NEWS from Awaken & Nekokawa: love music ~ magnetic soul

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

thank you for being there last month, when Awa-news did its unintended come back. Actually, we didn't expect to be remembered this way. Faithful and loyal, so are you (even though I suspect you give an ear or two to other minor acts). To answer your questions, topic come and topics go, which means "Quote'n'Roll" might be back another issue.
Today, let's focus on discovering the groove of Mister Imani Zubeh who kindly accepted to be interviewed for you from Fukuoka, then we we can jump to Sài Gòn to understand the likes & dislikes, then then... well, what would be the use of the articles if everything was in the editorial part?

So, it's time to jump into Awa-news number 20!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

ACOUSTIC TUNES FOR YOUR WEARY EARS

You Awaken fans are familiar with studio leaks and some live takes, aren't you? You surely often check the demo & bootlegs page to check if a new one has been well... unreleased. :D

Nowadays, the Awa-studio is the scene of some live rehearsal. Rough: piano-voice, freely played, with no other goal than create an intimate contact between you and the magnetic soul of Awaken. The first volume of "Code Name: S-Natural" features 3 pieces recorded during these kinds of rehearsals (does it mean that the sleepy Feline is preparing to hit the stage alone? Keep connected to Awa-news!) and left as they are for your ears :

-My Last Evening In Ôita

-Riding The Yellow Line Gives Vibrations

- The Train Is Leaving Kokura

Jump here to listen (for free) and buy (to save on your iPod). Take care: this is for true fans only!

And by the way, if you wonder if the title 'S-natural' is a tribute to Steve Hogarth's 'H-natural', well... yes, it is.

PS: It is more than possible that more songs will leak in a near future.

Link: http://www.soundclick.com/gillessnowcatunplugged

Good news : a live-in-studio acoustic version of "Yanagigaura" has been added yesterday! Click on the image to listen to the power of Kyuushuu Island:

Good news again : the Koiko CD "Vitamin!/Tasogare Bus" is now available on CD Japan: easy to order, even for foreigners.

It is an It's Oh! Music production, and a collaboration with the Awaken Universe.

Link: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=DAKITSS-501

Our interview:

Imani Zubeh:

We really didn't need a light show, 'cause my smile was so big!

Groove, you're looking for groove? The city of Fukuoka, Japan, should be proud to count Mr Imani Zubeh amongst its population: the man knows how to jazz a piano! You can hear Imani on various recordings, like Anita Baker's, or as a tour member of Cheryl Lynn and Ray Parker Jr's bands.

Mr Zubeh recntly released an album on CD Baby: From This Moment On. (review on next Awa-news) Today, lets ask him to tell us his groovy secrets and a litlle bit more about Fukuoka.

-Nice to meet you, Imani. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Imani Zubeh: Thank you Gilles, its nice to meet you also. 3 words huh? ummmmmm
1. Independent
2. Perfectionist
3. Studious

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Imani Zubeh: My Mom truly thought I had talent and suggested that I take it seriously. Plus, its a FUN occupation if you can get work!

-You live in the beautiful city of Fukuoka. How do you feel the Japanese live scene is compared to your home country?
-Imani Zubeh: The live scene in Fukuoka is very active, but the musical genre is not as diverse as Detroit, Michigan where you get the best of everything, from Classical & Jazz to Metal Death, Rap or R&B, etc.

Fukuoka by night

-On the everyday life part, what do you love or hate specially in Fukuoka?
-Imani Zubeh: Well, I wouldn't say its as cut and dry as "HATE" or "LOVE", but more of a Gray area of the "foreigners blues" sometimes.... where they look at you with that "Bi-ku-ri-shita" look or in English....the look of surprise, that you are there. Fukuoka, even though the largest city in Kyuushu, is still pretty much "i-na-ka" or country in its approach & acceptance of foreigners. Its not like Tokyo where they are used to seeing and interacting with us.... (foreigners)

-Artists often have a special relationship with Japan. Do you feel Fukuoka inspired you in a way that no other place could have done?
-Imani Zubeh: Yes, Japan in general, not just Fukuoka, has taught, inspired & instilled in me, patience.

The new album

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Imani Zubeh: I think number 5 on my CD, From This Moment On, because it has elements of classical...(the orchestration), Latin, Jazz and crunch guitar, which I just LOVE!

-Any song you're ashamed of, and why?
-Imani Zubeh: Well, I wouldn't say "ashamed", but maybe just a little anxious to finish my CD and I'm a little sorry that I didn't mix the kick drum a little further down in the mix on the 1st tune on the CD. It just seems a little too loud for me.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Imani Zubeh: "Sixun".... from France.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Imani Zubeh: Whoa! GOOD QUESTION! Well, I think I'd say that I'm a fan of self-_expression and creativity and not following the norm, and if there's anyone else out there that likes being original, then you have a kindred spirit in me and maybe not only would you enjoy my music but maybe I'd also enjoy what you do, whether it be musical or not & I think our dialog would be enjoyable and beneficial for both of. And oh, sorry for the "run on" sentence..... ha ha ha

With Cheryl Lynn band

-Do you have a funny, surprising or stunning memory to share with us about playing with Cheryl Lynn?
-Imani Zubeh: Yes, I do. The 1st time I played with Cheryl, I was the only keyboardist and I didn't have much time to rehearse her music before hand because I was on the road with another artist at the time. Anyway, when the band landed, we set up at SIR Studio's in LA to begin rehearsals. I didn't have my gear, and was unfamiliar with what I had to work with. Anyway, to say the least, when she arrived and asked us to play "Got To Be Real, I sounded REALLY BAD. Unfamiliar gear and no rehearsal, you can imagine. Anyway, after a week of rehearsal, the show sounded great, but she was still raggin' on me about the horn sound... KNOWING that I wasn't using that gear on the actual tour, which was the Blue Notes in Japan. Anyway, I tweak and tweak the horns for hours, 'til it was to her liking or she was tired.... ha ha ha Of course I couldn't say.... "BUT CHERYL, THIS IS NOT THE GEAR THAT I ORDERED FOR THE ACTUAL GIG".... I just had to take it because, that's what being professional is all about... doing what the client asks for. Anyway, we arrived in Tokyo a day before we had to perform and I immediately began editing my sounds on all the keyboards and getting them sounding like the record. Up all night and then went to sound check.... When we hit the first song, she stopped it in the middle, looked at me and said.... WOW, THOSE KEYBOARDS SOUND GREAT! YEAH!!!!! That whole night we really didn't need a light show, 'cause my smile was so big, it light up the whole venue!

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Imani Zubeh: Even though I am new to "Awaken", I am now and opening admit that I am a fan for life and look forward to being "Awakened" on a regular basis! Thanks so much for a great time Gilles, it was truly enjoyable!

Thanks to you Imani, and keep on grooving!

Links: http://www.imanology.com/
http://smoothjazzspace.ning.com/profile/ImaniZubeh
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/imanizubeh

Is Awa-news corrupted to the point of saying good things about fellow co-workers' albums? Let's discover the truth about today's record:

Midrone: Fascination

Midrone might sound new to you but you heard his tune on Sousbock's "L'une & l'autre" album: "Un Homme En Sursis". Midrone's first album, "Fascination", is sung in English and Spanish and features a great mix of classy pop tunes and dance songs. With some predilection for romantic piano, Midrone is not far from composers such as Tony Banks, Alain Chamfort or the Bee Gees. Highly recommended!

Links: http://www.ilike.com/artist/midrone/album/Fascination
http://www.myspace.com/ktcmidrone
http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/75167

It's happening outside:

Tôi yêu Việt Nam (nhưng đôi khi tôi không...)

Dear Vietnamese friends,

this par of the blog is written especially for you. You often ask me what I like and dislike about your S-shaped country. Some of our discussions can be too kind or to harsh. Vietnam doesn't let anyone mild. So I decided to compile once for all my likes and dislikes, how I see your everyday life, trying to put away our cultural differences and keep as neutral as possible. But I don't want to be harsh, and of course don't want to be too nice either. So you may smile and you may be angry, but knowing that honesty is usually a quality of yours, I want to play the game the same way.
If you search online, you'll find a bunch of blogs from foreigners having travelled to Vietnam and telling you their opinion. Usually you'll learn more about the foreigners themselves than about the country, and some of those blogs are or stupidly rude or ridiculously politically correct.
You asked several times what I think about Vietnam, how can I compare with Japan, how's the food, what I love, what I hate, etc etc... Apart from the drawbacks based on cultural differences but that I couldn't complain about, here are the Likes & Dislikes that you often asked me without having a long and detailed answer.

================I LIKE================

-Welcome to lively Asia: If, like Sinatra, you want to wake up in a city that never sleeps, no need to go to New-York: Sài Gòn will welcome you with its frenzy and lively atmosphere, that never seems to cease. Asia has stunning nights (you already know it don't you?) and Sài Gòn is no exception. Once you leave the airport you'll immerge into a real Asian atmosphere. And, if you decided to go to Vietnam, I assume that's what you're looking for. Noises, music, perfumes, smells, this is life.

-Food, food, food: Asia is a place for gourmets, Vietnam doesn't derogate to the rule. You can eat anywhere, from the cheapest and dirtiest street restaurant to the most prestigious one, chances are you will hardly be disappointed. The food is almost always superb, and in the few cases it's not, there's nothing to complain about either. Of course I mention the food, not the service <grin grin>.

-Kindness: Some population still fight hundreds of years after the start of a conflict, just because their ancestors did. Vietnamese are clever enough to avoid that stupid game, and people who come from countries who were their 'enemies' not long ago (America, France) can travel in the S-shaped country without any trouble. Furthermore, they will be welcome like kings and queens: it's easy to talk to locals (they usually come to you) and have a drink in the street to pursue the conversation. It is not uncommon to have someone starting a talk with you in the bus or in a restaurant. And if you're in a bad mood and don't wanna talk, just smile and say sorry, they will hardly insist. Also, don't take indiscreet questions too personally: asking about age and 'Are you married?' as starter is the rule there.

-Cost of life: If you come in Vietnam with a salary earned abroad, you will feel like the world belongs to you, the cost of life being wonderfully low. Tip: if you notice you've been overcharged in a shop, before trying to bargain or complain, compare with the price in your own country. And remember that your overcharge is nothing for you but may mean a lot to staff who can't count on a plentiful salary. Be nice!

-Sceneries: Leave the city for a while and the stunning beauty of nature will make you feel happy to be alive, believe me...

-Skilful : How they can ride (rather) safely in such a traffic, how they can carry a whole family and luggage on a small bike, how they can make a new bike with spare parts from a bicycle, a truck or -why not- a helicopter is a permanent amazement for me. Vietnamese are the most resourceful and craftiest people I've ever seen -and it's a compliment.

-Language: I find Vietnamese language pleasant to hear (except when used to argue, needless to say): the intonations make it sound like a melody in itself. Music, music... If they had kept the kanji (Chinese characters, dumped because of a lazy missionary -long story-) instead of that alphabet bình thường, it would have been perfect, but at least it's now easy to read.

-Songs: A beautiful language enlights the songs it is used in, don't you think? Even more, Vietnamese language becomes more than pleasant when it becomes part of a piece of music. Modern music (pop) seems to be made for that language, and artists like Mỹ Tâm or Hồ Quỳnh Hương, who would sound average if they sang in English, offer something unique in their pop thanks to their language. Highly recommended. Moreover, the melancholic tone often brings the listener

-Free girls in a macho world: Although men are supposed to rule and decide of everything, women are far to be prisoner of that macho attitude. They live their life, wear the clothes they want and talk to whoever they want, men have no choice but accept. And if they argue, well... let them argue.

-Safe: As it often happens in countries where Buddhism statistically dominates, street criminality is rather low. Oh sure you can't expect the levels you'll find in Japan, sure you'll have to take care of bag-snatching, but in most of the cases you can walk freely without fearing to receive a bullet between your eyes.

-Bus: One of the best surprises you can have in Saigon is the Saigon Bus company: in such a tricky traffic, you can enjoy rather comfortable busses, with a true Vietnamese feeling (the seats seem to come from the 60's), with a refreshing fan, for a low cost and with a staff that can often help you to find your way.

-People are true...: In Sài Gòn, you will be amazed that flattery is hardly used and when you ask someone their opinion, they will give it to you as honestly as possible. It's kinda great, except that........

================I DISLIKE================

-...but dramatically lacking diplomacy: ......telling a weak point to someone could be done with class and with a will to help him/her doing better. Unfortunately, in Sài Gòn I mostly heard criticisms told a rude way. This doesn't help much to want to improve...

-Money obsession: It is perfectly understandable that when the salary is low and the government wouldn't help much in case of job loss, Vietnamese have to be careful about money. However, they unfortunately seem to go to the point of giving money a higher value than anything, almost like a god in itself. You shouldn't be surprised if, after telling a Vietnamese friend you ate in a restaurant, he/she will not ask what you ate, nor if it was good, but... if it was expensive. If you want to fight with a Vietnamese (but why would you?), no need to show a weapon or to be aggressive: just talk about money and I bet that within 5 minutes you will harshly argue with him/her.

-Education: When education is based on fear, disdain, discrediting, you can't expect people to take much risk once they grew up, even if it's to get out of a pattern that doesn't work. Vietnamese parents will hardly encourage their kids to find their way or enhance their inner qualities. Instead, they'll easily scold and use the comparison tactic to make them feel inferior. Sure this happens everywhere in the world but it seems a bit too obvious on the S-shaped country.

-Shame : That education uses the kids to be ashamed and rely on their friends and neighbors' opinions before doing something (that has usually nothing to do wit hthe neighbors and friends, like what bike to chose...). Gossip has a strong power there and sometimes you can feel some Vietnamese being unhappy since they can't do something they'd like to. You ask them "Why don't you just do it?". They would quickly reply "If I fail my friends will laugh". "Soooo what!!?? If your friends laugh at you, THEY are stupid, not you!". This paralyzing situation might be one of the causes Vietnamese economy is so bad: not many people dare to take risks to think out of the box, cause for them a failure is not a way to learn but an end in itself. Sad.

-Staff? What staff? : It is sometimes surprising to hear Vietnamese sellers complaining about their lack of money, when you see their terrible attitude toward clients. How can they expect to make big sales when they treat the customers so rudely, throwing the change at their face, following them all through the shop, pushing them to buy what they don't need and never trying to show any smile? There are shops and markets when I came with the intention of buying something, but I left without anything in my bag because the sellers were so annoying...

-Slaves & Masters: Hierarchy is the rule: the chief, the teacher, the family can order anything, if you are Vietnamese you have no choice but to obey (or face endless arguments). Then back to your house, you'll have the right to scold your servants, children and so-called 'inferiors'. This slaves & masters rule is perfectly useless and rottens relationships but after years of living under a communist dictatorship, and still with a government who decides what's good and what's bad for the population, you shouldn't be surprised that the population sometimes works like an army. The boss can treat his employees like shit, since there's no help from the government if that poor one is fired, they can't answer back.

-Power cuts: Be prepared for wild power cuts in the hot season. Probably due to the increasing use of electric devices such as aircon and plasma screens linked to obsolete power plants, you never know when they happen nor how long they will last.

In conclusion: Vietnam is a wonderful place if you go there with an open mind (and stomach!), if you find a balance between being understanding and not too kind at the same time. Yes, being too nice will only get you troubles, but keep in mind that this is mostly cultural differences and just keep it cool.

You have a secret question to ask Awaken? Be the interviewer! It's your turn to lead the interview by sending your fan question here. The answer will come within a day or two. Or 3.

A good news for fans of good vintage cars (60's-70's-80's): the blog 4 Roues Dans Leur Jus provides vintage tests, catalogs, commercials and parallel topics about those almost-collectible vehicles. It's all in French language and it's there: http://dansleurjus.com

Link:http://dansleurjus.com

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

沢田研二, 女たちよ (1983)

(Kenji Sawada, "Onnatachi Yo")

Star? Kenji Sawada, sometimes nicknamed "Julie", is what we can call an idol in Japan. Singer from The Tigers, he's also an actor, songwriter and solo act. The Tigers' song "Smile For Me" was written by no one else than the Bee Gees, to give you an idea of how big Sawada can be.

The album "Onnatachi Yo" is based on Japanese legends and doesn't feature any songwriting from Sawada. Instead, the job was offered to the brilliant Kyôhei Tsutsumi, famous hit-maker in the country of the Rising Sun. Far from Tsutsumi's delightful pop songs, "Onnatachi Yo" will offer you some arty, deep and soulful songs, sometimes not far from Japan (the band, not the country) or Dalis Car. Maybe not the easiest album to discover Japanese music but after a few listens the beauty of the album will appear to you and never leave you.

Link: http://www.co-colo.com

You expect some extra cash to fill your pocket every month and don't want to deliver pizzas for the rest of your life? You have a blog and you like to convince new fans to discover music from your favorite artist? Don't look any further, you can become an official dealer of Awaken / Snowcat by just putting an easy CD Baby affiliate link on your blog or website. Each sale done through that link will get you 1 USD! And if 1USD looks like small money, understand that doing just 100 sales can bring you some nice pocket money. And your seller talent can bring you much more. It's all in your hands. :)

CD Baby will tell you exactly how to do once you follow this link => http://www.cdbaby.biz

Welcome to Awaken Inc.!

More and more falling leaves will be on the ground. Well, it means no one knows what will be in your Awa-news n°21. You'll find the clues on our website!

In waiting, take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

http://www.soundclick.com/gillessnowcatunplugged

The piano, the fire...

2010-09-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, enemies and passing smiles,

How is the autumn feeling affecting you? Does it make you feel romantic, sad, happy, depressed?

Autumn is time for some introspection, or just intimacy. The piano, the fire, watching the leaves falling one-by-one, doesn’t it appeal to you?

Your old feline friend Gilles Snowcat sat behind the Asian piano and, inspired by the sweet Kyûshû mysteries that still linger here, there and everywhere, started to play. Just play, and sing. Live, roughly, with all the noises and the life around. In order to bring his new songs around some stages, he started to rehearse, improvise, familiarize and simply taste them. And share them.

Although all this is supposed to happen as secretly as possible, leaks are never far away so the first three songs are already online for you:

-My Last Evening In Ôita (rehearsal 22 September 2010)

-Riding The Yellow Line Gives Vibrations (rehearsal 22 September 2010)

-The Train Is Leaving Kokura (rehearsal 22 September 2010)

This is Snowcat as you almost never heard him. Just him, a piano, a micro and some lights. No, actually there were no lights. Snowcat as intimate as you can imagine. Almost.

Ps: “Code Name: S-Natural” owes a lot to Mr Steve Hogarth. Fans will know why.

Awa-news n°19: happy 9th day of the 9th month!

2010-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

n°19, 9th of September, 2010

Awaken-Snowcat discography in English / Japanese / Vietnamese

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

you can't believe your eyes, you may be pinching yourself, calling you friends (if ever you still have some) and thinking of believing in miracles: Awa-news is back!
Once a month, in between our regular news, your Awa-news will provide you the extra stuff you're dreaming of, interviews, news from Awaken's friends and mostly: opportunities for you! This month, you will be able to ask questions to Awaken and most of all make some money on Awaken's back.
Along with your usual favorite topics, including the return of the famous INTERVIEW. Today, Mr Franck Craducci accepted to meet the Awa-news team. You expected a ot? We give you more!

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 19!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

Have you tried it?

-Do you try everything before buying?
You can now decide if you will offer yourself Awaken's frenzy "How Many 'L' Were In Your Name?" or Gilles Snowcat's relaxing and soulful "Yanagigaura". Or both... Click on your choice below, enjoy and get what you want!

-Tales Of Acid Ice Cream...
...will be 15 years old next January. Since its birth, the (in)famous album turned out to become a collector item, in the true meaning of the term. Rare as it can be, the very last pieces are still available for you through our Shopping Center for 60 euros (6400 JPY / 1.400.000 VND / 50 GBP / 75 USD).

And good news: if you order before 31 of December 2010, the shipping is free! Visit our Shopping Center right now!

It's happening outside:

News from other worlds

A new album from Sousbock in sight, David Bowie as silent as ever and Deep Purple still touring? Ah, Nick Simper is back on the road thanks to Austrian band Nasty Habits.

Nick Simper

Who said Rod Evans waits for Awaken to call him?

Is Awa-news corrupted to the point of saying good things about fellow co-workers' albums? Let's discover the truth about today's record:

Trust No One: Trying Is The First Step Toward Failure

The ever prolific Trust No 1 is known for a huge amount of instrumental releases, with occasional appearances of a guest singer or two. Awaken fans know him for having invited Snowcat to collaborate (Spoiled By Purity) and played keyboards on Awaken's latest single. But what a suprise when they discover the cover artwork of Trust No 1's new collection of songs, "Trying Is The First Step Toward Failure": this seems so... magnetic!? Did our friend decided to get into the Magnetic Soul movement? That's why we carefully listened to each of the 43 minutes of the prolific artist's record.

The biggest surprise is that now Mister TN1 takes the lead vocal all through the album. And this is a whole change, believe me. The songs, more guitar-oriented than usual, are based on rather dark moods and atmospheres, not far from some Cure's best moments, just to name a very few.

Something as unique as you can dream of, Trust No 1 offers you one of his very best records: Trying Is The First Step Toward Failure

Links: http://trustno1.jimdo.com

CD Baby will tell you exactly how to do once you follow this link => http://www.cdbaby.biz

Welcome to Awaken Inc.!

Our interview:

Franck Carducci: I mentioned I was a dreamer, didn't I?

You listened and indulged yourself with the Evidence(s) compilation and wondered who was behind the impressively timeless "Journey Through The Mind" from the band Matis? We met Franck Carducci, who is know unknown from Awaken and Sousbock fans since he played with Nicolas Leroy (cf Awa-news n°6). Moreover, Franck, who you can find jamming every night in Amsterdam,should not stay unknown from Genesis fans. We can't tell you why but he can. How? Read...

-Nice to meet you, Franck. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Franck Carducci: Fussy, perfectionist and dreamer

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Franck Carducci: I was raised in a family full of musicians. Cousins, uncles already working in the music business so I guess that pulled me up somehow. I started learning to play piano at 5 and guitar at 12, and I still remember the thrill of my fisrt rock gig in a club, I was 15 and I wasn't even supposed to be allowed to get in that smoky place. But anyway we rocked the whole night on :o)

-You played in front of Steve Hackett and got to know him. Can you tell me how this encounter influenced you in a creative way ? Hackett being a kind of a wise man, does he give you precious advices ?
-Franck Carducci: Such an amazing experience that I'm still wondering if it really happened! It actually gave me a lot of inspiration and positive energy to get the motivation to dig up old stuff I did some time ago. I got some nice discussions with Steve and he gave me some precious tips like how they recorded 12 string guitars back in the GENESIS time, how he played the effects in the beggining of "The Lamb", how he played the violin-guitar on "Carpet Crawlers" or how he ajusts his guitar necks to get the best rendering out of them, stuff like that ...
Just before I entered the stage for his opening act in Alsace, he was at the door and he gently patted my shoulder and told me "take it easy and enjoy each and every moment of it!" I can tell you I did! :o) Steve trying on my 12 strings guitar in Rome was also a hot moment for me.

Franck with Steve Hackett

-Rumour has it that you're working on your own project, with special guests included. Can you tell us a little bit more?
-Franck Carducci: Yeah and again, Steve is mainly the one to blame for this :o) So I started the recording of a "some will call progressive rock album" that I hope I'll be able to release early 2011. It will contain 4 main tracks, one psychedelic song I co-wrote when I was 17, one epic about Achilles and the Trojan war I wrote 5 years ago, one tribute to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Space Oddyssey I wrote a couple of years ago and one about Alice in Wonderland I wrote this summer. It should be a pretty funny blend, and there might be a couple of bonus tracks! I used the "Kubrick song" to also pay tribute to David Bowie's "Space Odditty" and to Pink Floyd's "Echoes", as those two songs - that I love - are both somehow linked/related to Kubrick's motion picture, so I think you will be able to hear some familiar riffs here and there. I tried to make those references without sounding as a parody, I hope it'll work out well. As for the special guests on the album, I won't give up all the secrets already :o) but in addition to familiar names like Phildas Bhakta or Nicolas Leroy, ... I'm thrilled to have John Hackett (Steve's brother), Larry Crockett (drummer for Elton John, Bono, Poppa Chubby, Liz McComb, ...) and Yanne Matis (who I collaborated with some years ago) who also accepted to participate.

Matis album

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Franck Carducci: I'd say LIVE performances as a whole. As a matter of fact I'm really a LIVE man. I mean, I've been involved in the recording of about 15 albums for different artists but nothing really belongs to me, nothing is very representative. I'm more the arranger/helper dude. Although the MATIS album "Encore" was probably the project where I was involved the most, and "Journey Through The Mind" would be my favorite track in this. As for the LIVE, I'm out there playing almost every night! Probably couldn't live without this.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Franck Carducci: Not really, I'm throwing them all away before I can get ashamed anyway!

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Franck Carducci: Ideally Pink Floyd or Genesis in the 70's but they probably wouldn't sound as good with me replacing Roger Waters or Mike Rutherford and I surely wouldn't like that.
Right now I'd love to play in Paul McCartney's current band, I think it'd be a blast to play the Beatles and Wings classics between Paul and Abe Laboriel Jr. I'd love to play in Supertramp, even more if Roger Hodgson would team back up. (I mentioned I was a dreamer, didn't I?)

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Franck Carducci: Wait for the next album coming up ;o)

Double trouble?

-You live now in Amsterdam. How different is the music scene there ?
-Franck Carducci: It's very different mainly because it's a fairly small city, but as a capital, a cosmopolite city and a completely english oriented place (both for language and culture), there's a great rock scene. Lots of clubs with Live music every days until 4 in the morning, lots of opportunities to meet great people, great musicians, lots of JAM sessions. As I don't care too much about bad weather or food, I'm definitely loving it!

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Franck Carducci: Well ... who isn't?

Shankarducci?

Links: www.myspace.com/bassfranky

www.matis.free.fr

You have a secret question to ask Awaken? Be the interviewer! It's your turn to lead the interview by sending your fan question here. The answer will come within a day or two. Or 3.

Your beloved Awa-net has been updated and became, according to some faithful dans, easier and smoother to visit.

Moreover, the whole discography is now concentrated in one single page. Where to listen, release date, how to buy, every detail is here:

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

David Bowie, Tonight (1984)

The most hated albums of David Bowie (besides "Never Let Me Down"), "Tonight is far from being that bad! Sure i's not as creative as "1.Outside" or "Diamond Dogs", but well,... so what!? "Tonight" offers a bunch of great mid-80's classy fiunk-pop, blue-eyed soul tunes, including the masterpiece "Loving The Alien", the deliciously insane reggae "Don't Look Down", the frenzy funky "Tumble & Twirl", a great cover from the Beach Boys ("God only Knows") and well, much more. OK the titletrack isn't really that appealing (sounding like a cheap reggae-parody), the sound is sometimes a bit too clean "Blue Jean" is anything but inspired but hey, "Neighborhood Threat" , don't tell me it doesn't make you start to dance!?

Links: http://www.davidbowie.com

Echoes in the dark:

We heard it through the grapevine

This month, the ECHOES chapter gives a tribute to 2 artists found on ReverbNation. After all, isn't it the reverb that gives the best... echo? (Ah ah ah)

Harry Narestu Lintang, guitarist from Indonesia, introduces his Asian pop rock songs. Visit and listen here!

Imani Zubeh offers an impressive funk with a slice of jazz and modern synths. Well, he played with Cheryl Lynn and Ray Parker Jr, to name a few. Take a step toward his great music now!

...will be October. So? Well, you'll see.

In waiting, take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Job? Làm thêm? バイト?

2010-08-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

AWAKEN offers you a job!

Các bạn hãy làm thêm cho Awaken nhé!

バイトが必要? Awakenに勤めてね!

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You are a fan of the Awaken Universe and want to contribute to our growth in the music world? Also, you need extra cash but you don't want to do a boring and underpaid job until 2 am?

There's a way: you are enthusiastic and have a talent to sell? You have a blog or a regular website? So, it's as easy as eating candy: sell Awaken's music through your web site !

To do so, you just need to register to CD Baby Affiliates and place the code (they'll give you) on your web-site. Each sale happening through your site will get you 1 USD. "Only 1 USD?", I hear you say. with a disappointed look on your face. Well, if you have that special talent you can easily convince 100 people to buy an album, asking them to spread the news to leading to your site. So the 100 can easily grow to 1000 and more. The snowball effect, in a way. :) 1000 USD just by selling a music you love and without leaving the comfort of your cosy room, who can offer you a better job in this world?

Các bạn hãy làm thêm cho Awaken nhé!
Các bạn có cần tiền nhưng k0 muốn làm đến 2 giờ sáng à? Làm thế nào? Dễ wá! Nếu bạn có một website hoặc blog bạn có thể register vào CD Baby Affiliates và đọc policy nhé. (chỉ bằng tiếng Anh thôi)

バイトが必要?
泡件の音楽を売るのはどうですか? 英語が分かったら、CD Baby Affiliatesサイトを見て下さい。

New... Mới... 新しい

2010-07-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

lazily, lazily... here are two updates for you.

★◎ Beppu Nights fans who decide to go to the magic Beppu city will find more usueful links that they can enjoy once arrived!

★◎ We added more fans' reviews on Awaken / Snowcat MP3 page. When will you send us yours?

Take care and see you for more news...

Các bạn thân mến,

vẫn mùa mưa ở Việt Nam à? Có hai trang được update.

★◎ Có nhiều liên kết mới trên trang Beppu Nights! Những liên kết này là của cuộc sống ở thành phố Beppu.

★◎ Có vài bài phê bình mới trên trang MP3 của Awaken / Gilles Snowcat. Khi nào các bạn cũng sẽ viết bài phê bình ạ?

Hẹn gặp lại nhỉ.

こんにちは。お元気ですか？今日のUPDATEは…

★◎　日本の泡件ファンの援助あっての『柳ヶ浦』と言う歌の沢山のダウンロードもう出来ました！ありがとうございます！やっぱり日本人はリラックスでヒーリングな曲が好きそう。まだ聞かなかったら、ここをクリックしてね！

★◎　別府NIGHTSページのUPDATEは別府市の生活の為のリンクで、是非見て下さいね。

★◎　「ダウンロード・ディスコグラフィー」の新しいレビューもう読みましたか？読んで下さい。ところで、いつあなたはレビューを書きますか？送って下さいね。

気をつけて下さい.........

Summer present / 夏のプレゼント / Món quà mua hè

2010-07-11T02:48:00.000-07:00

Dear fans, friends and passing smiles,

From now on, you can indulge yourself with a free "Try-before-Buy" streaming of the three songs from How Many 'L', Awaken's latest single. No strings attached.
And it's here that you must click to enter the psychedelic game...

泡件のファンや友達の皆さんへ

こんにちは。その後いかがですか？

今日から、『How Many 'L' 』という泡件のシングルを購入する前に全て聞きたかったら、聞くことが有り得るんです。それで、購入しなくても大丈夫だよ。『My Last Evening In 大分』の新しいバージョンも聞こえるよ。ここをクリックして下さい！

宜しくお願いします.....

Các bạn thân mến,

từ hôm nay, bạn có thể nghe 3 bài hát của single How Many 'L' bằng cách 'Try-before-Buy' (nghe thử trước khi mua). Nếu k0 muốn mua thì cũng được. Click ở đây để vào trò chơi psychedelic nhé.

Finally! やっと！Cuối cùng!

2010-06-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

Finally! From now on, you can access easily to awaken's universe thanks to our 1-page complete discography! Albums, singles, shop, free songs? No need to surf for hours before finding your information, it's all here and now!

やっと！日本の友達の為の「全ての雪猫」のページが出来た！５０ページの代わりに１ページは十分に成った！アルバム、シングル、ショップ、ディスコグラフィー、無料の歌、など・・・全部はここ！

Cuối cùng! Từ bây giờ, các bạn có thể biết về tất cả nhạc của Mèo Tuyết (Awaken, Nekokawa, Gilles Snowcat) trên chỉ một trang thôi! Albums, singles, cửa hàng, bài hát miễn phí, vv... tất cả ở đây!

Planète Indie

2010-05-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday 6th of June, give an ear or two to Planète Indie. The moment you'll feel something unusual, it will mean that you are being magnetized by honey softly caressing your ear. Only on Planète Indie.

When? Saturday 6th of June, 2010, from 5 to 6:30pm, FM 107 (région Arlon, Virton, Florenville, Aubange, Longwy (France), Grand Duché de Luxembourg).

何？雪猫ジルの『柳ヶ浦』はON・AIRで聴ける！

何時？2010年6月6日(土曜日)、午後五時から午後6時半まで。

何所？FM 107　(南ベルギー Arlon, Virton, Florenville, Aubange, Longwy (フランス), ルクセンブルク).

Nếu bạn có muốn nghe "Yanagigaura" nhưng không muốn trả xiền, thì phải nghe ra-đi-ô Planète Indie vào ngày Thứ Bảy, Tháng 6, năm 2010. Từ 5 giờ tối đến 6 giờ 30, FM 107. (Nam Bỉ -Arlon, Virton, Florenville, Aubange; Bắc Pháp -Longwy, Luxemburg).

http://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/yanagigaura/id355997793

Samedi 6 juin prochain, une oreille ou deux sur Planète Indie, et le moment où te te sentiras magnétisé(e) par un velours à la couleur de miel, c'est qu'un extrait du single "Yanagigaura" sera en train de caresser délicatement tes oreilles. Et ça ne se trouve que sur Planète Indie.

Quand? Samedi 6/6/2010, de 17 à 18h30, 107 FM (région Arlon, Virton, Florenville, Aubange, Longwy (France), Grand Duché de Luxembourg).

How about a trip to the past?

2010-05-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Gilles Snowcat / Awaken, live piano solo, June 1989.

Three instrumental pieces for you: the lazy "Blue In Green" from Miles Davis, a premiere from Gilles Snowcat's "Electric Time" and the majestuous "Afterglow" from Genesis.

Where can I listen to this rarity?

Only on a private folder of the Awaken-frrrr discussion group! You just need to subscribe. It's free.

And you know what? Other rarities await you there:

Awaken's One Wild War single (1 song + 1 unreleased demo take, 2002 RARE!)

Gilles Snowcat's Xmas single (3 songs, 2009)

Gilles Snowcat's covers from Al Stewart (3 songs, 2009)

Awaken's Airports & Hotels Triptych (3 songs, 2002 RARE!)

See you soon on Awaken-frrrr!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit Yanagigaura now, pay later

2010-04-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

You've been asking for it, we did it! You can now listen to the musical massage Yanagigaura and Chase Around Ôita Eki in FULL versions before buying. No more 30 seconds preview, no, no: the complete songs. Wow? Wow!

Just visit our page and a mini-radio will appear to you. Click here: http://bit.ly/cufy9E

払う前に聞いてみることがついに出来るよ！

心配するまでもない！あなたの夢は本当になった。今から、「柳ヶ浦」と「Chase Around 大分駅」を買う前に、２曲を聞くみるのが出来る。３０秒プレビューじゃなくて全ての歌です！

私のページに小さいラジオで聞いて見て下さいね！ここをクリックしてね。http://bit.ly/cufy9E

Nghe bây giờ, trả một ngày khách

Các bạn có muốn nghe bài hàt Yanagigaura and Chase Around Ôita Eki trước khi mua k0? Từ bây giờ, nếu các bạn xem trang này thì có thế nghe 2 bài hát bằng một radio nhỏ (đúng là mp3 player). Nếu bạn thích thì mua nhe. http://bit.ly/cufy9E

Music massage on iTunes / ３００円ミュージック・マッサージ

2010-03-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, fans, enemies and passing smiles,

Guess what? The long-awaited release of Gilles Snowcat's soulful single Yanagigaura on iTunes is now reality!

In English, Japanese, French and more...

友達、ファンへ、

こんにちは。

ストレスが大きくなる？九州とベルギーのコラボレーションのおかげで、柳ヶ浦と大分駅のマジックな力からFEEL・GOODなミュージック・マッサージはどうでしょうか？

どうする？２曲をダウンロードして、パソコンかiPodか車のHI・FI（など）でよく聴いて、早速リラックスなヒーリングの気持ちを感じます！

ダウンロードのURLは有名で安全なiTunesサイトです！

２曲１８分は３００円だけ。

リラックスよくしてね。

宜しくお願いします。

Your voyage has just begun...

2010-02-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

It seems your sensual time has come. Are you ready for a caressing journey in the depths of Yanagigaura and Ôita Eki? The meal on board features the most incredible liquor you have ever enjoyed.

Oh, it's boarding time, your ticket is waiting for you here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/GillesSnowcat

Awa-news 18: Release release? They burn the mountain in 柳ヶ浦

2010-01-26T15:12:00.000-08:00

n°18, 28th of January, 2010

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

I don't see any better way to depict the year 2010 as it began than by a title of a Yes' song: RELEASE RELEASE! Two weeks after Awaken's new single, it's Snowcat's turn to release a new EP (see the news). And as we know some of you are a bit disapointed that our music isn't free anymore, there's a special present for you. Here in Awa-news.

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 18!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. (Albert Einstein)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

SHOP FOR HOW MANY 'L' ON CD BABY

AND HEAL WITH MUSIC FROM KYÛSHÛ

You may have waited for this moment: How Many 'L' Were In Your Name? is available! Our CD BABY shop page made it easy for you to become owner of the newest release of AWAKEN. We already told you much about the unexpected return of AWAKEN, so it's now your turn to take the plunge and enjoy the delights of a psychedelic experience, a soulful introspection and a hi-NRG explosion.

Soulful, did we say soulful? Actually, right after finishing to record the AWAKEN single, the sleepy Snowcat decided to go further in mixing emotions, sensations from Kyûshû with his own music. The result is a new EP, Yanagigaura, featuring two relaxing, smooth, hypnotic, spiritual tunes, based on two recent compositions of Mr Snowcat: "Yanagigaura" and "Chase Around Ôita Eki".

The ‘satin caress of the Neko mix’ of “Yanagigaura” departs from the lo-fi electro take you heard the album This Mouth (nha.c cho em Mèo), to spread some jazzier, more organic waves.
Thanks to a brand new ‘warm hypno Neko mix’, “Chase Around Ôita Eki” reaches here a higher level of introspection, relaxation, meditation, rather different from the breathtaking speedy version that you knew from the B-side of “My Last Evening In Ôita”.

You can expect to hear it online in the beginning of February 2010.

Let's end with a little present for you: the live take of "They Burn The Mountain", recorded at the Comme Sur Des Roulettes radio show, on January 13th 2010. Click here to listen (free -it's a present)

Our interview:

Hey, the Cat, it's your turn!

Let's reverse roles today: instead of interviewing other musicians, it's sleepy Snowcat's turn to be asked a few questions by the Vietnamese indie webzine M!osaic.
You can read it in English and Vietnamese.

Links: http://www.m-mosaic.com/

What happened on January some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

24/01/1941: Neil Diamond says hello again to the world. He's then headed for the future...

20/01/1984: Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller dies. Uh, not related to music? And Tarzan's yell, isn't it music in its own way?

23/01/1989: David Crosby, shortly after CSNY's American Dream, releases his own Oh Yes I Can.

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

DAVID BOWIE, Diamond Dogs (1974)

Bowie was there before fashions, and he made his music turning raw before the Sex Pistols would ever think of doing anything. Bowie plays here all the guitars, doing a great job, proving that if his collaboration with Ronson was fruitful, he was also able to handle everything by himself. And what do you think of his "Sweet Thing" covered by your beloved Awaken?

Links: www.davidbowie.com

BOB JAMES & DAVID SANBORN, Double Vision (1986)

Cool smooth jazz, featuring Marcus Miller and Al Jarreau, to name a few. Some great melodies ("Maputo") and stunning playing from the band of Sanborn, who, should we remind you, used to play with Bowie too.

Links: www.davidsanborn.com

No Awa-news next week, but news when they come! Which might be quite soon.

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 17: Watching the wheels of Evidence(s)

2010-01-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

n°17, 21st of January, 2010

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

full moon inspires some artists. Full snow inspires bad cats. Therefore, a bunch of news await you on this 17th issue of Awa-news.

By the way, everyone talks about it:music business has changed quite a lot these last years. One can say it's going back to the time of classical composers such as Mozart, who were paid by patronage rather than on the sales of their records, for the good reason that there were no records then. :D

Now, the tangible records (vinyls, CDs) tend to vanish and artists need to find sponsors again to make a living with their work.

You too can become a sponsor of the Awaken Galaxy, and becoming a part of the magnetic mission of Awaken / Snowcat / Nekokawa. Just click on the donate button and make your choice :

How exciting it can be to feel that the next release will have something to do with your donation! :)

Well, more news are waiting for you on the Awa-news 17, so...

... go!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

More than watching the wheels

On a snowy Wednesday of January, Snowcat was kindly invited to sing and play live at the radio show Comme Sur Des Roulettes.

After an interesting discussion with the journalists and the airplay of "How Many 'L' Were In Your Name?" + the It's Oh! Music version of "Wasabi Kiss", it was time for a piano-voice minimalist live set to experiment visions and feelings music can bring in an unusual place.

The songs were sometimes supported by the team who used several objects to pretend a drummachine. Amazing! An improvisation based on team member Annette's poetry started the show. Thereafter, the setlist was:

-They Burn The Mountain

-Diamond Ring Department / Riding The Yellow Line Gives Vibrations

-Excerpts from:
~ A´o Dzài Màu Hô`ng
~ My Last Evening In Ôita
~ Don’t Worry Em Mèo
~ Nha.c Cho Em Mèo
~ The Blue Hanger

-Beppu Nights

Comme Sur Des Roulettes used to air on Radio Si, but now they spread their shows on internet and sonn back on air. We'll tell you the frequency once we know it.

Obviously...

It is out! The double compilation album Evidence(s) is the result of a long process that started 2 years ago. The idea was to gather indies musicians whose common ground was to be members of the forum of Genesis-fr, the official French site dedicated to English band Genesis.
Despite a common passion for Genesis, it was not planned to do yet another tribute album, but most likely an original compilation with contributors' own pieces. And don't expect clones of Banks, Collins, Rutherford, Wilson, Phillips and c° either: Evidence(s) has surprisingly little to do with the style of the band of Invisible Touch, Calling All Stations or Nursery Cryme.

As you can guess, your beloved Awaken recorded a song for the album: a brand new take of Blurping The Blurp, for those who remember the acid ice cream era. Awaken's brother artists like Sousbock, Nicolas Leroy, TrustNo1 and Zoé de York are also part of the project.

CD1
1. Amanyth A Town Called Kill (07.14)
2. Matis Journey Through the Mind (07.06)
3. Salmacis The End (04.17)
4. Big Gremlin Catwalks (14.34)
5. Owl Geezer Tree Mantra Sardonique (06.53)
6. Squonk 66 Back To Life (10.00)
7. Qurtis Oriane Express (04.36)
8. NicOzark Tightrope Walk (13.08)

CD2
1. Sousbock Le vide et l'imparfait (07.48)
2. Le Nobre Le sourire de Chaplin (03.11)
3. Phil VSD Piano Sound (03.42)
4. Lord Sinclair Ode à la mer (10.17)
5. TrustNo1 Atlas (17.38)
6. Zoé De York Face The Change (05.53)
7. Awaken Blurping The Blurp (09.43)

The two CD's are available online here: http://www.genesis-fr.com/evidence(s)

Briefly...


Lucky you: you can hear excerpts of Awaken's single "How Many 'L' Were In Your Name?" on our Myspace and on It's Oh! Music site.	After Awaken's single How Many 'L' Were In Your Name?, rumour has it that Gilles Snowcat is preparing his new single, another excerpt from the album This Mouth (nha.c cho em Mèo) to be on sale around February or March of this year.

Our virtual discography page has been updated with an easier navigation and more reviews. Begin your magnetic trip here and now!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

The more I can learn about music, the more I learn about other things. (Pat Metheny)

What happened in January some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

14/01/1938: Producer Allen Toussaint comes on Earth to start his journey.

23/01/1978: Terry Kath, from Chicago fame, goes to his final destination, with a little help with a toy in shape of a real gun.

25/01/1988: The Cross releases the album Shove It. All songs are written by Queen's Roger Taylor.

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

PHILIP GLASS, Music With Changing Parts (1973)

Remasters are in many cases a good way to make some more money (which is not a bad thing in itself), but on an artistic point of view, the new mix is in many cases unnecessary and sometimes even worse than the vinyl version (cf Deep Purple's 3rd album). The only interest in remasters is in the bonus tracks -when there are some. Vinyl albums are still unbeatable for those who are old enough to have grown up under their protection. There's one exception though: Phil Glass' long hypnotic pieces that were rudely interrupted by a fade-out at the end of each side of the record. Do you remember the double vinyle of Music With Changing Parts? Not only were there three cuts in the opus, but also the sides were not following each other in the right order! Now, thanks to the CD era, we can enjoy Glass' unusual music and get our full hypnosis session without moving from our bed/seat/etc...
Music With Changing Parts This open score performance could last up to 2 hours, following the group's inspiration. was written in 1970 and played several times by the Philip Glass Ensemble in the first half of the 70s. A version was recorded in 71 and released two years later. is known as being a bit more psychedelic than Glass' usual work at the time, but there are all the characteristics of his music during the 62 minutes of that masterpiece. Is it a good album to discover the Philip Glass Ensemble? Although it is not the most accessible, you'll surely be caught by the hypnotic human loops: everything is played from A to Z.No sequencer, no tape. Humans with fingers.

Links: http://www.philipglass.com

Next issue of your beloved Awa-news will tell you more about Gilles Snowcat's solo single. If you please. :)

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 16: How many 'L' were in your name?

2010-01-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

n°16, 09th of January, 2010

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

should we wish you a happy 2010? May the Magnetism be with you during these 12 new months!

Awa-news takes a new rhythm, something you can call 'cool', 'relax' or just... 'lazy'. You'll receive your favorite e-zine not every week but when you least expect it. Be aware!

2010 starts with the brand new long awaited Awaken single (see "Inside Awa") and more projects: Nekokawa, Snowcat and a few unexpected collaborations.

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 16!

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

HOW MANY 'L' WERE IN YOUR NAME?

1. How Many 'L' Were In Your Name? 7:34
2. My Last Evening In Ôita (Awaken version) 4:36
3. How Many 'L' Were In Your Name? (hi-NRG mix) 8:19

So what? Is that all? Be patient, my friend... And if you click on the artwork, you may be able to listen to a teaser of the single. You bet?

Links:

Awaken: http://www.awaken.be

Sousbock: http://www.sousbock-fr.com

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

Trust No 1: http://trustno1.jimdo.com

Yours truly Gilles Snowcat will be revisiting a few of his songs on Radio (Facere, previously Radio Si), on an acoustic piano/voice set, and discuss with the team about this and that and more or less. You'll be warned of the time of airing, of course.

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 15: Lonely Lady #17?

2009-12-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

n°15, 17th of December, 2009

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

it's been 3 months that you read Awa-news every week. Thank you for your faithfulness. Awa-news takes a little break for Xmas and New Year, then will be back in January. In waiting, why not telling Awa-news what you think of it, what you would like to read, what you like, what you hate...?

Feel free to send your opinion here!

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 15!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

Cherish forever what makes you unique, 'cuz you're really a yawn if it goes. (Bette Midler)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

AWAKEN IS BACK

I see your surprised face: "Awaken is back? But Awaken never ceased to release songs! We're overwhelmed by Awaken songs! How dare you say it's back?".

Calm down dude! The last official record of Awaken was in early 2008, it was the single I Know Time Is Passing By... and since then, no new release has been seen around. Capito?

"What about the album This Mouth then? And the Yellow Line? And the Blue Hanger?"

Yep, but this isn't Awaken, this is Gilles Snowcat from Awaken. Awaken, as a band, has been sleeping until September of this year. And now we have a new single currently on the mixing process, if ever we can say there is a mixing process in Awaken. It will be available soon online on pay-per-download only.

You will be delighted to hear musicians begged, borrowed or stolen from the cream of the indie scene.

Links: http://www.awaken.be

Our interview:

SASTIEN: I don’t have a boss anymore, it’s useless.

The online market brings its lot of discoveries, even some bands having split for years. How to describe Tertius' music? Can we say it's based on jams and sounds like a punk band with progressive influences? Hmmm... the saxophone brings a touch of jazz too. But let the stickers go to hell, and let's ask Tertius' drummer, Sastien, to tell us more.

-Nice to meet you, Sastien. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Sastien: My first boss nicknamed me: hunger, tiredness and stress. I don’t have a boss anymore, it’s useless.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Sastien: Phil Collins. I was a fan of his career as a drummer and wanted to become one. I always think there is magic in the air when he seats behind a kit.

-You were drummer of the Tertius, a band that seemed to love to jam. Can you tell us more about that experience?
-Sastien: When we started, we were suffering from a big lack of technique. So we jammed a lot because it was the only thing we were able to do. As time passes by, we improved a lot and finally began to write structured pieces.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Sastien: One of our last tunes was named “La tête du batteur”. Very fast and groovy, very complicated, with a lot of changes. I guess we were a progressive band who ignored it. I was the only one in the band who liked progressive music, I kinda liked the idea that we were making that kind of stuff.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Sastien: No, I am not ashamed of anything we played during almost 15 years. Even of the song “Sexy woman”. I have written the lyrics and was the one who sang it. It was a crying shame but it was a lot of fun to sing (while drumming).

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Sastien: Hard to tell. I mean, when I really like a drummer, I don’t see why I should replace him! Maybe Awaken, this band really needs a drummer…

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Sastien: I am proud of that music, but unfortunately we never got the chance to record an album properly. We were a live band, and now we have split. It’s a shame.

-In the 70’s, drummers like Ian Paice, Carmine Appice, John Bonham, Bill Ward or Peter Criss, who had the ‘hard-rock’ label sticked on their forehead, were usually influenced by jazz and classical music, which made their style so rich and tasty. Nowadays hard-rock drummers seem to be influenced by those hard-rock musicians only. Therefore, do you feel that their style lack of something?
-Sastien: Sometimes, the groove is missing. They also sometimes beat their drums to strong (even if like that very much!), forgetting that a drum kit is also a musical instrument. You have forgotten Vinnie Appice in your list, the guy has a great sense of musicality, like his brother.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Sastien: Of course, I even thought of playing the drums with that band!

Links: http://www.jamendo.com/fr/artist/tertius_%28Jamendo%29

What happened on December some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

07/12/1984: Foreigner releases the album Agent Provocateur.

09/12/1984: Razzle, drummer of the glam band Hanoi Rocks, dies in a car crash which seriously injured two other innocents. The driver of the car survived and is hopefully still haunted by the loss of his friend.

19/12/1941: Maurice White says hello to the Elements. Mainly a drummer from the Chicago scene, he creates Earth Wind & Fire in the beginning of the 70's and gradually becomes the lead singer of the band, until recently.

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

NEIL DIAMOND, Lovescape (1991)

Released in 1991, Lovescape in another proof that many singers are like good wine: they get better as they grow older. Neil Diamond releases a rather modern album, although less obviously high-tech than his records from the 80's. Some pieces are quite easy FM songs but are enhanced by Diamond's unique voice ("Mountains Of Love", "Don't Turn Around"), while other are nothing but jewels ("Fortune Of The Night", "Lonely Lady #17", "Someone Who Believes In You", "When You Miss Your Love" or the lively cover of "One Hand, One Heart"). Kim Carnes was around for a duo ("Hooked On The Memory Of You") and fans of the classic Diamond won't be disappointed with the opener "If There Were No Dreams". A must-listen. Can you swear you resist to "Lonely Lady #17"?

Links: www.neildiamond.com

Awa-news takes some vacation and will be back with a new serie of interviews and more news about the Awaken Galaxy. Enjoy your end-of-the-year parties and if you're still alive, we'll surely meet again.

Sayônara!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty(dot)com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 14: Inside the lonely building...

2009-12-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

n°14, 10th of December, 2009

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

are you shopping in some depaato, expecting some snow to fall? The Christmas songs are now everywhere, till the point you start to puke. You thought you could escape them in the Awaken Magnetic Universe? Missed! Here they are too. But... in a magnetic way.

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 14!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

In writing songs I've learned as much from Cezanne as I have from Woody Guthrie. (Bob Dylan)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

XMAS WON'T BE THE SAME THIS YEAR

What!? After more than 20 years, Awaken-Nekokawa-Snowcat-whatever still hadn't release any Christmas album!? Sad but true. This old dream now comes true. Well, this is not an album, but a virtual 45-rpm. And to be included in the bootlegs collection. Yep, only true fans will receive it, this is a very special private present.

You Make It Feel Like Christmas Won't Be The Same This Year features two Xmas classics covered by the old cat Snowcat: Neil Diamond's "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" and the Jackson 5's "Christmas Won't Be The Same This Year". But would a Snowcat Xmas record be complete without an original tune? Well, that's why a special mix of "The Blue Hanger", the 'Merry Xmix', is closing the single on a disco mood.

You can download for free the single here. And enjoy your Xmas, whatever you do, wherever you are.

Links: http://bit.ly/55BUNr

Our interview:

MARCO MARIANI: C'est mon esprit qui rêve

Anam... Anam.. Anam... Peut être entendras tu ce nom, chanté par la pluie ou soufflé par le vent. Peut être te sera t'il susurré par le feu ou crié par la terre. Peut être l'entendras tu si tu tends l'oreille dans la forêt ou le verras tu inscris dans les étoiles. Peut être ton âme le percevra t'elle au plus profond d'elle même... Ouvre ton coeur et laisse toi porter par ce nom ancestral... Car Anam arrive et espère te combler te paix.

These French words are the mysterious introduction to Eirenya and Marco Mariani's band Anam, an interesting project exploring the fields of celtic music with the passionate spirit of Marco, whom we interviewed today.

-Nice to meet you, Marco. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Marco: Italien du côté du père, espagnol-pied noir du côté de ma mère. J'ai 21 ans, presque 22, je suis brun aux cheveux légèrement longs et je fais 1m73. J'aime la vie, les grands paysages, les amis et bien sûr la musique.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Marco: Hé bien c'est la musique, tout simplement. Le fait d'écouter en boucle la live 93 de Laurent Voulzy, les vieux disques des Who, ainsi que Dire Straits m'a donné envie d'acheter ma première guitare. Ce n'est que depuis que j'ai commencé à être fan de Genesis que je me suis mis à composer.

-What's the meaning behind the name of your new band, Anam?
-Marco: C'est tout simplement le mot "âme" qui se trouve ici dans sa consonance gaélique, la seconde langue de l'Ecosse et de l'Irlande. Nous l'avons choisi ainsi car avec Eirenya, nous sommes grands fans de musiques celtiques, en particulier d'Enya, et nous voulions leur rendre hommage. Ce sont des musiques qui, selon nous et bien plus que d'autres, s'adressent directement à l'âme.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Marco: Pour l'instant, nous et même pas moi tout seul n'avons pas une oeuvre très conséquente et je dirais que chaque chanson que j'ai composé me ressemble à un moment ou à un autre de ma vie, aussi bien les "dépressives" (même si elles ne sont plus d'actualité) que les plus enjouées, celles qui parlent de voyage (c'est mon esprit qui rêve) et les plus romantiques.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Marco: Pour le moment, il n'y en a aucune. Mis à part peut-être celle que j'ai écrite sur mes amis, parce que je n'ai pas pris la liberté de tous les citer et du coup elle ne sera même pas enregistrée, je l'ai laissée tomber.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Marco: Je ne suis pas assez pro pour jouer avec n'importe quel groupe de mon choix malheureusement. Mais si j'y arrivais, ce serait bien sûr Genesis.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Marco: Je leur dirai "Laisser reposer votre esprit, laissez-le se promener pour cette nouvelle aventure".

-You have a strong admiration for Camel and Phil Collins. How do they influence your own music?
-Marco: Phil Collins, ce sera surtout pour les ballades, et tout comme Camel, j'en retiens principalement les ambiances et les mélodies, ainsi que la sensibilité contenue dans toute cette oeuvre.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Marco: Pas pour le moment, car je ne connais pas assez bien l'oeuvre d'Awaken. Mais ce n'est que partie remise !

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

What happened on December some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

18/12/1938: Chas Chandler says hello to the world, without knowing that he would become a famous Animal years later.

16/12/1988: Sylvester says bye-bye to the world, but is still alive in the hi-nrg disco mind. Mighty unreal?

15/12/2006: Awaken releases the "Beppu Nights" EP. (hee hee hee).

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

AL STEWART, Russians & Americans (1984)

The 80's were such an interesting era. The last really creative period for modern music. Nowadays music just recycles previous decades and plays it a bit too safe. That's why it's great to jump into the heart of those underrated albums like Al Stewart's Russians & Americans. Famous for his Year Of The Cat and labeleld 'folk singer', Al Stewart is much more than that and was, in the 80's, at the peak of his creativity. Follwing a rocky 24 P/Carrots, Russians & Americans changes direction to cover grounds of more synthesized music ("Rumours Of War"), sophisticated melodic pop ("Lori Don't Go Right Now"), introspective acoustic songs ("Accident On 3rf Street"), grandiloquent cabaret rock (the slightly pinkfloydish "Cafe Society") or new-wave ("Strange Girl", typically 1984). Stewart doesn't forget his stylistic habits either: some Spanish guitar ("The Gypsy & The Rose"), some folk (the superb "Russians & Americans") and a funny cover of Len Barry's "1-2-3", with a funky touch. The album ends with a stunningly beautiful dark tune, "The Candidate", putting a melancholic mood in the air and leaving us into a bitter-sweet spleen like ir was the case with 1978's "End Of The Day". Stewart's voice is as unique as ever and his lyrics always clever or ironic or most likely both.

Nota #1: Awaken fans already know that "The Candidate" has been covered on Party In Lyceum's Toilets (and if you don't, it's time to remember, don't you think?), but other songs from Russians & Americans were awakenized on other tapes and on the You Should Have Listened To AsmL tribute albums.

Nota #2: The American edition features, for no reason that I know, a different track-listing.

Links: http://www.alstewart.com

Next week is next week. And to quote Al Stewart: you'll be a movie star... next time.

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

スペシャルなクリスマス・カード / Thẻ Giánh Sing đặc biệt / Special Xmas card

2009-12-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

メリークリスマス！Chúc mừng Giáng Sinh vui vẻ! Merry Xmas!

私はスペシャルなクリスマスカードを作った。３曲のカードで、是非ダウンロードして下さい。http://bit.ly/55BUNr

Tôi vừa mới ghi âm 3 bài hát để làm một thẻ Giáng Sinh đặc biệt. Download ở kia: http://bit.ly/55BUNr

Guided by a magnetic inspiration, I just recorded 3 Xmas songs for you, to make a special Xmas card. Download it here: http://bit.ly/55BUNr

Thank you for your faithfulness!

あなたの忠信いただき、ありがとうございます！

Cám ơn các bạn vì lòng trung thành!

Awa-news 13: Refuse to be loose

2009-12-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

n°13, 3rd of December, 2009

http://www.myspace.com/matthreen

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

here we are, the last month of 2009 is here. While most of the projects are still on their way (new song from Awaken, solo album from Snowcat and even -yeah- some new Nekokawa pieces in sight), we will close this year with a special present for you fans. What? To know more, just...

...jump into Awa-news number 13!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

One of my mottoes is that if you want to get unusual results, work fast and work cheap, because there's more of a chance that you'll get somewhere that nobody else did. Nearly always, the effect of spending a lot of money is to make things more normal. (Brian Eno)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

SOMEDAY AT XMAS?

Are you a true Awaken fan? If so, you will soon be able to get your own copy of the online 45rpm from Snowcat himself. Let the sleighbells rock! In waiting, why not refresh your magnetic mind by taking a new trip into Awaken's Parallel World? Ah, and if you look closer to the selective discography below, you may find the Xmas record too.

Links: http://www.awaken.be

Our interview:

KEVIN SHAKEY: Strange, Radical and “Hitchhiker”.

Once upon a time, there were the 70s. Creative. All excesses were permitted. Music was a large field of experimentations, some that remained obscure, some that gained credibility to the eyes (and ears) of an underground audience (Gong, Can, just to name a few), and some that got the huge success they deserved (David Bowie, Tangerine Dream). Then came the 80s, with their electronic rhythms that were, if you look closer, a commercial recognition for what we still can call 'experimental', although the pop format kept those creations into an underrated mold. Yes the 80s were money-related, but still flamboyant, creative, excessive. Then, to our big misery, the 90's saw music started to play it safe.'Safe' is the worst sticker that can ever be put on art. Kevin Shakey definitly doesn't play it safe at all: having a wide range of inlfuences covering Neil Young, Léo Ferré and the German Kosmische Musik, Shakey records and spreads his quite personal style without seeming to care much of pleasing the average audience. Having recently releasedan album with Ted Melvins, and still working on several projects, Shakey kindly replied the Awa-news interview.

-Nice to meet you, Kevin. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
Kevin Shakey: Strange, Loner and Electric.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
Kevin Shakey: Music herself.

-Kosmische Musik is a strong influence of yours. Do you think of bringing it to a further step, making something revolutionary with it?
Kevin Shakey: Oh no, the KM is just one of my influence, but I don't (and I don't really want) to make it.
I am very electric in music, and I heard many different style of music.
I think I make "indie music", because I record many different things, like folk song, or drone, electronic things, rock, and other.
I don't want any label for my work, I record all that I want, I got no limit in my brain and in my heart.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
Kevin Shakey: Very difficult question, I got just one album and a side project (Ted Melvins), and I record many things for the next album. But I don't got the answer, excuse me.

-Any song you're ashamed of, and why?
Kevin Shakey: Good question: I don't know too.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
Kevin Shakey: With the Climax Golden Twins or Shellac.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
Kevin Shakey: Let me sleep, let me dream.

-Would you like to live in a specific place just to be influenced by its atmosphere, like David Bowie did in Berlin?
Kevin Shakey: In Bordeaux, because this is a very beautiful place, and the musical scene is very good.
Or maybe record in Quebec city, because I love this place, and I really want travel in Canada one day.
Barcelona too, to record music about Antonio Gaudi work.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
Kevin Shakey: When I listen to "Beppu Nights" and "I Know Time Is Passing By..." live at Radio SI, I want to cry, because Snowcat got a beautiful voice, and an very important emotion through it. I love to me magnetised by Awa' record, that's a real pleasure to discover new records, and Gilles is a very cool guy, and I love it.

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

What happened on December some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

01/12/1988: Jerry Garcia, from the Grateful Dead, releases his "Almost Acoustic" album.

31/12/1948: Hello Donna Summer!

18/12/1987: Bye bye Conny Plank, producer of Kraftwerk, Killing Joke, Gianna Nannini, and a bunch of others...

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

SIEDAH GARRETT, Kiss Of Life (1988)

Suddenly famous thanks to her contribution to Michael Jackson's Bad, Siedah Garrett seized the opportunity to record her album on the following year: Kiss Of Life. Although released on the Quincy Jones' label Qwest, the Dude doesn't produce here. However, it sounds like if he had been there: tasty digital synthezisers, strong drumprogramming, amazing synth-bass lines, well, that kind of high-class electro-funk, with inspired songwriting and the great voice of Mrs Garrett. Some sounds seem to come directly from Jackson's Bad with a slice of Thriller's Rod Temperton unmistakable style, but Kiss Of Life has a life on its own and is strongly recommended by yours truly. No filler to regret, only strong and quality-oriented songs, like the swinging gem "The Legend Of Ruby Diamond", the powerful "Refuse To Be Loose" (what a beat!) or the smooth sexy "Nobody Does Me"... On the trivia part, it's fun to hear that her "Baby's Got It Bad" is actually Michael Jackson's "Got The Hots". Copyrights, anyone?

Links: http://www.siedah.com/

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

DIAGONALE

With the decline of record companies and the easy access to the internet, underground labels flourish everywhere on the web. This is a kind of revenge toward a system that ignored artists through the years, like the punk revolution in 1976. Diagonale Music is a kind of label created by Kevin Shakey (see our interview above) and Matt Reen to release their own side-projects, in order to gain more and more freedom in their music.
Wotnot and Ted Melvins are the first ones on the list.
Feel free to visit Diagonale, listen to their artists and, why not, submit your own work. Who knows?...

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

http://www.myspace.com/kevinshakey

Marco Mariani will tell us about his musical visions and projects, while you'll find a way to discover the Xmas 45rpm from Snowcat and know if Xmas will be the same thus year... or not.

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 12: an audience is like a dame...

2009-11-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

n°12, 26th of November, 2009

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

time is time, time is passing by, every year it's getting shorter... so, time to...

...jump into Awa-news number 12!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

An audience is like a dame. If it ain't sincere, it's over. (Frank Sinatra)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

Awa-news library

From now on, all issues of Awa-news are stored on It's Oh! Music site! Complete your collection now!

Links: http://its-oh.web2.jp/blog/yukineko/?page_id=156

Our interview:

MUZ: I'm a big fan of Awaken!

If you like to put labels and stickers on the music you listen to, I wish you good luck when it comes to define the style of Muz. Like some early King Crimson or late Talk Talk records, Muz doesn't seem to follow any rule and takes you where you least expected. It can make his albums sometimes difficult to understand, but when everything seems to have been said in music, they're suddenly refreshingly challenging. The newest one is Hidden Tracks, and is, believe it or not, easier to access for newbies.

-Nice to meet you, Muz. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Muz: Virtual musician contemplative.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Muz: Probably some old vinyl or tape, plus my curiosity to all possible way to express myself (but music is not the older thing I wanted to do for that).

-Your music is rather complex and rich. Where are your limits, if you have any?
-Muz: My limits are just the borders of my imagination... and of course my interest and/or my capacity to use some instruments and my voice (that I don't like to much).

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Muz: I don't know. Most of my songs were made to be a part of an album (I like to think that an album is not just a compilation of mixed pieces). But I can say that one of my favorite songs is "Slumber Party" because it's a good glimpse of my "style".

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Muz: I think all my worst songs are already erased, some pieces are not good but there are like a cogwheel of the machine...

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Muz: Any. I want to be free to work my own thing even I think it will be nice to work with others people.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Muz: Go listen to my music morons! :) No, seriously, I can just say that I try to made a "contemplative music" even it's sometimes more odd than contemplative. It's essentially an instrumental music (but I sing too since few time) and I try always to vary any of it's component, without to forget that it is made for listening and not just playing.

-Have you tried to record some covers and if yes, which ones?
-Muz: No never. Maybe I should do that...

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Muz: Yes for sure, I'm a big fan of Awaken!

Links: http://www.jamendo.com/fr/artist/MUZ

http://www.myspace.com/jmamuz

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

M!OSAIC:

"Find Out Your Missing Pieces In Our Show!"

The indie music scene is no longer only a counterpower from angry musicians against the establishment, it kinda became an establishment in itself. The scene grew up thanks to the arrogance and contempt from profit-only-based record companies. Indies labels became what majors are not anymore: companies that search for the balance between art and profit.

The indie scene not only has labels, but also distributors, shops (the wonderful CD Baby) and online radios. M!osaic is not "just one more indie online radio", it is a unique site focussing on the Vietnamese music scene with news, articles, reviews, interviews, a user-friendly interface and, last but not least, that avoids the annoying gossip that spoils medias nowadays.

M!osaic started in 2007 through channels like Yahoo!360 (famous among Vietnamese people) and is now running on its own. Their slogan is appealing and promising: "Find Out Your Missing Pieces In Our Show!".

So, how about a visit to M!osaic to discover more about Vietnamese music and, why not, find out your missing piece?

URL: http://www.m-mosaic.com/

What happened on November some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

22/11/1988: Pink Floyd release Delicate Sound of Thunder, their first live album since 1969 Ummagumma.

25/11/1974: Nick Drake lets the needle do the damage.

27/11/1959: Simple Minds' guitar player Charlie Burchill comes to Earth. The picture doesn't show Mr Burchill, but the unexpected power of his wild guitar soli on the audience.

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

GENESIS, Wind & Wuthering (1977)

Music and autumn are good friends. What other season can depict nostalgia like autumn? What other music than the melancholic tunes of Genesis can represent the falling leaves, the smell of the wood under a storm, and the noise of a fire in a house in mid-November?
Wind & Wuthering is one of those zero-default albums, where high-technology of the second half of the 70's is perfectly matching a high level of musical skills and inspiration. It shows a bunch of beautiful complex ideas from Tony Banks ("One For The Vine", "All In A Mouse's Night"), a splendid and moving piece from Hackett and Collins ("Blood On The Rooftops"), a gentle folk song from Rutherford ("Your Own Special Way") and great group efforts that shows an alchemy that could hardly get better. That might be why Hackett left after the tour, leaving the three remaining members become a strong nucleus that would write many more great pieces in the future.
Banks is at his peak (but he would stay there two more decades, at least until the wonderful Calling All Stations), Collins gets more and more involved into the songwriting -and his voice tends to have moments of pure emotion, Hackett is so inspired that he finds Genesis too restrictive for him, and Rutherford is kind of waking up, before writing his real masterpieces on the next two albums ("Say It's Alright Joe", "Snowbound", "Man Of Our Times" and "Alone Tonight").
If you're looking for beautiful and skilful songwriting, nostalgic British atmosphere, classy synthesizers, creative drumming yet accessible to newbies' ears, Wind & Wuthering is for you. If you're more into a kind of gentle violence, you might prefer The Lamb, Duke or Calling All Stations. If the 70's are not your taste, jump on Genesis (1983), the best Synclavier-based album ever! I you'd rather remember the early days with springtime organ, Nursery Cryme is what you need. You want simple songs? From Genesis To Revelation must be in your turntable! Now if you don't like anything from Genesis, I wonder why you're still reading this article.

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

Is there a place for experimental music in 2009? Kevin Shakey tells us everything. What else you want to know? You sure can wait one more week...

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 11: Dirty toilets and vanilla laundry

2009-11-18T12:59:00.000-08:00

n°11, 19th of November, 2009

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

what's the common ground between John Lennon, dirty toilets, Awanyth, Art Garfunkel and Awaken? Read this Awa-news n°11 if you want to know! Hmpf!

Time to read!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time, the quote of the week!

If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that. I believe in what I do, and I'll say it. (John Lennon)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

Dear Awaken,...

Why should you write letter to Awaken? To win the rare websingle that included "Seaside Casino Romance", "Sunset On Your Secrets" and "Summer Clouds Hotel". It was available in 2002, do you remember? Maybe you don't. Surely you want to hear that rare record. Yes? Really? Read below:

Write a review of "My Last Evening In Ôita" and win 3 rare songs of Awaken! How to do?
1. Listen to the single here: http://bit.ly/3nv4Kt
2. Write your feelings (follow the link under the single or send email at awamail(at)hellokitty.com or write here)
3. I send you a secret link to download the 3 songs! And your opinion will be published on Awa-net.
OK? Start the race now!

プレゼントが欲しかったら、珍しい歌を聴きたかったら、『My Last Evening In 大分』についてレビューを書いて下さい。
どうしょう？
1. リンクhttp://bit.ly/3nv4Ktをクリックして、『My Last Evening In 大分』と『Chase Around 大分駅』を聞いて。
2. 意見を書いて、メールsnowcat_the_neko(at)hellokitty.comで送って下さい。このBLOGで書いても良いよ。
3. 僕は秘密のリンクを送ります。珍しいAWAKENの歌のダウンロードが出来ます！そして意見はAwa-netの中読まれる。
分かりましたか？
レビューを待ってます！
宜しくお願いします。
雪猫ジル

Nếu bạn viết ý kiến về bài hát "My Last Evening In Ôita" thì có thể nhận 3 bài hát hiếm có của Awaken!
Làm thế nào ?
1. Nghe "My Last Evening In Ôita" ở đây: http://bit.ly/3nv4Kt
2. Viết ý kiến rồi cho tôi gửi bằng email (awamail(at)hellokitty.com) hoặc trên Blog này.
3. Tôi sẽ cho bạn gửi một link bí mật để download 3 bài hát hiếm có!
Hiểu chưa? Viết nhé! :D

Our interview:

AMANYTH: What the fuck?

As a Sousbock or TrustNo1 fan, the name of Amanyth isn't totally unknown from you. Expert in electro beats, strong sound and modern beats, the man behind the album Let's Dream To Each Other kindly accepted to reply Awa-news' questions. Let's talk to each other:

-Nice to meet you, Mr Amanyth. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Amanyth: Hi! 3 words: Heterochromia, friendship, music.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Amanyth: I don’t know, I think it’s natural. I think i have to make music or go in therapy, I prefer music it’s more serious.

-Although you make a heavy use of keyboards, your music doesn’t sound like keyboards music at all. What do you think about the fact that synthesizers became extremely powerful but their role doesn’t seem to have really evolved since the end of the 80’s?
-Amanyth: I think it’s especially computer in music that became extremely powerful, not only synthesizers. We can do anything we want, change or destroy sounds, use samples… Synthesizers are just instruments we use, but if you listen to a band like Radiohead, you can’t really say that there’s not evolution since the 80’s, no?

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Amanyth: « A town called kill », when you listen this, you really see me. I wasn’t really happy in my life at this moment, and make this music was really a therapy to me.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Amanyth: My remix of « Games without frontiers », a Peter Gabriel song. You just have to listen to Peter’s version, and mine, and…laugh.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Amanyth: Ghinzu, if we talk about active bands, maybe. In my dreams, I often play for the Pink Floyd! Tony Banks is really too good…I can’t even dream to play with Genesis!

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Amanyth: I’m not sure that words can convince anyone. Just listen to « A town called kill », this take 4 minutes, and if you like you can listen others, if not…go to hell!

-Have you asked 100 people what does it mean to be a man in love?
-Amanyth: Yes, of course! I’m a civil servant, and have nothing else to do.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Amanyth: What the fuck?

Links: http://amanyth.blogspot.com/

Inspiration can hide in the most surprising places:

Were high-school toilets *that* dirty?

You all remember your high school days, don’t you ? Some of you are still in high school, some not yet, and some left loooong ago. But for most of us, high school remains one of the most important event in our life. Wherever you are: Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Russia…

Remember the touch of the paper when the pen was scratching it to copy what the teacher wrote, or just to write a love letter ? Remember the smell of the classroom, the wooden chairs and overused tables ? Remember the voice of the teacher trying to keep the class quiet, but hardly beating the noise of 25 students trying their best to beat Deep Purple as “the loudest band in the world” ? Remember the sweet taste of the ice cream you bought between classes, or the glass of beer you secretly ‘imported’ to drink –but in vain- during the math class ? Remember the terrific “perfume” of the toilets –probably even worse than the ones of Shinjuku Station in Japan.

High school days last only a few years. What are 6 years in a 90 years lifetime ? 1/15th! But somehow these days were the most intense and, despite a bunch of depressing times, the most missed in many ex-students’ life.

That’s why, maybe unconsciously, I was led to release the album “Party In Lyceum’s Toilets” a few years ago. In the parallel universe of Awaken, the toilets of my high school were a mysterious place, a kind of corridor between real and unreal, a place to escape reality of scolding teachers and boring lessons. The smell was horrible, I admit. Terrible. Repulsing. But still, it was a haven and once the door was locked, one could feel safe from a world that they imagine scarier than it actually was.
“Party In Lyceum’s Toilets” is for those who never forgot that part of adolescence, those who still feel slightly wild despite a quieter everyday life. “Party In Lyceum’s Toilets” is more than just music, “Party In Lyceum’s Toilets” is the haven that your high school toilets were.

Thanks to CD Baby, “Party In Lyceum’s Toilets” is now easily available online (cdbaby.com/cd/awakenmusic). The object being rare, don’t miss the opportunity of getting your own copy now!
Ah, before giving you the 9 best reasons to connect to CD Baby to get your double CD, let me explain you that “lyceum” is an old word that used to mean “high school” in some countries. Don’t be confused, since it also can show a cultural hall in some parts of the world. Enough said, let’s jump to…

9 good reasons to get Party In Lyceum’s Toilets

1. PiLT is a true collector.
Only 500 copies have been printed in 2001, and most of them have been sold already. The few copies remaining are now quite rare and will not be reprinted.

2. PiLT is a big part of Awaken’s History.
Since most of you fans have joined the club since “Chú Mèo Ngủ Quên”, “Cà Phê & Pizza” or “Beppu Nights”, you might not necessary know our past stuff. This is really a must-have in every Awaken fan’s Cd-theque.

3. PiLT has been released on Valentine Day!
Though it was due to an unexpected accident from the print company, this is a sign that the mantra “Every day is Valentine Day” was active before its creation.

4. PiLT is a real and tangible object.
Not only it features more than 2 hours of Awaken’s music, but also it offers what mp3 can’t give you : a tangible piece of collector, with its 12-pages booklet and double CD jewel box wrapped into a delicate film of cellophane.

5. PiLT is an official commercial release.
Not a bootleg, nor a home-made CD-r, PiLT is one of the rare true commercial releases of Awaken, that makes it even more collectible nowadays.

6. The piece of PiLT you’ll buy is an original 2001 print.
As it has never been reprinted since then, the piece you will get is a true original one from 2001.

7. PiLT is full of Awaken’s classics!
Which past songs could be the equal of today’s favorite “Beppu Nights” or “Áo Dài Màu Hồng”, if not PiLT’s angry “I’ll Disagree”, danceable “Cold As My Heart”, darkest “Neons Of Lyceum’s Toilets” or sensual “Down The Drain” ?

8. Awaken was a real band to record PiLT.
If the recent Awaken stuff only features a few musicians, PiLT is the witness of an era when Awaken was evolving as a band. 4 members and 12 guest musicians have been working on the recording and release of this album.

9. Awaken, as a cat, has 9 lives.
PiLT is a part of them. A music experience more than just a CD. Remember, we all only have 9 lives. Why not spend one of them listening to PiLT ?

Thank you for your faithfulness into Awaken’s Magnetic Soul ~ Love Music

What happened on November some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

05/11/1941: The golden voice of Art Garfunkel comes to Earth.

19/11/1983: Badfinger's bassist Tommy Evans decides to leave this world. Rumour has it that money was a big part of his depressive state. No wonder...

14/11/1988: Milli Vanilli releases "All Or Nothing", an album on which they only appear on the cover pictures. Wonder if the overdubs have been recorded by Peter Gabriel or Simple Minds...

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

VANILLA FUDGE, Mystery (1984)

Vanilla Fudge is the band that heavily influenced Deep Purple back in 1968. Carmine Appice, Mark Stein, Tim Bogert and Vince Martell were famous for their creative covers of standards of pop and soul, full of Hammond organ, heavy bass, frantic drumming and... some guitar.

In 1984, like their "disciple" Deep Purple, Vanilla Fudge came back with a fresh, modern and inspired album, Mystery. This ain't a parody of their early days: gone is the Hammond, Mark Stein focusses on synthesizers only, Carmine Appice is not afraid of trying some electronic percussions and Tim Bogert slaps here and there, when he's not hidden by some keyboards. Martell is present on two tracks where he can hardly be heard. Jeff Beck plays guitar (under a nickname, you'll find easily), along with Ron Mancuso.

Featuring mostly original songs and only a few covers, Mystery is a great record, totally underrated. "Golden Age Dreams" is a melodic gem (later covered by Awaken) and... why don't you just listen to Mystery??? Mark's voice shine. Great playing, great songs, great covers. What else can we ask? Great great album...

Links: http://www.vanillafudge.com

More or less, all or nothing? Who knows...

Take care and see you on issue 12!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 10: is there a Sousbock at 一番官?

2009-11-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

n°10, 12th of November, 2009

http://www.myspace.com/treustnowane

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

what more can you expect than an interview with Sousbock's leader Sébastien Bournier, a new collaboration Trust No 1 / Snowcat and more tips to travel in Japan? Philosophy, reviews and time machine? You got everything here!

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 10!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

After about three lessons, my voice teacher said, "Don't take voice lessons. Do it your way. You're a song stylist. Always do it your way." (Johnny Cash)

The notion is that if you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs. (Gene Simmons)

The difference between a good performance and a great performance is a nap. (George Burns)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

TRUST NO ONE & GILLES SNOWCAT'S COLLABORATION ALBUM

With something that one full-lenght album a month, Trust No 1 can be considered as one of the most prolific musician in the indies world.
After a collaboration with Squonk 66, Amanyth and Sousbock, and before hearing him on the new Awaken single, Trust No One hired Gilles Snowcat to appear on the new album, "Spoiled By Purity".
As usual, Trust No One plays all the instruments, while Snowcat sings and adds a few synthesizers and organ. Two songs were co-written by the two bad cats: "Spoiled By Purity" and "Once Bitten In Greece".

Links: http://www.archive.org/details/SpoiledByPurity

Our interview:

SOUSBOCK'S SEBASTIEN BOURNIER: Girls! And Phil Collins.

A drummer who gradually became singer, doesn't it remind you of someone? Ringo Starr, Peter Criss or Phil Collins? Or Don Henley? You got it all wrong. We're talking about Sébastien "bARGIO" Bournier, the leader of French band Sousbock since 1998. Seb is also known for being the first drummer to have recorded a studio track with Awaken, the single version of "I Know Time Is Passing By...", and he's featured on the next single to be released this year.

For the new Sousbock album, Lune & L'autre, Seb decided to hire a bunch of external songwriters -to add to the Sousbock team Aurélien Bournier and Nicolas Leroy-, instead of doing all the job by himself. He only contributed to the poems and a nice instrumental track, "Halo". The result of the whole album is beyond expectations: the album rocks! It is a fresh, innovative and daring record taht doesn't deserve the restricted "rock français" sticker anymore. From the introspective "Ce Coeur Qui Bat" to a frighteningly depressive "Rechute", the album covers grounds belonging to classy progressive, pop or hard-rock, with a slight touch of AOR and even slices of jazz-rock. Amazing!

Awaken fans already know that "Gouttes De Pluie" is a composition from the ol' Snowcat, written surrounded by the energizing atmosphere of Beppu City in the winter of 2008.

Nuf said, time to let Seb tell you everything!

-Nice to meet you, Seb. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Seb: Nice to meet you too (again). Three words. Not about me I suppose, but about the "musical me". Well, in that case it would be "songwriter" (I HATE the "auteur / compositeur" thing that is used in French. I'm just some random guy who writes songs). "Drummer" because it's my favorite instrument, it's the first one and the one I enjoy the most. And then "Singer" because, well, I sing on my records even though I hate that.

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Seb: Girls! And Phil Collins. I learned to play the drums because of him. But that's not "the" instrument to impress girls easily. That's why I promised myself to learn the guitar on the first occasion. "Unfortunately" I met my wife to be about year *before* I had the first chance to learn the guitar. So playing the guitar never brought me any luck with the ladies. But I'm fine with this. :-D

-Sousbock just released its 4th album. What’s new compared to older albums?
-Seb: Well almost everything because it's a concept album. No! Don't run away. It's not some boring old progressive rock double album concept. After three albums that I almost wrote alone, I felt that it was time for something new. So I had the idea to send lyrics to friends. And they all agreed to write the music for them. So the concept is "one song, one music writer". And it's a pretty damn good album I believe. A hard one to make (there is always a problem child!!!) but in the end I'm really proud of it. And I can say that without problem because I only write one piece of music for it (which has no lyrics, so it's the first "real" Sousbock Instrumental). And of course, he is not that new, because he was there for the previous one, there is Nico who is I believe, the most important musical encounter that I ever made. Extra Bonus for Awaken's fans: Mister Snowcat himself agreed to contribute one song!!!!

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Seb: A tough one, but I guess that everyone answer this the same way. Well, three songs come to mind. Obviously the first one that "is" the spirit of Sousbock : "Amnesia". Then comes "Veilleur des ombres" which is a 22 minutes song that contains all the emotions that I love. From the pop-rock of "2h03" to the depressive, more artistic and instrumental part of "Une ombre". Then there is this song, from the not yet released fifth album: "Le vide et l'imparfait". It combines both sides (hello Phil) of Sousbock : the pop-rock and the depressive rock. It will also be released on the EOAIAO compilation Evidence(s). That's why it's hard to name one song, because there is "Both sides of the Sousbock". Some light, pop, and joyful songs and some darker, heavier, more depressive ones...

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Seb: Not really. In the early days, I tried some funny songs. But that's not really me. That's not what Sousbock is about. I read again the lyrics from one of my first song (that I'm saving for the sixth album) "Et puis". And I felt that the lyrics were quite naïve. But I'm not ashamed of them. I was learning to write. I was learning to express my feelings.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Seb: I would say Genesis of course. But I don't have the musical skill required to play with them. I'd love to play with Jean-Jacques Goldman, but is not touring anymore... So Marillion I guess... But that almost already happened!

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Seb: Well, if you're looking for nice French music (well, I sing in French, sorry everyone, but it's Mister Snowcat himself that convinced me to NEVER record my songs in English again), you might want to try Sousbock. That's pop-rock. Not clever, not new, not a revolution, but genuine music, and as I said earlier, there is different kind of songs. So I would be surprised if you don't find one that you don't like!! (and now I hope that everyone will listen to Sousbock, trying to prove me wrong, and that some among will be hooked !)

-You played a gig with Pete Trevawas of Marillion. How did it happen?
-Seb: He came for the Marillion French Fan Club's Garden Party. He asked for a guitar. So I brought two guitars, one piano, mics etc... When he saw all of this he asked me to play with him. So we chose the setlist together (Marillion songs, although he proposed me to play some of my own songs, but I declined), he let me sing on many songs, and he is a truly wonderful amazing guy. I will never thank him enough for this!

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Seb: Of course I will! Furthermore, I'm the drummer for the band for many years now (I still have the email from Mister Snowcat when he asked me to become the drummer!!) even though I only played on two songs and sang on one. I made a cover of my favorite Awaken song, but I'm not that proud of it because I made it in only one hour. I really hope that someday I will have the time to record it again in a proper way.
Thanks for this and love from the planet Sousbock to all Awaken's fans!

Links: www.sousbock-fr.com

http://www.myspace.com/sousbock

9 steps to live your life more meaningfully:

How to travel in Japan? (part 2)

So you are in Japan and you wisely decided to avoid those gaijin-communities and bars where you would only meet Westerners? Good idea. Now that you're on your own, your actually not alone at all: you can always count on Japanese people's friendliness and help, and with a little vocabulary, you will be able to get into the best part of Japanese life (the worst being the work, but I assume that you're a visitor and that you don't have to work). You need to eat (which in Japan, each bite is an orgasm), wear clothes, read books? Don't worry, you can have anything for cheap. And with a good quality. Let yourself be guided by Awa-news now!

1. Joyfull / Cocosu / Sushi Meijin (chain restaurants)　ジョイフル / ココス / 寿司めいじん

The name "Joyfull" tells it all: you eat full stomach and enjoy it. Who said chain restaurants were unhealthy and expensive? Joyfull offers you an interesting choice of meat, fish, rice and everything Japanese or Western for a friendly price. As a bonus, you can have a drink-bar nomihoudai (drink as much as you want) and a soup bar, a treat in winter. Cocosu has its own specialities and attracts customers thanks to Doraemon. Then, a chain restaurant for sushi, is it a good idea? Well, when you taste the sushi in Meijin, the answer is clear: YES! Meijin is a kaiten-shushi, which means the dishes circulate between customers on a moving track, and you just pick up what you want. 1 dish is only 105yen and features two tasty pieces of sushi. You can always order more by pushing the bell above you, and a friendly staff will run to take your order. The green tea is free and you drink as much as you want, useful to know when soy sauce is rather salty.

2. Family restaurants　

A wonderful way to discover the real Japan is to eat at those small and friendly restaurants, where you can eat big bowls of raamen with a huge glass of nama-bi-ru (fresh beer) while answering the friendly questions of other customers or owners. Never miss an opportunity to eat at a family restaurant, and don't be shy when it comes to push the door: you will always remember experiences like that.

3. Ichiban Kan (tabehoudai) 一番官

Tabehoudai! You eat as much as you want during 1 hour or more (but then the price increases, be warned!). 1 hour is short, though, since you have to grill the meat and veggies by yourself. Better go with someone so you can share the duties. Some crowded days can slow down the process too, so try to go there before or after rush hours. Ichiban Kan has sushi too, but not always as tasty as in a real sushi-ya. Drinks and desserts are without restriction too, which makes me advice you: go there with an empty stomach!

4. Sanrio Shop / Gift Gate　サンリオショップ / ギフトゲート

Japan is a paradise for Hello Kitty fans. The cute Cat is everywhere, in several versions following the part of Japan you live in, and 3 times cheaper than in Europe or US. Sanrio has official shops with a lot of Kittychan stuff, from toys to sexy panties, from notebooks to DVD players, from pens to pillows, from postcards to calendars, well... everything is there!

5. Tokiwa / YouMe Town (depaato)　トキハ / YouMeTown

Those big department stores can have different types of customers, Tokiwa being more traditional and YouMe Town more fashion-oriented, but they all offer a huge variety of products at various prices, with often a floor dedicated to a 100 yen shop. Honeys in Tokiwa is a must for clothes. Usually, the basement is the food department, with the famous bentou boxes, that give you a delicious and healthy meal to take away.

6. Marushoku / Daie / Cosmos / Hirose (supermarkets, drugstores)　マルショク / Ｄａｉｅ / コスモス / ヒロセ

Japanese supermarkets and drugstores, temples of good food, fresh or frozen, and a wide variety of drinks including sake and shochu.

7. Daisou & other 100 yen shops　ザ・ダイソウ

Although with the taxes nothing really costs 100 yen but 105, you can really live for cheap in Japan if you shop in The Daisou or 100-yen-Plaza regularly. They have absolutely everything, and last but not least most of the items are sold for 105 yens. The few ones that cost 210yen, 315yen or more areclearly mentioned and even the staff will ask you if you noticed the difference when it's time to pay.

8. Book Off / Off House

Second hand books, CDs, DVDs, videogames, magazines, clothes, Hello Kitty, bookcases, fans, heaters, juicers, toys, tables, bags, chairs, guitars, fridges... what else? Go there and see. A nice place to visit anytime.

9. 7/11, Family Mart (Kombini)　コンビに

Kombini (convenience stores) are everything you need to survive at night. You can compare them with night-shops but with a wider choice.

On part 3, we'll visit Yamada Denki and take a drink on a vending machine. Stay connected!

Links: http://www.japan-guide.com

What happened on November some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

15/11/1988: Crosy Stills Nash and Young come back with the modern-sounding "American Dream".

17/11/1980: Clarke Isaac Hanson (Hanson) says hello to the world. Remember Hanson?

23/11/1969: Donnell Clyde 'Spade' Cooley, swing musician, says bye bye to the world and probably meets his wife Ella Mae Evans up there, wife that he killed by himself previously.

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

LIPPS INC., 4 (1983)

Best known for the still widely famous "Funky Town", Lipps Inc is a project by multi-instrumentist Steven Greenberg and guest singers and players. There's obviously a Lipps Inc type of sound, from 1979 till that last LP in 1983. Something thin yet danceable, funky and a bit robotic, with female voices and layers of synthesizers. The album 4 (which is, could you guess, the 4th one) is a bit darker and deeper than the 3 previous ones, with great tunes like "Obsessed", "Never Could Be Sorry" and "Addicted To The Night". "Choir Practice" is a funny gospel-influenced electronic piece and the closer is a tasty slow-motion funk. I have no idea if 4 is available on CD and I honestly don't give a shit: you can find a second-hand vinyl easily, why always bothering about digital editions? 4 is Lipps Inc's best record and you can enjoy a 33rpm, no? I swear it won't kill you.

Links: http://www.funkytown.com/

Who knows what toorrow might bring?

Take care and see you!

byPODCAST-BP

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Present・プレゼント・Món quà

2009-11-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Viết! Write! 書いて!

Write a review of "My Last Evening In Ôita" and win 3 rare songs of Awaken! How to do?

1. Listen to the single here: http://bit.ly/3nv4Kt

2. Write your feelings (follow the link under the single or send email at awamail(at)hellokitty.com or write here)

3. I send you a secret link to download the 3 songs! And your opinion will be published on Awa-net.

OK? Start the race now!

Gilles

プレゼントが欲しかったら、珍しい歌を聴きたかったら、『My Last Evening In Ôita』についてレビューを書いて下さい。

どうしょう？

1. リンクhttp://bit.ly/3nv4Ktをクリックして、『My Last Evening In 大分』と『Chase Around 大分駅』を聞いて。

2. 意見を書いて、メールsnowcat_the_neko(at)hellokitty.comで送って下さい。 このBLOGで書いても良いよ。

3. 僕は秘密のリンクを送ります。珍しいAWAKENの歌のダウンロードが出来ます！そして意見はAwa-netの中読まれる。

分かりましたか？

レビューを待ってます！

宜しくお願いします。

雪猫ジル

Nếu bạn viết ý kiến về bài hát "My Last Evening In Ôita" thì có thể nhận 3 bài hát hiếm có của Awaken !

Làm thế nào ?

1. Nghe "My Last Evening In Ôita" ở đây: http://bit.ly/3nv4Kt

2. Viết ý kiến rồi cho tôi gửi bằng email (awamail(at)hellokitty.com) hoặc trên Blog này.

3. Tôi sẽ cho bạn gửi một link bí mật để download 3 bài hát hiếm có!

Hiểu chưa? Viết nhé! :D

Gilles

Awa-news 09: Number 9, number 9, nyanyan, meomeo!

2009-11-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

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n°9, 5th of November, 2009

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

number 9... number 9... number 9... the number of the Cats! Happy number 9 to all our friends the bad cats!

Enough said, time to jump into Awa-news number 9!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

If a man gets up in the morning, goes to bed at night, and does what he pleases in between, he's a success. (Bob Dylan)

You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do. (Jerry Garcia)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

Sessions, sessions

After having written the song "Gouttes De Pluie" in the wonderful Beppu City for the new Sousbock album Lune Et L'autre, Gilles Snowcat the old Cat sang and co-wrote two pieces on the forthcoming TrustNoOne record. And some synths too. To be released soon, as usual with prolific TrustNoOne!

Moreover, the Old Cat has been caught playing a few synthesizers on the forthcoming single of Japanese singer Morry Ken, on the It's Oh! Music indies label.

To be continued!

Our interview:

JOHN SINCLAIR: Effective communication

It was obvious: John Sinclair *had* to be in Awa-news. For two reasons: 1) his keyboards style in the Heavy Metal Kids and Uriah Heep are among Awaken's notable influences; and 2) because he since became hypnotherapist, a discipline that has a fascinating impact on the Awaken Universe. Back to his days of intensive touring, John joined Uriah Heep for the Abominog album, after Mick Box had done a cleaning-up of the band. Instead of copying Ken Hensley, Sinclair brought his own bunch of skills and influences, focussing on synthesizers and giving Uriah Heep a fresher sound. On the three albums he recorded with Uriah Heep, Sinclair painted the music with creative and colorful sounds. Just listen to the album version of "Think It Over", "Sweet Talk", "Poor Little Rich Girl", or the surprising "Rockarama". Still into music but not touring like in the past, John Sinclair, busy since he became a qualified hypnotherapist, kindly accepted to be interviewed byAwa-news.

-Nice to meet you, John. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-John Sinclair: How you doin'?

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-John Sinclair: My father bought a piano, and I was the only one that could play it.

-Now you became a hypnotherapist. Music can have some power that could, in a way, be compared to some kind of hypnosis. How do you use your musical sensitivity to practice hypnosis?
-John Sinclair: Hypnotherapy is about effective communication, as is music.

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-John Sinclair: I've not done it yet.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-John Sinclair: I've not done that yet either.

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-John Sinclair: The Average White Band. Actually if I had a magic wand, I'd probably sell it and buy a bigger Pro Tools system.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to the albums you contributed to?
-John Sinclair: I'd prefer they make their own choices.

-Can you tell us more about the current musical projects that involve you?
-John Sinclair: All stage musical material, but I am working with an 80's inspired pop/rock band.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-John Sinclair: I would admit it if I was, but I've not seen it.

Links: http://www.johntsinclair.co.uk/

What happened on November some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

15/11/1976: Kiss releases Rock & Roll Over. The Catman and Spaceman are real here (not the fake ones from 2009) .

11/11/1989: Birth of Japanese idol Reina Tanaka (Morning Musume).

16/11/1982: Death of bebop jazz pianist Al Haig.

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

PAUL McCARTNEY, Tug Of War (1982)

It's not always easy to be a legend. When he just turns 40 and still full of projects, the public eye sees Paul McCartney as the member of the Beatles and, despite his success with Wings or in solo, the left-handed bass player knows that whatever he does will be compared to his past work. But something like 20 years after the rise of the Fab Four's popularity, McCartney proves that he's more inspired than ever. Tug Of War is a fucking good album, and although it's a solo record, it features some guests that would make any fan happy to hear play there: George Martin, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Al McKay, Steve Gadd, Dave Mattacks, Carl Perkins, Stanley Clarke, Eric Stewart, Denny Laine...
The sessions of Tug Of War started in October 1980 as a Wings album, but the sadness due to death of John Lennon made McCartney and Martin stop everything until February of 1981. The song "Here Today" (later covered by Awaken) was written for him. There's a bunch of excellent stuff on Tug Of War, like "Take It Away" with Ringo and George Martin, "What's That You're Doing" with Stevie Wonder, the funky-rocking "Dress Me Up As A Robber" or the splendid "Here Today". Nothing to forget on Tug Of War, this is a true McCartney piece of art. Who said the 80's were sad times????!!!

Links: http://www.paulmccartney.com/

Seb Bournier from Sousbock tells the ugly truth about Snowcat and more tips to travel in Japan. And? And? More!

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be

Awa-news 08: The long and winding chase around Oita eki

2009-10-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

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n°8, 29th of October, 2009

Link: http://www.sousbock-fr.com/sousbock/index.php?page=lela

Dear friends, fans and passing smiles,

first of all let's wish a happy birthday to our friend Hello Kitty on theis 1st of November!

This autumn is full of new releases! While Snowcat's My Last Evening In Ôita online 45rpm is already in your ears, heart and minds, the new album from Sousbock, well known group from you Awaken fans, is out! It features a different songwriter for each song, while lyrics are all penned by the leader Sebastien "Bargio" Bournier. Seb will be interviewed in Awa-news n°10 to reveal you all the secrets of this masterpiece called Lune Et L'Autre.

The third song, "Gouttes De Pluie", was written by yours truly Snowcat the old Cat.

1 - Ce coeur qui bat
2 - La tête en avant
3 - Gouttes de pluie
4 - Horloge interne
5 - Lune noire
6 - Halo
7 - En sursis
8 - Rechute

Kiss also released their new album, Sonic Boom, the first collection of new songs since 1998's Psycho Circus. Even though the cover looks kinda cool, don't be fooled by the images: "Peter Criss" and "Ace Frehley" are fake ones. They're just the new members Eric Singer and Thommy Thayer wearing the make-up of the Catman and the Spaceman. Fake fake fake. Even Genesis and their annoying overdubs wouldn't have done that. Why not giving Thayer and Singer a new make-up? After all, Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr had their own, they didn't need to copy Frehley and Criss. The answer is easy to get: Kiss just became a tribute-band of... Kiss. Despite that disappointment, the songs sound nice, thanks to Paul Stanley's songwriting skills.

OK, time to jump into Awa-news number 8!

Artists sometimes say very smart sentences, with or without knowing.

It's rock'n'roll philosophy time!

If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. (Gustav Mahler)

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. (Ludwig van Beethoven)

Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory. (Oscar Wilde)

What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe?

MY LAST EVENING IN ÔITA just released!

Now that's a great news! The first new songs from Snowcat since last year's This Mouth (Nha.c cho Em Mèo) collection are out to take you around Ôita station for an unbelievable chase. Meet the office ladies and the cute notes of the mysterious shingô, making that very chase so unique...

Links: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7FL6IRE5

http://home.scarlet.be/~ping9712/awaken-mp3-engl.htm#oita

Our interview:

STÄNI STEINBOCK: It's a long and winding road indeed!

-Nice to meet you, Stäni. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Stäni Steinbock: Hello! I'm Stäni! (3 OK?)

-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Stäni Steinbock: First I must ask what "active" means here? If you mean "why did I start playing an instrument" it's probably because i saw others do it and got inspired. One of my strongest sources of inspiration to start was, of course (for my generation) the Beatles.

-You’re on the music scene for a long time. Can you describe that long road for Awa-news readers?
-Stäni Steinbock: Ooh! It's a long and winding road (!) indeed: I sang in the school choir and a little before I was to turn 13 I started learning how to play guitar. I played with schoolmates etc. Later started studying classical guitar and, almost at the same time, also electric guitar - I started out originally on acoustic steel-string.
At the conservatory I met Reijo Lainela whom I recognised from the Finnish-British Folk Club in Helsinki, where we had seen each other. We found out we had similar tastes in music and got along well and started to play together.
I moved to Sweden (1979), but we still both performed and recorded together under the name "Kra" ( http://www.cdbaby.com/kramusic )
released 4 singles and two vinyl albums in the 80's (out of print except for a few singles - contact me if you're interested!) + a LIVE-cassette. Reijo says it's so bad he doesn't want to re-release it even on CDR (!). Maybe I should upload it to my MySpace page or Reverbnation?
In Sweden I found my dream drummer, Lars Lundbom, who now lives on New Zeeland, and he played on two Kra singles and the first album. He also wrote two of our finest songs, La Balena and Rosa Moln (which you can hear on his myspace page) plus played on several of our tours, other gigs and on Finnish National TV.
In 1991 I got a job as a sound FX designer/sound techie/in-house composer at a theatre in Finland, so I moved there, buried Kra, and wrote / recorded some music for that theatre instead (you can hear some at http://www.reverbnation.com/stanisteinbock), but after 9 years got enough of it, organised the recording of a new Kra CD (we also played on Finnish TV) "Guttural Shock" and moved to the Åland Islands which is where my old lady comes from.
On Åland I've been playing with local musicians, doing audio work, and also some taxi driving (just like Philip Glass!) and teaching, one winter played regularly with a celloist, Kristoffer Arwidsson, with whom we founded Turbotrabi (he likes bad old cars - I like good ones). Turbotrabi got some new life after Kristoffer stopped working on Åland, when I performed in Stockholm with MusicThoughstster Marianne Milde on viola and (old friend & music colleague) Mats Tiigiste on percussion (an Atonal Punk Song recorded live with this ensemble can be heard on http://www.reverbnation.com/stanisteinbock).
I also did a tour of the Faeroe Islands september/october 2008 with Kim Hansson on guitar and Kamilla Ravnsfjall on flute and electric organ. We played music written by me for the Finnish national instrument, the 5-stringed kantele+ other instruments. Pictures and some live recordings on http://www.myspace.com/steinbockstani.
(Tons of details from the abovementioned long road have been left out so as not to write a novel, but I'm grateful for everybody who helped me make my musical dreams come true).

-Among your work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Stäni Steinbock: That's an extremely difficult question! I think everything I've done does represent me very much! Maybe the songs I did with Kra are closest to my heart, but on the other hand I seem to like my new song "Hoummous for Houdini" a lot too.

-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Stäni Steinbock: Maybe some songs I wrote a long time ago - pretentious, perhaps, and silly lyrics. Hope that's enough?

-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Stäni Steinbock: Kra, I suppose, or perhaps Turbotrabi! But if you mean some band I haven't founded - I'd love to be in Smiling Men With Bad Reputations with Mike Heron. or à Austrvega, whom I did play with, but which doesn't seem to exist anymore. Nobody seems to have time for it. Or else maybe a new band where I could have all the right players around me & exchange ideas and create music together, maybe even do so many gigs that we could make a living from it.

-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your albums?
-Stäni Steinbock: I wouldn't try to convince them except by describing what I do, hoping there would be someone who would be intrigued enough by that description that they would like to listen to them!
What? You want this description? Hmm... difficult again, cos I seem to do different things: The Kra albums (and singles - maybe one day collected into an album?) are quirky (that's the term people seem to like to use!) folk music with strains of Reggae, Gamelan, and perhaps some Balkan music. Both Reijo and I are great fans of Spike Jones, so somewhere some of that may creep in, as well as our classical "roots". The last Kra album is available on CD or as downloads at http://www.cdbaby.com
There's a video suitable for your "Year of the cute" campaign to the tune of "Tribal Pursuit", a song Reijo and I wrote together, on http://www.myspace.com/steinbockstani
The Kantele music I do is mostly "fragile" due to the nature of the instrument, but still I try to inject some variation by using other instruments to accompany it - cello, guitar, sampler, violin etc. There's an album of it that i hope will be released soon. Soon. Soon... Listen to some of it on http://www.myspace.com/steinbockstani
Then I have a more experimental side, too, as evidenced by tracks like "Rikkihappo Boogie" on http://www.reverbnation.com/stänisteinbock

-You seem to be a fan of vintage cars. Do you own some, which one(s) and do you use them for an everyday use?
-Stäni Steinbock: I own a Volkswagen Passat 1978, from the year when I went vegetarian, and also the year Kristoffer Arwidsson (the celloist of Turbotrabi) was born. I ride it almost daily, and hope it will pass the annual inspection once more, or maybe twice.
As a reserve car to use when the Passat's being prepared for the annual inspection, I have a Ford Escort 1988 which I received as a gift from a friend who was about to take it to a scrapyard. I have bought new front shocks for it, which will be installed soon. Very soon, cos the Passat has to be inspected in october, I think.

-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Stäni Steinbock: Absolutely!

Links: http://www.reverbnation.com/stänisteinbock

http://www.cdbaby.com/kramusic

http://www.myspace.com/steinbockstani

What happened on October some years ago?

Let's jump into Awa-news' time machine...

12/10/1942: Hello Melvin Franklin from The Temptations.

22/10/1979: Bye bye Nadia Boulanger. In her long carreer, she taught music composition to various people, including music genius Philip Glass and Aaron Copland, Vladimir Cosma, George Gershwin, Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand, Astor Piazzolla, to name a few!

29/10/1984: Deep Purple releases "Perfect Strangers", reuniting after 8 years of separation.

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

MỸ TÂM, Yesterday & Now (2003)

There's no Autumn in Việt Nam, and one could think Vietnamese friends are missing something not to know the pleasure of walking among dead leaves with the sound of Yesterday & Now in their ears. But they have other jooyful moments, and still they have Mỹ Tâm. Mỹ Tâm is a pop diva in the S-shaped country, crossing Eastern and Western influences, old-school Vietnamese songs with modern pop and rock. Vietnamese language is a music in itself and suits very well pop music. Some pieces are borrowed from foreign artists (“Về chốn thiên đường” is Jean-Jacques Goldman's “Comme Toi”) or classic Vietnamese songs, like the superb “Đêm thấy ta là thác đổ” from Trịnh Công Sơn and the nostalgic piano-driven “Bóng cả”. Not to be forgotten is a splendid cover of Lara Fabian's “You Are Not From Here”, sung in both English and Vietnamese.

Links: http://www.mytam.info

More about the It's Oh! Music Radio, an interview with keyboardist John Sinclair (Uriah Heep, Heavy Metal Kids, Ozzy Osbourne), and whatever you can expect!

Take care and see you!

email: awamail(at)hellokitty.com

Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be