May 4, 2012

Album Review - JOE BROOKS

Album reviews by ACID
Artist: JOE BROOKS
Album: A Reason to Swim
Label: Columbia/Sony Music



THE British singer/songwriter and musician Joe Brooks got his debut as a MySpace musician.In the manner that befits lucky amateurs who go viral online via social networks or video clips, Brooks released two independent EPs and was named UK’s top unsigned artiste by 2008. A doubtful sort of moniker, perhaps, but he also garnered an impressive 11 million song plays. 

A Reason to Swim is Brooks’ second album, following the debut Constellation Me in 2010. This one is said to be independent and fan-funded (which is always an interesting study in how far he departs from the first ‘commercial’ sound).  I always appreciated moves like this because it is a true study of how autonomous a recording artiste can be, in the songs that are crafted and the new styles that are eked out.

Musically, A Reason to Swim does have a series of hits and misses. The six-track album starts off with a pall for me, with an odd sense of repetitiveness between OK and Green Eyes (the first and third track respectively), which really don’t offer anything in terms of what is either impressive or memorable.

I Find the Light in You is a song about relationship redemption and personal salvation, and there will undoubtedly be a lot of comparisons with Coldplay’s superstar vocalist Christ Martin (in singing chops) in Holes Inside. This song, together with My Heart Will Wait, could’ve easily been mistaken for an early-ish Coldplay tune but they are also surprisingly the two most gorgeous tracks in the album.

Brooks, who managed a quietly successful transition to the United States as well, has enough of international fans in Asia that he was able to sign with Sony Music in Korea and Malaysia – I think his fans by and large won’t be disappointed. There were some which were off the mark for me, but the gems he had in this effort really shone.

May 3, 2012

COURSES@HTC - Pro Culinary Cert

PROFESSIONAL CULINARY CERTIFICATE
Art & Science of Molecular Cuisine


* Material: Courtesy of THE FRENCH CULINARY SCHOOL IN ASIA @ HTC in Asia Sdn Bhd

ONE of this century’s most important invention is the new science of molecular gastronomy – the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of food preparations,which has inspired a plethora of wild, crazy, delicious and unique dishes. With advancements in technology and knowledge, we can do a lot with food to heighten the dining experience. Add some liquid nitrogen to your edible creations and watch it bring much amusement and awe at the table. The use of liquid nitrogen in food is still in its infancy and the possibilities are vast and begging to be explored. Combining theatrics with taste, liquid nitrogen can appeal to more than science nerds.

Learn the secrets to the mysterious chemistry of taste and texture with Chef Martin Lippo, one of the most experienced trainers of scientifically innovative cooking from Spain, the hotbed of molecular cuisine. He will be in KL for an exclusive series of workshops to reveal to you the Art and Science of Molecular Cuisine, focusing on the foundation in Vacuum Pack Cooking and New Cooking Techniques & Technologies.

Join Martin’s Futuristic Cocktail Savouries & Sweets and Innovative Starters and Main Courses, and be among the first chefs to introduce nitro-lolly pops, nitro-dust, cotton paper, cotton raviolis, pearl citrus, and more, to your menu to excite jaded Malaysian palates with fun-tastic results using the cotton candy machine and siphon, among others.

VACUUM PACK COOKING
Date: Thurs & Fri, May 2 & 4

Learn the advantages and disadvantages of vacuum-pack cooking, types of equipment and various types of cooking bags, how to control the internal temperature of the cooking products, types of vacuum and their uses, varieties of gases and their uses, indirect cooking method, cooking at low temperatures. Featured recipes include infused oils, vinegars, slow cooking meats and more.

NEW COOKING TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGY
Date: Mon & Tues, May 7 & 8

How to work with liquid nitrogen cotton candy machine and siphons, new ways of presentation, concept and ideas and the equipment and new technology of gelatins and texturisers. Featured recipes include mango caviar, nitro-lolly pops, nitro-dust, hot and  cold espumas and more.

FUTURISTIC COCKTAIL SAVOURIES AND SWEETS
Date: Wed & Thurs, May 9 & 10

Learn to make tantalizing out-of-the-box bite-sized finger-food to surprise and thrill guests at high-society parties. Featured recipes oysters with herbs caviar, foie gras bonbons, strawberry pie tees with vanilla foam, basil and more.

INNOVATIVE STARTERS AND MAIN COURSES
Date: Fri-Sat, May 11 & 12

It’s easier than you think to make meals in the most unexpected of ways – once you have been shown how and having the tools. Create new starters and main courses like never before with Chef Martin.
Featured recipes include texturised Caprese Salad, Shrimp Carpaccio with soy sauce air, Smoked Duck with Ameretto and Slow Cooked Egg Yolk and Mango.

COURSE FEE:
RM 1,600 per participant for a two-day workshop
RM 2,800 per participant for a four-day workshop
RM 3,750 per participant for a six-day workshop
RM 4,850 per participant for an eight-day workshop

Course fee includes:
-  Professional Culinary Certificate
-  Course manual and CDR with the standard recipes

VENUE:
The French Culinary School In Asia
HTC in Asia Sdn Bhd (Co. No. 634020-A)
8th Floor – Annexed Block, Menara IMC
No.8 Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Opening Hours: Daily 9am – 5pm

HOW TO GET THERE:
The building is next to Concorde Hotel, Kualka Lumpur. Please take car park lift to 8th floor.

ENQUIRIES:
Tel: +603 2026 9188
Fax: +603 2026 4188
Email: professional@htcinasia.com

Additional Details:
Our programmes are 100% claimable under the Skim Bantuan Latihan (SBL) from the Human Resources Development Berhad (HRDB). Please apply with the HRDB http://www.hrdf.com.my/
, with the following: Form PSMB/SBL/1/01, Course Content and Presenter’s Bio-data

 * Your application, together with course fee must be forwarded to HTC in Asia Sdn. Bhd. at least five working days before course commencement. Kindly contact us for course content and trainer’s CV.

ABOUT THE TRAINER:
Martin Lippo is a new-age culinary consultant trainer based in Barcelona, Spain. His specialises in new cooking techniques and technology, such as the application of liquid nitrogen in the kitchen, molecular cuisine, vacuum pack cooking (sous vide), espumas, soda and siphon work among others. As director for R&D for 100%Chef, a company fabricating and distributing innovative cook’s tools and equipment, he is very much immersed in the exciting world of cutting edge kitchen technology to help cuisine professionals achieve new goals.

Album Review - Foster The People

Album reviews by ACID
Artist: FOSTER THE PEOPLE
Album: Torches
Label: Columbia/Sony Music




FOSTER THE PEOPLE brings out shine, sparkle, pizzazz and a funny brand of street cred and emo-guy earnestness in their first album. This relatively new Los Angeles, California indie pop-rock band made up of Mark Foster (vocals, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitar, programming, percussion), Cubbie Fink (bass and backing vocals) and Mark Pontius (drums, extra percussion) have been making their presence felt across local and international airwaves with Pumped Up Kicks, which went viral in 2010 and catapulted the group to speedy stardom.

Overall, Torches has a style that very lightly glances over various genres. It is melodic and rhythmic but it has a soft, approachable pleasant pace and equally likeable lyrics, backed by lashes of 80s style synthesizing.

Torches is one of those albums that strikes the public oddly – and while we can all argue there is no accounting for taste – the second song, Pumped Up Kicks (which has the oddest lyrics – a shiny happy tune with lyrics that hint about bullets and a pumped up shotgun!) really pales in comparison to a number of tracks.

The third track, Call It What You Want, is far and away stronger in tone and more memorable in lyrics, aided with a disco beat. I Would Do Anything For You is gentle, lightly nostalgic ballad that show promise – that Foster the People are able to go deeper that the shiny-happy-people kind of feel they project through the majority of their songs. I also particularly loved Houdini, with synth lines, an 80s inspired introspective feel, from the croony vocals to the jouncy beat.

It would be interesting to listen to subsequent albums from this band – Foster the People is one of those you have the funny feeling may be about to embark on an interesting musical journey, despite a first album of hits and misses.