dizzy & the

peering out of our cave

2010-11-05T13:41:00.002+08:00

Hullo! We took ourselves off the shelf, dusted our shoulders a little, and are making ourselves look presentable for TWO shows tomorrow :D

Show #1: Launch of Artisan Roast

The's bandmate Alang and his friends just opened up a coffee place off Jalan Ampang. We'll be playing alongside Azmyl Yunor and Reza Salleh - a chilled out set amongst pretty shady trees and cups of good coffee. Event details here.

Show #2: Taylor's University's Indo Night

The good folk at Taylor's University are hosting an Indo Night tomorrow featuring a variety of Indonesian acts, food, etc. We're wondering how we'll fit in as usual, but Dizzy suspects The's Indonesian blood might come in handy. Details here.

Come ah or we don't friend you.

♥

urbanscapes 2010 + palate palette 31 July

2010-07-05T10:28:00.003+08:00

We wish we had more stuff to show you from our session under the tree at Urbanscapes, but so far we've only uncovered one video (thank you Wayne!) of strangely enough, Believe Me I Saw It On The Internet. It's a poem to my cat which I wrote because she was trying to walk into the microwave.

What we did different THIS time at our gig was before we started, we passed around bits of paper containing one poem from our setlist. It was randomly assigned and we did spot some people trading poems after the show, which was what we hoped would have happened. In the past we've had people come up to us before saying they missed out on a few words (A GREAT EXAMPLE is the poem Wayne shot because frankly it's a bit crazy).

Maybe we'll do this at all our shows from now on?

See for yourself at Palate Palette, 31 July at 9:30pm. RM15 gets you in with a drink.

(applicable to everyone who isn't perving on Katy Perry the same night, that is)

the wknd sessions, a video we should've put up AGES ago!

2010-07-05T10:18:00.000+08:00

Immigrant & Interpreter + Prime Number

Thanks to popteevee and The Wknd!

fashion for passion

2010-04-01T18:44:00.004+08:00

We are performing tomorrow (Friday, Apr 2) for a really great cause.

Come by Bangsar Shopping Center at 8pm
Visit www.orkidstudio.co.uk beforehand; they're the charity that invited us!
Complete Fashion For Passion charity fundraiser details here.

Thanks to Su Mei for inviting us. Here's hoping you haven't been pranked too often this April Fool's day.
See you tomorrow!

our letter to JUICE

2010-02-20T00:19:00.004+08:00

which we've just sent and would also like to share to new friends landing here from the article about us in the February issue of JUICE magazine. (for those who haven't seen it yet, we're trying to find a scanner).

Dear JUICE,

As well excited as we were when the call came for us to play around in your February issue, we've just read the accompanying article, and figured we should set a few things straight.

Our EP is not at all available at "the best record stores", only through us. Unfortunately we only handmade a few hundred copies, & they're all sold out.
The first page of our effort seems to have skipped publication, & so we'd like to clarify that only the second half of Wildcats was printed.
Most importantly, Dizzy is Liyana, & The is Alia in our little duo— really not vice versa!

We would have gladly provided these details & our blog to JUICE along with Wildcats if we had known they were needed. After all, our memory of being named your Best Spoken Word Album of 2009 is still fresh in our heads, and now we have you to thank again for our biggest spread in a magazine to date.

Dizzy (Liyana) & The (Alia)

http://dizzyandthe.blogspot.com

---

Our next post, hopefully, will be the complete version of our handwritten Wildcats for everyone to read. Once we find it!

PS: We have a pretty ridiculous idea for our next release, and hopefully things will be set into motion before middle 2010. We'll flood you with updates when we're done working it out.

dizzy & the's first post of 2010

2010-01-09T16:54:00.002+08:00

our first project of the year had nothing to do with a performance. It took all day and we're pretty happy with it. Watch out for Juice Magazine's issue next month (I think).

This is the first photo of us taken in 2010. Thank you, Adrianna Tan!

we're 2nd runner-up in Junksounds!

2009-12-22T22:44:00.003+08:00

I know I cast my vote for Arabyrd and Tenderfist, but thank you everyone who chose to vote for us! We somehow persisted in that mad sweep of winning Indonesians and came in as 2nd runner-up in the Electronic/Fusion category!

Congratulations as well to Goodnight Electric :)

PS: hey, that's not our myspace...

usually it's the other way around, I think

2009-12-08T17:04:00.004+08:00

photo by lainie yeoh

our performance at book launch of 'What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You'

2009-12-07T17:02:00.001+08:00

feel the need to relive our last performance (of the year possibly) over and over again?!! well even if you don't, we'll just leave it here anyway, just in case you might want to, who knows.

credit for the video goes to our 200th ep customer! thank you!

hey, about the whole sold-out thing

2009-12-06T11:34:00.002+08:00

if there was anyone on the waiting list or who was interested in buying a copy but, well, due to bad luck or misaligned fates we never managed to meet up since the release— the ship might have sailed, but do email us. we believe we have a secret solution :)

200 sold!

2009-12-05T22:19:00.003+08:00

I am writing this in the car with Alia behind the wheel. Fueled by the purchasing power of kind strangers and in the mighty shadow of Farish Noor's new book launch, tonight we have sold absolutely all 200 copies of our self-titled EP! Thank you everyone for making us feel a little like rockstars :)

Juice Magazine voted us Best Spoken Word Album of 2009 which is also crazy awesome. Alia and I personally think there might not have been many other contenders in the category, but since it's now out there, we're pretty psyched at the possibility of spoken word releases proliferating henceforth.

I don't always write like this but we're happy and in a traffic jam! Thank you everyone!

Best Electronic/Fusion Act (Solo/Group) — Dizzy & The?

2009-10-06T13:48:00.005+08:00

we're pretty blown away that there's space for us in the JunkSounds '09 nomination category, especially since it's regional! Crazy stuff. Of course this means we're up against very, very solid and diverse acts (you think fusion food is confusing? mix all of us together yo), and even our latest music-crush, Tenderfist. Tenderfist rocked our world the last time we saw them, which happened to have us on the line-up as well. They don't even have a release yet but we're standing in line for a trade.

Also, an awesome tweeting byrd we know was there to check them out too, and turns out she's also in on the nominations! So that's Dizzy & The, sidebyside Arabyrd, and Tenderfist, together agaaaain.

And we haven't even talked about the ones from other countries yet...
So. Can we just say upfront that it really is awesome to be nominated?
Because it really is :)
Thanks Junk.

And I don't know about Alia, but I'm not voting for myself. Just seems weird.

TimeOut KL; interview now, show later

2009-09-08T20:42:00.005+08:00

Stop! TimeOut Time! (The will kill me for that). Aaaaanyway, TimeOut was also kind enough to invite us to play at their monthly installment show, No Black Tie. We'll be in September's edition on the 16th. it's in our google calendar. bring it on!

dizzy & the quick quick quickie!

2009-08-20T01:13:00.008+08:00

We were just live on TV!
We really were!
But I was really nervous and kept staring away from the camera, so my mother at home thought I was reading something. Fail. My heart was in my throat.

Since I don't know how to embed videos, you can watch us right here yes click right here if you missed it!
(but you'll need to sign up first if you haven't already)

Thank you 8TV, Shaz (for the invitation), Asman (for taking care of us), very cheeky hosts Prem and Henry, Matthew (for calling in), the mask-wearing makeup ladies dan sewaktu dengannya.

did we make your hearts grow fonder?

2009-08-19T11:08:00.003+08:00

one.
September 16th at No Black Tie for a Time Out KL gig, come come and watch us after buka. More details as we know them. We're gonna be featured in an interview with them too, will post the link when it's online!

zwei.
As you saw in our previous post, we were at Cloth & Clef a while ago, and here's the podcast if you missed it. Thank you to our favorite soundman Mac for balancing the recordings so you guys won't go deaf listening to "Believe Me, I Saw It On The Internet", hehe.

tiga.
SSK's "RM - Rap Melayu" is out! And if you squint at the tracklisting, you'll see that we are guests on the 3rd track "Chenta", also featuring Sipanitera. If not for our awkward geekgirl charm (cough), do get the album; we're big fans of these guys, they're all sorts of awesome :D
(ps: my favorite track is ATFL)

cuatro.
We'll be on 8TV's Quickie at midnight tonight. So if you want to see us caked in makeup and cloaked in even more awkwardness, do tune in! For those outside Malaysia, we'll post up a link to the video if it does get uploaded.

V.
We were almost going to be in Singapore this weekend for a show organized by the amazing Bani Haykal of B-Quartet and his girlfriend Ila, but we do sincerely apologize for not being able to make it, as there were delays and miscommunications. Fret not, however, I (The) will be there next weekend for the rescheduled show - but not to perform though - so say hi if you wanna :)
(will post up a link to the almost-show's flyer once it's out)

when we were at cloth & clef.

2009-06-26T23:04:00.001+08:00

thanks to malayrish for taking the photos of our show :) it was quite an interesting turnout, and we loved the rest of the lineup. and thanks to C&C for having us!

more for your play button

2009-06-26T10:28:00.002+08:00

Remember our appearance on The Wknd? If you just can't get enough *cough*, head on over here to order a copy of The Wknd Sessions Volume 1 on DVD, featuring Azyml Yunor, Otam, Estrella, Paolo Delfino, Meor, Reza Salleh, Shahridir & Nizam P, Couple, Deepset, Bunkface, and us!

Includes extra footage from the first 11 episodes, and you get 10 free mp3s from Popfolio :D RM30 inclusive of postage and handling, or if you can't wait, come to Urbanscapes this Saturday. Limited copies available.

Dizzy & The are, unfortunately, not performing for Urbanscapes, but I'll be on stage with Furniture in the afternoon (and we might just barge into open mic, who knows? hehe). Come say hello!

DELIVERY ANNOUNCEMENT

2009-06-19T00:02:00.002+08:00

For those of you who want us to post you the CD, please email us with your address at dizzyandthe [at] gmail, so we can work out payment methods (money order? bank draft? well-concealed benjamins?). For deliveries within peninsular Malaysia, it will cost around RM20. For deliveries overseas, we'll customize costs according to order, which will include price of CD + price of postage + possible processing charges, depending on payment method. Or just email us to say hi, we're very nice little girls :D

So watchoo be waitin' for, foo?

shameful promo by shameless people

2009-05-29T17:26:00.002+08:00

some of dizzy & the's favourite boys, faiz (can dance) and uzair (cannot), including our henchman major behind the camera majin. belated thank yous for everyone who came to bentley that day (for yuna <3) (and happened to see us before her slot). for those who came up and took pictures, share share with us on facebook / myspace.

if anyone has problems with the cds they bought that day, send an email and we will work things out.

a quick one! (oh, pun)

2009-05-23T01:50:00.005+08:00

we're up tomorrow evening circa 5pm-ish at homegrown space, wisma bentley, in mutiara damansara, right before yuna, who oh-so-kindly pimped out the show on 8tv's quickie (aka NATIONAL TELEVISION). dizzy & i are trying not to pee in our pants at the amount of people in the audience. but we are excited, yes, and we are bringing copies of our EP :)

p/s - scroll down this link for a video of our performance at homegrown space's launch on may 8th.
p/p/s - we've been in a couple of maga zines of late; scans of the clippings will be posted soon!

performance at findars, annexe

2009-05-11T17:16:00.000+08:00

May 10, 2009. thank you to findars for the video!

for those of you missing booklets in our EP

2009-05-07T14:32:00.003+08:00

well, only ONE person reported so far, but it doesn't hurt to be careful;
downloading and printing this on a sheet of paper makes you not one, but two copies :)

Dizzy & The EP Booklet (download)

flyer: for 7th and the 23rd at Homegrown Space

2009-05-07T14:20:00.005+08:00

RSVP on the Facebook page!

update!

2009-04-27T19:19:00.003+08:00

both The and I don't have internet connections at the moment, so this place is looking pretty quiet. Sorry about that.

But we do have gigs coming up on the 8th of May, 3pm onwards at the Homegrown Space launch in Wisma Bentley Mutiara Damansara. Look for that event on Facebook! We will also be performing at Findars Annexe, Central Market on the 10th of May, 8pm onwards.

Thanks to Homegrown and Mak Soundscapes respectively for inviting us. Come by for one of the events or better still, both! Awesomely different lineups on each day.

chill sessions / cloth & clef

2009-04-08T16:40:00.001+08:00

We'll be performing tomorrow at Cloth & Clef, 9pm!

Here is the facebook event page. Be sure to RSVP!

EPness creeping slowly across the internetz

2009-01-19T16:23:00.001+08:00

to our surprise, we found ourselves

on videolumpur (thanks to adlin and the person who submitted us!)
and dotxom has written a mini review/blurb on our EP
junkonline helped spread the word too!

thanks guys. seen us anywhere lately? tell us!
(cause seriously, most of the time we have no idea)

OMG 404

2009-01-17T18:25:00.006+08:00

Rocket just called and said her favourite track was wrongly numbered! Okay so for future reference, tracks 6 and 7 are wrongly labelled in the booklet tracklist; so it's

immigrant & interpreter (track 6) - Rocket's favourite
scarecrow & songbird (track 7)

Sorry about the confusion, the CDs were burned by Alia, the booklet was made by me separately, so the little error slipped past us somehow. if you (like me) can't stand little errors like this, I will make you a new booklet. Sorry again!

the waiting list

2009-01-16T00:21:00.021+08:00

copies left: 137 <-- not so sure anymore, I've lost count - Dizzy purchases pending:

~~Srikasih Febriyanti Supriyadi (1)~~
~~Uzair Sawal (2)~~
~~Rocket Queen (1)~~
Farah, California (1)
~~Jin Hackman (1)~~
Fariz NBE (1)
Farid Saph (1)
~~Yung Shen Schizzow (1)~~
Johan Nordin (1)
Noah Lee, California (1)
Lili, New York (1)
Noorazah Hanim (1)
~~Mohd Effuan Aswadi (1)~~
Anjanna Kukreja (1)
~~Adam Kasturi (1)~~

email/facebook/text us for any changes and additions!

we don't have a show coming up soon just yet. Dizzy might have a show in late February; but until then, maybe we'll bump into each other at events, or to be more certain; if you'll be in the area of Curve / Hartamas / Bukit Jalil / KLCC, give us a day's notice or so and we can COD + maybe some makan makan.

yes sir

2009-01-15T02:18:00.000+08:00

IT'S TIME: to let us into your hearts and homes.

dizzyandthe at gmail.com

our new ep is OUT!

2009-01-14T17:14:00.002+08:00

Dizzy & The talks about their debut EP from Uzair Sawal on Vimeo.

Dizzy & The & THE PAIN OF LOVE

2008-12-29T22:04:00.004+08:00

o hai pplz.

i am here to inform you that the album is in its final stages of packaging. we're really taking our time, we know, but there's been a lot going on. from being an extra in a malay drama... to just general drama overall. that's another story. anyway. we should, however, have copies ready for when i go to singapore next week for stars! so if any of you singaporeans were to be so kind as to want a copy, please drop us a line at our email and i will bring one for you! and come say hi if you see me, i will reciprocate with bear hugs.

peace. (and have a good 2009!)

ps: in the meantime, we're on katagender as part of their tomboy photo project here.

thank you to lepaq!

2008-11-17T20:25:00.007+08:00

photo by sleepwalker

that is, Lepaq Cafe and Zara and Danial for inviting us to their Acoustic Poetry gig. The lineup was stellar and we were proud to be a part of it, even if we felt a little out of place (just a little, heh). Thank you!

oh how cute

2008-10-28T18:03:00.002+08:00

was going through some old notes and scribbles, and found a list (i make a LOT of lists) from last year listing out possible music ventures. and there on the list, right after 'azmyl', is 'li'.

i have notes from when we still didn't have a name! win :D

here's the wknd video!

2008-10-25T01:00:00.004+08:00

to the whole of the wknd, thank you so much for having us! if you click their link you can also see a rambling six minute interview of Alia and I being very un-Dizzy-&-The-like. Alijo was a champion for bearing with us.

which one is which?

2008-10-24T20:40:00.004+08:00

Which is which? I hope you caught us on The Wknd. We're done and currently finding a way to make 200+ CDs to fit in the packages we've folded out. We wanted to do a launch barbecue party where you pay a little bit for a copy of the CD and get some awesome bbq buffet on the side, but I don't think we can squeeze it into our starving-student budget.

Selamat Deepavali!

spinster city

2008-10-16T15:29:00.000+08:00

me: i wanna use the computer for a bit
li: i was just about to update the blog to tell them we were working on packaging, why don't you do it?
me: you're more eloquent than i am, you tell them
li: you're already there, just go to blogger
me: tak pandaiii
li: mengada

(5 minutes later, after she sees me typing out this entry)

dizzy: shouldn't it be dizzy and the? instead of me and li?
the: oh yeah it probably should
dizzy: tell them we're having a how i met your mother marathon at the same time

selamat aidilfitri!

2008-10-03T21:39:00.004+08:00

photo by zatula

Dizzy & The hopes everyone is having a safe and fun Raya. We've stopped (well paused) eating for awhile to say that the latest round of mixing has gone well and might be our last. Awesome! And I apologize for the super cheesy peace sign. A little.

a very exciting weekend

2008-09-12T01:07:00.003+08:00

well not really, but Dizzy & The got a phone call the other day with an offer way too amazing to pass up. It's not exactly a gig, but I already gave a hint. Let's not jinx it!

our new facebook photo

2008-09-12T01:05:00.003+08:00

just becausez. Location; Asia Cafe, on a recording break and waiting for our food to come (it shows, I think). Credits to Wordsmanifest, once again.

yay yay yay (part 1)

2008-09-07T22:57:00.004+08:00

we're done with recording! we're actually done! finally went back into the studio on friday to record some finishing touches and interludes here and there. after a while, it was evident that we didn't really have that much left to record, so we dashed out of there soonest for a celebratory sahur with adek, na and mokh (dia belanja makan! woo). of course there's still mixing and mastering and pressing and packaging and and and all that lah. but the first daunting part of putting out an ep is done and we're as happy as camping clams. mixing starts this coming friday, and i can hardly wait; i want that damned cd in my hands already dammit.

we'll keep you posted. i am the, signing out.

wayang kata + merdeka cafe

2008-09-02T06:12:00.006+08:00

We're so happy that people came out to watch us, especially at No Black Tie for Wayang Kata and its awful weather that night. The reception for both gigs were awesome, we made new friends, and people came up to talk to us after the show with feedback, which we always love.

Thanks especially for people who were there for both shows (Zalila Lee!) and to the organisers for inviting us. So sorry to Rantai that we had to turn down their gig on the 29th. We debuted a new track at both shows called Believe Me, I Saw It On The Internet about my cat and we heard that it was a lot of people's favourite of both sets. Cat lovers are made of win!

We don't know when our next show is again, we're still riding the high of those two. Alia tells me the album will be ready for packaging after Raya, and I plan on making the packaging process itself as snappy and stylish as possible. Hold on tight till after Raya, people, then let go... of a bit of cash. I'm. so. funny.

PS: If anyone has photos and videos of that night we would really appreciate a link!

merdeka, yaw!

2008-08-20T23:06:00.003+08:00

We're probably going to be rather out of place here, but Dizzy & The is performing for the Merdeka Cafe gig (coinciding with the fantastic and cheap Art For Grabs bazaar!) on the 31st of August at The Annexe. Here's the lineup for the day itself:

Peter Hassan + Markiza [1pm – 1.20pm]
13 Voices In My Head [1.30pm – 1.50pm]
Dizzy & The [2pm – 2.20pm]
Mei Chern [2.30pm – 3pm]
Fathulistiwa Soundscapes [3.30pm – 3.50pm]
Bernice Chauly [4pm to 4.20pm]
Jerome Kugan [4.30pm – 5pm]

So come and watch! On the 30th other amazing folk like Zalila Lee and Priya K will be performing too. I'm probably going for both days.

we said we would!

2008-08-13T19:07:00.003+08:00

and just like that, we have a gig. Okay, not really 'just like that'. But we had to turn down quite a few on the account of me wanting to try being in a 10 minute play. Sorry to those we turned down, believe me, we really wanted it (I mean, a chance to play in UiTM, LostGenSpace, or Rantai? That would have been something).

27th of August! Heads up!

coming along

2008-07-18T14:50:00.003+08:00

A little too much has been going on personally, resulting in so much rescheduling that we haven't gone into the studio since last week. Johnny needs to give priority to Oh Chentaku as Myo is leaving for Switzerland next month, so recording's going to be a little slow until they're done. Since yours truly will be interning there for the next 2 months anyway, there'll be plenty of time then to pretty up what's necessary. In the meantime, we'll keep you updated!

bloopers

2008-07-11T10:23:00.004+08:00

Johnny snuck in a lot of things I said that shouldn't be there! We'll see what makes the cut later. Speaking of cut, Alia passed me the rough cuts online, I just listened to them. And the rough cuts are yummy. Makes me want steak.

My favourites are Scarecrow & Songbird, and No Questions Asked.
I wonder if we'll have to redo Urban Sea Gypsies. Been listening to it a few times now. Hmm.

PS: The packaging idea is coming along.

belum masak lagi

2008-07-10T21:05:00.003+08:00

I sit here giddy, listening to the raw cuts of the EP. Everything is in its right place. We just need to spice things up here and there, a little cleaning up. And then it'll be done.

Did I say I was giddy? Yeah.

(hee)

p/s - head here for outtakes from Prime Number! Hear if you can spot Imam, Paan, Faiz, Johnny, Li and I :D Humor us, we were bored.

I have nothing to add except

2008-07-01T16:07:00.002+08:00

Mokhtar (Johnny) is crazy.
And I'm still having trouble thinking of cover & packaging designs for the CD.

atom choke, coming to a cinema near you

2008-07-01T11:56:00.004+08:00

Dropped by the studio to hand Johnny our first payment last night. What was intended to be a five minute drop-off turned into a half hour session of him telling me how he spent his Sunday. Among other things, he outlined an entire movie plot that walked into his head while he was working on dizzy & the tracks. Aside from the fact that he was working on our tracks voluntarily without complaint, I was floored that he. came. up. with. a. movie. The scenarios that he comes up with to get Li in gear have nothing against what he was envisioning for Atom Choke (the movie, not the poem). Taking elements from all the poems we've recorded so far, the movie he imagined is about an immortal girl hallucinating about the real world, and the details were staggering. Even my sleep later that night was fucked up from it because I kept waking up and imagining the barren landscapes and solar flares, and I'm usually a tido mati kind of person and never toss and turn.

On the way back home, I called Li to tell her all of this and she was speechless. We are really moved that Johnny's this involved and inspired by us (I wasn't kidding when I said we made a believer out of him), and we can't believe our luck that the producer who picked us (and we him) is turning out to be so amazingly cool. There is many an ampersand working on this EP with and for us, but we've come to the conclusion that he deserves the title the most. Thank you Johnny. Really.

in the studio, part trois

2008-06-27T11:14:00.002+08:00

I'd like to say that being at the studio for 10 hours straight isn't a picnic, but bonding with our engineer, having Maryam & Zher & Devi drop by, getting Imam to session on No Questions asked, and the general cuddliness of Pa'an made for a very fun night.

Johnny and I worked on Scarecrow & Songbird (turns out this is his favorite track - who knew?) and after much arm-twisting he still refused to play guitars for No Questions Asked, but Imam oh-so-kindly agreed. The result? Misty, moody, near-perfect loveliness yang amat lumayan.

dizzyLi aka Michelle Buble laid down her vocals for Latitude in all of 2 takes and that's it for her basic vocal tracks. All that's left is for Johnny and I to work on the rest of the music tracks and come up with some interludes to pad the poetry and up the mood. Which is actually a lot, come to think of it. This is not going to happen anytime soon though, what with exams coming up next week, but that's okay.

We're putting all of us into this recording. Even we didn't know we could go this far. If we can make a believer out of Johnny, we hope that we can make a believer out of you.

maybe baby

2008-06-25T03:32:00.005+08:00

This is the tentative tracklist for our as-yet-unnamed EP. Tracks are not in order yet, but here they are anyway:

Atom Choke
Prime Number
No Questions Asked
Urban Sea Gypsies
Immigrant & Interpreter
Scarecrow & Songbird
Latitude
As-yet-unnamed cello solo track
As-yet-unnamed piano solo track
As-yet-unnamed commissioned track
(Instead of full instrumental tracks, we're going with extended intros and outtros instead. You'll see)

recording means unlearning.

2008-06-25T03:00:00.004+08:00

Since I've never read in a studio environment before, it's been a tough, turbulent few nights. I've been trying to unlearn the way I read before, in all the gigs we've performed at as dizzy & the, and all the times I've been onstage solo. The main goal we had walking into the studio was to make it personal. A lot more vulnerable transparent sincere, to let it be something between only us, and you. No one else will be there, no audience. But even in the studio there is an audience, right? So I had to unlearn that as well.

It was an unusual way of doing it; Alia's music is based on my writings, Johnny Thunder's imaginary scenarios are based on her music, then he listens to us, and I listen to him, and read again, and again, push them further & further away but still trying to unite his idea as a listener with mine.

They may be my own words, but I realise I can't project sincerity in the studio totally on my own, as the writer/poet/whatever. It's not about me anymore & I can't ignore the listener completely. I need some kind of balance to really break me down & bridge that writer-listener gap, to bring out the solitude, the frustration, the giddiness of the tracks.

to recap: our album, we want to make it personal. we're going great lengths to get there; to make sure that this is no live gig, no audiobook, worth your money and above all, your time. you haven't heard us like this before.

recording recap, not relaxed (not just yet)

2008-06-25T02:57:00.006+08:00

We went into the studio last night, finally! After many a late-night call from Voldemother demanding I come home to Johnny laying out twisted scenarios so dizzy can be in the right frame of mind, we managed to lay the bare bones of 6 tracks down: Immigrant & Interpreter, Atom Choke, Scarecrow & Songbird, Urban Sea Gypsies, Prime Number, and unexpectedly, No Questions Asked! The tracks are turning out to be more complex in layers than we previously imagined, but it's all very good, it's all very purty.

Johnny has been a huuuge help with arranging and ideas and such. We've broken a few barriers with what he usually has to go through for recordings, but he's taking it all in stride along with his 3-in-1 Nescafe and bags of chips. Recording poetry is a lot harder than we all thought, haha. You will, I promise, be pleasantly surprised to hear how different we sound now that we have all these extra ears listening in. Thank you to Pa'an for being a faithful groupie (groupy?) and of course to Faiz and Imam for the best laugh I've had in a while :)

I will return to the studio in a couple of nights to work on the layers for the tracks already in place, and hopefully start on my solo piano track and Johnny's commission, and yes he commissioned. Off to sleep, study, sleep, study until then!

the appetizer platter

2008-06-18T13:58:00.007+08:00

(We'll be putting all audio tracks into this post as easy reference for you and for us)

Bedroom demo recordings:
Immigrant & Interpreter

Urban Sea Gypsies

Live recordings:
First live set at No Black Tie, 02/03/08 (recorded by Pojam)

Nonsense:
Prime Number outtakes (complete nonsense, be warned! Hear if you can spot Imam, Paan, Faiz, Johnny, Li and I :D)

thunder, lightning, (not yet) strike!

2008-06-18T01:50:00.006+08:00

Tonight we went to see Mokhtar of iseekmusic at his cavernous yet cosy home studio for preliminary discussions about the EP. (The man will be recording, mixing, mastering, producing, what-have-you for us, and because of his 'sporting'ness we shall henceforth dub him Johnny Thunder - long story) So far so good: costs are being roughly finalized, schedules are basically planned. Hopefully we'll be recording the recording process with photos and videos and posting them here for your enjoyment, and our memories :) Imam of Lightcraft was also at the premises, and might just lend his vocal chords and guitar-strumming fingers to us for a tune or two, so that's something else to look forward to! We're pretty excited to see what Johnny has in store for us next week since we're both floundering in unchartered waters. In the meantime, I've to get the guide tracks done, along with all the other assignments I have due this week...

Next task: cari groupies.

dah nak tidur.

2008-06-15T03:16:00.002+08:00

okay so I got the blog running. now I wait for The to join me.

Note to us: upload other video, demo songs for download, old posts, & photos from the accounts later.

dizzy & the debut (full set)

2008-06-14T22:00:00.003+08:00

live at No Black Tie, 2nd March 2008. We had no idea how people were going to react, especially in terms of how we fit in the rest of the lineup (we didn't), but we were pleasantly surprised. Thank you to Reza Rosli for the video. Ili also has a video of 'Premise' from this set on Youtube here.

the birth of the blog.

2008-06-14T17:33:00.007+08:00

why didn't we think of doing this before? so much easier.

urban sea gypsies (live at dram projects)

2008-04-23T23:50:00.000+08:00

our performance of the piece at the dram projects, recorded & edited by uzair sawal. my delivery of this fails but his editing does not, so thank you uzair!

dizzy & the is not to be confused with:

2008-03-27T17:40:00.004+08:00

(a google search results list I made one day)

Dizzy and the Other Side (a game?)
Dizzy and the Gas House Gang (a book)
Dizzy and the Duchess (like so)
Dizzy and the Yolkfolk (I have no idea what crackpot thing this is)
Dizzy and The Talkie Talkie (on imdb)
Dizzy and The Romilars
Dizzy, and the angel (a poem by Harvey Taylor mentioning bronchitis)
Dizzy & the Water Wheel
Dizzy & the Retarded Barnes and Noble (video)
Dizzy & The Tit (I don't know what that is, but its on a shopping site)
Dizzy & the young Miles Davis (yeah Gillespie!)
Dizzy and the Magic Wand
Dizzy & the God's Vengeance
Dizzy and the Grand Fight
Dizzy and the other missing troopers
Dizzy and the Emerald Eye
Dizzy and Duh

the last one is actually a true story & happens quite often -_-

being in earshot

2008-03-18T00:17:00.003+08:00

Thank you to the surprising number of people who showed up at Earshot last week & were patient enough to wait and listen. Alia and I feel really grateful that you came to see Amateur Takes Control and our amateurish selves at our very first Singapore show (and second time onstage ever). Thank you to the six people who bought Paper Trails For Strangers, the four people who gave compliments at length, and that one girl who cried.

Thank you to Razi, Adel, and the rest of the ATA boys for loving what we do enough to make the gig happen. Thank you to Abu who agreed to be our broke babysitter, packed his backpack last minute & came along with camera. Thank you to Naz and Tash, my Singaporean lovers for taking us out to eat afterwards. Thank you Candy for being such a comfy, nice-smelling (yet temperamental) car. Thank you to everyone who understood what a big deal this was for us. Thank you, Prince of Wales.

I love you, The Alia, for being the irreplaceable other half of Dizzy & The.

know it by heart in earshot, singapore

2008-03-10T23:31:00.003+08:00

soundcheckpracticecheck, scape studios singapore

2008-03-10T17:39:00.002+08:00

photos by wordsmanifest

know it by heart in singapore: flyer

2008-03-08T22:05:00.000+08:00

the flyer from our first headliner gig ever, and in Singapore to boot. overwhelming is an understatement but more on the whole shebang later. (Alia might kill me later for using the word shebang).

an evening in archetype labs.

2008-03-05T23:14:00.001+08:00

being photographed within an inch of our life, witty banter and enjoying the best cucur udang in the universe. oh, and also recording guide tracks to take home so The can jam without me.

photos by wordsmanifest of the rebel scum

debut!

2008-03-04T15:03:00.005+08:00

We played our very first show last Sunday night at 'Ceritaku/Readings', a gig series run by Bernice Chauly at No Black Tie.

Not only were we the only girls onstage, the lineup made our heads bleed: Shaarad Kuttan, Peter Hassan Brown, Reza Zainal, Farish Noor & A. Samad Said. And us. PAK SAMAD OK.

Thank you everyone for showing up and giving overwhelmingly encouraging feedback. It was a lovely crowd, size and response. We are still swooning from being on the same bill as all those intimidating men.

We may not have been political (Shaarad), adorably lucky (Reza Zainal), spontaneously eloquent (Farish Noor) or imbued with the fierce fire of several decades (Pak Samad ok), but it was nice to know that we brought something different to the stage that night.

Thank you Bernice for having us.

Dizzy & The is all systems go, and to prove this we're headlining a gig in The Arts House, Singapore, on March 10. This means we have to concoct a setlist almost twice as long as last night's. Come see.

- dizzy

EDIT: Our set was recorded and mastered by Pojam (thank you!) and is available for download here.

utterly unecessary faq

2008-03-04T00:20:00.003+08:00

UNNECESSARY FAQ!

what is this blog for?
don't know about you but we can't keep up with 3 networking accounts. parking everything here instead is a dramatically sexier option.

when did lightning strike?
at a sleepover.

why did you do two decide to do this?
The Alia likes to do a million music projects at once, and Dizzy has massive stage fright and wanted to find someone to hold her hand onstage by any means necessary. We also thought it would be an interesting way to perform poetry; in a structured musical format as opposed to on its own or with a freestyling guitarist. We also wanted to have fun.

so nothing I saw onstage the other day was freestyle?
Everything was planned to death.

and the name 'Dizzy & The' was the smart idea of... ?
The Alia.

are you two sisters?
not in blood. But we get that allll the time

to make this FAQ a little more necessary, ask us a question. we can keep you anonymous.

all you (never) wanted to know about dizzy & the

2008-03-03T03:29:00.008+08:00

dizzyfirefly is apparently a poet, & has been performing around KL for the past year & also at the Singapore Writers Festival ’07. Her highlight of '07 was winning DiGi’s Apostrophe Short Short Story competition, where she used 16 words to travel Bali. She has been published by MPH, British Council, & also made her own zine, Paper Trails For Strangers.

The Alia is a classically trained musician, playing & teaching piano, cello and keyboards. She has also played in & around Malaysia, Singapore & Bangkok as part of Malaysian indie band Furniture. Other than the previously mentioned instruments, she also plays the guitar, her vocal chords & kitchen pots & pans.

They have been friends for years but never thought of collaborating until recently. They ~~are currently recording~~ have recorded their first EP.

dizzy & the contact box

1972-02-02T02:22:00.007+07:30

1. leave your loveletter/ digitalkick in this post's comments along with your email
2. then we'll read & reply. all comments are screened so only we'll see.
3. or write to our gmail (dizzyandthe)