Music: Asian
Best & Worst
Who is Hanjin Tan
Hanjin Tan, BBS Records
The Hong Kong-based Singaporean singer-songwriter Hanjin Tan is not likely to remain unknown much longer with records such as this one.
Here are compelling stories about his life and his philosophy of happiness, dressed up with insistent melodies, groovy beats and even joyous scatting. This is 100 per cent Tan’s vision as he composed the music, wrote the lyrics, did the arrangements, recording, mixing and also played the instruments.
Impressively, this is his second brilliant record in a little over a year after Buy 1 Get 1 Free, a Mando-Canto-jazzy-hip-hop collaboration with rapper MC Jin, came out last July.

Moonlight
Soft Lipa & Jabberloop, AsiaMuse Entertainment
Giving musical cross-pollination a good name is this collaboration between Taiwanese rapper Soft Lipa and Japanese jazz quintet Jabberloop.
It is an ambitious album that simply works as Soft Lipa’s smooth rapping flows along with the brassy brew of music on tracks such as Classic!. Add the elegantly elegiac She Waltzes With Time and the clear-eyed Process which both ponder life and living, and what you have is a richly layered album which warrants repeat listening.

Perfect Life
Yoga Lin, HIM International Music
The third album from Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin proves that being part of mainstream need not be a bad thing. The popular champ of the singing contest One Million Star in 2007 once again serves up an album with songs which appeal to different tastes and yet feels remarkably cohesive.
From the energetic jolt of Wake Up to the soothing balm of Good Night, Lin’s distinctive voice ties it all together to make this a near flawless pop record.

What I Want To Banish
Image is not everything when it comes to music albums. So Amber An and Show Lo, do note that the focal point should be the music CD – and not the fussily lavish photo album.
(ST)