The UrbanWire      

5 guys and a girl from Copenhagen, Denmark, turned down touring the USA with Katy Perry to focus on this piece of work. So, press play and prepare to be amazed – Alphabeat have returned with their brand of pure pop magic, in the form of their second album, The Beat Is….

Alphabeat first appeared in the UK music scene in 2008, with runaway hit song, “Fascination“. It peaked at no. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and was even used in a Coca Cola Light TV commercial in the region.

Stine Bramsen and Anders Nielsen are the lead vocalists (If the Danish names confuse you, Stine is the only female, and Anders male). They’re supported by another 2 Anders: Anders Bønløkke on guitar, Anders Reinholdt on bass, Rasmus Nagel on keyboards, and Troels Hansen on drums.

The Beat Is.. is 43 minutes of powerhouse aural magic that pays homage to early 90s dance pop. The band have credited their influences to 90s hit-makers Black Box, Corona, and Ace of Base, among others.

Compared to their debut record, This Is Alphabeat, the band’s taken the sugar-rush and happy down a notch, ditching their cheerful 80s vibe for sleeker outfits and a decidedly more electronic sound.

The record employs a good deal of digital arrangement, with synthesised vocal warbling, intense bass, and electro-instrumentals coming into the mix. Pretty much all the songs are about love, as is the case with most pop records.

Noteworthy tracks “The Spell”, “DJ”, and “The Right Thing” showcase the band’s talent for clear, pop-songwriting. Coupled with key elements like catchy choruses, dynamic beats, and strong vocals, Alphabeat prove to be true masters of their craft.

The album opens fittingly with first single, “The Spell” – a worthy tribute to 90s dance, driven by high energy, Stine’s astounding vocal prowess, and a smashing chorus. Magical stuff.

“The Spell” single deservedly hit the no. 1 spot on the Danish singles chart upon release, and was well received in the UK, and won over even critics who hated their first record. The music video is a sprightly rendition of the single, packaged in electric blue and flashing lights, reminiscent of a musical era past.

The third song, “DJ”, is probably the easiest tune to catch on to. It sounds very much like Daft Punk’s “Digital Love”, and is a tad more relaxed than the other tracks, but retains some energy in its rhythm. Remember the sheer excitement added to that feeling of restfulness when school’s out? This number feels just like that.

Another notable track is “Heat Wave”. The record reaches its peak as this fast-paced tune builds into the chorus, where Stine’s remarkable vocals bring things to a dynamic explosion, and you can’t help but start bobbing fitfully along to the music, if you haven’t already.

Alas, there’re some bumps along the track list. The mellower numbers don’t fare so well.

The song “Q & A” seemed to go on forever, with Stine moaning, “We need some Q, and A, Q and A-hey, Q and A-hey” for the entire chorus. The lyrics were too corny for this one, and since it’s a slow number, such flaws are more noticeable.

“Chess” had background instrumentals that had an annoying bubbling sound effect, and the slow sway of the rhythm made it seem like the kind of song you’d hear at a cheesy beach party. It has the potential to grow on you, but with a title like “Chess” and a vibe so different from the rest, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Overall, Alphabeat have really polished their act, churning out a record worthy of pop greatness. This album saw male vocalist Anders take a backseat, while Stine’s mighty lungs gave their all, injecting power and spunk to every tune she belted out.

Opinions will swing both ways, and fans will either be thrilled or bummed by the band’s new sound, which has moved into a completely different genre of pop – from the happy, sugary 80s to the danceable tunes of the 90s.

Alphabeat have proven themselves to be one of the better European pop acts to emerge in recent years, and are certainly not letting past Scandinavian pop greats – like fellow Danes Aqua and legendary Swedes Abba – down.

UrbanWire rates The Beat Is… a 4/5.

Title: The Beat Is…
Artist: Alphabeat
Choice Picks: The Spell, DJ, Heat Wave
Language: English
Record Label: Polydor UK
Release Date: Mar 1

Track list:

1. The Beat Is
2. The Spell
3. DJ
4.Hole In My Heart
5. Chess
6. Heart Failure
7. Heat Wave
8. Always Up With You
9. Q & A
10. The Right Thing
11. Til I get Round
12. 365 Degrees

Every December, Singapore’s bright lights shine even brighter, as the main shopping belt along Orchard road is decked out in all its festive glory. As every mall tries to outdo the other with a bigger tree or flashier decorations, the Christmas spirit is lost in all that plastic, glitter and electricity.

This year, how about a bona fide Christmas in the tropics? Be amongst greenery on a cool evening, maybe even with a light drizzle.

To round off its 150th year with a bang, 150 live Christmas trees have taken root at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Trees of the World is a display of Christmas trees decorated by various community groups, schools, and embassies, reflecting themes of Hope, Inspiration, and Peace.

The opening light-up on Dec 5 was part of The Botanical Party, a multi-sensory spectacle that brought together Trees of the World and a concert, Birdsongs, performed by local jazz musicians, world-music performers, and the Philharmonic Youth Winds.

Before nightfall, many were already walking through the Central to Tanglin core of the gardens, which had turned into a little Christmas tree farm. The 150 sponsored trees were lined neatly along walkways, each decorated by an individual group.

By dusk, the intricacies of different decorations had dissolved into the night. In their place was an idyllic scene of fairy lights that greeted the visitors, as all the trees glowed a serene blue in the darkness.

Serenaded by jazz music with a sky that tried to snow (it ended up drizzling), the scene was nothing short of magical.

There were classically decorated trees, like the ones by Ikea Alexandra and the Singapore Lyric Opera – They were Christmas cards waiting to happen.

The community centres and schools were a little more personal in their decoration.

Some had group pictures hung up, and most schools displayed students’ crafts. They looked simple and raw, their ornaments mismatched like patchwork quilts.

But to Germaine Chan, a visitor to the display, these were more endearing than the dazzling cones of lights downtown.

“The primary school kids’ decorations put the ones at Orchard road to shame,” she said, “The décor’s a little dimmer here, but you can tell the effort was personal and sincere.”

Sadly, the world isn’t without its flaws. The companies with business-only intentions turned a tree or 2 into unsightly billboards.

Despite the light rain falling, people were still walking about, umbrellas up. If anything, the lights seemed to glow warmer in the rain. The display was a true community effort to create something beautiful for all to share at this festive time of year.

It certainly isn’t what you’d expect of a big city at Christmas. But, what better way to relax on a cool December evening than in good company and silent reflection of the year past?

Trees of the World at Singapore Botanic Gardens
When: Dec 5 to Dec 31
Time: 7 pm to 12 am
Where: Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road
Contact: (65) 6471 7138 / 6471 7361

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An independent bookstore with a specialty in Literature, BooksActually has been a quiet part of the local book scene for some time, and they just turned 4 years old on Nov 29.

Borne of owners Karen Wai and Kenny Leck’s shared love for reading, this compact establishment didn’t survive 4 years just by sitting pretty in an old shophouse. The shop has achieved much this past year, and on closer review of the rustic mix on display, they offer a lot more than just books, actually.

UrbanWire drops by for a look at the shop’s hallmarks.

^{Meet Karen and Kenny.}

First Impressions
Entering the shop on a rainy December afternoon, you’d think you stepped into the storybook department of Santa’s Workshop; The walls are tightly packed with various literary works – from Nabokov and Orwell to classic fairy tales –, you hear a typewriter hard at work somewhere on the upper floors, soft music plays, and the place smells of fresh paper and wood.

The second floor houses a brocante (secondhand market). On display are common items from bygone days – cream glass marbles from our parents’ childhood, and old rubber stamps. Their non-fiction sister shop, Polymath and Crust, is on the third floor. It carries titles including food, nature, geography, and history.

“It’s like another world,” said Helene Mayne, a first-time customer, “You can tell these people really love books. This shop is a sensory experience.”

Literary Installations
At present, there are a number of installations at the store. Here’s a quick look at our favourites:

1)    Brillat- Savarin’s Literary Orders: Just by the entrance, you’ll find stacks of vintage paper and a coin box. Typewritten on each piece is a passage from Karen and Kenny’s favourite poems and novels. They’re free, but you can drop them a little reward.

2)    We Share Stories: An exhibition initiated by the Singapore Design Festival. “We Share Stories” invites you to drop off a roll of film of pictures you took, and exchange it for a roll taken by someone else.

They liked this so much at BooksActually, they’ve asked to continue this little project after the festival ended in November. So it’s still there, and an almost permanent feature.

Intellectual wall-art at the entrance: Spot your favourite author’s portrait.

“These installations are something for people to think about,” said Karen, “You don’t necessarily have to come in to buy a book.”

Installations will be up for the rest of the year.

Birds and Co.
Amongst the range of books, you’ll also find the shop’s handmade stationery on display.

^{(Image courtesy of BooksActually)}

Birds and Co. is BooksActually’s stationery line. The collection includes pencils with famous authors’ names on them, and a good variety of whimsical handmade notebooks, like the “Chronicles of the Deer” and “Portions for Foxes” ranges.

“We like the old way of bookbinding, so we do a lot of handmade stationery, with hand-stitching. All the covers of our notebooks are hand-printed, since we really like the letterpress,” Karen told us.

Notebook prices start from $3.

Hand-stitched book spines.

Publishers Too
Unpublished writers take note: BooksActually also has a publishing arm, Math Paper Press.

“Publishing’s a very personal process. Both of us edit the works, and if we like something, we try to incorporate our ideas,” said Karen, “if we feel illustrations suit the writing a lot, we will try to get in touch with our artist friends to do a collaboration, things like that”.

Book launches and author readings are held for free as well, both for the author and the public. This is their way of showing support for the local writing scene.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the couple hand-picks every title the shop carries.

“It sort of reflects our own tastes,” said Karen.

Kenny summed it up in 2 words: “Processing Hell”. But hey, hard work pays off, evidently.

The average novel is sold at $35 a copy.

BooksActually is certainly a very busy 4-year-old. With so much going on, we find it amazing that the owners whole-heartedly micromanage everything about the business.

“It’s our labour of love, so we have to see that we’re involved in every aspect,” said Karen happily.

What Lies Ahead
From their humble beginnings making rounds at university book bazaars, BooksActually has come a long way. From their original second-storey shop space, they now occupy an entire shophouse.

Polymath and Crust, their non-fiction collection, started just this May. Also, the shop was approached to be the official festival bookstore of the Singapore Writers Festival, held in October.

“We’re happy we’re still surviving. We hope to create a legacy and be around for the next 10 to 20 years, or more,” said Karen.

They’ve only just turned 4, but the 2 owners already have some new goals to work toward.

“We’d love to expand more on our title selection,” Karen said.

There are also hopes for Polymath and Crust and Birds and Co. to become separate entities and have shop units of their own.

To us at UrbanWire, it looks like BooksActually might actually get to create the legacy they hope to have. If it’s love and passion that drives a place, then they ought to be sticking around for another 4 years and more, easily.

BooksActually
86 Club St
Contact: +65 6222 9195
Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday – 11am to 9pm
Sunday – 12 pm to 6pm
Getting There:
Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, Exit G

We’re all familiar with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. But put on those 3-D glasses and brace yourselves.

With a little help from 3-D animation technology, this classic tale was transformed into a surreal joyride through the charming winter of Victorian London, and the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. Without giving away spoilers, 3-D brings to the age-old story whole new levels of adventure, shock, and thrill.

For the 0.00001% of people who don’t know the story, it’s about Scrooge, a notorious miser, who is visited on Christmas Eve by the kindred spirit of his late business partner, Marley. Marley, tethered in chains, warns Scrooge to repent of his stinginess before telling Scrooge to expect The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet-To-Come – to visit him and help him see the folly of his ways.

Robert Zemeckis, director of the 2004 animated holiday film The Polar Express, had quite the magic touch when it came to Christmas movies.

Adopting the same 3-D motion-capture technology he first showed the world in The Polar Express, Zemeckis has again re-created a world that glows with that illusive Christmas spirit.

There was good reason for Zemeckis’ obsession with Performance Capture, a process where the actors are filmed playing out their roles, then digitised into their characters, and placed into a digitally constructed setting.

The intricate animation of the people and landscapes that resulted from this, added to the realism – from the slightest shift of facial expression down to the way the snow descended.

Coupled with a dramatic soundtrack composed by Alan Silvestri (also composer for The Polar Express), the team behind the movie had undoubtedly managed to bring to life the world of A Christmas Carol.

As Tom Hanks did in The Polar Express, Jim Carrey delivered a stellar performance and effortlessly pulled off all 4 main characters – Scrooge (from junior to senior) and the 3 ghosts of Christmas – with a little help from the performance-capturing animators, of course.

As Scrooge, Carrey departed from his usual slapstick roles in Yes Man and Bruce Almighty and portrayed his character’s emotions particularly well. Here, he relied on his dynamic, expressive personality to convincingly play a wide range of characters in a single film.

His dedication to his craft was evident from the way an annoyed Scrooge’s lips curl in disgust, to the pained expression in his eyes when he revisited a flashback of a dance with his first love, Belle (played by Robin Wright Penn).

Other underrated characters such as Scrooge’s old boss Mr Fezziwig, Scrooge’s cheery nephew Fred (Colin Firth), Scrooge’s abused clerk Bob Cratchit and his ailing son Tiny Tim (both played by Gary Oldman), were instrumental in giving the movie more depth and realism.

Visually and aurally, it was spectacular.

As impressive as the art direction and special effects were, however, they caused the story to suffer somewhat.

The plot was undoubtedly faithful to the original, and the tale played out well against the picturesque landscapes. The film progressed with a good mix of comedy, horror, action, and drama, without losing touch of the moral values Dickens had depicted in the story.

What was lacking, however, was a proper elaboration on how Scrooge came to be the nasty miser he was. Most of Scrooge’s Christmas Eve ordeal was portrayed accurately, but still, the scenes failed to explain where and how he developed his close-fisted ways. The script seemed to have undergone a very succinct summary, which resulted in very unclear character development.

Also, the journeying with the ghosts saw Scrooge doing loads of flying and running. Though the scenes were definitely a breathtaking 3-D experience, offering amazing views of old London, as Scrooge soared over the rooftops of London with the ghost of Christmas Past. They went on for far too long, however, and harmed the otherwise decent flow of the storyline.

Fun as the visual effects may sound, the Victorian English expressions retained in the dialogue, like “haunt me no longer” and “ I fear you more than any spectre I have seen”, weren’t very kid-friendly, and there were some scary scenes to look out for. This is one Christmas movie not quite meant for the entire family.

Essentially, Zemeckis has created yet another holiday masterpiece, but for a slightly older audience. Exhilarating, terrifying, and heartwarming all at once, A Christmas Carol is a must-watch this festive season.

Opens: Nov 19 (Singapore)

Duration: 96 min

Language: English

Rating: PG

Genre: Animation/Fantasy

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn

Used coke cans, green grass, and the smell of compost don’t quite equate to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

But on Oct 31, The Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) rallied Singaporeans together, to drum up awareness for a greener environment and a greener YOG.

CAN! Green, in conjunction with the South West district of Singapore’s Clean and Green event, drew families, students, and members of the public from all walks of life to HortPark for a day of fresh air and warm sunshine.

The CAN (Create Action Now)! Festivals are held to celebrate the YOG, create awareness of and promote the YOG to members of the community.

If you don’t already know, the first-ever YOG is to be hosted by Singapore, come Aug 2010. CAN! Green is the festival in its third quarter, its theme – Environmental Friendliness.

For an event flying in representatives from 205 countries the world over (countries such as The Gambia, New Zealand, and Columbia), the inaugural sporting event most definitely needs to work on decreasing its carbon footprint in every other area possible.

There was plenty going on – dancing, drumming, recycling, giving away plants potted into used drink cans, and even an eco-fair where crazily enough, you could’ve bought environmentally-friendly refrigerators, laptops and washing machines. Talk about your business opportunities…

Apart from the sale of (green) electronic appliances, the rest of the activities were carried out by members of the community – schools were brought in to set up booths, dance school students were invited to entertain the crowd, and young volunteers with the YOG were also there to facilitate the activities.

UrbanWire spoke to Ms Han Liang Yuan, the Director of Communications and Public Relations at SYOGOC, about the YOG reaching out and involving the community in its activities.

“To reach out to more people, the YOG holds the CAN! Festivals, each with its different themes. This will help people to learn about and identify the YOG with these different themes”, she said.

The past 2 CAN! Festivals’ were themed Culture (CAN! Discover) and Digital Media (CAN! Click) respectively. The theme of the fourth and last festival, to be held between Jan to Feb 2010, will be Arts.

They certainly do sound educational, but Singaporeans don’t exactly need to be educated on the environment, do they? After all, the great national pastime is completely clean and very green – joining a queue for freebies.

The Singaporean cannibal enjoys the occasional stuffed author, English writer Neil Gaiman believes.

This snack is prepared by “taking a visiting author, and feeding them good things until they can eat no more, and then cutting them up into delicious little slices”.

He said, “This explains why from the moment I arrive in Singapore till the moment I leave, people just come up to me and say, ‘Here, eat it’.”

This humorous, if somewhat morbid take on the locals’ passion for food was one of the many tales Gaiman treated a 900-strong audience in Singapore to.

The man who brought us tales of Stardust, American Gods, and the Sandman, was in town for the Singapore Writers Festival.

The writer who enjoys a cult following globally 3 meet-the-author sessions, each touching on different topics, the last of which – on graphic novels and fantasy – took place on a Sunday afternoon.

What was supposed to be a Q&A session with the author soon felt like an impromptu collective of little stories, as Gaiman’s gift for spinning a yarn took center stage.

With an easy charm, he shared various anecdotes to answer questions, bringing them to life with enthusiastic storytelling and a hearty dose of British humour.

The audience didn’t seem to mind that he hardly stuck to the theme of the talk, and that his narratives sometimes digressed beyond the questions.

“I actually preferred this as he had answered plenty of questions before on his own blog and other interviews,” said Seriously Sarah, a fan in the audience who enjoyed Gaiman’s anecdotes. “His little stories elaborated on the background of his answers, unlike what we’d be able to read in the papers or articles.”

When asked about turning 50, he recounted a particular flight he took in 1988:

He had just started on his would-be phenomenal comic series, Sandman, and was bringing extracts of a graphic novel he had co-worked on, Black Orchid, to America.

“I just remember thinking, if this plane goes down, nobody will see Black Orchid and the Sandman thing I started,” recalled Gaiman. “I just spent the entire flight, from England to America, working very hard to keep that plane afloat with my mind.”

“But if the plane goes down tomorrow, I’m in great shape,” he concluded, “I’ve done all this stuff I’ve set out to do, and you don’t get to say that very often.”

Another question about bees sparked a comedic account of his beekeeping; about his assistant Lorraine’s deathly fear of them, an old birdwatching-buddy-turned-fellow-beekeeper, and the accidental blue ribbons his bees have won for their honey.

Most of the hour went by with him answering more questions with such captivating anecdotes.

The 900 fans fortunate enough to have attended the session certainly must thank their lucky stars that organisers relocated the session, originally at a 200-seater site, to the Victoria Theatre, and released another 700 tickets. There were, of course, painful hours of queuing involved before finally laying hands on those tickets.

It was another 4-hour queue for the autograph session after the talk!

^{Image courtesy of seriouslysarah.com}

“I just want to thank all of you for braving long queues, and braving heat, and braving whatever mysterious secret messaging system that let you know that tickets were available to actually get to be here,” said Gaiman to those present.

But to the fans, all that were a small price to pay for an afternoon with the man himself, listening to him doing what he does best – telling stories.