Awa-news 04: Welcome to our world of kitsch

n°4, 01st of October, 2009

www.awaken.be


[downloadable pdf version here]

Dear Awa-freaks ,

today is a big day for Awaken fans: you can finally discover what P'tit Bout thinks of his days with Awaken, after quite a long time. Also, Awa-news offers a remedy against the blank sheet syndrome, some more philosophy, and a quick look at Earth Wind & Fire's best inspiring albums. And more than that, of course. You just need to scroll down to see!

On the Beatles side, Lucy Vodden, who inspired the song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", has left this world.

To complete our revelations from last issue, some of you seemed to have been annoyed by the article about Peter Gabriel and the Genesis family when they use the word 'live' to mention some studio albums. Sorry, we have one more news for you: we just learned one more cheat from the band from Charterhouse! Do you know where was recorded the live take of "Supper's Ready" that appears on their live lp Seconds Out? Well, besides the studio (like any Genesis live song I'm afraid), the real live takes come from none less than... 5 different concerts! Just for one song! Oh let's be honest: if the producer hadn't revealed the trick, no one would have noticed, the result was more than good. But holy shit: isn't a live album supposed to show some of the band's spontaneity when they're onstage?

Now Genesis releases remasters, 5.1 whatever and other re-re-re-release. I fear that they use that opportunity to record more and more overdubs, just to rewrite their story the way they want. Just a question for Mr Rutherford and Banks: isn't time to call it a day?

Don't waste more time listening to fake live records, jump on Awa-news!

Smart philosophy doesn't necessary come from the books. Here are the three rock goodies of the week:

The soul of rock 'n' roll is mistakes, and making mistakes work for you. The people who shy away from mistakes and play it safe have no business playing rock 'n' roll. (Paul Westerberg)

We rely more on enthusiasm than actual skill. Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will like it more. (Chris Martin)

All work and no play makes for alarmingly predictable lyrics. (David Lee Roth)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe? Awa-news gives you the answer.

It's not always easy to discover oldies from an artist. We mostly stick on what we know and don't necessary want to listen to the earlier work. It's human. But are you sure you don't miss a thing when skipping your discovery? For instance, have you ever closed your eyes while listening to "Gohongi No Hoshi", released already 6 years ago? Give it a try: http://song.ly/1puaa

And how about a more obscure track? Here's the 2002 take of "Cold As My Heart", the Robot Neko Mix! http://song.ly/1pd80

Now if you want to know about the firthcoming single of Awaken, we can already tell you that Mr Trustno1 is playing keyboards on it. Don't miss his own new album, "Sit Down & Clap Your Hands", already available here: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/52674

Have you noticed? Have you noticed, or not?

35 years of cute (part II): Kittychan in a kitsch world

Our friend the cute cat, Hello Kitty a.k.a Kittychan, can appear on the most unexpected places, and for purposes that would be hard to imagine. Today let's take a look at her contribution to AWMoK (Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch), showing how she records a disco single (click on the image to read the whole story):

More Kittychan in Part III!

Links: http://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette

Our interview:

Lorenz Art, a.k.a P'tit Bout

If you're an old or a a young greedy Awaken fan, you might have known the time where the lead vocals were mainly handled by someone named P'tit Bout. The album Tales Of Acid Ice Cream of course, but also some more obscure demo tapes, along with rare 1989 bootlegs like the cover of the Beatles' "Help" or our blues jam. In 1997, Awaken went into a phase of restructuration and P'tit Bout went away to continue as a session singer.

Twelve years later exactly, P'tit Bout, now known as Lorenz and recording his own songs, is planning to contribute again to a project in the Awaken galaxy. What will it be, no one knows, but in waiting Lorenz kindly accepted to be interviewed by Awa-news for you fans.

-Nice to meet you, Lorenz/P'tit Bout. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Ptit Bout: I am what I am.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Ptit Bout: I have it in me and I cannot refrain from it.

-From 1989 till 1997, you were known as P’tit Bout and were the main voice of Awaken. What kind of memories do you keep from that era, when you had to deal with Snowcat’s dictatorship?
-Ptit Bout: I remember that it was a very good time. At the time, I do not remember him as a dictator.

-Do you recall a song or two that you liked then?
-Ptit Bout: I remember a song, and it was “so many regrets on my mind, I really don’t know why” or “The sun goes down, we closed the doors”.

-Among your own work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Ptit Bout: Probably the next piece, I refer things to come.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Ptit Bout: Except for the Dance Of Ducks, but fortunately I did not interpret it.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Ptit Bout: In Awaken band of course.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your songs?
-Ptit Bout: To make music is for me a question of survival.

-In the Awaken times, you wrote a few songs, though the group didn’t seem to record any. How did your songwriting evolve during these 12 years?
-Ptit Bout: I was a part of diverse projects and I wrote approximately 100 titles since I sing, but nobody knows that!

-The question may sound clich�E but where do you find your inspiration?
-Ptit Bout: I find my inspiration, all around me, in every human, in every thing.

-Have you heard any recent song from Awaken, and what do you think about them?
-Ptit Bout: Yes I do, and I find that awaken has something of untemporal.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Ptit Bout: I think I’m, and forever...


Links: http://www.myspace.com/lorenzart

What happened in October some years ago? Awa-news took its time machine...

13/10/1949: Birth of Gary Richrath from Reo Speedwagon.

14/10/1969: Diana Ross and The Supremes release their final single, ironically titled: "Someday We'll Be Together". The Supremes would continue without Ross though.

19/10/1988: Duran Duran presents Big Thing, an album influenced by house music and featuring proeminent guitar work from Warren Cuccurullo.

9 steps to live your life more meaningfully:

How to write a meaningful song?

Stuck behind your Fairlight, desperately seeking for a god-sent idea? Moaning since no poem can ever satisfy your need to seduce the girl of your dreams? Turn everything off, go for a walk but first read these 9 tips, coming straight away from your good friend the Cat-That-Sleeps:

1. Make a mess of your ideas. Put together all your ideas, make a big mess. Then take a rest and come back to work, you'll be able to decide what to keep and what to throw away.

2. Contact your inner child. Adults are spoiled by restrictions and fear of what other people will think of their work. Children are more spontaneous. Be a child again when it comes to write a song.

3. Jump inside the picture. Use you power to visit a painting, a picture from a magazine or a tag on a wall. Go inside!

4. Travel in time. Go back in your past and write a song. Then come back in the present with your ideas.

5. Travel for real. If visiting a picture and your past are not enough, take your car or a plane, and go somewhere else. Even just for one day. You'll be amazed to notice how it boosts inspiration.

6. Indulge yourself. The common belief is "you have to suffer to write a song". Bullshit. Yes, pain can be an excellent motivation to write a good song, but the spark can come from anything else. Mostly pleasure. A good meal, a good bottle of wine or a romantic kiss can create a need to write a song, as much as any sad event.

7. Be a hungry bear: use an instrument you're not good at. Surprisingly, when you think you master an instrument, your inspiration can quickly run dry. It is too easy. You'll travel the same old paths and will not find any motivation to create something. What's the relation with a hungry bear?! In zooligical gardens, it has been noticed that if you just throw a fish to a hungry bear, he/she will eat without motivation. Without tasting it. Now put the fish into a block of ice and give it to the bear. Look at how much energy they use to break the ice and how happy they are to finally reach the reward and eat that fish! Yeah, be that bear now: create some difficulty. Well, no need to put your guitar into a block of ice, no. You're a true beginner at keyboards? Write your next song on piano. You can hardly blow a note on a flute? Take it and compose your future melody. You will suddenly find yourself in front of a new challenge, that might boost your inspiration more than you can imagine.

8. Ask your own ghost. Unless you have to write a song for a specific use (commercial, to offer as a present, to illustrate an event) or you are completely lost in songwriting, it is not a good idea to ask your friends for their opinion before you actually officialize the result. Your friends will only tell you what they love, and they will think their tastes are the only way to reach a good result. Moreover, X will tell you to slow down the tempo, Y will order you to play faster, and so on. So, instead of being a slave of your friends' musical tastes, ask your own ghost for his/her opinion. Yes, yourself but several years ago. Ask the child you were, for instance.

9. Sleep. Overwhelmed by too many ideas? You go crazy? Stop! Go out, eat, meet people, and sleep. The day after, go back to songwriting and chances are the ideas will suddenly come as clear as pure water.

Now go and write that hit!

You like Awaken? You *will* like these albums:

EARTH WIND & FIRE, Powerlight (1983)

There was a time when Phil Collins openly admitted that he would dream to produce Earth Wind & Fire. He could almost reach his wish by getting involved in two albums of Phil Bailey, and even had a hit with "Easy Lover" around 1985. Some may have had a deeper wish: EW&F produced by their own fan Quincy Jones. Well, that never happened either. But don't cry, there's an album from Maurice White's band that sounds so good that you could think, if you didn't read the credits on the cover, that The Dude would be around. He wasn't. But hey, that Powerlight sounds sooo good!

Let play the record and see quickly what you are currently missing by not having that wonderful Powerlight. "Fall In Love With Me" is a relax groove with an interesting basses match: bass guitar and Moog bass, climaxing with a heavy guitar solo from Mr Bautista, back in the band since previous lp Raise. "Spead Your Love" is a bizarre tune with a superb vocal arrangement and hypnotic beat and steel drums. Then comes "Side By Side", romantically starting with electric piano and Maurice White's smooth voice, then turning to be a new cool electro-funk led by a groovy Moog bass. Like other tracks of Powerlight, the song here takes its time to grow and to install the mood. The A side ends up with a solid piece from Phil Bailey, "Straight From The Heart", with again a beautiful bass part from Verdine White.

On B side, the mood begins with a frantic gem "The Speed Of Love", following with another synthbass-based piece, "Freedom Of Choice", featuring a nice vocal part, then back to a more electric groove with piano and real bass guitar: the Vaughn's "Something Special". That title could illustrate the composers' abilities all through Powerlight... "Hearts To Heart" takes us back to a more complex kind of music, should we say progressive (and have you checked Awaken's cover? No!!??? Tsss...) before finally resting thanks to the magnificient "Miracles", sounding like a lullaby at first, before ending in a splendid orchestral blast. Wow.

As you can guess, there's not a single weak moment on Powerlight. This is a festival of electronic keyboards and groovy basses, cool voices and heavy guitar. A masterpiece, completely underrated. EWF sadly ignores that album now, due to the lack of hits probably.

Links: http://www.homdrum.net/ewf/index.html

A few more treasures in the EWF world:

You just bought Powerlight and wonder what other albums you could like, knowing that you are of course a die-hard Awaken fan? Don't cry dude, here's a beginner's guide for you:

The Need Of Love (1971): A mix of jazz, funk, progressive, with the beautiful voice of Sherry Scott and impressive playing from the whole band. Sounds like a feast with percussion everywhere. Listen to the jonlordesque Hammond intro on "Everything Is Everything" if you need to be convinced!

Last Days And Time (1972): New members Phil Bailey, Ralph Johnson (both still in the band in 2009), along with Hendrix-influenced guitarist Roland Bautista and keyboardist Larry Dunn, give EWF a stricter musical direction, although there's luckily still space for jamming and partying. Another inspired record with creative artwork.

Head To The Sky (1973): Probably the strongest record of 70's EWF, in terms of inspiration and songwriting. The last song, "Zanzibar", is a long and wonderful jam proving the talent of the band's soloists, while "The World's A Masquerade" features sensitive playing and delicate organ parts.

All'n'All (1977): Another perfect record, full of hits and high-class funk. The beat is super-funky all through the album, and the closer "Be Ever Wonderful" is a rare moment of emotion.

I Am (1979): A more 'commercial' approach, featuring a disco-oriented "Boogie Wonderland" but most of all two of their greatest songs: "Can't Let Go" and "You & I".

Electric Universe (1983): The follow-up of Powerlight pushes electronic experiments a bit further, replacing the horn section by synthesizers. The heavy guitar of Roland Bautista combined with futuristic keyboards (there are several guest players here, no idea of what Larry Dunn actually did), the slapping-popping bass of Verdine White and synthetic drums from John Gilston give that album a neon-lights feel. You can see 80's computers just from the first note on! Moreover, like in Powerlight, the songwriting is especially good here: Maurice White collaborates with his favorite bad cats like David Foster, Allee Willis, Michel Colombier, Brian Fairweather, Jon Lind and a newbie named Martin Page, who later would write hits for Heart and Starship. Page's "Magnetic" is as catchy as you can expect, "Touch" is what can make you love the 80's, "Moonwalk" a pure gem (check out Awaken's cover too), two beautiful ballads ("Could It Be Right" and "We're Living In Our Own Time", almost 'acoustic') and an epic "Spirits Of A New World" make Electric Universe a very special album. Then "Sweet Sassy Lady" is mysteriously progressive (doesn't it sound like Saga?) and the closer "Electric Nation" is a furious hard-rocking number that gives fusion a good name. Totally underrated.

Touch The World (1987): EWF's come back, with only Maurice White, Philip Bailey and new guitarist Sheldon Reynolds actually playing on the record (although Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and Andrew Woolfolk are appearing on the pictures, they don't play a single note, being replaced by session musicians). This is a clean but inspired end-of-80's funk effort, providing superb tunes like the hyper funky "Evil Roy", the sensitive "Every Now & Then", the gospellish "Touch The World" or the irresistible "Victim Of The Modern Heart". Arranger and composer Bill Meyers is part of the crew, which is always a good thing (see in a further Awa-news issue a review of his album "Gatchaman" with Maurice White).

In The Name Of Love (1997): The first real group effort since 1980's "Faces". Songwriting is now widespread among several members, giving that album a relax feel that was missing previously. Less programming, more actual playing, this is definitely a cool album. As for oddities, they replayed a song from their first album, "Love Is Life", and Ralph Johnson gives a new-age 11/4 tune to end the album. Really cool.

The Promise (2003): This CD, where Maurice White teams again with the Vaughn family, features 4 musical lessons: songwriting, arranging, singing and playing. First lesson: songwriting. If there's a god for songwriters, his name must be Bill Meyers. He and Ross Vanelli provide an incredible piece called "Where Do We Go From Here", officially recorded in 1978 but so heavily reworked that chances are not many original tracks remain. This song is nothing but pure genius. Duh! Second lesson: arranging. Take "She Waits" and you can feel, you can see the space where each star is a note of music. This is how fucking great are those guys, who can use each smallest space in the sky to put everything and make a big whole. Third lesson: singing. Maurice White suffers from Alzheimer disease. Well, that's sad. But that dude never sang as good as in this album! Age gave him a deeper, crooner-like voice that make songs like "Why" or "All About Love" (despite its title, it is not the 1974 EWF song, but something completely different with the same title!) perfect. He sings like if he was flying. Fourth lesson: playing. Do you know the meaning of the word "groove"? Hard to explain. But listen to "Suppose You Like Me", sung by Phil Bailey, and you'll understand. What makes this song so special? Technically, I can't explain. It just... grooves! Despite the use of clicks and programming, the drummer gives such a pulse... and Verdine White, yeah, Verdine on bass, he plays so simply but so efficiently here. His pops and slaps make almost everything. The rhythmic guitar is also no stranger to that unique atmosphere, without forgetting Bailey's energetic vocals. Yeah, "Suppose You Like Me" could make anyone dance and cry of pleasure. You don't believe me? Jump on The Promise. The Japanese edition features two bonus songs that are just OK, so the European CD has already everything. EWF started in 1969 and could still release one of their best albums 34 years later. Not bad...

What's hot on the web side? Awa-news' Site Of The Week is:

CD BABY

Moaning, moaning, that’s all we hear from a lot of musicians who take the crisis as an excuse to feel sorry for themselves. They will blame the music industry, the medias, internet, the audience, the banks, and why not the politicians, the cooks, the dolphins and the elevators…

Sure the industry changed, and things are quite different from the 70’s: on one hand it became incredibly easier to correctly record music with a low budget, on the other hand it’s now rather harder to “make it big”, since the market is overwhelmed by from average to high quality productions. Myspace and its many followers allow an incredible potential exposure, but, like any kind of business, it needs time, persistence, creativity, flexible attitude, patience and, did I already say: persistence, persistence and persistence.

Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, who since has quit.

What about selling CDs online? There’s a wonderfully well-made, professional and human site called CD BABY. Founded more than 10 years ago by a creative indie musician, Derek Sivers, who wanted to sell his own records, CD BABY grew up quickly thanks to Derek's friends who wanted him to sell their CDs. Now CD BABY became the most famous online indie shop, having an enormous catalogue of indie music (including well-known musicians like famous session guitarist Paul Jackson JR), easy to buy (credit card, Paypal), easy to access, with a helpful staff, steaming excerpts and a clear design. Not only the fans can reach their favourite music without an effort, greedy music lovers have the ability to discover new and exciting stuff with just one click of the mouse, and artists have their own record company! Moreover, they cover the digital distribution (iTunes and several other platforms) and now offer an interesting CD Pressing service. Still moaning, fellow musicians?

Last but not least: they have Awaken's Party In Lyceum's Toilets waiting for you there. Now you have a good reason to surf on CD BABY, don't you?

URL: http://www.cdbaby.com/

The new Squonk66 is out, and, oh coincidence, the man himself will reply Awa-news' interview. We'll take a look at Deep Purple's Slaves & Masters and go a bit deeper into Awaken's rare stuff.

See you next week!

e-mail: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

www.beppunights.com

It's Oh! Music

[downloadable pdf version here]

© AWAKEN-Awanews-

Song.ly: Awaken - 五本木の星

Song.ly: Awaken - 五本木の星

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Awa-news 03: curry rice in Ôita (大分のカレーライス)

n°3, 24th of September, 2009

www.awaken.be


[downloadable pdf version here]

Dear Awa-freaks (yeah, your new nickname), it's already the last issue for this month of September. What's up today?

Now that Phil Collins spreads the news that he won't be able to play drums for a while, he can always ask for some overdubs from his good mate Peter Gabriel. Check out our article! By the way, Awaken offers you a new song. Our Japanese friends already know it for one week, now it's time to go further and you, Awa-news readers, can enjoy that rarity! Talking about Japan, what a Thursday night in Ôita can look like? We share memories with you. To celebrate the release of the long-awaited "Les Larmes De Sirius", Mr Qurtis himself agreed to talk to Awa-news. If you don't like this album, or if you like, Awa-news found some more 33t Lp's that might be missing in your room, then gives you a clue to find a good Vietnamese and Japanese translator. And as usual our quotes and past events.

Don't waste time, jump on Awa-news!

You want to react with this topic? Write us here!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing. Here are the three goodies of the week:

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. (Marcel Proust)

I'll go for things that I know are going to be wrong, with a vengeance. (Neil Young)

When you chase music for money, God walks out of the room. (Quincy Jones)

You know interesting rock'n'roll quotes, or have yours? Send us your quotes here!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe? Awa-news gives you the answer.

An unreleased song for you!

Some musicians regret that they haven't played their inspired past songs with their improved present skills or modern instruments that they didn't have at the time. It's easy to figure out, however: just plug your material and play, dude. That's what I did with "Misty Window Bees", an old stuff written back in 1990. The only official recording from 1992 appeared on the windy tape Numb, released around 1993. "Misty Window Bees" is definitely linked to that first half of the 90's. The first version had Vincent Trouble on drumprogramming, Ced Mattys on voice and myself on keyboards. It was mixed by Fred Scalliet, who, along with Mattys, wanted to remove the middle instrumental part, for unexplained and mysterious reasons. Gosh!
Most of the songs from the infamous Awaken tapes have been completely re-recorded to finally appear on Tales Of acid Ice Cream or Party In Lyceum's Toilets. But for no reason that I knew, a few never made it, including "Misty Window Bees". 17 years after the original take, I eventually did my own version. Cause chances are you won't find the Numb tape so easily...

(if you don't see the player lower, listen to the song here)

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You like this new song? Write us here!

Have you noticed? Have you noticed, or not?

What a live album should be... or not, according to Peter Gabriel.

Do you remember the Milli Vanilli scandal, back in 1990? When their producer, Frank Farian, admitted that the two models on the album cover didn't actually sing on the records, the fans were shocked like if a nuclear bomb was falling on their head. Now imagine that an artist admits that his live albums (concerts) are not live anymore, since most of the instruments are played again in the studio, would you accept?

I can imagine how excited must be Peter Gabriel fans when they get their copy of Plays Live. The title is clear and without ambiguity: once you put the record on, you should hear Peter Gabriel playing live. To confirm your feeling, you even hear some applauses. No doubt: this is a concert. Really? Ahem...

Now, more than 25 years later, almost everyone knows that Gabriel's Plays Live should be renamed Plays Studio To Make Believe It's Live, since the live tapes have been heavily doctored in the studio, with musicians playing their parts again and again. Oh, no one should really blame Peter Gabriel for doing such a thing: most of live albums have been corrected in the studio, some just slightly, some completely redone. Sad but true. Kiss' Alive (the word Astudio wasn't sexy enough maybe) or Simple Minds' Live in the city of lights (though the only way to correct Simple Minds' mistakes would be to erase the tapes and disolve them into sulfuric acid before forbidding the group to stay near any musical instrument, but it seems the producers don't share my point of view) are two famous examples of almost fake live recordings.

Mr Gabriel caught recording a """live""" album (laughter)

Back to Mr Gabriel. Plays Live was a step into absurdity, but since then, the wise man went a bit further. Are you sitting comfortably? You'd better be, what you will read might surprise you, to say the least. At the end of the 90's, Genesis, who started to dramatically lose their shine since they fired their excellent singer Ray Wilson, had no choice but to release archive songs to continue to please the fans. Good idea, we finally could hear good recordings of rare tracks and live ones. Also, the greatest thing was to offer a complete show of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, their fabulous concept album from mid-70's. The concert was recorded in 1975 too. But... It seemed that Mr Perfectionist Gabriel (he was Genesis' singer at the time) didn't like his vocals, when he listened to the tapes 20 years later. What to do? Easy: Gabriel in the 90's would overdub a concert made in 75. Ouch!!! Yes, you read correctly. If you listen to the album, you can sometimes hear the voice suddenly stronger, deeper and more mature. It's when overdubs come. The rest of the show, you hear young Gabriel singing. Same with Hackett guitar, he re-did one solo. Shame is: the overdubbed parts sound better than the original ones. Why? Cause Gabriel sings better in 1995 than in 75, and Hackett gained experience too. So the good idea would be that they get back together and play the Lamb for real, now! Instead of those ridiculous and insulting overdubs.

Besides Genesis, what makes musicians so reluctant to release a real live album? Sure, some beautiful voices can easily be out of tune on stage (check YouTube to hear by yourself). It's not a problem when you're in the audience, but once you listen to a live album in your living room, you may want to hear something more... musical, less lively.

Some noises often come from microphones, guitar cables and other unwanted larsen. Some improvisations may also sound uninspired some nights, and the player might want to replay in the studio. A concert is supposed to be a moment that lasts only the time of the show, while a live album lasts forever. Mistakes are not allowed anymore.

On the other hand, some musicians offer bootlegs made by themselves: the concert is directly taken from the mix table. No overdub at all. Raw live. Marillion and Fish are amongst them.

I go for the second solution, without any hesitation. Voices can be out of tune, guitars can miss a solo, keyboards might hit a wrong note, drums can be out signature, I don't mind. I want a live record to be live. Alive. With its good and bad points. I hate overdubs. They suck. It's one step before lips-synch. Shit. Fuck. Vomit. It's a swindle to call "Live" an album that has been redone afterwards. Even if it makes it sound better. That's why I'll never give any money to hear "Plays Live" or "Live In The City Of Lights". Although the latter one, even if it was pure live, I couldn't listen either. I'm simply allergic to Simple Minds. But that's another topic.

Can someone remove the word "Live" please? This is NOT a live album.

Links: Marillion, a band who released a bunch of real live albums. And their ex-singer Fish, who boldly did the same. For the cheaters like Genesis and Gabriel, we don't provide any link. You might as well use Google. Or use your time to discover musicians who don't pretend. Done.

Do you know more fake live albums? Send us your titles here!

Our interview:

Qurtis: Me, an Awaken fan? No, never!

Released a few years ago, Quiet was a good experimental-yet-accessible album. One would have thought it would have been a one-and-only album in Qurtis' dicography, since no sign of new release was seen on their side. No inspiration or extreme perfectionism? But suddenly came the second opus, Les Larmes De Sirius. Mr Qurtis himself replies to our gossippy questions.

-Nice to meet you, Qurtis. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Qurtis: Nice to meet you too. Three words: musician, dreamer, eclectism.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Qurtis: Loneliness and frustration. In lyceum, I had a lot of friends who were musicians. I didn’t know anything about instruments, so I tried to play drums. It was cool but I didn’t participate in compositions. So, when I left home for studies, I bought a guitar and a synth, learned by myself (I still can’t read a score) and started to record some stuff on a tape player / recorder. But in fact, as far as I remember, I always loved music (my first souvenir: Dark Side of The Moon at the age of three!), so I guess it's a natural continuity.

-You just released a new album, “Les Larmes De Sirius”. It sounds radically different from the previous one, “Quiet”. Was there a conscious decision to explore new horizons, or the result came to you as a surprise?
-Qurtis: Both. Qurtis is a solo project, a playtime, and I try to make something different on each album, and something different from my pop band PolarSun. I try to explore some new musical landscapes I cant explore with the band. So, it was a conscious decision. But when I started this album, I had a different type of music in my head, something more psychedelic. But the songs and the music I wrote at this time needed this treatment. You can't fight about that. When I realized that, we (me and my co-musician Erik Darcy) worked to make this record sound like it had to, and I found the direction of what I wanted to do: an imaginary soundtrack for a imaginary space movie. It combined my passion for sci-fi movies and soundtracks, and can include some "prog music" as well.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Qurtis: Mare Tranquilitis. I dont know why, but this song came like in a dream, as if it had always been in me. The pulsation of the guitar was the exact pulsation of my heart.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Qurtis: Not really ashamed of, but I don’t like anymore Dame de Coeur on Quiet. I pushed it too hard on the "dance" side.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Qurtis: Mmm, hard to answer... the band who recorded Serge Gainsbourg's "Histoire de Melody Nelson". An unknown band that played a masterpiece!

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Qurtis: If you like surprise and don’t want to listen to the same album twice, and if you like electro spacey acoustical landscapes, you're welcome.

-You cite Prince as a major influence. He had a huge success with a music that wasn’t really radio-friendly. In your opinion, why Prince could make it, when lots of experimental artists won’t get any airplay?
-Qurtis: His genius is to combined very experimental elements with pop rock elements. So the songs are strange, but familiar at the same time.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Qurtis: No. Never.


Links: http://qurtis.free.fr

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What happened on September some years ago? Awa-news took its time machine...

15/09/1987: Donna Summer releases her album All Systems Go, where she gets back with Harold Faltermeyer, who was part of the Giorgio Moroder team. Fans already know the cover of "Fascination" by Phil Bailey, and "Only The Fool Survives" by Awaken. Yep. Awaken. Check it out.

10/09/1950: Birth of Aerosmith's Joe Perry. Was Keith Richards among the good witches?

20/09/1976: First concert of Siouxie & The Banshees at the 100 Club Punk Festival. Nooo, it is NOT Tokio Hotel.

You know other important dates to remember? Write us here!

Inspiration can hide in the most surprising places:

Curry rice in Ôita

The music of the traffic lights. Have you ever noticed those friendly, funny, cute notes of music telling that the light was green for pedestrians to cross the street? The smell of カレーライス in the corner of the arcades, the lights of the nearest １００円ショップ, the loudspeaker coming from busses about to take passengers. Do you remember? Or, living there, you don’t even notice them anymore?

On the top of that bridge crossing that busy crossroad, I let the night scene burn my memory for ever. I spy the passing strangers, their bags full of whatever you can imagine, I take a picture for my memory, knowing that no camera will ever capture the most precious and stunning sense the streets of Japan can bring: the smell.

Should we be conscious of life passing a little too quickly to really start to enjoy the view of a sunset, between an ocean and a mountain? And those little stones hurting your feet after you have walked much to long? aren’t they wonderful?

I let every detail invade my memory. The monogram telling me the destination of the ワンマン train. The voice endlessly singing “ベップゥゥゥゥゥゥゥ ~ ベップゥゥゥゥゥゥゥ ”. “オォォォォイタァァァ ~ オォォォォイタァァァ”. The train reaches 柳ヶ浦. But that’s another story.

It gets colder, but I still take an ice cream from the vending machine. How ironic, this is Thursday. Magic Thursday in 大分.

They burn the mountain…

It flashes so fast that I hardly distinguish who is who. みのもんた, ドラえもん and ココス mix with each other. シンちゃん or スザンヌ? 『Pressure Study』 or 『London Hearts』? Each flame is a receptor stuck on its very own channel. 『東京フレンドズ』 or 『日本人テスト』?

The music of the traffic light, have you noticed how appealing it is? Let’s cross, let’s be a part of that wonderful crowd. Remember that curry-rice restaurant, here in the arcades? Our first curry-rice.

The crowd. Hundreds of people. Can they smell the curry or are they too focused on their next excuse for the late return home? “ごめんね”.

It’s so easy, everything is here. A kid in a toy market. I want this, I want that. I have this, I have that. Each vibration is a caress. The window shaking under the typhoon? A caress. The earth shaking the wall of the hotel? A caress. Ride the yellow line, it will give you caresses. Many.

Look at that mountain, now. It can’t burn without us.

A blink of an eye and the bus is taking me somewhere else. Why? Do I really leave this paradise? Am I too weak to resist? Or is it my strength to know that I’ll be back there someday. They burn the mountain, and…

Links: Ôita City Official Site

You want to send us some memories? Write us here!

You like Awaken? You *will* like these albums:

DONNA SUMMER, Cats Without Claws (1984)

You know Doraemon, the cat without ears, and Hello Kitty, the cat without mouth? Here come their friends the cats without claws. Donna Summer was known for being the Queen of Disco from 1975 to 1979, teamworking with the hyper-talented Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellote, Keith Forsey, Harold Faltermeyer, Syvester Levay and other bad cats based in Münich. Then after a splendid album with Quincy "The Dude" Jones, Donna kept on souling with Michael Omartian, the man behind Christopher Cross and Jermaine Jackson, to name a few. After a conventional yet tasty She Works Hard For The Money, Omartian and Summer went a bit deeper in the synthesized dance pop and released that underrated and rather dense vinyl, Cats Without Claws.

Less poppy and even darker than the previous opus, Cats Without Claws will bring a big smile to fans of 80's FM synthesis sounds and other electronic drums. This sounds, let's say this smells 1984. The songwriting is deeper and stronger, tough less diverse, than on the 1983 LP. Musicianship, though not as impressive as on the Quincy Jones 1982 album, is still top-quality, with some cool dudes like Nathan East on bass or Michael Landau on guitar. There are worse ones on earth... The arrangement of the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby" is rather surprising, but the highlights are the vibrant "Supernatural Love", "Cats Without Claws" and its strange atmosphere, an epic piece "Oh Billy Please", or again the calypso-oriented "I'm Free". Excellent stuff. It would be a shame to forget the guitar riff of "Eyes" and the splendid ending, a piano-based acoustic soulful song called "Forgive Me". Donna's voice, always perfect as usual, makes a showcase that one could hardly forget. But the most poignant song is still Donna's self-penned "Maybe It's Over", that shows Summer's unique songwriting skills when she does things on her own. A gem!

Links: http://www.donnasummer.com

A few more treasures in the vinyl world:

Attila, Attila (1970): Yes, that wild roaring wah-wah organ is played by Billy Joel himself. He surely was a really angry young man to provide such a bunch of heavy Hammond-oriented rock. No guitar, no bass, only Billy on organ and bass keyboard, and a drummer, Jon Small. Stunning!

Bee Gees, Trafalgar (1970): A masterpiece from the early days of the Brothers Gibb. Soft and superb arrangements (hat trick to Maurice and his keyboards), inspired songwriting, this kind of concept-album will take you around the battle of Waterloo during 45 minutes. Highlights are Maurice's title track, Barry's "Israel", along with truly moving "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" and a magnificient conclusion "Walking Back To Waterloo". The Bee Gees have released an incredible amount of great albums, but this Trafalgar is rather unique. Pure beauty.

Solution, Cordon Bleu (1974): A Dutch quartet led by Willem Ennes (keyboards), Tom Barlage (sax, flute, percussion), Guus Willemse (bass, voice, guitar) and Hans Waterman(drums) were, here produced by Gus Dudgeon (Elton John). Light yet colourful and enjoyable jazz-rock.

Yes, Magnification (2001): Probably hard to find a vinyle version of Magnification, last Yes' studio album to date. Last issue of Awa-news, we reviewed Big Generator and noticed what Yes lost when Rabin and Kaye left. Magnification is the first album since Talk to offer so much density and emotion. The orchestral parts are more than nice, the songs find a rare quality of inspiration (Alan White did some interesting contributions here) and even Steve Howe is back to some of his shining moments. "We Agree", "Spirit Of Survival" and "Dreamtime" could easily be ranked amongst Yes' best pieces ever.

You want to send us an album to review? Write us here!

What's hot on the web side? Awa-net surfed for you and found this:

Go deeper into Vietnamese and Japanese with VDICT and WWWJDIC

Holy holy, what do these anagram mean? VDICT and WWWJDIC, doesn't it sound strange? Well, don't you notice something in common? yep: DIC. Like dictionary. Actually, these two sides are efficient and highly recommendable dictionaries, one for Vietnamese, the second for Japanese. Unlike the quick translators (Google, AltaVista), VDICT and WWWJDIC give detailed translations, with clever examples. You can use a word-by-word engine as well as a global translator, covering several languages. A must, knowing that it's free of charge. Put them in your bookmarks right now!

URL: VDICT: http://vdict.com | WWWJDIC: http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/%7Ejwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C

You want your website to be reviewed in Awanews? Submit it here!

More about 35 years of cute, 9 tips to write a good song, everything about CD Baby, a look into Earth Wind & Fire's best albums, and last but not least: an interview with ex-Awaken singer P'tit Bout! Can you wait? :D

You have a special request on a next issue of Awa-news? Ask us here!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

www.beppunights.com

It's Oh! Music

© AWAKEN-Awanews-

[downloadable pdf version here]

Awa-news 02: Sanrio and the year of the cute

n°2, 17th of September, 2009

www.awaken.be

[downloadable pdf version here]

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

thank you for your visit and kind comments on the first issue of Awa-news! As you can see, the n°2 is already an improved version. Besides our usual topics, we are glad to share an interview with a legend of Belgian rock, organist Simon Rigot, share an underrated and wonderful album from Yes, analyse the story of some cute cats, learn how to goro goro, and, how unexpected, give you news about a member of Awaken, The Voice from 1989 till 1997, P'tit Bout!

Don't wait any longer, jump into the world of Awa-news right now!

You want to react with this topic? Write us here!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing. Here are the three goodies of the week:

Do not fear mistakes. There are none. (Miles Davis)

The easiest way to get laid by a girl, or get rid of her, is to write a song about her. (David Crosby)

If you don't make a mistake, you're not trying hard enough. (Charlie Parker)

You know interesting rock'n'roll quotes, or have yours? Send us your quotes here!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe? Awa-news gives you the answer.

What the hell happened to P'tit Bout?!

There are several mysteries on Earth, like the pyramids in Egypt or the Bermuda Triangle. More specifically, music History also has its bunch of unsolved enigmas: is Elvis really dead, did Milli Vanilli really fake, where the hell is Rod Evans, first singer of Deep Purple, and what happened to P’tit Bout, Awaken’s main voice between 1989 and 1997? If Awa-news doesn’t have any clue about the first three buddies, we may have the answer from the 4th question: yeah, believe it or not, P’tit Bout is still rocking!
Heard on some tapes and the first CD “Tales Of Acid Ice Cream”, P’tit Bout’s soulful voice and stage attitude impressed lots of Awaken fans at the time. After the September 1997 restructuration, no one seemed to know what happened to him. The silence lasted exactly 12 years. 12 long years for those who admired the vocals of “This Time Around”, “Requiem For A Golden Destiny” or “Nursery Nymph”. Now Awa-news is glad to spread the good news among fans: P’tit Bout is still active, singing and writing songs!
Under his real name, Lorenz Art, you can hear some of his pieces of music here: http://www.myspace.com/lorenzart
And on a forthcoming issue of Awa-news, a complete interview of P’tit Bout!

You want to react with this topic? Write us here!

Have you noticed? Have you noticed, or not?

35 years of cute (part I)

Cats are powerful creatures. They can relax you, give you advices (see our “9 tips” chapter, in this very issue), make you laugh and even, sometimes, generating billions of yens.
Hello Kitty, known as Kittychan in Japan, is without a doubt the carrier of the culture of cute. If you ever walked the streets of any Japanese city, you surely were amazed by the omnipresence of the cute cat from Sanrio, appearing in many declinations, wearing an unbelievable bunch of different costumes, showing as many different attitudes, while always keeping that look that comes from the fact that she simply has no mouth. After all, Kittychan is supposed to listen more than to talk.

As heavy as three apples and as high as five apples, Kittychan, now drew by Mrs Yamaguchi Yûko, can be distinguished from her sister Mimichan by her red ribbon on the left ear. Mimi wears a yellow one on the right ear. Well, it’s not as simple as that, since they can decide to wear different colours and even different shapes of ribbon following their mood. But in any case, Kittychan will proudly tell you, even with a slice of arrogance: “Look at my red ribbon, it’s a present from my mom”.

Kittychan can be a pilot of airplanes, ride an elephant who has a door (the funny Zou san), play electric guitar when wearing a Kiss’ Paul Stanley inspired make-up. She can’t wear Peter Criss’, having whiskers already. But still no mouth. Despite, Kittychan can eat and drink. She loves milk, you can often see her with a bottle decorated with a big letter M. She finds wasabi a bit spicy and loves apple cakes, cooked by her mom.

Though some cultures would let Kittychan play with children or young girls, it became obvious that her wide area of attitudes allows her more and more to be owned by older girls and even boys, including men. Mrs Yamaguchi’s predictions happen to come true. Awaken fans already know that the smart neko is always around, don’t they?

Hello Kitty likes to celebrate her birthday, or most likely her anniversaries. Born on first of November, 1974, she’ll soon celebrate her 35 years of conquest of the world. Since her big innocent face on her tiny body always makes Japanese girls shout a heartfelt “Kawaiiiiii” when the cute cat appears, we can say that 2009 is the year of the cute.

See you in Part II...

Sanrio site: http://www.sanrio.co.jp/index.html

Kitty Hell (someone who doesn't like Kittychan, but has a funny site anyway): http://www.kittyhell.com

Do you know more sorts of Kittychan? Send us your titles here!

Our interview:

Simon Rigot: The quest for the holy melody

Simon Rigot is a veteran of the rock scene in Belgium. From his punk bands at the end of the 70’s to nowadays surf soul Leo & The Lunar Tikis or the more soulful psychedelic approach of the Narcotic Daffodils, Rigot is mostly known for writing the hit “My Sweetor” for new-wave combo Berntholer. Naming all of his bands would take an encyclopedia, so let’s focus on his current baby, The Narcotic Daffodils, a hard-to-label band featuring a mix of fun and superb playing. Simon kindly talked about his career and his love for music and his “quest for the holy melody” with Awa-news.

-Nice to meet you, Simon. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Simon Rigot: Old Wise Musician

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Simon Rigot: I've always been a musician, when I began piano at 8. My family is musical. It's a way of life, there was no other way of expression. I tried theatre also (painting never I do have a strong handicap in drawing) but "Music was my first love, and it would be my last".

-You played piano, guitars, some synthesizers in the 80’s. Now you mostly seem to focus on the Hammond organ. Have you become allergic to any other keyboard, or you just love the Hammond so much?
-Simon Rigot:No, I also like the Fender Rhodes and of course classic piano. But indeed I hate those synths were you lose so much time to find a sound, and you forget to write a melody.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Simon Rigot: "Lunacies" by Berntholer is the best song I ever wrote and recorded in 1984. It has a wonderful melody, Hammond, reverse guitar like Georges Harrison in "I'm only sleeping", folk guitar, a magnificent fretless bass (played by Pol the father of our actual drummer). All was perfect from the creation to the release in England (it was on the "My suitor" EP by Blanco y Negro)

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Simon Rigot: No not really. Even "Attention", the B side of my first single with Heavy Manners in 1979 was a funny ska with Trombone. Not really ambitious, but funny and a lot of friends danced on it. Even my first songs in my punk band "Burk" in 1978 were not to be ashamed of. I do have a strong self critic on my own songwriting, so I never go further if I feel the song will be to be ashamed of.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Simon Rigot: The Zombies, but I wouldn't be able to replace Rod Argent. But play with a singer like Colin Blunstone would have been a dream. Or playing organ on the 2 last Beatles albums instead of the late Billy Preston.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Simon Rigot: If you like Hammond, and melodies, don't ignore the stuff. If you like techno, go to the night club and forget me

-How would you relate such different bands as Berntholer, Leo & The Lunar Tikis and The Narcotic Daffodils?
-Simon Rigot: The quest for the holy melody, the perfect melody like "God only knows" (Beach boys) or "A rose for Emily" (The Zombies)

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Simon Rigot: Yes of course!

The Narcotic Daffodils: http://www.myspace.com/thenarcoticdaffodils

Léo & The Lunar Tikis: http://home.versateladsl.be/simon.rigot/lunar/

Berntholer : http://home.versateladsl.be/simon.rigot/berntholer.html

Kriminal Hammond Inferno: http://home.base.be/simon.rigot/lunar/khi.html

You want to react with this topic? Write us here!

What happened in September some years ago? Awa-news took its time machine...

16/9/1988: Talk Talk releases Spirit Of Eden, a superb, dark and inventive album.

05/9/1966: The Animals break up. Luckily they would reform twice, like in 1983 to release the stunning "Ark"

19/9/1973: Gram Parsons dies. Sex, drugs and country music.

You know other important dates to remember? Write us here!

9 steps to live your life more meaningfully:

How to 'gorogoro' like a cat?

Have you ever looked at cats sleeping? They never seem to worry too much. Just eat, sleep, walk, make kittens, then sleep again. Rub their nose and ‘gorogoro’. So why humans can’t seem to let loose a little? Awa-news asked a cat to give his advices. Take it or leave it.

1. Do something you really love to do. Be creative! Life is full of ups and downs, and when the downs come, you’d better hang on to something that you’re passionate about. It will make the hard times easier to live and keep the flame alive. Don’t become a manager to please your relatives, if your true self is to be an artist. You’ll have nothing but regrets.

2. Take money as it is: a mean, not a dream! Having a dream will often generate the money to make it come true (or parallel ways). Having only a lot of money won’t generate many dreams. Just a boring life and troubles.

3. Don’t wait to have a cancer, or to lose a close person, or to get in a wheelchair, before realizing what really are your precious moments. Why so many people need to be close to lose their life to finally understand that money and prestige are just nothing!!??? You want to wait for the vincristine to invade your vessels to regret what you haven't done?

4. Know your limits when it comes to social interactions. Yes, have respect for the neighbors, but as long as your private life doesn’t interfere with theirs, don’t give it a fuck! I mean: yes, if they ask you to turn down the volume of the hi-fi at 3 am, respect their sleep. But if they don’t like your car, your clothes or your partner,... so what!!?? Stop being a slave!

5. Don’t take the medias too seriously!!! They will frighten you with the flu, the crisis, exploding iPods, climate changes, crimes and other things like that. Although all those sad facts exist, they don’t deserve the paranoia created by low-talented journalists. Just be careful, not paranoiac.

6. Know who are your real friends. A friend is someone who still respects you even if you make choices that would be different from theirs. If a friend lets you down because he/she doesn’t like your boyfriend/girlfriend or your musical tastes or the way you spend your money, that person IS NOT A FRIEND, just a poor-minded slave who tries to act like a dictator and to rule your life to please their ego.

7. Don’t expect from others what you can’t even give them. Gentlemen, if you expect faithfulness from your beloved wife, try at first not to look at every girl’s boobs in the street. This is common sense. If you want your partner to be 100% into you, be 100% into them. Common sense!Ladies, if you want to be treated like a princess by your husband, you should also treat him like a prince, not like a slave. Common sense again.

8. Indulge yourself with delicious food. Don’t reject so-called unhealthy food, just include it wisely in a healthy diet. Yeah, eat lots of fruits and veggies, AND some fried potatoes, chocolate ice cream, paprika chips. Yes, drink plenty of water and soup, AND good wine, beer, energy drink and whiskey (unless the doctors have a very good reason to forbid you). Just create your own balance.

9. Make love! Breathe! Walk! Be yourself! Be childish sometimes! Make love! Make love! Make love! Read books! Watch movies! Clever books, stupid book! Make love! Clever movies, stupid movies! And make love!

Gorogoro now!

You have a question for Dr Awa-news? Write us here!

You like Awaken? You *will* like this album:

Yes, Big Generator (1987)

In the eyes of some, Yes is a pre-historic group that had all of its creativity locked in the 70’s. This album proves that the statement is not only unfair, but also a total lie. Led by innovative hard-rocking guitar from Trevor Rabin, strong high-tech synths and Hammond organ from Tony Kaye, heavy and complex drumming from Alan White, powerful –yet a bit shy- driving bass from Chris Squire and the typical beautiful high-pitched voice of Jon Anderson, Big Generator offers here what I consider as its best music ever released.
The catchy “Rhythm Of Love” opens fire with a modern arrangement sometimes not far from Police, followed by “Big Generator”, an incredible powerful hard-to-label piece that shows how cleverly progressive music had evolved into the 80’s. “Shoot High Aim Low” is a splendid atmospheric song, with Anderson and Rabin echoing each other, upon an irresistible drum riff from Alan White. Kaye plays majestically and the tune wouldn’t be complete without the cute fills from the bass guitar. Thrilling. This A-side ends with a great rocker, “Almost Like Love”, slightly reminiscent of the very early days of Yes, when Kaye was exclusively behind his roaring Hammond.
The B-side starts with a funny radio-friendly song by Rabin, “Love Will Find A Way”, with its unmistakable guitar riff and sing-along chorus, before the mood turns a bit more into the darker Yes from years before: an epic “Final Eyes” and a breathtaking “I’m Running”, with its superb keyboards interventions, must have surprised lots of fans by their diversity and extremely tasty playing from all members. This bunch of rich and dense song would almost make the final track, Anderson’s “Holy Lamb”, sound almost unfinished.
Although Trevor Horn hardly contributed to the production of Big Generator, the sound is perfect and still ahead of its time. In the future, only Talk (1994) and Magnification (2001) would be able to provide inspired stuff that would compete with this Big Generator.

Yes's webiste: http://www.yesworld.com/

You want to send us an album to review? Write us here!

What's hot on the web side? Awa-net surfed for you and found this:

Genesis-fr

Fans of Genesis wanting to improve your French skills, here’s the perfect site for you: Genesis-fr. Setlists, interviews, lyrics translations, FAQ, facts, a lively forum, you’ll know everything about your favourite group, from the epic Ant era to the moving days of “Calling All Stations”.

Even though Genesis hasn’t done anything creative since their very last tour in 1998 (despite an attempt to work with genius Trevor Horn), the band still has a flamboyant discography, featuring treasures in absolutely every album. Know more about Genesis by visiting Genesis-fr!

URL: http://www.genesis-fr.com

Some Genesis members' own website:
Ray Wilson: http://www.raywilson.net
Anthony Drennan: http://www.myspace.com/antodrennan
Nir Z: http://www.nirz.com
Anthony Phillips: http://www.anthonyphillips.co.uk/

You want your website to be reviewed in Awanews? Submit it here!

Mr Qurtis will reveal everything about his new album during our shocking conversation, memories that inspired your favorite Awaken songs, some thoughts about Peter Gabriel's """live""" recordings (cough cough cough), and more and more. See you next week, enjoy life and music!

You have a special request on a next issue of Awa-news? Ask us here!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

www.beppunights.com

It's Oh! Music

© AWAKEN-Awanews-

[downloadable pdf version here]

Awa-news 01: September morning still can make me feel this way

n°1, 09th of September, 2009

downloadable pdf version here

Enjoy!

Awa-news is coming ! 「泡ニュース」が来る！Awa-news được đọc!

友達やファンへ、

こんにちは。お元気ですか？

9月の中から、電子新聞の「Awa-news」が泡件のサイトで読まれる。インタビュー、ヒント、レビュー、昔へ旅行、ウエブスペース等。残念ですが、先ずは英語だけ。もちろん、後は日本語バージョンが出来る。ちょっと待ってね。また「泡ニュース」その1！

Các bạn thân mến,

Bạn có khỏe không ? Tháng 9 mang theo một tờ báo điện tử mới tên Awa-news! Trong Awa-news có phỏng vấn, báo giá, lời khuyên, đánh giá, chuyến đi đến quá khứ, tin tức nóng và cyberspace, vv

Tiếc là, Awa-news chỉ bằng tiếng Anh. Chắc là Awa-news cũng sẽ được đọc bằng tiếng Việt.

Hẹn gặp lại nhé.

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles.

September is here and bring along a brand new newsletter, Awa-news, that will be launched in mid-September. Interviews, quotes, tips, reviews, trip to the past, hot news and cyberspace will be among the hot topics that we will offer you once a week. Be connected to the Awa-net and see you soon with Awa-news, n°1!