Sunday 23 June 2013

The Sunday Review - The Shocking Miss Emerald (Caro Emerald)

Buy at Amazon
Rating: 3.5/5
Track listing
1. Miss Emerald: Intro
2. One Day
3. Coming Back as a Man
4. Tangled Up
5. Completely
6. Black Valentine
7. Pack up the Louie
8. I Belong to You
9. The Maestro
10. Liquid Lunch
11. Excuse My French
12. Paris
13. My 2 Cents
14. The Wonderful in You

This album opens with a dramatic introduction that lasts 39 seconds, completely taking you by surprise with the full orchestra and certainly putting the 'shocking' into the title before the album has really begun. This intro flows nicely into the first full song, 'One Day' which is a very upbeat and feel-good, demonstrating Caro's recent success and star quality through lyrics and what can only be described as storyline. I am of the opinion that if an album is going to be worth buying the first two tracks will be amazing, and with 'One Day' being followed by 'Coming Back as a Man' this album gave me high expectations.

As far as musical content goes, I'm not going to give you a rundown of each and every track - you can take my word for it, listen to it online and then click this link or the one at the top of the page and buy the album to hear it all for yourself. For post length purposes I'll only write about the top songs in my opinion.

My favourite song on the whole album is 'Completely' because of it's old feel - and we all know how much of a sucker I am for that. Perhaps not only that but it's very relatable, especially if you've ever met a person who changed you for the better completely and completed you. Real wind instruments, a nice swing and a mix of technology, trad jazz and beautiful lyrics make for a perfect song.

'I recall the days when I was single, used to flirt, fool around and mingle. Then you came along, and suddenly I changed completely' - Caro Emerald 'Completely'

'Coming Back as A Man' is very sexy both lyrically and musically - noting that it in fact was not written by her but still seems as if it is. If you want something that sizzles and reminds you of her previous album, this is the track.

The other tracks I would recommend that you take a listen to are 'Liquid Lunch' - accurately describing the feeling of going out and getting wasted on a Saturday night in a somewhat classy way, 'I Belong To You', which really says it in the title, 'Excuse My French' if you want something that shows female dominance and 'The Wonderful in You' if you're after something meaningful that somewhat resembles a ballad.

Technologically speaking, this album is brilliant. The producer David Schreurs and the team are simply astounding with way that they combine hip hop and pop with jazz. A great variety of technology is used and if you are a Tech student I'm sure you can have a great deal of fun listening and trying to name each instrument and effect.

Overall, I found this album to have a lovely mix of songs - although some of them are not exactly to my taste necessarily. There is something for everybody, and that means you are likely to dislike at least one or two tracks. However, if you want something overall sexy and flirtatious without being cheap and tacky then this is the album that you need. Caro's vocals are flawless, the instrumentation is perfect for the style and the lyrics are both catchy and relatable. What more could you need from her?

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Thursday 20 June 2013

Get Glamorous #1

Hello and welcome to a new series of articles for SugaryTwinkle, ‘Get Glamourous’, in which we’ll take a look at the latest celebrity and red carpet trends, discuss them, and then try to recreate them for you - the average, non-celebrity human.

I’m Jennifer, your guide to all things glam. I’m a Fashion Design graduate and a red carpet and celebrity style enthusiast - I even wrote my dissertation on the power of celebrity style (I will try to keep this post under 10,000 words though. I promise).

Recently, the white dress has been making an impact on the red carpet. Exhibit A:

Angelina Jolie at the ‘World War Z’ premiere in Germany.

Let us ignore Brad Pitt, he is of little vintage-glamour-based interest, however Angelina’s white Ralph & Russo Couture dress is, and it is fantastic. I’m not normally a peplum fan, but this detail adds a much needed interest to what would otherwise be a basic white pencil dress. Well, that and the button detail down the back, and the metal panels which bring the 40s silhouette into the here and now.

But it’s not the only white dress on the red carpet of late - check out Exhibit B: Taylor Swift and Dita von Teese.

Now, I know TSwift’s everyday style isn’t really what you’d call ‘vintage glamour’, and Dita’s dress is off-white at best, but stick with me here. These are pure ‘30s screen siren’ dresses. Draped and flowing. Also you might have noticed that they’re at the same event. I call that a trend, don’t you?

Luckily, the high street offers lots of options for white everything this season, including dresses. If you’re looking for jersey pieces, something more casual or something for the holiday season, a quick search for ‘white dress’ on you favourite online store should throw up something - but we’re looking specifically for an Angelina-esque ‘fitted dress with added interest’.

From River Island, ASOS, Zara and Cos, respectively. 

Said interests include embossing, pleats or shoulder pads here. I think the ASOS dress is the closest to Angelina’s look, but I’ve included some plainer options anyway - if you have nowhere to wear these except to, say, work, then plain is probably what you need, yes?

It's all in the accessories, anyway. The basic black 'skinny' belt around the ASOS dress adds some interest as well as providing a nod to the current monochrome trend, but if you’re dedicated to the look you’ll not be hard pressed to find a belt with metal accents. I’m trying not to dip into the ASOS well too often but really they’re your one-stop-shop for that sort of thing - including in the Curve range - and lots of these styles come in black or beige. Here is also where you can get the peplum detail, but won’t be stuck with it when it inevitably falls out of style again!

All ASOS/ASOS Curve, other than the middle belt bottom line, River Island.

I shan’t put together an image of white court shoes - partly because I run far from such styles, being as I am an (almost) Geordie woman and not wishing to submit to that stereotype, but if you are that way inclined (and don’t let me put you off) almost every high street shop has white shoes this season, and in a range of styles and prices.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, it would be altogether too expensive for the high street to provide a dress with buttons all the way down the back, even if just for decoration. If you’ve a mind for customisation, you can get covered buttons on ebay for a couple of pounds, depending on how many you need. 

As for the floaty, screen siren look, I’ve found a few options - some casual and summery, some a little more dressy.

From ASOS Marketplace, New Look, Religion and H&M, respectively

Firstly, a sidenote: if you’re looking for something a little special, a little out of the ordinary, I do recommend ASOS Marketplace. This was the first time I’ve really looked at what people are selling there, and the range of white dresses, even vintage wedding dresses, was fantastic.

Another? In my search for high street looks there were a number that were not unlike the Religion number, but there’s a tendency for very sheer skirts with a jersey mini ‘lining’ and split to the thigh. I avoided these - the Religion dress does have a knee high split, but there seems to be a lot of fabric in the skirt (which explains the price!) to conceal it.

As for accessories, both Taylor and Dita could well be bare-footed under there (might I recommend a metallic sandal, while the weather is hot enough?), but the jewellery, namely Taylor’s big button earrings and Dita’s gold bangle are simple and attenion-grabbing. Here are a few high street and vintage options.

Clockwise from top: eBay (*current auction price), Topshop,Miss Selfridge, eBay (Buy It Now, from USA), Topshop, Topshop, Miss Selfridge

A final bonus, because I recognise that not a single dress above has sleeves, and also because I thought this dress was adorable, if a) a little pricey and b) only available in petite, apparently:

ASOS, surprise, surprise!
Photo Credits: PR Photos | Author: Jennifer Broom


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Friday 14 June 2013

Things That Bemuse Me #8 - Art

'We have art in order not to die of the truth.' - Friedrich Nietzsche
Where do I start with this topic, hm? I've recently been reading the beautiful Charlotte Eriksson's book Empty Roads & Broken Bottles: In search for The Great Perhaps and it's made me think about a lot of things. If you aren't familiar with Charlotte, The Glass Child, she is a Swedish musician who left behind her home and set out with nothing on a journey that changed her life into a work of art. Her songs, writings and personality are simply inspirational and she has the social media following that proves it.

Something which I have begun to ponder, thanks to her, is this: how exactly do you define 'art', and could you really decide on a formula for it as so many people seem to do? Is it defined by how many records you sell, or how much money you make for somebody else? Is it defined by numbers, letters, reviews written by so-called 'experts' in their field or is it just simply a means of expression? Is it craftsmanship? Does it have to have been fuelled by pain, love, suffering and joy, or can it just be created scientifically?

The purpose of this post is not to write a conclusive answer, but rather to allow you to ponder with me on the phenomena that is art. A phenomena that is fundamental to our very existence in many ways.

If I were to give you an answer, I would tell you that art is a complicated blend of all or some of the above. Even listening to some of the crap that is churned out on mainstream radio there are elements of pure art somewhere in there you just have to listen closely to find them.

For example, if you were to dislike something does that make it any less like art? People disliked the works of Monet and Van Gogh in their times, but just because one person didn't like them it didn't mean that nobody else did. Leah McFall on BBC's talent show The Voice is another example of this. She has a voice like marmite - I love it personally, but I know people who completely hate it.

At the end of the day though, it doesn't matter whether you love or hate something because if it was still born out of passion, love, faith, belief or conviction then it can still surely be classed as art. In Leah's case she is still clearly a very talented vocalist with excellent control - which you can appreciate even if you don't like the sound. So that is my job for you today.

I ask you today to please go and listen to something you wouldn't normally listen to, read something you wouldn't read or admire something you would never look at and try to at least see why it is art. Try to appreciate the meaning behind it, the meaning in it, or the reason it exists - or find the one aspect that you can do that with. If you are a musician then just be you and show your fans.  Tell your story, because art must live on.

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Friday 31 May 2013

Things That Bemuse Me #7 - The Horsemeat Scandal

This is a post that is very overdue and has been sitting in my 'draft' box for about 4 months. As now the hype about this topic has gone it is probably about time to get around to posting it. I'll begin with a huge disclaimer, however, and admit that I am a vegetarian from birth (and by privilege) because I simply do not like the taste of meat.

Horses
© KitAy
 The horse meat scandal is something that inevitably had caused chaos within the UK and Western Europe, but the media admittedly kicked up the most fuss with the endless news articles, TV documentaries, talk shows and jokes.

 Speaking to a friend of mine who originates from Uzbekistan, she was finding the whole thing rather amusing as she remembers a time when for her to eat horse it was considered a privilege. Many of the interviews shown on TV would be animal rights protesters saying that horses should not be eaten for moral reasons and that it is completely wrong to murder a horse for human food and then not tell people.

 Of course, it is wrong not to tell people, but the main problem was the lack of regulation of potentially harmful drugs to humans that could be found in the meat - which is a fair enough reason to be outraged, and certain journalists did a fantastic job of highlighting this fact. Unfortunately, the majority of people shown on TV and 'shocked' were not, in fact, shocked by this potential threat to human health. They were 'shocked' because they are convinced that eating horse is a complete mortal sin. From this, I can either conclude one of three things:

  • Everybody outside of Yorkshire but in the UK is a horse loving animal rights fanatic. (Possible) 
  • People in the UK do not know that they are born. (Likely) 
  • The Media has decided to paint the general public as delinquent or crazy. (Again, possible) 

 The reason why I disclude Yorkshire is that after speaking to many strong independent Yorkshire people on this topic, I found that the only problem they had with it was that they did not know they were eating horse. In fact, the majority of people I spoke to would have happily eaten horse had it been on the label. The question still bemusing me now that this topic has died down is quite simply this; Do British people overreact because we live sheltered, cushioned lives by comparison to other parts of the world or are we all lunatics? My guess is the latter.

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Monday 11 February 2013

A Note From Astrid-Gwynedd xx

I made the decision today to unlist my YouTube videos and work on re-recording them now that I have means of producing a better quality sound and a decent picture. Will start work on this later this week but in the meantime I'm working putting together voice acting demo reels as it's something I have been planning for a very long time. I've been very distant from online presence the last few months for various reasons - particularly including lack of self confidence for my musical abilities alongside illness and college work- but returning and seeing how I still have so much support on Twitter and Reverbnation in particular has made me realise that I just need to keep learning and improving and NOT giving up. Thank you to those who have been with me from the start; my amazing family and friends, and to those who haven't who have purely come across me due to my music or my blog. We're well into 2013 now and it's time for a change in me and the way that I 'market' myself, so to speak. A new, more confident, more ambitious, more hard-working and more flamboyant Astrid has been born, and I hope that she will do you proud. This will be posted across every social media platform that I use because I feel it important to say thank you for your continued support and being such an inspiration.

- Kisses! xx


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Sunday 10 February 2013

The Sunday Review: Portrait (Josephine)

I mentioned in a previous post about Paloma Faith's 2013 tour, and her amazing support act Josephine. Since then, as I said, I have been constantly playing her album so I figured that this would be my review for the week.

Josephine (Oniyama) - Portrait
Amazon | Itunes
Rating: 5/5

  1. When We Were Trespassers
  2. A Freak A
  3. Portrait
  4. Original Love
  5. I Think It Was Love
  6. What a Day
  7.  The Last Minute
  8. Pepper Shaker
  9. Pray That I Move 
  10. House of Mirrors


It's safe to say that this album has been very well put together. I don't think her music could be pidgeonholed into a specific genre so to speak but all of the songs compliment and contrast each other perfectly, and you could certainly not accuse the her of writing to a formula.

What I really love about this album is the use of real acoustic instruments and the way that everything compliments each other to create a really natural yet overwhelming musical experience. The mixing is amazing - I've yet to find out who was the technician behind this masterpiece, but what really is the most important for me is Josephine's natural talent and how she is so simply brilliant.

In all honesty I can not stress enough how beautiful I find the voice of Josephine Oniyama. It is the perfect mellow tone without being lifeless and is full of sparkle, and it's completely unique. I have never heard another voice with a combination like hers. If anybody could link me to one, go ahead and I'll stand corrected, but it won't take away from her amazing talent.

This album will undoubtedly be a February hit for me because there is a song for every occasion on it. There are melancholy songs that haunt you and make your spine tingle- 'When We Were Tresspassers', 'Pray That I Move', 'House of Mirrors' - there is a fantastic feel-good song, 'A Freak A', and songs that just make you want to get up and move such as 'Pepper Shaker' and 'What a Day'. All in all, this is an album you can keep coming back to and I think that everybody who appreciates raw talent should have a copy of this album.


A link to Josephine's single, What A Day, on Soundcloud for those who have never ecountered her before.



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Sunday 3 February 2013

The Sunday Review - Paloma Faith's Fall to Grace Tour

Last week I had the privilege of attending Paloma Faith's York performance of her Fall to Grace tour, and it was absolutely amazing. It was so much more than just a concert because of the way that it put together music with lighting, setting, wardrobe and movement. It wasn't just music and it wasn't just theatre but it was certainly art. I'm going to start off by running through the basics of what happened in the show before evaluating it - not that I think I'm going to be able to find any flaws, so to speak.

To begin with, the support act Josephine really set it off with catchy tunes and quite simply an astonishing voice. She kind of reminded me of Tracy Chapman crossed with Heidi Herløw with a soothing and deep mellow tone but an incredibly wide and beautiful vibrato. I have to admit that I'd never heard of her before but since the concert I have practically had her album on repeat 24/7. She certainly has some amazing talent both vocally and instrumentally and has a very flattering dress sense as well as a brilliant stage presence. My only two slight criticisms were that some of her songs were a little repetitive for live performance - still brilliant, but I did find myself getting kind of lost in the meaning and forgetting as my attention span isn't really so good, and her bass player looked like he was really, really bored and didn't want to be there. Altogether though, I really enjoyed listening and would absolutely encourage you to go and buy Portrait, the album.
An image from my seat at the concert. Not the best quality in the world.

The next thing that happened was an unbearable break, as usually happens in gigs. It was that point when I felt very, incredibly lucky that I'd managed to get a seat instead of having to stand. That being said, though, standing certainly would have been worth it were I not sick.

When Paloma finally did enter the stage, she did so by coming through the centre of the curtains and honest to the Lord, I have no idea how she did it in those shoes. Any other woman would have tripped over and fallen flat on her face, and that's without worrying about having two huge fans strapped to your arms. Nonetheless, there was no falling done by Paloma that evening which is probably due to the intense amount of practice that she has had over the years.

She entered to a mix of instrumental and her own voice talking about where she'd come from etc. and this was a recurrence throughout the whole show, just with different words, obviously. A spotlight focused in and it was just her in front of the curtain as she began to sing and wave her fans around in a very artistic manner. A few further songs were done like this before the curtain pulled back to reveal the musicians behind her, at which point the continuous flow of songs did still not stop for a while. I loved these transitions where she would finish the song, the lights would go off and then come back on after she had taken a sip of drink to stop her throat from drying because it made it clear that this wasn't just a concert where musicians frequently do that, but more like theatre where you would never see the actors take a break. It just made the performance somehow more captivating and special. Her final song ended with what appeared to be petals falling from the ceiling, a truly sophisticated and beautiful touch.

The songs that she performed were obviously all from her 'Fall to Grace' album, but she also had a small section in the middle where she performed her most famous songs from her previous one,'Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful?' The mix proved nice, as did the contrast of the set because it wasn't all the same.

Paloma is undoubtedly one of the funniest artists around at the minute. She seems to be willing to make a complete fool of herself in the name of art and because of that she can completely get away with it. Some of the things she said were absolutely priceless, and her opening line was 'I'm not talking too much because I get carried away, and I ruin it all by talking. People just think: Get back to the Queen Vic!'. No Paloma, you do not ruin it at all, and please, come and perform for us again.

Outfit. Well, this is probably a big one here, prepare yourself. If you would like to see what she was wearing,  click here, but if you're happy with a description, well, she was wearing a red/pink (It's hard to tell under stage lights) and white striped maxi skirt, a white camisole and some bright pink/red shoes which I reckon could probably be from eveninglady.co.uk as she's said before that they are her signature shoes, along with the most enormous pink feathers on her head. I have to say, not many could rock that look without looking odd but she certainly did - even if she admitted that it was uncomfortable.

Onto my scoring. (Marks out of 10)

Support Act: 9
Music: 10
Transitions: 10
Lighting: 8
Pyrotechnics: 10
Fan service: 11
Constume: 10
.......................................................
Total: 67/70 (68)

If you ever get the opportunity to see Paloma live, I highly recommend it and I pray that she will come back to York someday.

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Saturday 2 February 2013

Hits and Misses #1 ~ January 2013

Yes, I'm beginning a new series! In this series I will be posting a monthly roundup of what I've found brilliant and what I've been disappointed in with the hopes of finding like-minded people - or people to prove to me a reason to like something that I don't.

Without further ado, let us get to the list~

MUSIC

Hits


  • Paloma Faith's 'Fall To Grace' tour - I went to see this the other day despite my illness and I'm so very, very glad that I did. The whole show was so much more than music because of the way that it was ingeniously put together. I'll do a proper concert review within the next week so I won't spoil it, but I will say that anybody who hasn't been or isn't going is missing out big time because it was a work of pure art.
  • 'Breakaway' album by Elizabeth Mis - Okay, this might not be that new since it was released in October but I've been really super addicted to it this month. A friend introduced it to me and that was it, I was hooked. I mean, electropop and jazz, what could be more perfect? It's certainly a feel-good album that's ideal if you want to get your butt into shape or have something to groove to. Not that I'm doing that being ill but, I'm enjoying imagining to groove and exercise.
  • The announcement of Tegomass' new single Sayonara ni Sayonari! Yes, you have permission to call me a crazed fangirl as it hasn't actually come out and I'm already excited, but this news has really cheered up my January and I did my happy dance right around the house when I found out.

Misses

  • 'The Big Reunion' on ITV2 - I started watching this programme thinking that it would be good because some of the bands starred I knew from when I was growing up. Unfortunately, it just made them look like wankers, if you'll please excuse my language. I thought it might be insightful to watch as I thought it would give an impression of little mistakes that they made that caused them to crash and burn. Unfortunately it turns out that they weren't all so little, especially in the case of Five who were just complete and utter arseholes. I don't normally speak like this of people, but the programme just made me quite exasperated at the fact that people actually looked up to them despite the way that they behaved. Also, I was not impressed with the way that Simon Cowell was portrayed (As I said, I try to reserve judgment). If that was really him praising them for burning down a hotel room etc. then I'm darn well out of the music business as fast as possible. However, I will be watching the next episode but purely because I want to see how Atomic Kitten will portray themselves.

Reserved Opinion

  • Sitti's move from Warner Music PH to Universal Music PH - I truly believe that there are both pros and cons to Sitti's move. With her new label, I think that she will go back to her roots in Bossa Nova and do what she loves which is probably the best thing for her happiness and will definitely mean that she produces some brilliant music, but I'm not sure if this change back to her previous style will necessarily mean that she keeps all of her fans in the younger generations or worldwide as I think there is a lot of love for Pop-Bossa diva Sitti. Personally though, I'm looking forward to hearing what she'll do next and will support her all the way.

FASHION/BEAUTY

Hits

  • SCARVES - As people may well be aware, my non-pseudonymous self is a full time headcovering Catholic and as Astrid-Gwynedd on a super low key lazy day, the same applies. Normally I wear enough of a covering to be symbolic and fashionable but still retain my modesty (which is hard with bright pink hair), but recently I've learnt to appreciate the beauty of a full covering to keep me warm, remind me to be close to God and cover my roots. Needless to say, the rest of the things on my hits-list will be all scarf related. If you're not interested in scarves, kbye skip to the 'misses' below.
  • PrincessRockz online store - If you're a devout Catholic, don't have a go at me for buying from stores aimed at Islamic women because this is England and it's very hard to find wide scarves at a decent price that you can cover your head with without looking for Hijabs. Anyway, this store has such an amazing variety of scarves and they are so quick to respond to your order and ship your items that I'm going to buy from them again and again and again, and would encourage anybody to do so.
  • PinzPinzPinz online store - I won't go into detail too much here as I've been preparing a review to kick start my SugaryTwinkle Youtube channel, but I will tell you that if you're looking to add a little va-va-voom to your scarves or even clothing for whatever reason you should absolutely check out the brooches and general sparklies here.

Misses

  • The obligatory 'GEEK' shirt - I'm not going to turn around and say that these don't look good because that would be lying, they do on certain people, it's just more of a 'WTF WHY???!'. I don't understand the obsession with labeling yourself with what has been a derogatory term for the last goodness-knows-how-long. It doesn't make you look self-respecting, and the word itself is the opposite of cool so, why do it? If it's supposed to be 'standing up' to bullying, well why not stick a label over your chest that says 'I AM AGAINST BULLYING.'? It just strikes me as being another hipster inspired thing that has infiltrated pop culture so I'm afraid it's a miss for me.

Here endeth the post, I hope that if you've read all of this it's been some use to you, or interesting, or stupid, or comedic, or at least provoked some reaction like 'omg she's a lunatic *__*'. Whatever you thought, feel free to bitch or be nice about it in the comments until next time! :)

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Friday 25 January 2013

Things That Bemuse Me #6: 'I hate xxxxx type of music so it is therefore ****'

We're almost all guilty of this in reality, whether you're so hipster you can't listen to 'popular music' because it 'all' sucks or whether music just isn't to your taste so you've decided that it's the devil in disguise and anybody who likes it is to be under no circumstances associated with you. The chances are that every reader of this blog has thought something like that at some point or another.

I'll admit, I do this all the time because I have a particular distaste for  the majority of Kpop which I shall perhaps cover in another post, not now. Though actually I normally just can't help but be vocal about it - especially with the bloomin' Gangnam style craze at the minute.

Recently though, with much prodding from my Tech teacher, I can't help but wonder if I need to learn/force myself to appreciate music that I wouldn't normally choose to listen to. Obviously, there are some bands that just are and always will be a load of shit but they are only specific bands and do not actually represent the entire genre as a whole.

 Within a genre there's generally likely to be at least one decent artist to somebody's ears and analysing that could be very useful to the modern self-promoting musician who wants to make a song to target a group of people. Or alternatively you could just use your analysis to judge a person, but that's not very nice.

At the end of the day music is art, and art is only beauty depending on the eye that perceives it. Just because you dislike something doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a single clever idea that went into it, and it doesn't mean that everything sounds exactly like that within a genre.
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