Precious

Karen Mok

The Secret That Can't Be Kept

Terri Kwan

Songs: Bonds, With These Hands

Kousuke Atari

To sing is to convey a certain emotion or mood. When it comes to different tracks, singers sometimes have to take on different roles.

This could certainly be one reason why actors cross over to singing and vice versa.

Hong Kong’s Karen Mok made her debut in film in 1989 and on record with a self-titled Cantonese disc in 1993. Her first Mandarin record, To Be, followed four years later.

I was not a fan of her voice at first as it had a gruffness to it and seemed rather raw. And when she sang in Mandarin, there was that discernible Cantonese accent.

Over time, though, the distinctive qualities of her pipes have been put to good use, particularly on last year’s excellent covers album Aftertaste, which earned Golden Melody nominations for Best Mandarin Album and Best Mandarin Female Singer.

Precious is a measure of Mok’s growth as a songwriter as she composed all the tunes here.

And she has never sounded as sweet and tender as she does on the title track, for which she also co-wrote the lyrics: “Gently caressing your head, go to sleep/I’m in your dreams/No matter where you wake/Baby/I’ll remember you”.

While Mok has flitted between celluloid and disc for over 15 years now, The Secret That Can’t Be Kept is Taiwanese actress Terri Kwan’s debut album.

Last seen as the elegantly unhappy Ouyang Qianjun in the drama Prince Of Tears (2009), she morphs into a dance-pop diva here. Some tracks, including Can’t Turn It Off and Win My Heart, are agreeably fun but others, such as I’m Not A Princess, feel forced and venture too close to twee.

Kwan should bear in mind that the same principle applies to both choice of songs and poses for the lyric booklet: Quirky is good, cutesy is bad.

Crossing over in the opposite direction is Japan’s Kousuke Atari, currently the go-to guy for cameos in Taiwanese indie films including Cape No. 7 (2008) and this year’s Taipei Exchanges.

The Okinawan started out with shima-uta (island song) folk music and his sound became more pop when he signed up with the major Epic Records label in 2006.

One can certainly still see the island boy in his albums though. His unusual inflections remain and they are a trademark of his soulful singing style.

There are also frequent references to the wind and sky and the gentle lyricism of ballads such as Bonds, With These Hands and The Sky Is The Sky feel like a balmy breeze blowing through a tropical island.

(ST)