BUANASENI

... delightful experience this must be for a baby ...


















Title: Baby Roll Over
Medium: Photography & Photo-effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 4:00pm; 24 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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ENDRIX is my Idol. I am sure he is (Idol) for most of you who appreciate guitars. I don't intend to write much on this post. All I want to share is the below list... a Top 10 list for the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone (2011). It is no surprise that Hendrix is at the top of the list. Why? Well, my personal opinion is that: Hendrix revolutionarised guitar playing to an unprecedented level. He made guitar solo and vocals to co-exist as the body of a song simultaneously rather than having guitar solos as a distinct section of a song arrangement. He trancended Rock and Roll and Blues to a more dignified status, but his (genre), is a signature that no one can ever recreate without plagiarising his tunes. He is the founder of Freakish-Blues. Truly a Legend. Hail Hendrix!

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D'Kechewas rocked the stage at Media Prima Nite Live TV Screenings 2012 Post-Party

'KECHEWAS once again stormed a night, this time at Media Prima Berhad's TV Screenings for 2012, "The Media Prima Nite Live", on Friday 28 November 2011. The band had the same line up as per previous appearance at Hard Rock Cafe Penang last year. As usual, the Sifu, Ahmad Izham Omar, led the band into what is said to be their best performance so far. They chose good songs relevant to the crowd. They modified the song arrangements to be more accomodative of the ambience and, they even added in some "retarts" (odd timing pauses) in between verses and choruses. The vocalists, MZul and Iesta, a magnificent duo, who exchanged jokes in between songs, did so tactfully to the extent that panties were flying in the air onto the stage - pink and black ones to be exact.

The music saga started with the intense and provocative drum beat from Eddy filling the air with adrenalin rush. The sound was familiar to the crowd where you could see some half-head-bangings happening. Azhar joined Eddy with the riff that only confirms the crowd's anticipation of the song,...... Are You Gonna Go My Way by Kravitz. Shortly, the keyboards, the bass and the percussions filled the air and off went Iesta with the lyrics sounding just as charismatic as Lenny Kravitz, if not better. (Video recording of this song in the U-Tube link below)

....... a concise, simultaneous and forceful strike of the note "C" by the guitars, bass and keyboards, coupled with the drum hit, simply gave a punch to a very rocking song. Kappowwww!

Just as soon as the first song ended, the Drummer went "One, Two, Three......" (Errrr... was it "Two, Three, Four..."?), and the whole band rushed into the intro for Crying by Aerosmith (In the above U-Tube link). The sweet, calm and melodic first few verses of the song sort of stabilised the crowd for a while but the chaotic floor went crazy again the minute Iesta hit the chorus. At one point Iesta pointed to Azhar shouting Azhar's name and that was when, the magnificent solo skills of Azhar manifested itself to the world. Towards the end, the first "retart" was done with Iesta's hand up in the air pausing every band member's urge to hit a note resulting in a total silence enveloping the air. The minute the hand stroke downwards, a concise, simultaneous and forceful strike of the note "C" by the guitars, bass and keyboards, coupled with the drum hit, simply gave a punch to a very rocking song. Kappowwww!

The band took their time to rest a bit while MZul and Iesta entertained the crowd with jokes and prize giving sessions. The band also took the opportunity to clear the stage from having panties lying around (thrown by the crowd). Then it was the time for another song when MZul shouted "We're gonna do a number from Stoooone, Templeeeeeeeee, Pilooooooooots....". The crowd went into the luna mode again when the vocalist, this time MZul, starts the ball rolling for an alternative, grunge and popular song Plush. It was a cool and smooth song that ended with a heartfelt piano playing by Izham.... but,.. it wasn't an "End",.... it was a "Beginning". A beginning to another song - a gimmick Izham loves to do.

The soft piano piece suddenly means a lot to the crowd when MZul started to sing Oasis' Don't Look Back in Anger,... at which point, Johan was already sitting down on the stage's front staircase with his hands up in the air waving left to right and vice versa, only to be followed by the crowd. The soothing verses of the song came to a profound rhythmic composure when all musical instrument started to make sound at the bridge of the song, into the chorus. The song ended with Izham's beautiful piano playing again except that this time, it was the true ending with no gimmicks. To set the stage for what was to come afterwards, three additional musicians came onto the stage carrying a trombone, a saxaphone and a trumpet.

Izham started the piano/keyboards with a soulful rhythm and shortly, drums and bass kicked in with the horns flanking the motion. The sound was a familiar one (to those who were there at Hard Rock Cafe Penang previously) and Iesta's words only confirmed it when he went "Mustang Sallyyyy...... " (A song by Wilson Picket). Iesta, MZul and Johan moved their bodies to the grove while Dato Kamal's voice can be heard for backing vocals. The entire band participated extraordinarily on this one as most of them seem to claim that this is their signature cover song (as naturally earmarked at Hard Rock Cafe Penang). To mark the special status, Izham had the horns section from the band (Audrey's) that performed earlier during the TV Screenings to join us. To add the gimmick, we had a "retart" on this one! The second Iesta reached "Now you come around, signifying a woman baby.....", the entire band went silence until he continued "you won't, you won't let me ride.. Mustang Sally...", the band rushed in at "Sally".

Next was MZul's dancing session. Mzul declared "I feel I wanna dance" and the band went funky with Prince's Kiss. Somewhere in the middle of the song MZul and Iesta did some "Piccadilly" dance moves but as usual, MZul couldn't resist dancing with the girls on the floor. He jumped down from the stage and started dancing with the crowd. Guess what, another "retart"!!! but this time, MZul took his time. It was a long silence until he went "Women not,..." at which point, Eddy struck the snare and the whole band was in action again.

The last number had to be Izham's choice. The leader chooses the finale. It is from his favourite band, The Beatles. The song was most appropriate to close the occasion with dignity, satisfaction and joy (except that the bassist suffered the most given the fast pace running bass for the entire song). D'Kechewas closed the night with I Saw Her Standing There.








The Bassist of D'Kechewas






__________


D'Kechewas are:

By order of appearance in the below photo from left to right:

Rhythm Guitars and Vocals: M.Zul
Bass: Johan
Keyboards: Izham Omar
Drums: Eddy
Lead Guitars: Azhar Borhan
Vocals: Iesta
Percussions and Backing Vocals: Dato' Kamal (not in the photo)

Title: White White Orkid
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Date: 6 December 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Red Red Rose
Medium: Photography & Photo-effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Date: 1 October 2011
Venue: SSF Bandar Sri Damansara
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Title: Part 2 of Skin Colour is Meaningless to a Child
Medium: Photography & Photo-effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 2:54am; 12 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Skin Colour is Meaningless to a Child
Medium: Photography & Photo-effects
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 2:08am; 10 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: The Eye of a Sleeping Baby
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 10:06pm; 9 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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"Seniman di awan perlu disauhkan kembali ke Bumi nyata"

ARI ini aku berpeluang berdebat dengan seorang seniman, seorang karyawan, seorang penulis yang juga seorang kawan lama. Naluri beliau amat kecewa dengan sikap rakyat negara ini yang kononnya buta seni. Kita, dikatakan tidak mengendah seni sebagai satu aspek kehidupan yang relevan. Lihat saja bagaimana negara asing menerima seni seadanya sebagai komponen pembangunan budaya dan minda manusia yang menjanjikan kesinambungan evolusi yang progresif. Seni di negara ini hanya memberi makna jika ia membabitkan pulangan wang yang setimpal. Aku hanya cuma mampu berkata "Seniman di awan perlu disauhkan kembali ke Bumi nyata". beliau bertanya "Apa maksud kau?" Aku bilang, "Senang saja 'brader', seni perlu di'komersial'isasikan". Beliau berkata "Itulah dia dilema seniman. Kalau nakkan duit, maka seni tidak bermakna. Seni tidak bebas. Seni cuma diperlacurkan demi wang".

Sebelum rakyat dapat menerima seni sebagai aliran utama untuk punca pendapatan, ianya perlu memberi kesan ekonomi yang cukup untuk memberi peluang bakal-bakal seniman untuk mengecapi kehidupan yang menjanjikan rezeki yang stabil. Kalau seorang anak meminta dari kedua ibubapanya "Ayah, Mak, saya nak belajar muzik (sebagai contohnya)". Nescaya ibubapa akan menolak idea itu sama sekali. Kononnya bidang iktisas (profesional) yang lain seperti kejuruteraan, perakaunan atau peguaman lebih menjanjikan masa depan yang cerah bagi anak-anak mereka. Sebenarnya, mereka tidak salah. Mereka hanya impikan apa yang terbaik untuk anak-anak. Maka dengan itu, secara keseluruhannya, kita perlu memertabatkan seni secukup tinggi untuk sampai ke tahap relevan yang memadai bagi rakyat menerima seni sebagai bidang profesional yang diterima umum.

Siapalah sangat seniman yang boleh mengais rezeki di negara ini? Aku bukannya peka sangat terhadap dunia seni tanahair tetapi kalau diungkapkan kembali minda aku ini, cuma segelintir nama sahaja yang dapat aku lafazkan. Seni lukis mungkin ada dua tiga nama seperti Allahyarham Ibrahim Hussein, Ismail Latif dan Jaafar Taib. Seni reka cuma satu nama yang terkeluar dari pemikiran ini, iaitu Hijaz Kasturi (entah Dato' atau tidak). Seni perfileman ada banyak tapi aku cuma ingat Dato' Yusuf Haslam. Seni muzik lebih banyak pengikutnya seperti Dato' M. Nasir, Ahmad Izham Omar dan KRU. Kartunis, tak lain tak bukan, Dato' Lat. Seni tarian misalnya ada Pat Ibrahim. Memang kita boleh senaraikan nama dengan panjang jelanya tetapi, bolehkan seniman mengais rezeki yang secukupnya? Pokoknya, cuma sebilangan kecil sahaja yang dapat mencapai tahap ekonomi yang memberangsangkan.

Punca akar umbinya ialah masyarakat itu sendiri. Jika masyarakat tidak menerima seni sebagai satu aspek kehidupan yang penting, maka sampai bila-bilalah seni tidak diberi pengiktirafan yang bermakna, atau setakat minimanya, sekurang-kurang diberi peluang untuk berkembang. Memang banyak institut pengajian menawarkan bidang seni untuk siswa/siswi seperti Universiti ITM atau Lim Kok Wing, tetapi graduan-graduan seni masih menghadapi benteng yang mengecewakan apabila perjuangan seni itu hanya boleh mendatangkan pendapatan dari sudut akademia sahaja.

Apa yang perlu berlaku adalah 'komersial'isasi seni di negara ini. Masyarakat perlu mengubah minda untuk memberi peluang kepada dunia seni. Memang kerajaan ada peruntukan untuk seni tetapi tidak mencukupi pada firasat aku. Seni perlu wujud dalam naluri kita. Sebagai contohnya 'Theatre'. Semenjak Istana Budaya ditubuhkan, makin ramai penghuni Kuala Lumpur boleh menerima seni itu. Dengan itu muncullah pelbagai usahawan yang mahu berkecimpung di dalam bidang 'Theatre'. Itu pun bukan semua yang sanggup teruskan perjuangan. Baru-baru ini aku melayar 'blog' seorang ahli 'Theatre', Boudeng. Aku berasa sedih kerana beliau secara terang-terang mengumumkan yang beliau tidak lagi mahu meneruskan perjuangan 'Theatre'.

Ada banyak lagi bidang seni yang masyarakat patut menghayati. Sebagai contohnya seni lukis. Tidak banyak yang sanggup membelanjakan wang untuk membeli lukisan sebagai pelaburan. Kalau di Paris atau di New York, pelukis boleh membuat duit yang lumayan. Saya difahamkan bandaraya-bandaraya di Amerika sudahpun mempolisikan peruntukan wang untuk seni bagi projek bangunan. Makna kata, jika sesebuah syarikat ingin membina bangunan, ia mesti melibatkan seni, kebanyakan dalam bentuk 'Sculpture'. Walaupun ini merupakan satu pemaksaan, ianya, mungkin, satu hari nanti akan memberi kesan positif kepada ekonomi negara. Lihat saja Menara Berkembar Petronas. Tidakkah banyak pengunjung dari luar negara yang datang ke Malaysia? Mereka (pelancong) membelanjakan wang di negara kita dan dengan secara tidak langsungnya memberi kesan positif kepada ekonomi negara melalui wang pelancongan.

Kita sudah lihat bagaimana manusia dari segala pelusuk dunia membelanjakan wang untuk pergi ke Louvre di Paris untuk hanya berdiri selama sepuluh saat di hadapan lukisan Mona Lisa oleh Leonardo Da' Vinci. Banyak lagi contoh-contoh yang masuk akal seperti seni Gaudi di Barcelona, Statue of Liberty di New York, lukisan-lukisan oleh Raphael dan Michaelangelo di Vatican City, seni perusahaan kaca di Venice dan banyak lagi. Di Malaysia apa yang kita ada? Kalau Tun Mahathir tak benarkan Menara Berkembar Petronas, yang ada hanyalah lukisan di dinding pagar Penjara Pudu. Itu pun sudah hancur diroboh. Tak usah pergi jauh. Saya difahamkan di Vietnam ada Lembah Pelukis ('Valley of Artist') di mana pelancong boleh pergi membeli pelbagai lukisan di sebuah perkampungan pelukis. Bayangkan Vietnam yang tidak sehebat Malaysia dari segi ekonominya pun boleh wujud kesedaran seni sebagai sesuatu yang relevan. Ya! memang Malaysia pun ada, contohnya pembuatan wau, songket dan ukiran di Pantai Timur, tetapi tidaklah sehebat artifak-artifak seni yang boleh diperolehi dari Bali, sebagai contohnya.

Aku berasa amat sedih. Bukan sahaja sahabat lama yang aku baru jumpa hari ini, malah seminggu yang lalu pun aku berjumpa dengan pengusaha seni 'sculpture' yang memberi ulasan yang sama, iaitu, seni di negara ini tidak boleh buat duit. Sebagai pencinta seni, aku berasa keinginan untuk berkecimpung di dalam bidang peng'komersial'isasi seni untuk memperjuangkan nasib seniman ataupun bakal seniman negara di masa hadapan. Setakat ini aku belum menjumpai aliran yang boleh memberi aku peluang untuk mengais rezeki yang stabil sambil memperjuangkan seni tanahair. Kalaulah diberi peluang, kemungkinan aku akan turut serta inisiatif-inisiatif yang seumpama itu.

Aku bermimpi suatu hari nanti kalau anak aku berkata "Daddy, saya mahu belajar muzik (atau seni lukis, atau seni lakonan, atau seni apa pun)", aku akan dengan senang hatinya berkata "Silakan anak". Tapi apakan daya, aku pun takut untuk membenarkan kehendak yang sedemikian. Tapi apa-apa pun, kita semua, masyarakat secara keseluruhannya perlu barganding bahu memberi peluang kepada seniman dan bakal seniman di negara ini. Bak kata Dato' Ibrahim Hussein sebelum permergian beliau kembali ke Rahmatullah: "Seniman, walaupun tidak praktikal, kami berkarya dari lubuk naluri yang datang dari keperibadian seniman itu sendiri untuk dunia yang kita semua kenali" - translasi dari ucapan beliau di dalam Bahasa Inggeris yang berbunyi "Artists, creative people, we're not practical, we work from the heart. It comes out of your private world and into the world everyone knows"

"Seniman, walaupun tidak praktikal, kami berkarya dari lubuk naluri yang datang dari keperibadian seniman itu sendiri untuk dunia yang kita semua kenali" Kata-kata Allahyarham Dato' Ibrahim Hussein

Pencinta Seni,

Johan Ishak
6 Disember 2011; 3:25 pagi

Title: Dianugerahkan Zuriat
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr & Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 5:00pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Kamar Sepi Bertemankan Pohon Di Jendela
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 2:59pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Melangkah XV
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Ian Zuhayr Johan
Time/Date: 3:05pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Melangkah XIV
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 3:15pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Melangkah XIII
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 3:25pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Melangkah XII
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Model: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 3:35pm; 3 Dec 2011
Venue: S13 Shah Alam
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Title: Kehijauan Mawar Putih
Medium: Photography
Photographer: Johan Ishak
Time/Date: 6:35pm; 26 Nov 2011
Venue: Bangi
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