​When one listens to Peggy Hsu’s music, one enters a whole new universe created note by note by Peggy herself, and her creative team of course. This time around with her latest album “Swing Inc.”, Hsu transports us back to the Swing era of the 1930s-1940s; but of course with her own unique take on the genre. This album is even more immersive than the last; Peggy’s lilting voice seems to have adopted a little of the dulcet tones of crooners such as Billie Holiday. Keeping her tone light and sweet as always, Peggy’s timbre seems a little richer this time, and I even noticed that the frequency of her melismatic singing style which was previously more relaxed as heightened in frequency, reflecting her dedication to perfecting the art of Swing music.
 
First listening to this album in the sweltering heat of Taipei’s weather, something to me was not right. Uncomfortable subway commutes and listening to snippets of her album while waiting for appointments or meet-ups with friends, there seemed something very wrong with me treating Peggy’s music in this manner. Indeed, so rich and vivid is the concept of this album that for me, it has to be listened to in the right place, at the right time where perhaps the crisp feeling of autumn against the backdrop of melancholy guitar acoustics in “Autumn Swing” would not be jarringly interrupted by the blazing heat of a Taipei summer’s day. Because that wouldn’t be fair to Peggy at all, would it? 

​Yen-J’s sixth album “Why? Art?” promised to be one of his most creatively charged works yet, as Yen-J expressed this album to show off a darker side to him than the clean-cut image presented in his previous albums. And as always, Yen-J was true to his word. Although the Jazz maestro threw in a couple of Jazz tracks such as the easy listening “Traveler” and “4 days 23 hours” which was a jolly Swing piece, the remaining tracks sampled from a darker set of genres including EDM, Rock and Hip Hop to give each song a moody undertone, before skilfully layering in elements from other genres in each song.
 
Although Yen-J had given fair warning that the album might be a bit more radical than his previous ones, I was in fact more than pleased to see him taking a more critical approach to his music. Although I have always appreciated Yen-J’s authenticity and zest for creating new fusions and combinations in his music, I have always yearned to hear him use not just his melodies, but also his lyrics as a tool to discuss topics other than love and the usual light-hearted fluff he usually sings about. This time however, he did exactly that, launching into a robust critique on society within the first track on the album, “Ashtray”.

As friends know, I have not been the most friendly critic of JJ Lin’s music. While many fawn over his virtuoso singing and musical abilities, I tend to play the devil’s advocate, interjecting sharply that I believe he had not yet reached his full potential as an artist.

At the bottom of it all though, I truly am a fan of JJ’s. The fact that I have collected almost every album of his since 2008 is testament to that fact. As an artist, I have always believed that JJ has had the most potential to be the next Mandopop megastar alongside the likes of Wang Leehom and Jay Chou. Not just because of his versatile and unique vocals, nor for his fluency in various musical instruments, but for the inherent likability of the melodies that he writes. I have rarely seen anyone who writes catchy and likable tunes as consistently as Lin, and I believe that this is a talent that can be used to spread the right messages the Chinese music industry so sorely needs to regain its dignity as one of the most creative in Asia, and one day, even the world. Just like how “Gangnam Style” which was originally written as a social critique of Korean society, Lin’s catchy melodies if combined with the right message could gain both global and critical acclaim, exposed the wider world to the creative, free-flowing nature of our industries. So as you can see, I’ve had a tall order set up for Lin from the moment I began appreciating his music.

But album after album, there was always something that rang hollow in each one. Lin’s style seemed versatile without a rhyme or rhythm, and lyrics were often just the same old love ballad crap. Many albums were overly marketed with a theme, but often just fell back into the predictable routine of love ballads, a sprinkling of upbeat hip hop tracks, at least two collabs in each album, and one token English song that weirdly enough seemed to always have a kind of military theme to it (when others are spreading peace and not war, this is definitely not the right message one wants to be giving off). So overall, although his songs were undeniably well produced and catchy, it was missing one thing that I look for in every album, especially by singer-songwriters: their own unique flavour. By that, I mean the kind of songs that you just KNOW were written by a particular person.
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Prominent examples include Leehom, Jay Chou, Khalil Fong, and Ronghao Li. Because music is all about expression. It’s all about having your voice heard, both literally and metaphorically. JJ was literally having his voice heard, but all his messages felt disconnected. I wanted to hear the real him that lay behind his pretty boy appearance. And after eight years of waiting, his experimental album From M.E. To Myself was the answer to all my prayers.

Read more here: http://www.helloasia.com.au/reviews/albums/jj-lin-from-m-e-to-myself-album-review-taiwan-2015/

​When Sony announced the official debut of Rosie Yang as the best newcomer of the year, they really weren’t kidding. Tall, slim and beautiful, it’s kind of unfair that the 21 year old also has the voice of an angel.  The daughter of singerYe Ying, Rosie had no prior vocal training until her vocal prowess was unearthed and she decided to follow her passion for singing, bringing her back to Taiwan from the States. Her debut album “Unbroken” is based around her love for music, introducing her unique voice to listeners and telling her story of passion and persistence.
 
Each of the songs is carefully crafted and executed to perfection with not a beat out of place, mostly drawing from western-style EDM and pop genres. Rosie’s lyrics were another high point for me. Most were translated from English into Chinese and while taking on the lyrical quality of Chinese poetry, they also borrowed heavily from the Western use of metaphors and imagery, making for a simple yet sleek combination. The thing about this album which quickly became a standout point for me was how it was basically an unadulterated taste of Western music that had been injected into the industry with little more than a some good translation work and a couple of Taiwanese composers (eg. Eve Ai) thrown into the mix. I mean, there are many who have attempted to create an obvious fusion of East-West music, but such a one-way transaction has never been tried before. Although most shy away from this challenge due to fear of public backlash, it is in fact a good experiment to show how the general standard of Taiwanese pop matches up in comparison to western-style music that is in direct competition with the Taiwanese market. Thus, Rosie’s album’s value lies not only in its meaningful words and her stories, but goes deeper to shine a light on the flaws of the industry, especially its quality control, and focus on artistic aspects rather than technical aspects of the music. I won’t go too much into it, but if you look at the album as an entire package, I guarantee you’ll be able to tell the difference.
 
And there’s just something special about Rosie’s voice that keeps you coming back for more. Clear, light and sweet at some points yet strong and warm at others, it is a musical reflection of her gentle personality, belying a tough interior. Sweet yet uncloying, I could listen to it for hours on end and not tire.  Listen to “Set me on fire” to hear her clear and smooth vocals, “Whole lot of yellow” for her awesome vocal range and “怎麼還不愛Why not love” for her versatile vocal range. Even collaborating with the likes of Voice of China contestant Yu Feng and member of Swedish boyband JTR Robin Lundback on her album, their starpower is no match for her delectable and versatile vocals.
 
All in all, a gem of an album I’d absolutely recommend to any listener. Rosie’s put her heart and soul into telling her story with her brand of gentle, spunky and optimistic music and as long as you’re willing to listen, I’m positive you’ll be rewarded with a unique listening experience you won’t easily forget.

Rating：4.5/5
 
Recommended songs: Set me on fire, Whole lot of yellow, 怎麼還不愛Why not love，塗鴉世界Crayon world，不忘 Never forget, 一直微笑Unbroken

其實你已經知道Dawen’s latest album “Happy or Not” would be cliché if it was by anyone other than himself. One of the happiest artists I’ve ever seen, Dawen brings a unique sunny enthusiasm to his music that is easily lapped up by listeners-myself included. However this time around his album has a catch to it, featuring songs that are either ‘happy’ or ‘not’. In other words, while still pushing out the happy numbers that we know and love, many of the other songs encompass a complex mix of emotions that fall under the ‘not’ category. Not being happy doesn’t mean you’re sad, and Dawen makes the distinction here with a selection of songs that are melancholy, reflective, disgruntled and optimistic amongst other emotions. Usually artists choose either a genre-based concept or idea-based concept for their album, but I found it impressive that Dawen managed to do both, by also featuring an adventurous combination of Ukelele music and classical music with a little R n B/hip-hop thrown in for good measure. While his first album was all about showing his personable side, “Happy or not快樂不快樂”, Dawen’s second release takes us deeper and shows that beneath his happy exterior lies a spirit that is unafraid to experiment, to be different, to share what he’s passionate about. And if that’s not something you’d want to listen to, I don’t know what is.

​Yen-J’s fifth album “Thanksgiving” is exactly what its been packaged to be. Although reminiscent of his past albums, there’s something different about this one. Wrapped in a simple package designed with a bottle of water on the front and first aid symbols, band aids and the like adorning it, this album is everything its cut up to be (pun intended)-a first aid kit for emotional boo-boos. Returning from a two year long hiatus, Yen-J is back and ready to share what he’s learned in the past two years both emotionally and artistically with listeners everywhere.
 
And impressively, I have to say the concept has certainly reached me loud and clear. Before I had even watched a couple of his interviews to understand fully the concept of this album, I had already understood it only after a couple of listens. The first time I listened to it, from the moment it started till the moment the tenth track finished, I didn’t do anything except listen. For those of you who know me, I’m a workaholic who is usually thinking about multiple things at once and trying to handle them all at the same time. My album review time consists of my drives from point A to B and usually while I’m multitasking on other things. But not this time. For some reason, the moment his music began playing, it was like every single muscle in my body had released all their tension, and I let out an audible sigh of relief. After the first listen, I have to say that Yen-J fulfilled exactly what he said he was going to do, to provide his refreshing yet comforting sound that would nourish listener’s ears and minds; much like the cleansing power of water and the healing capabilities of band aids. At the same time, the album is much like his diary, charting down some of the emotional highs and lows of his two-year soul search. As an avid Yen-J fan, this album has led me to deduce with 90% certainty that he has broken up with yet another girlfriend, and has led me to extrapolate with 100% delusional conviction that I now have a chance with the creative wunderkind. (YES!)
 
But let’s compose ourselves for a moment and get back to the music. In describing the album I’d have to say that its sound is same and at the same time, somehow different. All Yen-J’s signature elements are in the mix, including his crowd-pleasing ballads such as “一直給Thanksgiving” , “垃圾桶Rubbish Bin” , “You are my everything你是我的全部” and “過往The past”, his Jazz influence coming into play with “沒有不可能的事Nothing is impossible” and also a bit of his penchant for hip hop and Chinese traditional sounds thrown into the mix with “輕輕Lightly”. Yen-J has always been a creative individual who has dealt with much of his music in a truly organic way which I really appreciate. From the melody to the lyrics to the arrangement, nothing sounds like its been forced out of an industrialised pump or edited to within an inch of its life.

Not much has been let out yet, but this marks Sodagreen's long-awaited 'Winter' album to complete their 'four-seasons' album set. They've already released their crisp first single, 'Everyone', a luxurious orchestral-based track written in English, with the music video shot in Berlin.