[FEATURE]: The Piano Guys

Nowadays, there so many independent artists you can found everywhere, especially in the internet, just search in YouTube and you'll see hundreds of them, making covers and showing amazing talents, how I wish I was among them but sad to say I don't have the talent but then again I'm good with just listening to them. :)

So for tonight's post I want to feature my newly discovered group of artists, ThePianoGuys. Believe me when I say that they make an amazing instrumental covers because they really DO! I'm glad that I was able to accidentally discover this people because now they are among my favorite YouTube artists along with Sungha Jung!

So what's their story? 

The Piano Guys started out as a piano store in the small town of St. George, Utah. One day while Paul was selling pianos, Jon Schmidt walked in and asked if he could use a piano to practice before a concert. Paul was blown away by his talent and they began to create music videos together. At first the videos were very basic, but as time went on we created more and more involved productions. After we filmed a few videos with Jon, he introduced us to Steven Sharp Nelson, a cellist who was beyond anything we had ever seen. Jon and Steve had been performing together for several years, and we could see that together we'd all make a great team. The rest is history in the making. [excerpt: http://thepianoguys.com/music/]

Though I find it a bit humorous that they call their group as ThePianoGuys where in fact there is one Cellist among them. Hehe, just saying.

I really enjoy watching these people doing those beautiful instrumental covers that they make, not just because that they make great videos with all the setting, quality and everything but because of how obviously seen in their faces that they enjoy doing it and that's what I like about them. Seeing how much they appreciate creating such music just for the world to hear is a very fine deed to regard.

Right now they asking for help"to be able to take what we've been doing locally on a more global level -- playing concerts, holding workshops, and speaking to young people to encourage them to pursue life to its fullest and to make good music an integral part of their lives" excerpt from http://thepianoguys.com/music/, and I for one support these agenda, that's why if you want to give your own support, feel free to visit there website: http://thepianoguys.com  

So here's a teaser for you, Thousand Years by Christina Perri instrumental cover. It's one of my favorites among their instrumental covers so I hope you like it. Enjoy! =)

Again & Again...

 

Can you imagine how much I've been hibernating and been out from this blog, oh yeah, I guess you do but don't grill me about it please (I'm on my knees now actually).  I hope you still here with me in TMB.

By the way,

HAPPY EID MUBARAK!

to all my Muslim viewers out there!

Moving on...

Anyway, I want to share to you guys this one soundtrack from the Korean Drama 'Love Rain'.  (This song had been stuck on my head for quite some time now).

Now let me tell you how I came into this soundtrack when I actually haven't even watch the drama series before and I honestly think that I haven't even heard it before 'till I dream about the piano instrumentals of it, yeah, right, I've heard it from my dream (which pretty much what I want to believe but my sister don't agree) and what's more intriguing about it is that I even remember it and I can't even get it out my head. It's like LSS or in other words 'Last Song Syndrome' (I don't know if your familiar with that term. It's not really a medical term, it's actually just a made-up word, it's something my friends and I made, haha, It's just actually means that it's a syndrome where you keep on thinking or singing a song you have heard recently/lately and you can't get it out of your head.) Anyway, It happen a couple of weeks ago, and as usual I was asleep, (usually I remember my dreams or bits of it, I don't know why but as long as it's a nice one and not a nightmare then I don't mind). Then one night, my sister was playing music on her phone, I can't just stop on what I'm doing and listen intently to music, it was her that told me that it was actually a soundtrack from a Korean Drama entitled, Love Rain, & guess who is the main male protagonist? It's Jang Geun Sook! If you remember my post few years back, I made this post from a drama that he starred also, hehe, just telling. Anyway, it was then that I finally found the title of the music, Again & Again, which is my title post for today. 

The opening of the music is very catching to say the least since it pretty much stuck in me and I really like the meaning behind the lyrics of the song. Really, I think Korean/Japanese Dramas makes the most heart rendering soundtracks from what I've heard from every dramas I've watched.

So here's the video of the song with the lyrics credits by belcuore88.

I really want to share you guys it's piano instrumental but sadly I can't find anything like it but then again I found it's guitar instrumental, so I hope you'll like it, though I personally would love if the mp3 version I'm sharing with you is the piano version but this version isn't that bad at all, it's actually a very jolly & vibrant version of the music. So hope you enjoy it! =)

Again & Again (guitar instrumental)

And oh, I'll be going to Malaysia & Singapore next month! I'm so EXCITED! Hehe, just saying :) I hope I can meet some of my listeners/readers here in TMB, if that's possible! Have great day everyone! Happy Muslim Holiday!

[JOURNAL]: Another Usual Rambling...

Hi everyone! It's good to see that this blog is doing fine even though I've been constantly absent and I can't believe that after almost four years since I've started it, it had reach 100,000+ viewers around the world!!! I can't even express how much I'm thankful for everyone's support even though I have so many lapses that I think that I owe to most of my readers & listeners here but still you've been very supportive with your constant visits (though I think that a thousand or two is just me, constantly checking this blog every now and then, LOL). 

To those who are contacting me through my email, thank you for your mails! It's really encouraging that I get to hear from my readers =) also I want to inform everyone who are contacting me at my Facebook account that for now, I currently deactivated my account due to some personal reasons but I promise I'll be back at August or September this year but feel free to email me or contact me at Twitter since its the only social network I'm using for now. 

Anyway, for today's post, it's kinda obvious that I will be posting something here to share with you people. Actually, it's one of the soundtrack of a movie I've watch last night, I know you are familiar with the movie 'The Phantom of the Opera', last time I've watched this movie was around my last year in grade school and I  fairly can't remember anything about it much less what the story is about that's why I've thought of seeing it last night and it turns out that it's good that I did since I feel in love with the music much more with Phantom himself, Gerarld Butler really has a great voice especially when he sang 'Music of the Night'. If you haven't seen the movie or forgot about it, I suggest that you watch it sometime, it's really a great movie!

So for today, I'm sharing you guys an intrumental version of one of the soundtrack of the movie, 'Think of Me', the one that Christine Daae sang first in the movie, I got the music from YouTube user, HelenaKoonings so credits for this mp3 to her. I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Think Of Me 

(The Phantom Of Opera)

If ever I get hold of the whole instrumental soundtrack of the movie, I'll promise to share it with you guys so for now, let this one soundtrack be your teaser. 

[FEATURE]: Cecile Corbel

Now I want to introduce you guys to someone I've recently discovered.

It took me quite a few months to find the album of Ghibli's latest movie The Borrower's Arrietty Soundtrack, I know you know how I'm a big fan of the production but you can't blame me because they make great animation and soundtrack, anyway, back to the topic, I finally got hold of the album! *doing a happy dance* :) So I was listening & looking through it and I notice the name of the composer , the name was quite new to me because I'm usually (a little bit) familiar with Studio Ghibli's composers & musicians so this new name perks my interest of who the person is. So I've done a bit of research.

Meet Cecile Corbel, a French-Breton singer & harper. (If your wondering what Breton is, it means a Celtic language of Brittany which is a northwestern province in France). She has already released four original albums and has worked for Studio Ghibli as a composer for the The Borrower's Arrietty 2010 Film.  She became known to Ghibli filmmakers when she sent them a fan letter showing her appreciation of their films, together with a copy of her own album. After hearing the album of her music she had sent them, they thought they should collaborate with her for the music of this film. [Info Credits to Wikipedia] The movie's main theme "Arrietty's Song" has not only been composed by her but she also sang it in English, Japanese, French, German & Italian.

I'm really fascinated by her right now but what I really like about her the most is that she plays the harp! I mean, I love piano, violin, cello & guitar but a music played in harp, for me, it sounds pretty surreal & mystically beautiful, it makes me think of how you would portray an Angel or a Nymph be playing with an instrument. 

To be honest, if you listen to her music, you would somehow want to put her into groups with Enya but I'm not saying that she's really like her, my point is, they both make a very different kind of music, one that is utterly surreal, the kind of impression that it is somehow like fantasy, and at the same time magically beautiful~haha, I know, I suck with my description (very cheesy) but that's how close I can literally explain it.

(This video is the theme song from the movie The Secret World of Arrietty)

(I personally like this MV. I don't know why but it gives me a feeling that I'm watching something out from reality but at the same time it's eerily beautiful. And oh, the song is actually one of her originals.) 

Don't worry, I'll be sharing you guys more of her songs soon. For now, enjoy listening to the videos.

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

So I was browsing Alex's blog awhile ago and guess what album I come across with? It's kinda amusing that after all this years, the one album that had me to start liking Classical music is this, comes smiling back at me at my screen: 

It's actually my sister who owns it and gotten it as freebie from her kid's pediatrician all-while back when I was still in grade school. I just can't help but smile about it since I can still remember how I can't even pronounce 'Tchaikovsky' and guess what track is my favorite in this album, haha, I guess it's already obvious since I've given the name of the composer and also the fact the I made the track title as my today's post title.

Tchaikovsky's The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

I could still remember how I was so into this piece since every time I play it, I always think the animation movie 'Barbie in the Nutcracker' and back then I was obsessed with it and don't try to blame me because I was a little girl back then who loves Barbie movies but not the actual doll because that freaks me out. I was never really the little girly princess as a kid but there's no harm in daydreaming about it especially if you have a handsome Prince Charming in it, haha.

The album was really the first thing that made me love Classical music, I think. I could still remember how I would close my eyes and listen to it carefully because back then it was the kind of music that I don't listen or hear around me everyday and back then I always find it fascinating, mysterious and out of the my-own world music. 

If you want to download the whole album, do visit Alex blog, All Music for Soul, and here's a direct link to the Album, just CLICK ME.

Good Eve!