Gala : Rachmaninov Concerto No.3
SSO , Vladimir Ashkenazy : Conductor
ALEXEI Volodin : Piano
Esplanade Concert Hall has a relatively “dead” sounding acoustic that will give the musician no rooms to hide any mistakes or hesitation. Tonight, the SSO is totally on the BALL !!! That is because the legendar Vladimir Ashkenazy is conducting.
Wasn’t planning to go to Fukushima!Singapore set on Monday. However, a FB message from Andy Yang asking me “Eh how? Fukushima tonight ?” changed my mind. He said he will be there and these are Killer Sets! The setup was amazing! This is Project Fukushima for the recent Japan earthquake and it features Sean Lam (Hanging Up the Moon) with Leslie among the artists. I wanted to shoot Sean again and hearing Sean duet with Leslie Low was a Joy too. The layers of harmony inherent to the songs suited to a duo performance.
However, it was Aspidistrafly that blown me A.W.A.Y ! I have never heard of them before Monday night 8.15.11 Prior to the start of show, I saw a Goth-Victorian dressed lady walked into the performance hall and gathered she should be one of artists tonight. Little did I know this gig led me to discover a GEM. Aspidistrafly is a duo based in Singapore (but rarely performed here) of April Lee & Ricks Ang. Their music is ambient folk-electonica drone. Whatever. The special set they performed that night was awesome. Only 3 songs worth for their set, but it forever imprinted in my memory of the enjoyment of hearing them live and shooting along with Andy at the other side. Without a word, April & Ricks took there position and started playing….the moment April sang, i was going “WOW!” what a voice, what delight! It moves you. They played covered tributes but make it into their own styles …I don’t even know these are not their material until Fuzz Lee FB comments. The self-confidence was evident in their world class performance.
So, happily enchanted in their music, I tried to take the best shots I could to capture the moments. After 2 songs, I decided to swap angle to the left stage and there I capture a nice group photo with April in the foreground. After their last songs, the session took a 10 minutes intermission break. I walked to Andy and jaw dropped expression on both our face! “See, don’t want to come lah !!! ” I was similing sheepishly. Hahhaah.
Go to their website for a sample of their songs. In the meantime, I am waiting for the release of their 2nd album this year. Now, Aspidistrafly is ONE of my Favorite band! Am particulary stoke to see April & Ricks like the photos I took 🙂
Had a nice relax evening of good cocktails, food and music over at Andrew Lum’s DSTLLRY. Merry Christmas everyone!
The Observatory Percussive Gamelan – imagine in a paddy field on a full moonlit, with frogs croaking and crickets chirping to the primal beats in continuum. It was a good night.
Equipment used:
a) Cullman & Joby Tripod
b) Leica M240 x 28mm x 35mm x 50mm
c) Sony a6000 x 24 – 70mm equivalent