Malaysia has a surprisingly thriving singer-songwriter scene, with many local troubadours strumming guitars, parking themselves on stools, and wearing hearts on sleeves across hushed bars and cafes across the country. Out of all of them, Pete Teo is the veteran of this nascent cottage industry. Transcending local adulation, his work has been featured on USA’s NPR, Canada’s CBC and the BBC World Service. It is no wonder as Teo takes music in the tradition of Cohen, Dylan, Springsteen, and Waits, and sprinkles into it a dash of five-spice powder, alchemizing a potent concoction of Western lyrics and Eastern melodies. Teo’s world is Dylan-esque Americana, albeit saturated in humid monsoon rain-stained Wong Kar Wai-like hues. His music can be found on iTunes and through select websites.
Also by KENNETH YU
Professional socialites aside, anyone who has traveled solo or rolled up to a party alone knows how daunting it can be to strike up a real conversation. Enter the HoboHookah, a pipe that turns liquor — and other types of bottles — into hookahs. Its inventors, two guys from America, both spent time living in the Middle East and picked up on the considerable hookah culture there. Upon returning to the US they decided to design a hookah to fit in with their western culture. And out popped the first hookah built to ‘travel far and party hard’. Read more
Dating or married musician duos are always interesting beasts. Their intertwining affections and chemical reactions make for a potent alchemy of musical magic. Along the same vein of O-era Damien Rice and Lisa Hennigan, Glen Hansard (frontman of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova are the latest lovey-dovey couple with longings expressed in fingerpicked guitars and mourning cellos. Read more
Shawn Kuruneru has a hair fetish. The Canadian-born artist’s illustrations of long, flowing, shampoo TVC-worthy, liquid-looking locks wrap around various portraits and situations, forming an intriguing mix of medieval folklore, nature and elements of the human form. Featured in publications like Tokion and Arkitip, this is the world’s first enactment of Rapunzel’s Freudian dreams.
YOU'RE SAYING (3)
Zolton said | 10 January, 2007
Thanks Gary. Kenneth will be tapping into all the hidden treasures there in Malaysia and beyond. Z
Cokie said | 18 January, 2007
I love Pete. I agree with Gary. Television is his best album yet. Thanks for the feature!
HAVE YOUR SAY
I am in total awe of Nathan DeYoung’s work from late last year titled Windows and Mirrors. This thoughtfully intelligent California-based artist pays particular observation to real life subjects around him, and the result is an inquisitive exploration into the human condition. Through inspirational conjured up characters at the tip of his paint brush, DeYoung is able to project his real life interpretations and analysis of those living around him onto canvas. Impressive, huh?
I’ve been admiring the work of Portland illustrator John Klassen for a while now. I’m irrepressibly drawn to his muted, textured landscapes, in all their mysterious glory. No coincidence then that a Coraline section should have recently appeared on his site. It just makes me want to see the movie even more. Read more
Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to be able to sing like Neil Finn. His voice rasps with all the sincerity and integrity of a thousand heartfelt melodies. Heck, I’d probably trade my prized collection of Archie comics for just the chorus on this song. Driving Me Mad? You betcha(dupa). This man is a treasure. Bow low indeed.
Street art and photography duo Jana and JS spray the walls of some of Europe’s best cities with their boundary-blurring work. They’ve got the art of a photo in a photo in a picture down. Read more
Knuckleheads is a pretty fun little side scrolling game where you’re a pair of Mexican-wrestler-looking things attached to each other by a chain. You swing each other around to move and hit floaty capsule things for points, and you can change the length of the chain to get over various obstacles, but watch out for the bats.
Tallest Man on Earth, the rasping Swedish folk singer-songwriter and one of the unsung heroes of 2008, recently recorded the beautiful song A Field of Birds, a nice adjunct to his summer album release, Shallow Grave. His sound is so loose and unmanicured, and carries a poignancy reminiscent of the rusty, early Bob Dylan.
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It’s all about juxtaposition for the fashion duo Anzevino & Florence. With William Anzevino hailing from the East Coast and Richard Florence from West, they find inspiration in opposing forces. Who else could find commonality between Warhol and Thoreau? Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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Okayboss is an illustrator based in sunny Sydney who combines the powers of PB&J sandwiches, cats on the Internet, and a pocketful of edible crayons into a rainbow Voltron drawingbot. His shirts are anything from abstract space particles, to hands with expressions, while his music-inspired art prints are playful, witty, and gorgeous. Okayboss items are available for sale in the Lost At E Minor Store. Read more
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Gary said | 7 January, 2007
Wow! Pete Teo… I’m a huge fan of his. Great to see him showcased on this site. Television was truly his best album yet; ‘Who For You?’, ‘Sunday Best Shoes’ and ‘Lost In America’ are my top three favourite tracks. He’s definitely one of the best artists here. Hope to see more local talents featured. BTW, welcome abroad Kenneth!