Those Javanese eyes - The Poem

Those Javanese eyes
by Azly Rahman

I dreamed of a Javanese girl
bright eyes
jet black hair
pink cheeks
smile like a million rupiah
lipstick borrowed from her Bugis mother

That Javanese girl
she may have been twelve
or thirteen
maybe younger
lips so red
Her mother's lipstick
Maybelline maybe
Estee Lauder maybe
that worn by Christina Aguilera maybe
Home-made... from dried red roses maybe
she wants to grow up fast
that Javanese girl with eyes like sunshine
she wants to meet the world

In Kuala Johor
lipstick stores are rare
in Singapore the kampongfolks hunt for their ware
group tours they dare
To cross the causeway at discounted bus fare
Lychees
munchies
oodles of cloth
imitation Oshkosh B'Gosh
Doraemon dolls
Barbies from Padang Besar malls
multicolored hair clips and all
extra strong men's cologne
Brut, Drakkar Noir, Polo, Ralph Lauren, and all
the Kuala Johor folks will buy them all

Those Javanese eyes
shining bright as the Bali sun
sparkling as the sage Hamka's lakes in Medan
To see the world she must
what will she see?
what will she see?
what will she see?

Only those little red Javanese lips will tell
A story will multiple endings only Kurosawa could foresee

Scream of Conciousness #1

"Gangsta City Now, Jay Bee?" is canceled due to technical reasons. Here is another piece of Project Illuminations previously posted at FB.

Neo Maya, Neo Malaya – The Music Video

While waiting for the new arrangement for Gangsta city now, Jay Bee? to be generated, here is a piece previously posted at FB.

Gangsta city now, Jay Bee? – Rap/Hip Hop Cancelled

I have tried it for so many times but have failed. There are two main reasons:

a) Rappin requires some kinda attitude in order to get the right tone. It is too fast for me because normally I don’t speak as fast as those young people rap. I’m not sure how do they manage to rap those words that fast.

b) I failed to get the right mood because I always forget the lyric. The length is not the problem but since rapping is not really melodic, with the non-melodic in rapping, it is difficult to memorize the words. Usually, it is easier to memorize the lyric when words have their own melodies. I tried to rap sentence by sentence and later on cut and paste to own measure but this technique killed the tone badly. The attitudes are not there and it sound so not honest.

I am sure now that rapping is something I cannot do. Since the vocal recording has failed, Samsara is not getting any singing samples for her to rap too.

‘Gangsta city now, Jay Bee?’ shall be accompanied by an instrumental fusion between rap/hip hop and rock sound. There shall be no poem reading and singing ... just music.

Phaedrus II - The Music Video

I still having problems trying to rap - outta tempo, diction and all so meantime, here is previously posted at FB.

Gangsta city now, Jay Bee? – The Beats

The computer has come up with the beats. However, rap or hip hop is good at playing around with the accompanied music which is not yet brought in. The past experience in recording shows that it is better to have the beats then the vocal recording before any harmonious sound coming along. As expected that there shall be no progressions so my main worry now is, will I rap well or not. So next is vocal recording and samples to be sent to Samsara. Hope she will cover the rapping better.

Here are the notations:

That Light - The Music Video

The computer is still having a hard time learning rap ... hahaha ... so might as well post this one. Previously posted at FB.

Gangsta city now , Jay Bee? – The Genre

The musical genre selected for this poem is Hardcore Gangsta Rap. We have a major problem because I have never heard of this kind of music before. Straight away I wikipedia what it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangsta_rap

It is a subgenre of hip hop music.

Okay, but what is hip hop music?

Wikipedia again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music

Not that I have never heard of hip hop or rap but I don’t really listen to them.

So it is going to be quite an interesting project. First thing first, I need to listen to the music so I went to www.youtube.com :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scILa5iPBcg Original Gangster by Ice-T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ia1IuX0jDY – Writing the classic “Saturday Night”, an interview on how Schoolly D write rap music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHaOul8gVVc Gangsta Gangsta by NWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De_N7Yaz2pE New York New York by The Last Poets

All the sudden, rap or hip hop (I’m not sure which is which) is a lot more serious music than I thought. So I decided to do more researches and experiments and created another blog for the purpose:

http://miditowaves.blogspot.com/

Interesting enough to know that with some grey hair in my nose, I’ll be related to this kind of music … hehehe.

Gangsta city now , Jay Bee?

Gangsta city now , Jay Bee?
By Azly Rahman

Yo .. yo … imaginary powers that be
You’re angry reading the poem “Sin City, Jay Bee”?…
You feel violated seems to me
Let me tell you a story

Lost I am in this sin city Jay Bee
T’was a decade before 2020
Was my last visit to my homies
When they said the city will be safe and stress-free
This regime’s election guarantee

Yo Jay Bee
Wassup yo Jay Bee
From Ulu Tiram to Taman Pelangi
I feel like I am in Gangsta city
Worse than in Harlem and East Philly
Crime City Gangsta city, what I knew of Jay Bee

Beautiful names you have
Those ending in “Indah” and “Jaya”
Of “Tamans” and “Kampongs” and “Wadis” entire
Beautiful names yo

Ah.. Ulu Tiram
You are no valuable oyster
Ah … Pelangi Indah
You are no rainbow as I see her
Ah … Masai
You are a shame to that African tribe
Ah … Setia Indah
You are not loyal to those elections promises
Ah .. Johor Jaya
What victory lies in snatch thieves one too many?

I love the sound of that name Tampoi
Signifying the psychopathology of the politics of the new and old
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Straight from the conveyor belt of progress progress progress

Yo gangsta city Jay Bee
Wassup with you chillin’ in your crib?
What justice to humanity is this “my G”?
As you failed the youth yearning for a life of sanity?

Cybernetic technology
Cybercafes aplenty
Gangsta city’s mantra of informational technology
Plagiarized from Cyberjaya and Silicon Valley

Those who disagreed with that poem “Sin City”
Don’t get me mad, yo
Don’t get me mad, yo
Don’t get me mad, yo
Just clean up MY city
Its spirit, mind, and body

What has become of this beautiful city
I grew up in
safe and happy
T’is a decade before 2020 we have these killing the city;
Snatch thieves way too many
Mat and Minah Rempits those one-wheeled hellraisers and damn happy
Foul-mouth kids multiplying linguistically
Gambling places way way too many
Glue sniffing youth stoned cold crazy
Decaying city traffic crawls like crazy
Sin city gangsta city Jay Bee not safe to raise families
Hills shaved bald for housing projects deforestation what-me-worry


Yo yo yo gangsta city Jay Bee
Shape up yo
Do you want Lee Kuan Yew to tell you what to do?
Or New York Mayor Guiliani to give a free advice on how to run the city?
Don’t get mad … you servants of the people imaginary powers that be
Get cracking with your job in running this city
So that I may be proud again of what this city means to me
And my grandchildren and yours will not beg on the streets across Johor Disney

Gangsta city, sin city, Jay Bee … to be or not to be …

Sin City, Jay Bee - The Music Video

Sin City, Jay Bee – The Overall Idea of the Video

Not much is changed as far as the video properties are concern. It is going to 320 x 240 pixels as the song is still considered lengthy.

The video is still going to be of still pictures but I intend to put up the text line by line with changing places.

Pictures are taken out of the internet. Basically they are maps of JB and some pictures of JB too.

NOTE: THE PIECE IS EXPECTED TO BE UPLOADED AROUND 8-10 PM TOMMORROW (MALAYSIAN TIME). ANY SUGGESTION ON THE VIDEO IS WELCOME BEFORE THE EXPECTED UPLOADING TIME. TQ.

Sin City, Jay Bee – Verse 3 and 4 and Overall

When comes to the final mix of the whole song, the idea was to have some transition music between Verse 1, 2, 3 and 4 but I found everything is more interesting with those sudden changes of verses. It was something I have never encountered but I like it. I canceled the original idea.

Also I thought of having a duet with Samsara on Verse 3 but after many trials, the idea failed. We both shared almost the same vocal frequencies and that was a major problem. I then gave some rock effect to Samsara hoping the key frequencies to align well with the musical arrangements and it works.

Luckily also, there is nothing to change at all when comes to musical arrangements. Samsara hit the right key and notes. All I had to do was to boost her frequencies of 215-378 and 344 Hz together with 430-495-558 Hz. These allowed me to play around with the notching and boosting frequencies of the music particularly the piano and the strumming guitar.

The computer changed the beat of the poem reading to fit well with 129 BPM of 4 beats per measure. I decided to have some slight changes on the instrument selection. The reading is at F Major Key Scale.

Luckily also the whole mix is 7 minutes 49.864 seconds.

Sin City, Jay Bee – Audio Mixing – Final Mixing Intro + Verse 1

Phewwwwwwwwwwww … I got it … I think.

Once vocals, guitar solos and rhythms got into the groove, things start to screw up. The least a lesson learned.

First the kick drum and the basses which are now, I have nothing to worry about. I think I know some tricks. Next are the snares and the rhythms. Vocal recording should be done sooner which is next before the guitar solos.

Only then, the rest of drums and percussions should come in.

Also, I learned that I must apply compressions selectively.

I have some tricks for my vocals to sound a bit rock. How I wish Project Illuminations has a true male vocalist particularly rock. This one is torturing … hahahaha.

Sin City, Jay Bee – Audio Mixing – Verse 2

The earlier intention was to write a New York Jazz but after studying the genre, I find New York Jazz is very difficult when comes to audio mixing. I’m not sure why New York Jazz prefers to hit both melodies and rhythms at the same time with almost at the same frequency range. I’m sure it is artistic because the musical instruments have both fast and slow attacks and vocals compliment the elements. However, to do this art for a sound engineer who is still a beginner is risky.

So instead of New York Jazz, I come up with Jazz Ballad. I however do play around with the Melody-Rhythm-like on Acoustic Piano based on a preset written long time ago.

Samsara did a very good job on singing the verse. I was taken aback on her dynamics and her tempo. The melodies also hit the right key signature. Next was to boost some frequencies:

559-602-645 Hz, 301-344-387 Hz, 473-516-559 Hz, 215-258-301 Hz, 258-301-344 Hz, 602-645-689 Hz, 732-775-818 Hz, 818-861-904 Hz, 516-559-602 Hz, 775-818-861 Hz, 172-215-258 Hz, 344-387-430 Hz, and 387-430-473 Hz.

The vocal range is between 172 Hz to 904 Hz which is coincidently very typical jazz tone.

Earlier on I thought of improvising the music a bit but after so many trials, I decided not to take the risk.

Still the acoustic piano and the vocals play about the same range as how Jazz is. The tick is not to boost any frequencies of the piano. In fact, I like the way it originally sound.

I however notched the lower frequencies of the strings and boost the 904-2000 Hz frequencies.

For drums and percussions, I decided not to modify anything on the presets and let the drums play as intended. Jazz drums are too artistic to be mutated. I get this feeling that Jazz is itself a mutated genre.

I am yet to do the cross-over between Verse 1 and Verse 2 which is supposed to be the introduction of 2 measures of Verse 2. It will be just the hit crashes to end up the rock genre and some added guitar sound and the changing tempo from 180 to 97 BPM.

Below is the Preliminary Audio Mixing of Verse 2:

Sin City, Jay Bee – Audio Mixing – Introduction + Verse 1

Band Pass Filter and Boosting

There are three melodic instrument sounds – acoustic piano, overdrive guitar and fingered bass converted from MIDI to waves. For the first time, I separated each note of each sound into own wave file. Each wave file was edited with the Band Pass Filter to cut out the low and high end frequencies. Then I boosted the key frequencies through parametric equalizer.

To cut the low end frequencies, I calculated the 13th semitone below the note.

For an example, the 13th semitone below note A4 is Bb3. A4 is perceived to have the frequency of 440 Hz therefore the 13th semitone below A4 is perceived to be at 210 Hz.

To cut the high end frequencies, I calculated the 47th semitone above the note.

For an example, the 47th semitone above note A4 is Bb8 which is perceived to have the frequency of 6746 Hz.

The Band Pass Filter then is given values Low = 210 Hz, High = 6746 Hz with order 40.

At the same time, I boosted the frequencies of each note.

Adobe Audition 1.5 gives the spectrum of frequencies by 43.065 Hz. To boost the note A4 or the frequency 440 Hz, I first note which band the frequency is in which is between 430 Hz to 473 Hz. I use parametric equalizer to boost with 5 db with Q = 10. I may boost the frequency more than once.

Drums and Percussions are more complicated because they are not the melodic type of musical instruments. I have to take a very good look at the spectrums in order to determine their key frequencies.

Cutting the low and high end frequencies and boosting the key frequencies depends on how I think they should sound.


Volume

I assigned the snare to have the standardized volume level and the fader is given the value 1. The average peak volume for snare is calculated to be at -6.69 dB.

Say the average peak volume of fingered bass is -13.61 dB. The fader then is set to be at -13.61/-6.69 = 2.

However, the average peak volume for High Tom 1 is higher than that of the snare at -3.96 dB. The fader is set to be -6.69/-3.96 * -1 = -1.7.

Exceptional to the solo play (by overdrive guitar), the fader is set twice higher after the calculation.


Compression

Kick Drums – Compressed according to Kick Drums Compressions
Snares – Compressed according to Snares Compressions
Overdrive Guitar – Compressed according to Electric Guitar Compressions
Fingered Bass – Compressed according to Bass Compressions
Acoustic Piano – Compressed according to Synthesizer/Keyboards Compressions

The rest of the musical sounds are not compressed.


Panning

All musical instruments are panned accordingly.


Sound Effects

Some musical instruments are given some sound effects accordingly.


Overall Compressions

Once all musical instruments are mixed, overall mixed compression is given.


Multiband

Multiband Filter is applied to increase more volume to the overall mix. As the genre is Rock, Normal Master Hard Multiband was applied.


The Audio Mixing

The mixing is not yet completed as I have not yet done the rhythm guitars, more solo overdrive guitar and vocal recordings. So this is still preliminary.