Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Real women rock
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 05/07/2020
» "Los Angeles, give me a miracle/ I just want out from this," Este, Danielle and Alana Haim waste no time getting down to the (ugly) business of their hometown on the ska-infused opening track of their latest album Women In Music Pt. III.
Is nothing sacred?
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 15/12/2019
» "Hey… you're that farang who teaches English, right?"
Blast off into the not-too-distant past
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 27/10/2019
» Beadadoobee's backstory is one we're all familiar with: aspiring artist puts out a clip of themselves playing acoustic guitar in their bedroom on YouTube. The video goes viral, et voilà, a star is born. For Manila-born, London-based singer-songwriter Bea Kristi, it all began in 2017 with a cover of Karen O's The Moon Song and her own composition, a two-minute-long acoustic number called Coffee. The latter, set to simple guitar chords and earnest lyrics, has since inspired several covers performed by fans all around the world.
From Tuesday to Saturday
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 30/06/2019
» Who would have thought that a garden-variety verse like "Got the club goin' up, on a Tuesday/ Got your girl in the cut and she choosey" would blow up and inspire countless Vines endless memes? Well, no one really -- except for Canadian rapper Drake who loved it so much he gave it a remix (Club Goin' Up On A Tuesday) complete with his own additional verse. Lauded as 2014's "summertime sleeper hit", the song single-handedly launched Atlanta artist Makonnen Sheran, aka iLoveMakonnen, into the Atlanta rap scene, not to mention earning him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. For him, Drake's endorsement was indeed a godsend.
Small things considered
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 23/06/2019
» In much the same way that eyes are said to be the window to the soul, band names give us a glimpse into the collective personality lurking behind each group. And as far as Thai band names are concerned, they can range from prosaic (Solitude Is Bliss, My Life As Ali Thomas) and whimsical (Apartment Khunpa, Charblues, Gym and Swim) to absolutely outlandish (Big Ass, Calories Blah Blah). For Sakon Nakhon-based trio Junlaholaan, names represent a curious juxtaposition where two incongruous concepts (jun, micro, and holaan, enormous) coexist to convey a deeply philosophical message. Yes, we are but a tiny speck in the universe -- the band seems to be saying -- but at the same time, a butterfly in Brazil could also cause a tornado in Texas, couldn't it?
J-pop gone rogue
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 07/04/2019
» Anyone who's been to Japan (or spent a decent amount of time on the internet) would have probably come across T-shirts with puzzling or badly translated English. Perusing CHAI's pastel-hued website gives you a similar experience except that everything actually makes sense -- "We Are New Exciting Onna (female) Band From Japan! NEO KAWAII ! COMPLEX IS ART!," its meta description announces. A click and a quick scroll down also give you an overview on the group's "NEO KAWAII" ethos, which essentially goes against any notions of the classic kawaii ("You don't need to have big eyes or have skinny legs to be KAWAII! There should be many more types of KAWAII, and everyone is KAWAII in her own way … Our insecurities make us who we are. The insecurities become art. KAWAII is a never-ending journey!").
Full frontier
B Magazine, Tatat Bunnag, Published on 24/03/2019
» Netflix's latest feature film Triple Frontier sees a group of ex-Special Forces operatives go on a clandestine mission in South America armed to their eyeballs with guns and explosives.
Anthems for the end of the world
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 24/03/2019
» If you happen to recall the indie explosion that came and went during the mid-noughties, you're most likely to recall how UK math-rockers Foals were perched right on the forefront alongside the now-nowhere-to-be-found groups like Kasabian, Hard-Fi and Maxïmo Park. Although not the first band to come up with it, they're largely responsible for spreading the gospel of that intricate, tightly-wound guitar work that's gone on to more or less define the genre. Over time, the Foals' signature hectic romp that was the backbone of their 2008 landmark debut, Antidotes, has transformed into something a little more polished and more mature. Subtle sonic shifts can already be detected on their second LP, Total Life Forever (how much of a revelation is Spanish Sahara?), and even more so on the subsequent records, the unabashedly potent Holy Fire and What Went Down.
James Blake's Changing Form
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 10/03/2019
» "Now I'm confiding, know I may have/ Gone through the motions my whole life/ I hope this is the first day/ That I connect motion to feeling," James Blake wears his heart on his sleeve on the piano-driven opener/title track of his fourth studio album, Assume Form. The candid openness with which Blake addresses depression and anxiety, the struggles he's confessed of having since his 2011 debut album took off, is stunning to witness especially for an artist whose career is mostly built on nuances, abstraction and negative spaces.
Call it therapy
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 03/03/2019
» While most people may not be familiar with Julia Michaels, chances are they have more than one occasion heard (and even sung along to) the songs she wrote. The 25-year-old American songwriter, if you must know, is the force behind some of the biggest pop hits from over the past few years including Justin Bieber's Sorry, Selena Gomez's Bad Liar and Hands To Myself, and Gwen Stefani's Used To Love You. But after realising that some of the songs she penned spoke to her more than it would any of the industry's A-listers, she decided to carve her path as a solo artist -- the move marked by the release of her 2017's debut single, Issues, followed by the seven-track EP, Nervous System.