Don't Look Back

Whew, it's been such a hectic last week of November. Taking some time off to talk about the great music of November! Before continuing to do work of course. Hahaha. Alright here goes!

Great Music of November

- Line by Line EP by PREP

- Birthplace by Novo Amor (album)

- Play by Jax Jones (Featuring Years and Years)

- Foreign Hands by George Ogilvie

Song of the month: Line by Line by PREP

Alright there isn't many music I discovered in November actually. But I was really excited when PREP announced the release of their 3rd EP (and second one for the year), which was released on 9th November! Few days before their gig in Jakarta haha. Well they did say on their Instagram that new music was on the way, I wasn't expecting an EP so yes, what a lovely surprise indeed!

Well like I said in my previous post, there isn't a single song that I dislike from PREP, and their 3rd EP is no exception. It's such an awesome and another feel good EP as usual. I would say it's kind of a marriage between their first two EP? But then again, every PREP song is unique on its own. And so far I can't really pin-point their music. Like when I recommend them to my friends, and they asked back with "what does their music sound like?" I would say I don't know man, PREP sounds like PREP hah!

Novo Amor released his debut album Birthplace back in October actually. I just discovered this back in early November heh. I think it's such an incredible debut album from him! I like how the tracks seem to flow one by one throughout the whole album. And gosh I love his voice haha. I remember discovering him through his song Anchor last year I think, when it appeared on my recommended tab on YouTube. Been looking forward to more music from him, and this album doesn't disappoint!

Jax Jones released his song featuring Y&Y a few days ago and it's such a great tune! Love how the visuals of him and Olly dancing together really fits the song well I guess haha.

And one of the new singers I discovered this month is George Ogilvie! My Spotify radio was playing when his song "Foreign Hands" played. I love his voice and also the lyrics of this song! Clicked on his profile to listen to more of his music and damn, I instantly become his new fan haha. Another song that I like from him is Surveillance. Looking forward to more music from him.

Right that's all for this month's great music! We have one more month to this year and hmm come to think of it I don't really have new music to look forward to in December heh. Well usually I just listen to the songs that accompanied me throughout the year, and to also reflect on the music of 2018. I'd say 2018 is a fantastic year for music whoop! Lots of surprise releases and also discovered quite a few new artists/bands. Stay tuned for my great music of 2018 post next month!

Alright, it's been quite a hectic last week of November, and I still got a few exciting days ahead of me. Stay with me, universe. Lets push through everything to a beautiful fruition. I hope you had a great November! Let us all end this year beautifully shall we :) See you soon! 

26 Years Young

I know this sounds weird, but there are time where I actually have to remind myself that I'm a 26 year old man. Not because I feel old. But because I feel like people around me don't think I'm a 26 year old guy. Or maybe because my mind thinks/feels people around me acts that way hah!

Maybe it's because I'm brought up in a traditional, family-oriented Asian family, where child-parents relationship is always kept at an all-time high haha. Or is it because I was brought up quite strictly when I was young. So even up till today, I behave like a "kid" to my parents, even though I'm big now.

Okay there's something that happened that made me talk about this haha.

So yes 10 days ago I went to see PREP in Jakarta. I only told my parents that I'm going to Jakarta a day earlier (the plan was to go on the 15th) 3 days before the trip (on Sunday). I don't know why but... I'm "scared" (?) to tell my parents that I'm going to Jakarta for a gig? And guess what I actually told them a white lie heh. I told them that I'm going a day earlier to meet my friend, a secondary school friend from Singapore whom I never met in a long time. Well I did meet Wilus for the concert HAHAHA.

And also I didn't tell them that I am taking a train to go to Jakarta, because our driver is going to pick my worker's wife who will be joining us for the shopping errand on Thursday. And also I'd seriously rather take the train cause it's much more comfortable and also reliable (no traffic jams with trains heh). On Tuesday night, my mum asked me what time I was leaving tomorrow. And I told her that I'm taking the 1030 AM train. And she was shocked. She was like "Alone? How are you going to go to Jakarta from Bogor? How are you spending the night?" and she looked worried and everything.

I was like well mum I have taken so many trips to Jakarta by train alone and I know how. Also I'm meeting one of my workers there (cause even though I know how to go to Jakarta, I don't know how to get around the city haha). I was feeling rather annoyed cause I feel like I'm being treated like a kid -.- I was like telling my mum "Mum I'm big already, you don't have to be so worried seriously"

But well to be frank, my parents are never over-protective of their children. Just that sometimes they get worried about me doing things "out of the norm". Since I usually go to Jakarta with a car. Also there's this weird thought that they have, where I shouldn't do things alone. I remember back in 2013 when I told them that I'm seeing Sigur Ros Live in Jakarta they're both like shocked. They even asked if I want my sister to go with me, even though she obviously doesn't want to cause it's not her kind of music.

Like I told them in Singapore I always do things alone. I watch movies alone, I eat alone and I'm fine. I don't always need someone to accompany me to do things. I think nobody absolutely needs either.

So yes returning to my first point - sometimes I have to remind myself that I am a 26 year old man. This incidence made me think of two things. Firstly, why do I have to feel scared to tell my parents whenever I want to go somewhere/go out of town to do things? Secondly, why do my parents still feel worried about me doing some things, and treat me still like a kid?

The night after I told my parents that I'm going to Jakarta a day earlier (with lots of relief), I asked myself why do I have to be "scared"? I was like... Adhi, you're a 26 year old guy and you should be able to make decisions on your own. You should be able to go to places you want to go to without your parent's consent. Sure, informing them is important too, they know what you're doing. But sometimes I feel like do I even need my parent's approval to do things that are leisure in nature heh.

Which reminds me of something. When I was in Singapore, I know someone from the UK who traveled across Southeast Asia alone by herself when she was 18. Also how I have a friend from the US who went to India alone by himself when he was 20 I think. Okay I'm not sure how the parents of my two friends react when they tell them they're going to travel. But you can see the difference right haha. 

Here I am, taking a train to Jakarta, which is like 4 hours of travel time from my hometown, and my mum is worried like as if I'm flying somewhere far heh. And you know what the weirdest things is? They're never worried about me when I was in Singapore! Maybe it's because they know Singapore is safe etc. And also the fact that they couldn't see what I was doing when I was in Singapore (oops).

I mean... I went to Sweden alone to meet my sister in 2009, and I did have my fair share of solo travel experiences to places I've never been before .Even though yes, these decisions are still met with a pair of wide eye from my parents, but... You get what I mean. I am old enough to take care of myself.

I know it's the nature of parents to get worried of their kids. They want their kids to be well, to be safe and so on. But I think it's also important for parents to have trust in their children, that they are old enough to be responsible for themselves. Like I seriously won't do stupid things that would do harm to me. Also to those who know me, I am a very paranoid person. I will usually do quatro-checks to make sure that I'm not doing something that would be detrimental to me and others.

Also perhaps, maybe I'm not the only one who experiences this. Perhaps a bunch of my Asian friends are experiencing the same thing too heh. But well to be honest these days I don't feel as "scared" as last time. Now I don't even ask my parents for consent. I just told them "Mum, dan I'm going to ______". My dad would most of the time go "oh okay" but my mum sometimes will look apprehensive heh.

Well whatever the case is, I still respect my parents. Although I wish that sometimes they can give me more space. We live in a world with contrasting cultures and beliefs. If you compare my scenario to the scenario of people in the Western world, you can't help but to also feel puzzled to justify which one is more rightful? Well only life can find out haha. And yeah, I think I'm still going to give myself bouts of reminders that I am a 26 year young man. Or 26 year old man. Or both.

Full of Dreams

A Head Full of Dreams

Last Wednesday while I was in Jakarta for PREP, I took the chance to also catch the Coldplay documentary "A Head Full of Dreams" which was showing for one day only worldwide on the 14th of November! When I saw the announcement I quickly bought a ticket from CGV, which thankfully has a branch in Pacific Place. Also thankfully the timing didn't clash! I caught the one at 16:30.

Well I would say it was an amazing documentary. I'm so thankful that Matt Whitecross, the director of the film, decided to document the life of Codplay since their beginning. The documentary really shows how Coldplay was formed, their trial and tribulations, and of course their journey. From doing gigs in a small pub, to sold-out stadiums worldwide. It literally is a movie about a head full of dreams!

There's no way we can deny that Coldplay is one of the greatest bands of my generation. A lot of people around the world grew up with them. And I am pretty sure they will be like the "Beatles" of our parents. Like how my parents talk about how much they love the Beatles in their 50s. When we are in our 50s, we'll probably talk to people about how much we love Coldplay haha.

There is also a central theme, in my opinion, that surround the movie. It is about manifestation... Am I the only one who thinks about this? I like how Chris Martin has this image of the band. How the 4 of them will be big in 20 years time, how they will get signed, and this and that. And somehow all of these words come true! Of course, the band has worked really hard all of these years. There's also a theme of not giving up, of always having hope. Which is essentially what their latest album is all about.

I was a bit surprised when Chris said that "this is just a beginning" at the end of their AHFOD tour in Sao Paulo. But after watching the documentary, I truly understand what he meant! :)

I hope you can give this a watch, it's on Amazon Prime videos I think. Their live album and DVD is coming out on 9th December! Thank you Matt for making such a beautiful documentary of my favourite band on earth. If the universe allows, I want to see them live one more time :)

Ending off this post with the lyrics from A Head Full of Dreams!

"When you get a head full of dreams, 

you can see the change you wanted

be what you want to be"

PREP Live in Jakarta

PREP Live in Jakarta!

Hello hello! Well I just returned... Not really just returned. But yes I got back from Jakarta last night catching PREP live in Jakarta on Wednesday, and also doing some shopping errands on Thursday! Man, PREP's gig was so so awesome. Still thinking about it, and probably will take some more days to move on from it haha. They're my favourite band that I discovered in the recent years.

Anyway I went to Jakarta on Wednesday via train, cause I'll be rendezvous-ing with my worker on Thursday for the shopping errands. Love taking train rides to Bogor, and now I'm kind of familiar with the KRL (Jakarta metro) system, although I'm still pretty clueless about Jakarta itself haha. Before the show I went to catch Coldplay's documentary, A Head Full of Dreams which was co-incidentally showing for one day only on the 14th. I'll talk about that on a separate post!

After the movie I met up with Wilus first before the gig. Wow man it's been almost 9 years since we both last met! We probably last met back in Tanglin while I was taking my O Level results back in 2010 haha. I remembered meeting with some of the Indon peeps on that day. Anyway glad to know she's doing well in Jakarta now! We had lots of catching up and also talking about music and gigs.

The gig was held in Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta. The venue is kinda small but I thought it was a good venue cause the show felt more intimate and fun, moving alongside with the other fans haha. I caught PREP last year at Kampoeng Jazz and it was such an awesome show. They sound really good live. And this gig is no different. They played all of their songs from the 3 EPs and they sound so good T_T

Ollie Weston killing it with the sax solo

Not gonna go into details but some of my favourite songs are Line By Line from their new EP, Don't Bring Me Down from Cold Fire, and to end everything, singing along to Cheapest Flight with the rest of the audience. Definitely one of the highlights of 2018! There isn't a single song that I don't like from them. So to see them play every song from the EP is really like bliss to me. 

Thank you PREP for signing my Futures EP booklet!

And Tom for the photo (sigh, I want to take a photo with the band!)

After the show there was a signing session and we were all queuing for the moment! The VIP ticket holders are given priorities to go in first so we patiently waited to go in. The 4 members of PREP are such a friendly and humble bunch! Had a good time talking to them, and Tom, the vocalist, actually remembered me from Kampoeng Jazz! He was like I think I remembered you, we were at that white tent signing stuff hahaha. No photo with the whole band but got a photo with Tom! 

Great to see you again, Wilus!

Thank you PREP for coming to Jakarta and for the incredible show. Well at least I don't have to take a cheapest flight, just a (second) cheapest train ticket to catch em live mwahaha. I hope to see you again one day in Indonesia! And also thank you Wilus for coming to the gig with me! What a great way to meet after such a long time of not meeting one another haha. All the best to you in Jakarta :)

Then I headed back to the hotel and went to do the shopping errand the next day.

Well, like I mentioned for WTF'18, music has always been my escape. It's great to take a break just for that one hour plus and enjoy some great music. To quote the song that started it all:

"I'll take one more sleepless night, and I'm on the cheapest flight to give my head a chance to clear"

Thank you PREP!

Line By Line

PREP just released their 3rd EP on Friday and I am currently hooked with every song! I'll be seeing them live on Wednesday with Wilus and I can't wait for it arrgghhh. Okay short random post. See you with the concert post haha. I always look forward to seeing PREP live. It's an awesome experience!

Weird Dreams

Okay I know this is a weird way to start a post in a new month but... Here's another dream diary entry. I've been having weird dreams, in fact, 3 nights in a row! I can't remember the dream I had last night but it was weird. But the dreams I had back 2 nights ago are still vivid in my head.

Here goes. So on Friday night when I went to bed... I dreamt that I was in Amazing Race! Or something like that. Basically a traveling reality show thingy. I was with my cousin, Febi, and as usual we had to do some challenges to get our next clue for the next destination. The weird thing was I don't know where we were, all I know was that our first challenge was to try this traditional Chinese medicine treatment method. And there was a lady assisting me who speaks with a thick Chinese accent so... 

I assume I was in China or something haha.

The "treatment" involved me entering this hot water tub. After that she threw some leeches in! WTH haha. Apparently it was some acupuncture method but instead of needles, it was leeches. The weird thing was that I can feel "sensations" while I was dreaming. Not sure how, it felt really real. And the worst part was... After they sucked my blood, they turn into centipedes -.- Anyway I finished the challenge and we were happy because we were the first team. Then I woke up.

And on Saturday night I dreamt of going back to Singapore! But it was a super weird dream... Like I was actually walking in my hometown, on this particular street I know. After walking for a while, I just told myself "Hmm I want to go back to Singapore". And after a few turns I actually arrived in Somerset 313 WTF HAHAHA. And I was feeling really sad because my favourite CD shops were closed down already? And it was like 12 PM and I called Jeslyn if she wanted to have lunch. 

Weird weird dreams really.

Okay sorry for the weird post to welcome this new month of November! Can't believe we're in the last two months of the year already. 2018 will soon come to an end and a new year is dawning upon us. 2018 has been a weird year. Can't really put it into words. Well I'm just seriously hoping that the rest of the year will go and end beautifully. And not weirdly heh. Hope you had a great October. Wishing you a beautiful epilogue to this year too! Seize the day, take care and see ya :)