Happy Birthday Jasper Liu 劉以豪! Single & MV for A Kind of Sorrow 有一種悲傷 is now released

Happy Birthday to the adorable Jasper Liu, who has been working tirelessly over his birthday weekend! Having recently embarked on a solo singing career, Jasper has released his single (and MV), A Kind of Sorrow, today - check it out below! The song can be purchased at Line Music..

This is Jasper's first time as a solo artist. He was previously the guitarist for the indie band, Morning Call for many years until they broke up in 2017 (It was called as an indefinite hiatus.) During that time, he sung a duet called French Film with band mate Sui Ling, but he still felt rather shy about it. While I miss those band days (I was lucky enough to see Jasper perform with them on tour in 2016!) I'm looking forward to Jasper's new projects.

Morning Call 輕晨電 The Unsual Extension of Dreams Tour「夢的不正常延伸」巡迴演唱會 Announced for December

Believe it or not, out of all Jasper's projects, the one I connect with the most and keeps Jasper in the No.1 spot in my heart is Morning Call. I've been a fan of two of his big dramas, but it's really the fact that Jasper is in an alternative, dream-pop band that plays such beautiful, ambient music that really stands out the most to me in terms of his projects. In the past it's been rare to find a star who dabbles outside of the pop genre or who isn't the lead singer of a boy band....but Jasper is both. He's sung on a Morning Call track before for French Film, but is otherwise just the guitar-player making some beautifully haunting sounds.

So the one consolation when drama season ends for Jasper is that he's back with his band making music and touring! Yes. Morning Call are back on the road in December, touring around Taiwan, much like last year. They're visiting 5 different cities.  The tour dates are as follows:

The Abnormal Extension of Dreams Tour「夢的不正常延伸」巡迴演唱會 

Tour date #1 - Taichung

Date: Friday 18th December, 2015

Venue: 台中 Legacy 傳 音樂展演空間 (Legacy Taipei Music Performing Space)

Address: 台中市西屯區安和路117號 (No. 117, Anhe Rd, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407)

Tickets/ More Information: www.legacy.com.tw

Tour Date #2 - Yilan

Date: Saturday 19th December, 2015

Venue: 宜蘭 賣捌所 (The WALL)

Address: 宜蘭縣宜蘭市康樂路38號, Ilan, Taiwan 260 (No. 38, Kangle Rd, Yilan City, Yilan County, Taiwan 260)

Tickets/ More Information: thewall.tw

Tour Date #3 - Kaohsiung

Date: Friday 25th December, 2015 (Yay, Christmas!)

Venue: 高雄 LIVE WAREHOUSE (LIVE WAREHOUSE)

Address: 803, Taiwan, Kaohsiung City, 高雄市 Dayi St, 93-2號大義 街 2 之 5 號 駁 二 藝術 特區 C10 倉庫 (803, Taiwan, Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung City Dayi St, No. 93-2, 5th Street 2 split 2 Art C10 Warehouse)

Tickets/ More Information: livewarehouse.tw

Tour Date #4 - Tainan

Date: Saturday 26th December, 2015

Venue: 台南 Room335 (Room2335 Live Music Bar)

Address: 台南市中西區康樂街47號B1(近府前路), Tainan, Taiwan 703 (Tainan Western Leisure Street 47 B1 ( front near House Road ), Tainan, Taiwan 703)

Tickets/ More Information: Facebook Room335

Tour Date #5 -Taipei

Date: Friday 8th January, 2016

Venue: 台中 Legacy 傳 音樂展演空間 (Legacy Taipei Music Performing Space)

Address: 100台北市中正區八德路一段一號/華山1914創意文化園區/中5A館 (100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Bade Rd, No.1, 中五館

Tickets/ More Information:  www.legacy.com.tw

Morning Call 輕晨電 Fan Meet and Performance at The Wall

So with the fan meet over, comes a number of pictures from the band and the media representative and fans that were lucky enough to participate. The band performed the songs they've re-released so far and took photos with all their fans apparently. Here are photos of the band's performance and some video clips from the event...

I like the patterns on their matching outfits. The aesthetics of their new band image is pretty and I'm extremely happy that they're getting the recognition they deserve for their wonderful music, though this means they can't be as indie as when they first started. Still, it's a happy achievement!

SETTV entertainment news photos

iwant-radio photos

iwant-radio video clips

Introduction

French Film Performance

Behind Youth Performance

What did you think of this performance? They're definitely really experienced and smooth. I can't wait till I get to see them live one day...

Fan Meet + Performance announced for Morning Call 輕晨電

It's been a challenging few weeks, so I'm getting back to blogging slowly. For English Speaking Morning Call fans who may be in Taiwan, there's a fan meet today! It's a press conference for the band and of course, Jasper will be there. I'm not sure of the current time in Taiwan, but the details are Tuesday 18th of August at The Wall Live House. The address is Section 4, 200 Roosevelt Road, Taipei, B1 (台北市羅斯福路4段200號B1). Number tags are given out to those in the queue at 10:00am. Only the first 100 in the queue get to participate in the event. At 12:40pm, those with numbers need to show their numbers to gain admission. Activities start at 1:30pm and fans will get to take photos with the band! If it's not yet 10:00am, get in the queue quick!

Morning Call's 輕晨電 Lyrics: French Film 法國片

Morning Call have been getting real busy with a re-release for their song French Film 法國片. The new version of the song is a duet between Jasper and Sui Ling, the main singer of the band. A cute black and white, French-mime-film MV has been unleased on the world and you can purchase the song here: itunes, INDIEVOX, KKBOX, myMusic, Omusic, AMPed, DiGi music. Lyric translations down below.

New Official Music Video for French Film 法國片

 

Online performance from Official YouTube page

法國片

你迷戀片中高貴衣領

你迷戀片中諷刺揶揄

你迷戀片中迷人香氣

你迷戀片中曖昧言語

我嚮往你的翩然華麗

我貪婪你的誘惑唇形

我沉迷你的固執任性

我蒐集你的控訴神情

你始終只適合活在

三五釐米的焦距

看似傲慢的姿態

卻說著荒謬的獨白

你始終只適合活在

三五釐米的焦距

擅長浪漫的胸懷

是不著邊際的情愛

你嚮往片中曲折戀曲

我沉醉你的呢喃絮語

你迷戀片中弔詭騙局

我貪婪你的撲朔迷離

你始終只適合活在

三五釐米的焦距

看似傲慢的姿態

卻說著荒謬的獨白

你始終只適合活在

三五釐米的焦距

擅長浪漫的胸懷

是不著邊際的情愛

French Film

You're infatuated with the grand collars worn inside the film

You're infatuated with the sarcastic ridicule inside the film

You're infatuated with the enchanting fragrance inside the film

You're infatuated with the ambiguous words spoken inside the film

I look forward to your gorgeous liveliness

I have an insatiable desire to attract your lips

I am immersed in your stubborn willfullness

I gather up your accusing looks

All along, you're only suitable for just living

35cm focal length

With a seemingly arrogant attitude

But speaking a ridiculous monologue

All along, you're only suitable for just living

35cm focal length

An expert romantic mind

Is irrelevant to love

You yearn for the complicated love song inside the film

I am intoxicated by your incessant whispering chatter

You are infatuated with the bizarre scam inside the film

I have an insatiable desire for your confusing mysteries

All along, you're only suitable for just living

35cm focal length

With a seemingly arrogant attitude

But speaking a ridiculous monologue

All along, you're only suitable for just living

35cm focal length

An expert romantic mind

Is irrelevant to love

Morning Call 輕晨電 Lyrics: Deep Sleep 一切都沉睡了 Translations

This is Morning Call's (輕晨電) most recently released song, Deep Sleep (一切都沉睡了). Since I first posted this, the band has re-released the song, with a change of lyrics, a film clip and a different mix of sounds. I kinda like the softer original sound of the first version, as seen in the live performances, but the new mix is not bad either. It reminds me of Radiohead. It's kind of like having a sinister high and feeling trippy (haha, did I sell that to you guys?) 

You can now purchase the song on the following music sites and pages including itunes: itunes, INDIEVOX, KKBOX, Omusic, myMusic, QQ音樂, 蝦米音樂, 網易雲音樂. Anyway here is the old and new versions of this song below (I'm yet to do the new translations...give me a few days :D)

New Official Music Video for Deep Sleep (一切都沉睡了) 

Live Performance of Deep Sleep (一切都沉睡了) at Grasslands Festival in 2015

Live Performance of  Deep Sleep (一切都沉睡了) at The Wall in 2014

一切都沉睡了

停在原點凋落
留下契機而散播
卸下四周寂寞
遊走在邊緣的你我

時間不曾等候
埋藏記憶的承諾
放下一切守候
呢喃著思念的...

彷彿沉入深處
我不知道如何

停在原點等候
留下契機的承諾
放下一切寂寞
 呢喃著思念的輪廓

牽絆你我傷痛
剩下殘餘的遼闊
隨著時間靜默
徘徊在模糊的盡頭

彷彿沉入深處
我不知道如何
彷彿沉入深處
我不知道如何

Deep Sleep

Stop at the origin, wither and fall,
Leaving behind a moment for this to spread,
Unloading the lonliness all around,
Floating around the borders, you and I

Time never waits
Burried in the promise of memories
Letting go of everything expected
Whispered longings...

As if sinking into the depths of,
I don't know what...

Stop at the origin, wait,
Leaving behind an opportunity of promise,
Letting go of everything lonely
The silhouette of whispered longings...

Binding the sorrows of you and I
The vastness of vestiges remaining
Along with the time of silence
Lingers on vague limits

As if sinking into the depths of,
I don't know what...
As if sinking into the depths of,
I don't know what...

 一切都沉睡了(Old Version)

The old single was complete with unique art designed by the band's Bass player, Meng Shu. 



一切都沉睡了

停在原點凋落
留下契機而散播
散下四周寂寞
遊走在邊際的你我
彷彿沉入深處
我不知道如何

Deep Sleep

Stop at the origin, wither and fall, 
Leaving a moment for this to spread, 
Falling apart, lonliness all around,
Floating around the borders, you and I. 

As if sinking into the depths of, 
I don’t know what…

Morning Call's 輕晨電 Lyrics: Behind Youth 我們背對著青春 Translations. First lyric video and itunes release for Behind Youth.

All this focusing on 3 dramas at a time has meant that I haven't given much thought to Morning Call 輕晨電, one of my favourite indie bands, but also the band that Jasper is in. I've still been listening to their songs, but I haven't posted much on their activities :s Sorry, Morning Call. I still love you guys a lot.

Last year while I was on a bit of a blog hiatus, Morning Call toured around 5 cities/venues in Taiwan. They then performed at Grasslands Festival, a music festival for university students and they've been hinting about releasing songs. Now they finally have a music video for one of their songs 我們背對著青春! It's more of a lyric video with all the lyrics of the song displayed to a really awesome indie clip that moves across various filtered landscapes (Their original clip had more of a mirroring effect of urban landscapes....But since then, the band has put the clip on private, so I've linked you to their live video performance of it. Jasper was busy so they put his picture out on iphone, so he'd be there in spirit). But the aesthetics are so poetic and I just love the dreaminess of this lyrics video. Do you want a translation of the lyrics? Sure you do....It's right under the music videos and Chinese lyrics.

The other good news is that you can now listen, stream and purchase their song 我們背對著青春 on the following music sites and platforms: itunes, INDIEVOX, KKBOX, Omusic, myMusic, QQ音樂, 蝦米音樂, 網易雲音樂, AMPed,  musicStore, DiGi Music...What are you waiting for? Go buy Morning Call's new single and help support a talented Taiwanese indie band!

New Official lyric video

Online video performance from Official YouTube page

我們背對著青春

如果說這世界已沒有悲傷
如果說這世界已不需要逃亡
如果說這世界已莫以名狀
我想我終將無法歌唱

如果你離開只因看不清前方
如果你留下只因理不清立場
如果你拋下那些堆疊的景象
我想我們也因此成長

da~la~la~
人們不厭的沉溺世界的瘋狂
da~la~la~
共同成就著彼此善變的堅強

如果說這世界仍善於遺忘
如果說這世界還拘泥著夢想
如果說這世界仍吹捧著信仰
我想我終將放棄希望

da~la~la~
人們不厭的沉溺世界的瘋狂
da~la~la~
共同成就著彼此善變的堅強
da~la~la~
人們不厭的迷戀膚淺的嚮往
da~la~la~
共同成就著彼此脆弱的猖狂

我們持續聽著
屬於這時代的搖滾樂
直到彼此青春
Ah~

我們持續聽著
屬於這時代的搖滾樂
直到彼此青春
Ah~

我們持續聽著
屬於這時代的搖滾樂
直到彼此青春
Ah~

我們持續聽著

Behind Youth

If this world had no sorrows
If this world had no need for escape
If this world had no words to describe
I think I would eventually be unable to sing

If you depart only because you can't see clearly ahead 
If you leave only because the reason is not clearly positioned
If you throw down those stacked layers of scenes
I think we've also grown up consequently

da~la~la~
People don't mind indulging in the madness of the world
da~la~la~
The common achievements of each other's fickle strength

If this world remains good but becomes forgotten
If this world is still constraining shown dreams
If this world is still excessively admiring known convictions
I think I would give up hope

da~la~la~
People don't mind indulging in the madness of the world
da~la~la~
The common achievements of each other's fickle strength
da~la~la~
People don't mind indulging in the madness of the world
da~la~la~
The common achievements of each other's fickle strength

We continue listening
To the rock n' roll music belonging to this generation 
until each of us is youthful
Ah~

We continue listening
To the rock n' roll music belonging to this generation 
until each of us is youthful
Ah~

We continue listening
To the rock n' roll music belonging to this generation 
until each of us is youthful
Ah~

We continue listening

Aaron Yan 炎亞綸 and S.H.E perform in Melbourne on their Australian tour

Did I attend? You bet! I LOVE S.H.E. Ella is so awesome! Here is my experience of one of the best Taiwanese pop concerts ever. The Melbourne concert took place on Friday, May 1st at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, which sits right on the Yarra River in the heart of the city. So I knew that the concert hall would be reasonably big and pretty. I got there at 6:30pm, got my ticket scanned and then went inside. The concert was being supported by many Chinese brands, so they were all giving out vouchers and freebies and stuff...I got my free light wand (to use in the concert) and entered the hall early to find my seat.

The ticket said 7:30pm, but the concert didn't start till about 8:00pm....The lights went out and all of a sudden the screens were showing a montage of Aaron photos. As Aaron was the support act for S.H.E's tour, he was the first to perform. I was charmed by his presence and his humble, engaging style of talking and joking around. I've never been an Aaron fangirl because the timing was always amiss - I was a pretty big Wu Zhun and Jiro fangirl, then after that I watched dramas and listened to Asian music only very, very sporadically for several years, and then returned more frequently just when Pleasantly Surprised was airing...so I missed out on much of Aaron's rise to fame and his series, Just You....But this might change everything...

Aaron came out singing one of his songs, but after it was finished, he started talking to the crowd, with a "Hello Melbourne!" greeting. He talked about how it was his first time visiting Melbourne and how much he liked the place including the weather, though he'd been told that he was visiting on one of our good days...to which the crowd agreed wholeheartedly. This is a good start because Melbournians just love talking about the weather, given how unpredictable it is! He talked about asking the chauffeur that picked him up from the airport about whether there were kangeroos everywhere here and learning that it was a myth. He also talked about having dinner the night before and catching up with a good friend of his, who lived here, and how he had walked home to enjoy the city...and you could just hear every Melbourne fangirl thinking, "Where did have dinner?! Who is his friend?! and Why did I not go out for a walk last night?!" He had such a pleasant way of talking, mixing both his Chinese and English (he laughed about whether or not he'd need to repeat everything in English for us Australians...though he knew a majority of the audience were mandarin speakers.) Aaron, himself, studied English, so it wasn't taxing for him to switch back and forth casually.

Aside from his own songs, he did some fun covers, including Bruno Mar's "When I was your Man" and Bob Dylan's "Make you feel my love." Boy, did the audience want his love! During one of Aaron's talking intervals, probably the second or third one, Aaron was telling a story when one fangirl shouted out: "炎亞綸, 我愛你. 來我家!" Which translates to "I love you Aaron, come to my house!" It was so quiet that everyone in the audience heard it loud and clear and burst out laughing.

He sung really well live, hitting all his notes with his dreamy voice. But my favourite was his live version of his song "Taipei Dreamin'". He led into the song by asking the audience if they'd been to Taipei before and urging his fans to visit if they hadn't been already. He then talking about how much he loved the city having grown up, and lived there, for all his life. I liked that he was doing a bit of promoting for the country - Taiwan is one of the best, but most underrated tourist destinations. I have a long-lasting love affair with the city, so I think that song touched me the most. It also has a lovely melody, so it was stuck in my head long after the concert that night!

Another funny moment when Aaron was talking was when he somehow mentioned something about not showing himself working out on stage. This suggestion was met with the cheering of female fans...But Aaron laughed and joked that he didn't think he should be working out topless on stage because he said that there were probably many girls who had come with their boyfriends that night (makes sense as there were many male S.H.E fans in the crowd) and he didn't want the boyfriends to feel bored and annoyed. But he joked that he would consider it if he had his own tour, the next time he came out to Australia.

Aaron sung a few more songs and then drew towards the close of his performance. The last story I remembered him telling was one about how he'd once had a close friend who had had a falling out with. That friend liked to visit Melbourne a lot and it seemed they moved here eventually and stopped their contact with Aaron. They didn't speak for almost a decade or so...but when Aaron found out he was coming to Melbourne he picked up the phone and called this friend...and he found that they were the same as they'd always been. So he told the audience not to hold onto to anger, to forgive and to be happy always. It was pretty good advice, and nice of him to incorporate it into his show.

Aaron mentioned then that it was his last song...and he was, but after singing said that he had made a mistake and he would be singing two more. I think it was actually because the girls were still getting ready? But after that Aaron bid Melbourne goodbye and disappeared behind the curtains. It's weird to say that I was sorry to see him go...Perhaps I will be watching more Aaron dramas now after all...

While Aaron really warmed up the crowds, S.H.E came out rocking. They were met with huge cheers and screams when they walked out singing their well-known hit, "Superstar." The girls were awesome. So much spunk! And definitely the right song choice to prep up the fans. Not only did they come in singing, they went directly from Superstar into their next song.

After that the girls talked to the audience, which was fantastic. Ella burst out with a "Hello Melbourne!" in English which was funny, because Ella just has so much charm and charisma...even though she's not English-speaking naturally, she was happy to be dropping English phrases here and there for laughs. The girls asked if they needed to be speaking English since they were in Australia, to which the resounding answer was No! as almost everyone there was with Mandarin-speaking-or-listening abilities. The girls talked about how they loved Australia, especially Melbourne since they'd all visited before. But they had not come together before, so this was their first time as S.H.E in Melbourne. Selina talked about visiting just recently and doing all the tourist attractions including The Great Ocean Road, The 12 Apostles and going to Phillip Island to see...The Penguins! It was funny because Selina said penguins in Chinese (Qi Er) in such a cute little, squealing voice. And Ella said in English, "Do you know what the Qi Er is? Penguins!" Hebe talked about coming on tour just the year before (with Yoga Lin). She liked it in Australia because it was close to nature, which she really appreciated. Ella talked about visiting four years ago...and in true, loveable Ella style, she asked "You know why I came? For the Australian Open." But she mentioned that her husband had come here with her parents not that long ago for a holiday. She said at that time he was her friend/boyfriend and still pursuing her, so he was thick-skinned and happy to chip in at any opportunity to please her...so he accompanied her parents here, even though she didn't come along. But she laughed and ended the tale by saying, "And that is how he got me to say yes to marrying him..." Awww, I'm happy that she's happy!

S.H.E sung the bulk of the concert and did a mixture of their old and new songs. 

To be continued...