L’Arc-en-Ciel in Singapore

Japanese rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel, or Laruku in short, is probably the only band I’ve followed over the years.

I first got hooked on their music when I heard their theme song for the popular anime series Rurouni Kenshin back in the late 1990s, when it was shown on TV. I was still in secondary school then, and I must have heard it through an online download, because from what I understand, it was used as a theme song only for a short run due to a drugs problem with the former drummer.

At the time, Japanese popular culture (dramas, anime and music) was all the rage in Singapore, and Laruku’s songs were regularly played on the Japanese music segments on the Chinese radio stations. It was also the time when HMV was the multi-storey anchor tenant at the Heeren Shops in Orchard Road, and Japanese artistes had a major section on the third storey devoted to their music, with many listening stations featuring the latest albums. (Today, there is only one shelf of Japanese music in HMV’s single-storey premises at Somerset 313.)

It was also the time when people still burnt CDs to listen on their discmans. For me, L’Arc-en-Ciel became an important part of my memories of my time in junior college, as a CD with 13 of their songs provided my study music for the all-important A-level examinations. (With mp3s having taken over space-constrained CDs now, such a small set of songs probably seems unimaginable)

The atmosphere was electrifying throughout the concert! A great setlist (though like all fans, I wished they played more songs), a smooth, near-perfect delivery by frontman hyde and a very obliging audience made it a night to remember.

A little bit of Mosaic

Was wondering what to do last Sunday, so I checked out the Esplanade website for some ideas. So it happens, the annual Mosaic Music Festival is on, and there are many free performances at the venue.

Incidentally, I’d found a very decent offer for a second-hand Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 lens on a local photography forum, and bought it just before heading down to the Esplanade.

Armed with my latest acquisition (I’d added the Nikkor AIS 24mm f2 just the week before too), I took some photos of the performances at the cosy HTC Living Room, a free venue, while enjoying the music at the same time.

I hadn’t been shooting gigs for quite a while (not since the Brown Eyed Girls in 2010 and a mini J-rock concert in 2009), but I think I might get started on doing more of this…

Nicholas Tan of jazz sextet V-v-v-voyager in his element at the HTC Living Room. The group is one of the few groups under the "Bright Young Things” programme to mentor young jazz musicians in Singapore.

Going brown-eyed

I don't like Korean dramas. Not only are they overly long, with boring plotlines, they have virtually bumped off all Japan-related programming on the free-to-all channels in Singapore since quite a few years back. And the worse thing is, their popularity don't seem to be on the wane at all! 

By extension, I don't like Korean songs as well. 

But when you give me a chance to attend and photograph a concert by the four hot Korean girls from pop sensation Brown Eyed Girls, how can I say no? Haha. 

The concert was held on Feb 27 (Sat) at Zouk. My only gripe was that it was really quite a short concert, with only eight songs and a couple of boring interludes in the form of a games segment and a guest performance by a Korean guy called Lee An.

Some of the shots I liked: 

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.

Many thanks to U-Gene and Deborah for making this possible. It was a fantastic evening. 

Before the concert started, the organisers played some Korean songs to entertain the crowd. Some of the songs were actually quite catchy. 

But I still bear the grudge of losing my Japanese dramas on TV.

Shine Youth Festival J-Rock Concert

June 22 was the start of the 5th Shine Youth Festival held by the National Youth Council, and I was there to help Joan out. I didn't take any photographs in the day though — instead I helped out as a videographer. It was interesting but I think I don't quite cut it as a videographer yet. It's tough enough composing still images, what more moving ones!

Anyway, I did take some photos at the end of the day. So I took the Nikkor AFS 17-55mm f2.8 for a spin on Joan's D90 and had quite a bit of fun taking the J-Rock performances. The most exciting group to shoot was the last one I shot before leaving for the night, and here are three of my favourites:

© Lin Zhaowei, 2009.

I tried shooting with flash at the start, but after a while decided it was still better without flash, mainly because flash takes away the colourful stage lighting and turns everything into white light. Having a fast lens and a camera with high ISO performance surely helps in this.

I'm beginning to itch for more gigs to shoot... Hmmm.

PS. It's been a while since my last post... have been busy keeping up with work and adjusting to my new sleeping patterns. Sorry about it, I shall try to update a little more frequently from here on!

Last day of school

I was literally counting down the months, then weeks, then days... and then it came. The last of school (the exams don't count). I was dreading this day because I'd always enjoyed school life, and I strongly suspect I won't enjoy worklife as much, esp. since I am still undecided on what I really want to do with my life. School was a sanctuary where you have certain prescribed goals to meet while having sufficient free time to pursue and explore whatever interests you have.

Worklife... is an open book, and it scares me.

Anyway, I shall have more to say about that next time, I believe.

All that said, I think I spent my last term very fruitfully - in fact it had been a blast. Mainly because I finally joined my university photography club and took part in many activities, from photo trails to studio shoots and talks by well-known professionals. In a way, it rekindled my passion for photography and I think I need to thank all the great people I've met in the club (shall not name them here though!). And oh, I barely did any studying throughout the term too, which meant I had lots of free time.

SMUSAIC Pizza Chain

To end off the term, the club organised a simple gathering with pizza and drinks, after which we headed down to a gig held by the school rock band club. We didn't quite join the crowd to chill out to the music though - most of us were busy circling the stage and shooting pictures!

Two of my favourite shots of the night:

Both were taken with my Nikon AFS 10.5mm fisheye!