Charlotte Aitchison, a 20 years old Hertfordshire-born pop ambition machine, started her very own band at the age of 8, in the midst of a playground in Essex. At the age of 14, Charli then began to musically expand by recording some “fucking terrible Myspace music” and have released a studio album entitled 14 and loads of free tunes on Web, gaining quite the attention from Pitchfork Media, which kindly gave her a spot at the 35th Best Tracks of 2011. Seven years later, the “would-be 90s popstar” released her highly anticipated second studio album after countless EPs and demos, to undoubtedly woo music enthusiasts. She also graced the cover of V Magazine along with quirk musicians Grimes and Sky Ferreira, the magazine labelled them as “the Musicians of the Moment”.

True Romance, a freshly released album by Charli, was rated at an average of 8 over 10 by most music medias, with a twist of being the very definition of today’s Tumblr tween society. The synthenesia glitz alongside with a passive-aggressive Dear Diary teen rant best describes Charli XCX’s current music style. Having an Internet fan-based career start, it is impossible to not to relate Charli with the Tumblr scene kids, with her jetblack hair, blue highlights, starry-night effects and cat-eye Kohl lashes, Charli represents today’s generation of teenage upheaval, pursuing the postmodern pop of the 90s and the current’s I-Don’t-Like-What-Other-People-Like approach. Her two latest singles “What I Like” and ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)“, influenced by emotive dark youthful pop has been on the spotlight since the album’s release.

Either you’re totally in love it or you hate to love it, Charli XCX is on the watch and on the verge of mainstream music existence. Well what are you all waiting for kids, love her before everyone else does!

Early this month, we experienced world of music at Esplanade’s annual Mosaic Music Festival, and for their 9th year they brought more variety of line ups from multiple genres and cultures. From international acts like Grammy Award winning jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding and soul crooner Joss Stone, to ska veterans Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra and world music performer Salif Keita, from progressive indie band Grizzly Bear to the latest elctro princess Grimes, everything we can enjoy in 10 days of travel around the ‘big durian’.

The first act we saw was the progressive rock band, comprising Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen for vocal, drummer Christopher Bear and bass guitarist Christ Taylor. For alternative music listeners, this is one of the band you can’t be missed and since they are not playing in Indonesia we thought we have to come to see them. Playing most of their tunes from their fourth album Shields including “Yet Again” and “Sun in Your Eyes”, the band entertain us with super lightning effect and soothing vocals that you can hardly hear the difference from the record. After Grizzly Bear and on the same day but different stage, we also catch the quircky cute Grimes. Even though the crowd were more into the fashion kind of sense then the artis herself, but with her fun acts and hits, the two sold out live acts brought everyone to dance with her ‘Visions’ as the second day of the festival ended.

The thing we like from music festival like this is how we can see some supports for the local acts, and appreciation by combining it as one of the ‘most things to do’ when you’re visiting Singapore. They scattered the acts around Esplanade, and not only giving great performances from Singapore own musicians but also International known acts so everyone can feel the enthusiasm of the festivals for locals and tourist around the area. Not to mention some cool local acts such as The Mighty Mighty, Hariz & Lincoln, Bright Young Things, Tabitha Nauser and other young jazz musicians.

For the second weekend, we catch this Denver married couple Patrick Riley and Aliana Moore’s at Mosaic Club stage, playing indie pop tunes from their debut album Cape Dory and second release Young and Old, they also introduces us with their new songs “Teena Marie” and “Dimming Light” which are more of an up beat and spring feel kind of songs. Even though over all wasn’t quite a punched act as we expected, but it was a nice way to spend the weekend with your friends before going else where, and we thank the festival for that. Anyway, it was our first experience traveling around here, and surely as we are now expanding ourself here to Singapore music scene, we hope to see more of what Esplanade can offer next on their calender event.

Photo Courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay & svanapaper

Gate was open at 6 pm and the front side of the venue was quickly filled with mostly young girls who were hoping to get a good sight in seeing their idol. This was the good thing about Indonesian concert, people willing to pay the price for something. In this case, waiting less than 4 hours.

The first act was Midnight Runners. This two modern funk duo from Bandung produced 80’s disco boogie sounded to heat up the ambiance  They performed a  strong instrumental hip-hop to let people who were outside the venue to know that the party has started. As Midnight Runners started their music, the crowd started flowing and packed the venue.

Next stop was C.U.T.S., another Bandung-based rock band. The band’s name stands for “Caustics Ultraist Totally Slice“. They pulled a very head-banging performance on that night, not to mention that this band was fronted by women! Their stunning vocal forced people to get up their asses. It was really a fascinating show from them. They drawn more people and drawn the attention of Claire Boucher herself. From the backstage, Claire took a peek and shout to them, “C.U.T.S is fucking awesome!!” Too bad, a very big balloon from the show’s sponsor became a party pooper when it went to the stage and knocked one of the standing microphone. Well, despite of that accident, they were not failed to bring more heat to the surface.

On Grimes South-East Asia tour, Claire Boucher brought one promising act, Ami Dang. And Ami Dang was the third performer for Grimes show. After C.U.T.S., Ami Dang with her contemporer Hindi-influenced dance-pop and Hindustani sitar, soothed the tempo of the show. Ami’s aesthetic on music sounded very unique, creative substance sensibility plus psychedelic visualization on the big screen made the calmness spreaded in the air. It’s definitely one of the exciting experience to people who have an interest on widely different musical taste. Sum up to general, it was the best choice as a kick-off whistle before the most waited act of the night, Grimes.

Approximately at 9.30 pm, the long awaited Claire Boucher came to the stage. She came with Ami Dang, who apparently sang as a backing vocal for her. She also brought two dancers on song “Circumambient” and danced with her until the rest of the show. The way this Canadian artist moved between synths, pedals, knobs, and keyboard put her on adorable appearance. “Vanessa“, “Nightmusic“, and “Oblivion” were the high point when people persuaded to dance. There were smile and laugh along with people moved their body. It was the magical touch of Grimes’ perfect beat which touched the heart, even for people who never heard her music before. Claire was being attractive, and she tried to communicate with the crowd every time she had the chance to. Well, Genesis was the climax, it was the last song to wrap up her performance  Right after that, she admitted that she hate if she should go back to the backstage and people screams to ask for more so she just played the encore. That was one of a great concert we ever went to. After that she just went to the backstage and the fans were given 30 minutes time to meet and greet. That was just Claire Boucher being Claire Boucher.

Extremely unfortunate, the choice for the venue was pretty much a disappointment  Grimes’ needs a place with good acoustic to prevent echoes and Pizza e Birra didn’t provide it. So, it made Grimes couldn’t give her best. Nonetheless, Claire Boucher still managed to give us something extraordinary. Her energy expressed grandeur and joy that was felt. She was capable to inspire both girls and women nowadays.

And the last from us, Happy 25^th birthday Claire Boucher! Live long and prosper!

Unlike most gigs presented by Upfront at The Bee, the Grimes performance was more of a tall tale to tell. Having no clue of how the night would end up being (12/03), the concert goers at first seemed to be in hype to catch a glimpse of the magical being, Claire Boucher, and her sensational sounds. The place was quickly filled with crowd dressed in bizarre and deviant fashion to the extent of seeing a mash of neon-colored hair, clashing colors and odd headdresses,was not a new sight to see. There were spotted a few of whom appears to be below 18 fans that came to the venue on purpose, to have a chance to meet Claire even though the signs outside the entrance showed that it is a strict 18+ show. Claire Boucher is very concerned about this sort of regulation, in her tweets, she was eager to be fair to the fans. From her previous twitter updates, it even showed that she put up a guest list for those who couldn’t attend the concert, especially those who are below 18. Judging from Claire’s enthusiasm and hospitality, there were high expectations from the fans for an intimate meet & greet after the show finishes. Needless to say, people were definitely ready to paint the town in red.

The doors were open at 8 pm, although not all of the people were eager to seek frontrow, and for a good reason, since Grimes’ opening started an hour later than it was supposed to. After tediously waiting for a sign of when the concert will start, Ami Dang, a Hindi-influenced dancepop musician (or she calls it as “Bollywave”), made an attempt to start up the longing crowd with her songs that had an ethnic delicacy of its own. Although the music itself was contagiously alluring, the sitar and the Indian lyrics appeared to be out of place in the type of venue it was held in.

Having to think that Grimes was up next shortly, the crowd was unfortunately left to wait (again) for another hour or so. The place turned dead during those times, tired feets started to tap impatiently and people were starting to find a spot to sit and settle while waiting for the magical Elf to appear. The lightings of the venue were starting to ache the eyes, along with the repeated playlist that turned lifeless and people were getting wearier by the minute. In the midst of all the misfortunes, a climax calamity emerged with Claire’s tweet about her getting food poisoning. Clouded with disappointments yet couldn’t help but feel bad about Boucher’s trip to Kuala Lumpur was welcomed with an ill-fated case of food poisoning, there was nothing to do but wait. Again.

It was about 11 pm, when Claire finally arrived to the venue filled with anticipating fans. The crowd was instantly reenergized once a glimpse of Grimes was seen. Claire went up the stage along with a sincere apology of how messed up the night was and that she was given a shot to somewhat help her with the food poisoning. Wearing an 80’s inspired headdress with floral print skirt and slippers, Claire appeared to be bubbly as ever and fit as a fiddle then started the night with her first song, ”Symphonia IX“. Vanessa was up next, and the recently enliven crowd was cheering in amusement, amongst of them were singing along to the lyrics. Claire’s jigglypuff-ish voice radiated the place as the song was being performed exquisitely. A song from her album “Visions“, Circumambient, was played with a very distinct tune that sounded futuristic and escalated the mood. In contrast with how it may give the idea that Claire was just “pushing buttons”, seeing her energy and how she glows in the live performance, it was without a doubt that Claire is a radiant musical prodigy.

“Oblivion” was the fourth song chosen, with Claire’s energy that seemed to be infinite and her dance moves that were enchanting in a peculiar way, it felt that the long hours were worth the wait. Nevertheless, the performance was not exactly candy for the eye, since the stage’s lighting was poorly lit, making it hard to enjoy at its full dimension. “Nightmusic” was played next, before “Be A Body”, where poor Claire had to run backstage to disgorge. Going back and forth with a bin in hand, Claire’s enthusiasm and drive to give the people a good show made it even easier to adore. Another crowd-pleaser, “Genesis“, was performed flawlessly with bubbles being blown above. “Phonesex” was chosen to be the finale, it was very unfortunate that the show is cut short due to the glitch that took place. Realizing the whole shenanigan with Claire’s health condition, encore was definitely out of the question; still, with the given situation, Grimes’ performance was beyond expectation.

With cancelled meet & greets, a fairly short setlist and a bad case of food poisoning, still, Claire Boucher did not fail to make us elves head over heels for her and her music. Eventhough she was not in her best condition, she gave us all. We are sure if She was being really well on that night, she would be giving a two-fold magical show to her fans in Kuala Lumpur. (Made Sania)

1. Sandy Garossino is Claire’s mother who ran as an independent candidate for Vancouver City Council in 2011. Ms. Garossino has twitter and Claire said on an interview with nardwuar that she want to block her mom on twitter. Her mom calls her “Baby Girl”.

2. Claire has two younger biological brothers and two step brothers and they are all into music. Claire’s oldest step brother is a rapper under the name Jay Worthy

3. She’s co directed her video clip ‘Vanessa” and spent 60$ on budget. Claire get influenced by K-Pop

4. Claire likes GD&TOP and her favourite song is Knock Out which the collaborative work between GD&TOP and the famous Diplo.  Also Claire said that G-Dragon and BIGBANG videos inspired her for making Genesis video.

5. Mariah Carey inspired her a lot and Mariah Carey is one of the reasons she started ‘Grimes’

6. On an interview with Pitchfork, she said Her biggest influences are Aphex Twin, the Dungeon Family, and OutKast

7. She studied russian literature and then changed into neuroscience at McGill University but never finishes her study

8. Claire began recording experimental music while attending McGill University, where she became involved with the underground electronic and industrial music scene.

9. She recorded Visions during a nine days fast without food, sleep, or company

10. The song “Vowels = space and time” was actually her angrily writing about the fact that people were always getting on her for not writing songs about things.

And yeah those are ten fun facts you need to know about Claire Boucher before you catch her show tonight (in KL) or next Saturday (in Jakarta). See you there!!

 Ps: Thanks to Ersa for helping us in wrapping up this trivia article.

With her unique voice, a bit of electric James Blake-y sounds, and her tricky wordplay, We are pretty sure that Lorde will be the Next Big Thing from NZ after Kimbra.

Earlier this month (01/02) her song Royals made to number one on The George FM (NZ Local Radio) top 5. The good news is you can download The Love Club for free on Lorde’s soundcloud. Seriously, go download it before its too late.

How To Dress Well :

Another diamond in the ceaseless pool of self-recording and lo-fi indie musicians who wants to make it big in the real world, How to Dress Well has definitely caught the hearts of many music enthusiasts with his ethereal/R&B sounds, embraced in a distant falsetto vocals. Fellow indie music fanatics in Kuala Lumpur will have the chance to watch Tom Krell perform his faultless tunes in a live intimate setting brought by The Bee at Publika.

As a philosophy graduate from Brooklyn, Tom Krell started his music career by uploading free EPs from The Eternal Love in a blog project that has captured the attention of the online audience and gained fans along the way. How to Dress Well finally released an official album debut, Love Remains, in the fall of 2010, with some tracks that were released in the very first EP. Being described as ambient yet cryptic and melancholic; almost to the point of being devastating, How to Dress Well have turned heads of the music reviewers, giving very positive response towards his first album. Love Remains was also rated as 19th in Pitchfork Media’s list of The Top 50 Albums of 2010.

Continuing his emerging eminence, How to Dress Well released Just Once EP in 2011 and Total Loss in 2012 as his second studio album. Though having undergone a slightly risky change of music style, progressing from being emotional with the intentionally static audio effect into a more synth, radiant and refined aesthetic, How to Dress Well has successfully satisfied the listeners and reviewers, including singles such as Cold Nites and & It Was You. The second album, which has also received mostly a four-star rating from renowned critics, was listed as 33rd Top 50 Album by Stereogums.
Upfront Series by The Bee at Publika is kindly inviting us to live-witness the ambient How to Dress Well on the first of March of 2013. Judging from previous gigs from the Upfront, it is undeniable that Tom Krell’s performance will be just as tempting and heart-throbbing, so don’t miss it!

Date : Friday, March 1st, 2013
Venue: The Bee, Publika, Kuala Lumpur
Tickets: RM 78
Tickets on sale at The Bee Outlets (Jaya One and Publika) and Rock Corner, Bangsar Village 1. Entrance opens at 8 pm. Fair warning that this intimate event is 18+.

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Grimes :

Kuala Lumpur’s music enthusiasts are indeed lucky in these premature weeks of a new year. Upfront, a series of intimate live-show brought by The Bee, Publika, will be presenting another indie sensation, Grimes, as the next star after previously holding both successful gigs of 65daysofstatic and The Vaccines.
Claire Boucher, or popularly known as Grimes, will be touring around Asia starting from early March 2013, radiating her psychedelic-pop sound to countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.

Harmonized in a fluctuating way between contemporary synths and classic baby-voice vocals, Grimes have proven to create a musical genre of its own, described by Boucher herself as “ADD music”, adapting its frequently changing characteristics. Her live performance does not only have the sense of musical escalation, but more of a visual art performance as Grimes herself is not only a talented musician but a visual artist/director.
Debuting with her first album, Geidi Primes, in 2010, followed by her second album, Halfaxa in the same year, Grimes continues to stun indie-tronic fans with her out-of-the-world music with her newest album, Visions, released in the January 2012. Visions has received a great deal of attention and successfully listed amongst the Best Album of the Year, which The Guardian described it as “a masterpiece in gonzo pop that is weird, original and derivative at the same time.”

Influenced by quite a few drastically distinct music styles, starting from electronic, pop, goth, R&B, and even medieval, Grimes ascends with Vanessa and continues to impress the musical industry with two of her hypnotizing songs Oblivion and Genesis, from her album Visions. Her sense of visual and self-directing music videos is also one of the charms of Claire Boucher, as being very different and unpredictable in the current music scene.

Upfront presents Grimes
Date  :    March 12th, 2013
Venue  :    The Bee, Publika, Kuala Lumpur
Tickets :
 Presale tickets – RM108 (sold out)
 Regular sale tickets – RM128
Tickets on sale from December 15th, 2012 at The Bee Outlets (Jaya One and Publika) and Rock Corner, Bangsar Village 1. Entrance opens at 8 pm. Fair warning that this intimate event is 18+.
So are you already fired up for a psychedelic and alien-influenced sound of the enigmatic Grimes? Then go and get the tickets, pronto, as it will be one of Upfront’s yet another not-to-miss live events.