there comes a time where even the hardest working audiophile needs to take a rest, to take stock of the present and evaluate the future or just simply indulge in his work of labor.

the past 2 months have been so blissful as far as music is concerned for me. no more analyzing, no more paranoia, no more neurosis... just pure musical enjoyment.

i gather that i have come this far in my audio journey and it is time to reap what i sowed and put hifi aside for pure enjoyment of music.


this stage also marks an important chapter in my life because i am starting my own indie label (in addition to my existing audiophile music label, musictoxin). together with my partner, we have built a mini workstation-cum-studio in my house. we spent a couple of thousand dollars to refurbish one of the rooms (which i used for my AV last time) and made it into a cozy and intimate little cave for studio and live performances. yes, you hear it right, i plan to do unplugged mini concerts in my house for special occasions like press conferences, listening parties and general sharing of new songs composed by my partner.



as you can see in the pix, it is really a nice and cosy place to do music. we have a complete facility to record demos, perform MIDI programming and do mixing. we have a kawai piano and a norman acoustic guitar for live performances. the AKG microphone used is quite high quality but it can't beat the stage III interconnect that it is hooked to it! talking about indulgence!

i have also come to realize, as much as hifi (as a hobby) being immensely satisfying, it can't beat the joy and pure ecstacy of making music. hifi, to me, is just a conduit to music, a bridge, an enabler but it can never replace music.

hifi is to serve music not vice versa. the ultimate reason for hifi to exist is still, music.

thanks goodness, i have panzer and hifikaki to keep you interested on all things hifi in this blog while i am taking a short break.

i am a lucky fella. music (and not hifi) has given me so much enrichment, nourishment and inspiration since i was a kid. i was already buying audio cassettes since i was a primary 4 student.

many people live their lives without any memorable high points. i have several and the highest high is gonna happen soon, as early as next year.

my first "high" is starting musicexchange in 1998, the first ever full-scale 2nd hand cd store in malaysia. in fact, the idea was born one night while i was listening to cheer chen's amazing debut album "let me think a while", which was rated at number #11 in the recent taiwan's top 200 albums of the last 20 years. musicexchange left a memorable chapter in the music industry in malaysia as well as an indelible mark on my life. in fact, i was so high that my favorite song at that time was lighthouse family's "high", which i constantly spinned in my store.

my 2nd "high" came last year with the creation of 2v1g. well, i won't dwell into this again as i have said enough in this blog.

my 3rd "high" which is about to come true is my long-time desire to create a world-class chinese indie music label with a world-class chinese female singer-songwriter a la cheer chen qi zhen and zhang xuan of taiwan. i want to do original compositions of indie pop/rock, away from the mainstream.

i had someone in mind 10 years ago. at that time, she was still a little girl but she showed enough talent to entice me. i met her in the cafe where she performed and passed her my name card but she didn't call me. subsequently, she was signed to a major label and pursue her singing career in taiwan.

10 years later, 3 months ago to be exact, i got to know her thru a friend in a x'mas dinner. she told me she likes my work in 2v1g and she is thinking of collaborating with me to start an indie label in malaysia. i couldn't believe my ears.

she passed me her demo cd last night which is full of all her compositions over the last 2 years. i played the cd on my system, i was awe-struck. "this is the music that i want to do for my label!", i yelled. her music is indie pop/rock but with a very strong hook and commercial crossover appeal. we connect instantly.

i have been listening non-stop to her cd for the last 24 hours. many times, i was moved to tears. such talent is god-send. and she isn't even peaking as i could see the depth of her talents.

everything has a reason. god delayed our fateful meeting because she wasn't ready 10 years ago. she is now.

god willing, you are going to see the first local indie queen in the chinese music industry early next year that's going to carry the malaysian flag globally, and this is gonna be my third "high" and probably my highest high.