia tour in Seoul, Korea on 1 September, before heading to Singapore on 5 September, and then to Malaysia on 7 September 2016.
After Malaysia, the band will then wrap up their Southeast Asia tour in Thailand on 8 September before continuing their European tour.
Here are the details of “Taking One for the Team Tour – Kuala Lumpur 2016”.
Date: Wednesday, 7 September 2016 Time: 8.30pm Venue: KL Live @ Life Centre Ticket Pricing: PS1 RM388 | PS2 RM288 | PS3 RM188 Ticket Launch: Official sales – 5 July 2016 Ticketing Details:ticketcharge.com.my
Who knew that the first Malaysian YouTube channel to hit ONE million subscribers would be a relatively unknown channel called CartoonHooligans?
When one thinks of popular Malaysian YouTubers or YouTube channels, the names that will come to our minds would probably be JinnyBoyTV, Namewee, or Les' Copaque Production, but even these guys haven’t come close to a million yet.
CartoonHooligans now has 997,592 subscribers and counting, and is set to reach one million very soon!
Created by a cartoonist from Sungai Petani, Kedah named Bram Lee, the channel features videos of short cartoon animation and parodies of famous superheroes and comic book characters.
(Photo source: rage.com.my)
His most successful video so far is “Dragon Ball Z VS Marvel Superheroes” which has over 38 million views.
Most of his videos contains weird and quirky adult humour centered around cartoon characters, and this probably attracted the otakus around the world.
“My audiences are mostly from the United States, Britain, Mexico, Brazil and France. The age group is around 18 to 35, mostly male,” Lee said to R.AGE.
Lee only has 36 videos on his channel so far, but he has reached almost a million subscribers thanks to those videos.
Lee explained that he had spent quite an amount of time for each of his videos and he believes that the good quality of his videos is what attracted others to subscribe to his channel.
“Most of them take around two to four weeks to complete, and videos with fight scenes take around two months!”
For now, Lee is only creating animated parody videos, but he plans on introducing his original animated series or characters in the future.
Cue the “Baywatch” theme song now, because The Hoff is going to be the Captain for this year’s It’s The Ship!
Known for playing the sexy lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the 90s “Baywatch” series, David Hasselhoff will be hosting the third instalment of Asia’s largest music festival cruise, and we can’t think of anyone more fitting for the position.
Set for sail on 4 November from Singapore to Penang and back to Singapore on 7 November, It’s The Ship 2016will see an epic line-up of EDM royalties from around the world, covering multi music genres, with new shows and acts.
Check out the 60 over music acts set for the festival!
“We believe that we have put together a solid, diverse and multi-genre line-up this year,” said Muhammad Iqbal, Group CEO of The Livescape Group, organiser of It’s The Ship.
“With It's The Ship going into its third year, we wanted to refresh the customer journey by bringing acts who we think will help us create the perfect engagement with the fans on board,” he added.
“But in true Livescape fashion, we still have a couple more things up our sleeves, to further enhance the It's The Ship experience so we're excited to see how these different entertainment elements will come together to provide a one of a kind adventure for our returning shipmates and new ones.”
This year will also see the introduction of exciting themed nights on multiple stages. The themes are “Get Lucky”, “Sexy by Nature” and “Armada Night”.
It’s The Ship will takes place on the prestigious Royal Caribbean International cruise liner, “Mariner of the Seas”, a 15-deck cruise-liner which is one of the world’s largest cruises.
Cabins are priced between USD588 a person, for a four-person interior cabin, and US$5,888, for a two-person royal suite with balcony cabin, visit itstheship.com now to book a cabin.
Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest and most notable global music festival, might be expanding to Thailand.
The festival is said to be in talks with a local entertainment promoter, World Planet Entertainment, to bring over the iconic music festival to the Land of Smiles, Asia Live 365 reports.
The managing director, Chatri Tungthiankul said that Thailand is looking to have more world-class entertainment events in order to boost the country’s tourism and culture, but he also believes that such large-scale event would need the government’s involvement and cooperation.
Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, Kobkan Watthanawarangkoon has confirmed that the Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is currently exploring on ways to make this project a reality.
“We have to prepare a venue that can host up to 450,000 attendees,” Tungthiankul said.
“We will also have to be ready to facilitate the journey for festival-goers from other countries, specifically at the immigration control, because when people travel to the festival in other countries – Belgium, Brazil and the US – their personalised festival bracelet does all the work, including that of a passport,” he continued.
Tungthiankul also said that other Asian countries like China and Japan have also expressed interests in hosting the festival.
If the project is greenlighted, Thailand will be the first Asian countries to host an edition of Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland first started in Boom, Belgium in 2005, then it expanded to USA in 2013 under a new name called TomorrowWorld, and the recent expansion is to Brazil in 2015 called Tomorrowland Brasil.
The 2016 edition of Tomorrowland is happening next month from 22 to 24 July 2016, featuring Tiësto, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Allesso, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Martin Garrix.
An experimental musician from Malaysia has been chosen participate in the Red Bull Music Academy, a world-travelling series of workshops and festivals, which is also a platform for those who make a difference in today’s musical landscape.
This year, more than three thousand singers, musicians, producers and DJs from 102 countries had applied for this year’s Red Bull Music Academy, but one of the few who got picked by the jury is a Malaysian artiste who performs under the name, The Venopian Solitude.
(Photo source: Red Bull Music Academy's Facebook)
Also known as Takahara Suiko, this hijab-wearing singer will be joining 69 other emerging music makers at the 18th edition of the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal, Canada from 24 to 28 September 2016.
“I can’t believe I was chosen from thousands of people around the world. It almost feels like one of those ‘Nigerian prince’ email scams! It feels so surreal,” said Takahara Suiko to Pulse Radio. The Venopian Solitude described her music as “experimenternative” as she uses an eclectic mix music genres and instruments to play her songs.
But what makes The Venopian Solitude’s music really special is because of Takahara Suiko’s unique and mighty vocals which can be soothing but also intense at the same time. (You will get it once you listen to one of her songs!)
(Photo source: The Venopian Solitude's Facebook)
With her unique style of music and also deeply meaningful lyrics, it is no wonder that Takahara Suiko was chosen for the music initiative.
This also makes Venopian Solitude the first Malaysian artiste to perform at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy.
But this is not her first time performing outside of the country. She had previously also attended various other international music festivals and workshops in Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore and Japan.
It’s that time of the year again! That’s right, we’re counting down the days to Hari Raya!
For this festive season, several companies have once again unleashed their new Raya ads which most of us look forward to year after year.
Some the ads are funny and cute, but usually they are all heartbreakingly sad, nevertheless, all of them contain valuable messages and great moral values to remind everyone on the importance of bonds between family and friends, and also the act of forgiveness.
So get your boxes of tissue ready folks, because these Raya ads of 2016 will make you weep! 1.Samsung – Siberturahim Samsung Malaysia has released a heartwarming Raya ad which reflects the world that we are living in today – the world of technology. The story of the ad is quite simple, it’s about a family in a Whatsapp group who are having a bit of a dispute, but they learn to forgive one another afterwards. The ad shows that even though the way we communicate now is different, as long as the bond and love is still there, family will always be family. 2.TNB – Lepas tu This adorable ad by Tenaga Nasional Berhad shows a young boy apologising to his father during Hari Raya on all the mistakes that he has done. It starts with a small mistake, and as the father is about to respond the boy continues with “Lepas tu…” (and then), and goes on and on about the bigger mistakes that he made. The ad stars comedian Lan Pet Pet from Senario. 3.TM – Rezeki Yang Dikongsi Lebih Diberkati Telekom Malaysia unveiled yet another touching ad which teaches us not to be wasteful. Sofea is a kind-hearted woman who always packs leftover food from parties and celebrations. Her action makes it seem as though she is greedy, but she actually gives the leftover food to the ones in need. 4.Mydin – Selalu Di Hati The ad begins with a woman narrating about her preparation during Raya, and how she ends up preparing everything all by herself. Though the outcome of the ad is a bit obvious, it will still make you weep upon seeing the revelation. 5.Watsons – Raya ni Mesti Cun The ad released by Watsons Malaysia features three socially awkward women who go through amazing transformations after shopping at Watsons. The whole ad was presented in a song, featuring Mawar Rashid, Sari Yanti and Raja Ilya as the three main cast, and various famous personalities like Amber Chia, Arja Lee, Dayah Bakar, Kit Mah, Monika Sta Maria, Nadia Heng, Nadine Ann Thomas, Nomad, Shuk SYJ and Wafa de Korte. 6.Astro Gempak – Kisah Benar Zika Based on a true story, Zika, played by Jihan Muse, turns rebellious after her father stops paying attention to her and focuses too much on his work. She blames her father for everything that goes wrong in the family, but when her father passes away, she realises that she never tried to understand her father circumstances, and regrets it.
7.Maxis – Sarikata hati Maxis’ Raya also reflects on today’s generation who are too addicted to smartphones, and this causes them to forget what really matters the most. Though technology has made it more convenient for us to stay connected with each other, but overtime, we have lost sight of what’s really important. 8.Jakel – Macam mana nak Raya? Featuring Nabil Ahmad, Aaron Aziz and Jep Sepahtu, the whole ad is basically to promote the new Baju Melayu and Jubah collections of the three local celebrities released by Jakel. The message it delivers is still heartwarming though.
Filipino synth pop band Paranoid City rocked their first show in Malaysia just a few weeks ago during Asian Connection, a project created by Darren Teh – the vocalist of local pop band An Honest Mistake – to build a connection between regional artistes in Asia.
Formed in 2009, the Philippines-based band is made up of four good friends – Dax (vocalist, guitarist), 8-Bit (dual synth operator, vocoder), Eric Strange (beat engineer, drummer) and 4-Track (support synth operator, loop scientist).
The quartet band released their first album “Viewfinder Dreams” in 2011, and one of their singles “Two Minutes to Paranoid City” was used in an online viral ad by a famous Philippines clothing brand, Bayo.
The band has also played at various music events and festivals including Culture One, Bazooka Rocks III, Summer Siren, Sonic Boom and more.
During the band’s visit to Malaysia, TheHive.Asia chatted up with the members who told us everything from how they first met, to their music inspiration, song themes, views on music and also future plans.
Hi Guys! Introduce us to your band! Dax: I’ve known 8-Bit since college back in 2003. We met Eric from a different band around 2004, but at that time, we were concentrating on our specific bands. When our band went on hiatus, I called Eric and asked if he wants to start something different with me and 8-Bit. We first started as a trio, and when the first album came out in 2011, 4-Track officially became the fourth member.
(L-R) 8-Bit, 4-Track, Dax and Eric Strange.
How is your band different from the other bands? Dax: What’s different for this band as compared to the conventional formula where you have a bass guitar, a guitar, drums and vocals - we took away the bass guitar. What we have is a bass synthesizer. Predominantly for this band, it’s all keyboard synthesizers.
4-Track: And the set-up is like, we don’t have any pre-programmed effects. Everything is by hand, analogue, like the bands from the 80s.
8-Bit: Basically we play old school
Dax: So there aren’t any loops, there isn’t any pre-recorded stuff.
What are your musical influences? Dax: For me, I was very inspired by bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Killers. That type of music was an influence for this band many years ago. But of course, we’re a lot older now, so the music has evolved and it will keep on evolving because that's how it should be.
How did the name Paranoid City come about? 4-Track: It’s from the 90s TV series, “Friends”.
Dax: There was an episode where they talked about Ross’ love life, of how he was so trusting, and then Phoebe said, “Carol left him and BAM – paranoid city!” And when I heard that, it stuck. I suggested the name to everyone, and they all liked it.
How did you get involved with Asian Connection? 8-Bit: We first met Darren in 2012 in Manila. I visited them during their An Honest Mistake gig.
Dax: We met him again in 2013 at the Sonic Boom festival, and then we hung out backstage with him and his band mates. We got along so well because Darren and his bandmates are awesome guys!
Eric: Our original plan was to visit Singapore because a local music group invited us to play. Then I suggested that since Malaysia is so near, why don’t we visit Darren and probably play some gigs there.
How would you accurately describe the genre of your music? Dax: We label it as synth pop.
4-Track: It’s like an inclusion of dance, electronica, new wave, pop and anything in between.
8-Bit: But if you talk about the themes of the songs, the first album; we made it seem as if you were going to Paranoid City – it’s like a story. 4-Track: It’s like you’re in a car, and then it is your first time in the city, so it’s like a journey throughout the city.
8-Bit: For our second album, the songs are a bit more personal, there’s some angst and frustration.
Dax: A little more mature, because the first album was written by 24-year-olds, and this album was written by 30-year-olds.
Speaking of song-writing, what's the process like for the band? 4-Track: Sometimes it is writing first, sometimes melody first, other times we do it like assignments.
Eric: Well, it depends. Sometimes one person will write a song, sometimes one person will start something like record a melody, and the rest of us will just put the lyrics in it. Basically, it’s free-style! We don’t have any specific formula. In terms of themes, it varies. Dax: Sometimes we talk about nothing, sometimes we talk about everything. But the one common factor is everyone has to have a say, and everyone has to get a vote. So majority wins, and if it’s a tie, we have to convince each other of our points. It’s basically a democracy, which makes it awesome but hard at the same time.
Are there any certain topics that you wouldn’t like to sing about in your music? 8-Bit: So far, we haven’t really covered everything. So, it’s too early to say that we have a limitation.
Dax: Well, there have been arguments about our song having a certain curse word. 8-Bit is a stickler with regard to curse words, he doesn’t like it in the music. In my case, I think it doesn’t matter, especially if it fits the song. Because for me, as long as it gives justice to the songs – that’s my motto! But then again, it’s always a vote.
Eric: In terms of topic, we probably haven’t covered all aspects of life, we haven’t touched base on politics. Maybe in the future we will, but for now we’re not really pushing ourselves to write what we don’t feel like writing.
What’s your best gig to date? 8-Bit: For me, I think one of the best gigs I have with this band was a show that we had in Singapore last year at the Esplanade, because I have always dreamt of playing there. I think that’s the single particular gig that almost made me shed a tear, because it’s a huge thing for me. I’m a full time musician, but it’s not a socially accepted profession. I have a lot of friends who don’t treat my passion very seriously, even though they support me. So, I think that the gig really sealed the deal for me, for now!
4-Track: For me, it was last year too. It was at Summer Siren, a beach festival in the Philippines. Summer Siren is your typical beach party with big-named performers, but the only thing that struck me the most was when the manager of the festival told us that, “You guys sound better than those professionals, you are underrated.” The words gave me the courage and push that I needed. I mean, we are an underrated band, but people responded very well to our music. So I believe that if you perform honestly, people can connect to your music no matter what. It feels like we are going to a certain level, we’re stepping up even though we’re not really trying so hard, but sometimes it is the people who motivate us to keep on playing.
What are your views on mainstream music? 8-Bit: At first, I used to hate mainstream music, but as we grew older, I analysed it. I finally understand that we can learn a lot from mainstream music by looking at its content and how it connects to the current audience. There is a formula, and the formula they use is the oldest formula in the book like repetitive lyrics and music. Some people think it’s a bad thing, but it entertains a lot of people, so I don’t think that’s bad. Dax: I view it like watching movies. Sometimes, there will be certain movies that you want to use your brains for like “Inception” where you have to be constantly thinking. But sometimes, you just want to turn your brain off, a good example of that would be Michael Bay’s “Transformers”. You’re not thinking, you’re just enjoying the ride. With regard to mainstream music, sometimes you appreciate the way it was written, and sometimes you enjoy a song just because it sounds nice, like “Gangnam Style” by PSY. As a Filipino, I don’t understand the lyrics, but it sounds good to me!
Would you consider signing to a mainstream label? Dax: Why not? I mean being indie is awesome, you have more freedom and a bit more honesty. But, if given the chance to have a label help you out with marketing, it would be even better. It’s because you can reach more people through a label.
8-Bit: And at this stage, we are pretty much open to all options.
Dax: Yeah, there was once a time where we were kind of closed off, like we only wanted to be indie, we only want these specific type of gigs and etc. But as you grow older and as years goes by, things start to change, so we kind of don't really mind anymore, we just want to play music.
Now that you’re here, is there any particular artiste in Malaysia that you would like to collaborate with? 8-Bit: We just did. With Darren on An Honest Mistake’s new single, I played the synth parts for that particular song.
4-Track: They also shot the music video of that song in Philippines two weeks ago.
8-Bit: Personally, I wanted to play overseas. I want to connect to other countries as well. I mean if they want to play and if we can help them, then why not? That’s basically what Darren is doing right now, and that connects our band to him and the Malaysian audience as well. Music should be a binding factor, it should always be about collaboration and making new stuff for the people.
Dax: Collaboration isn’t always about the music, it’s about connecting with other musicians.
Eric: We’re just part of a bigger population.
8-Bit: And we want to play our part.
Eric: That is the dream, but of course what we can do now is to get to know the other artiste. Hopefully through these gigs, we will get to know other bands better like how we did with An Honest Mistake, and form something together in the future. The possibilities are endless.
4-Track: To wrap this up, our music is filled with positivity.
