20:12 and The Tree Loving Guitarist

“Music is about breaking boundaries and I wanted to prove that rock music doesn’t have to be scary. I think Bite will have people bobbing their heads without realising and hopefully understanding the amount of work and soul that goes into it,” 

   Rithan aka RE10 from Deja Voodoo Spells is an ambitious artist, his next endeavour if i may is a 20 minutes 12 seconds long of a song which is basically unheard of in this 3 minutes song of the Malaysian Radio Realm.But if any man can do it, he is definitely one of them. Hailing from Johor Bharu with a guitar in his hand and a luggage in the other he migrated to KL to pursue his dream of world domination. He played with some of the best eg. Steve Vai, Herman Li to mention a few and with his band has toured and is coming out with their 3rd CD containing just one song tentatively called - Dangerous Knowledge- or as i have always called it the 20 minutes song. Well guys just to satisfy my curiosity i have constantly bugged the guy for an interview and alas he answered on a rainy night.
   
GN : Good Evening bro...

RE10 : Good Evening, How's Life bro..

GN : Great bro, so ..heard you've been busy.So when will the next album coming out? How will u market it?

RE10: Yeah, been travelling . Well now we are mixing the album and hopefully soon this thing will reach our adoring fans. We shall distribute it DIY, although the CD could still be purchased at your local music stores. And behold there shall be something special coming with the CD.

GN: Wow, so it will be a one song CD with an added bonus? cool.

RE10 : I just can't wait to perform this song live bro... I want to blow people's minds.

GN: Well you know GN is a guitar fan oasis, so which guitars did you used for the recording?

RE10: 3 Ibanez guitars... my Cookie guitar (a heavily modded Prestige) my trusted RE10 guitar ( a JEM with RE10 logo on it) and my 7 string Guitar called Marie ( with a liquid fire on the bridge). Live though, I will have to play my 7 string, cause its the only one that can play all the parts on the song.

GN : Aha the 7 string!

RE10: Yup the 7 that i was closed to sell to you..hahaha.. luckily I didn't dude.

GN : Yeah, I would have bought it you know. So whats the theme of the song? Is it related to the movie 2012 ?

RE10 : Well... some parts of it... if you watched a documentary of it relating to the events of Armageddon, the end of the world as we know it... from the I Ching theory to the Mayan calenders and the Al Gore's Global warming. its related you know?

GN: Deep bro... so how would you explained it to our music lover buddies at GN?

RE10 : Hmmm, its a 20 minutes song with 9 movements, or you could look at it as 9 songs.

GN: Are there any characters in the song we should be aware of?

RE10: Well its 'tersirat' i want people to interpret it by themselves, you know?

GN : Where does the recording takes place?

RE10: Let me see... Drums was at 101 studios, Guitars,Bass and Vocals at my home studio using Logic and Innuendo. I use re amping this time. I record my guitar parts clean at home and re amp it at the studio using my RE10 amp, a 5150 some fenders for clean parts

GN: Why not Pro Tools?

RE10: Well for me, that is just tools, the important thing is the person behind the board. Nowadays software can do everything.

GN: Explain to me about your own RE10 amp. Are you selling it to the masses?

RE10 : Well, i haven't actually sold it to anybody but if GNers are interested I an arrange for testing and if they dig it, they can buy it. Its a single channel tube amp 50 watt with Presence control, Bass,Mid,Treble a pre master and master volume. Its basically me in a box..hahaha.

GN: Why did u decide to build your own amp?

RE10 : You know back in the days, I can't afford all those Marshalls,Mesas and in 1998 Line 6 and tech 21 was the only doing those modelling amps stuff. my pal Jack from Sputum turned me on the Line 6 POD. So, I bought the POD 1.0 the first generation and I find the tones on that satisfies my need, there's even a patch in there that is my 'Cari Makan' Patch you know. I depended on that until a few years back my rig was stolen from the trunk of my car. I cried for days man.. sob sob

Anybody with info on RE10 POD 1.0 please contact Rithan

GN: Wow... that sucks man..  so after that u decided to build your own amp?

RE10 : I've bought Carvin and Mesa, but I still can't find my tone , so I learn about amps and the components and all that and yeah I built it after 2 years of researched I've got 2 prototypes. My taste is diverse and I need an amp that could play anything from rock to Metal and more, and I want it to have 1 channel cause I want it crystal clear. Ibarat macam air la, I nak amp ni macam air kosong..jadi bila I nak sirap, I campur sirap, nak Oren I campur Oren..macam tu lah.

GN: Terbaik punya analogi! Going back to your project. How long does it take for you to record all the music and vocals.?

RE10 : I wrote it back in 2009, I wrote it like 5 times until I was fully satisfied and we recorded it for 2 months. Now its at mixing stage. The song will be 60% music and 40% vocals so it is progressive but with
 ol' skool metal attitude and my hardcore influence... :)

GN: OK, nice talking to you dude... hope you can give us GNers some special deal with this upcoming CD. Any last words?

RE10: This CD will be about humanity...start thinking about your kids and your kid's kid and their kids.

GN: You are so cheesy dude.

RE10: Hahahaha...thanks for the interview dude.. and to all GNers 'POWER TO THE SOUL'.
Jangan lupa beli CD saya nanti ye.



PS: Stay tune to know more why I called him the The Tree Loving Guitarist. :)

Profil Dhalif Ali - Singapore's Shredder

1) umur mula2 belajar guitar?

Umur mula mula belajar guitar time tu around 10 years old.. time tu ternampak slash main guitar atas piano.. aduh macam style..

2) guitar pertama? masih ada lagi kah guitar tersebut?

guitar pertama semua standard kapok jugak.. belajar kat bawah kolong dgn abang abang guitar terrer kat bawak block situ .. tapi time first beli electric guitar tu brand dia apa ntah legend.. dah bagi orang hu huhu

3) influence serta style permainan.

influence memang byk la tak tahu mana satu lagi nak sebut tapi yang memang betul betul change my attitude towards permainan guitar ni is john petrucci.. time tu saya baru 13 tahun.. dah sampai sekarang masih addicted nih.. tapi mmg feberet saya

4) Rig peribadi anda.

rig dulu dgn skrang berbeza betul dulu pakai boss ds-1 jer mana mana live ker kat rumah ke kat studio ke bawak satu pedal tu jer.. nak pakai yang lain lain tak reti pulak chorus delay ni semua.. tapi sekarang dgn knowledge yang kongsi kongsi dgn members.. dapat jugak blajar pasal sound/effects ni semua.. tu saya pakai pod x3 live.. kalaukat rumah pasang stereo out pergi ker monitors, kalau live pasang direct out pergi FOH.. bunyi stereo dia besar gilllllaaa punya

5) Tips yang boleh dikongsi dengan Gners.

tips eh errkk kalau nak blajar yang phrasing phrasing susah tu yang laju laju.. jangan rush.. pakai metronome pelan pelan dulu kalau dah comfortable baru naikkan speed metronome tu lagi 5.. dah ok lagi naikkan 5.. kalau masih tak pass jgn naikkan dulu .. kasi line tu absorb in your finger memory.. baru boleh.. priority kan precision dari speed.

6) Bila start youtube?

saya start youtube tahun 2006 - 2007 time masa start tu memang lah slow habis.. kadang kadang view dia cuma 10 jer.. dahtu 6 bulan, view 35 lol tu takpe..lagi kena flame kat youtube habis habis hahaha tapi alhamdullilah skrang view dia 1 hari dah boleh naik 1000 - 1500.. dah jadi youtube partner jadi video video yang dirakamkan ada profit dia every month.

Ameer Firdaus- Bakal Pelapis Persada Muzik Tempatan

Kali ini, kami ingin mendekati bakat-bakat muda yang bakal menyinar di persada muzik tempatan. Bak kata orang dulu-dulu, patah tumbuh hilang berganti. Bakat yang akan diketengahkan kali ini ialah saudara Ameer Firdaus. Beliau merupakan pelajar fakulti Muzik UiTM, Shah Alam. Dilahirkan tanggal 24 Februari 1988, mula belajar bermain guitar pada usia 15 tahun.

GN: Assalamualaikum Ameer

AF : Waalaikumsalam Bang.

GN : Cerita sikit style permainan serta influence AF.

AF: style permainan: anything goes,hehehe...saya hantam semua..idola saya pula ialah Paul Gilbert to Rizal Halim to Jason Becker to Oja Axis.

GN: AF sangat Paul Gilbert, dah agak mesti beliau idola no1 AF.Boleh kongsi sikit mcmna boleh study music di UiTM?

AF: sebab cita2 nak jadi sessionist guitarist. dan juga sebab sgt mnat dgn ilmu muzik. parent pun kasi lampu hijau, jadi terus apply ke uitm fakulti muzik

 GN: Katakan macam saya ni, minat nak main Jazz, apa nasihat AF pada saya?

AF: mula2 kena tau ape tu bossa, swing, bebop sbb permainan die lain2... tau rhythm dulu.. main lagu senang2 dulu contoh blue bossa, autumn leaves, all of me, dont get around much anymore..pastu kena tau 7th chord ke atas,diminish, minor7b5dan lain-lain tu..fahamkan progression contoh yg wajib ade II-V-I untuk solo tackle part ni dulu

GN: biase jazz tone mcmna set up rig dia?

AF: simple je,kalau boleh dapat semi hollow lagi bagus..pastu pakai tali tebal2 skit.amp clean je all the way. Mid kasi paling banyak...treble ngan bass ikut telinga,yang penting jgn tajam dan biasa org turunkan tone kat gitar tp jgn sampai muddy sangat nanti tak dengar apa kita main.

GN: Kalau bantai jek main chromatic bley kira jazz ke?

AF: Chromatic mmg extra flavor jazz.Tapi kena tau mana nak letak la.Mcm guthrie govan ckp, it's not only about the notes but how u put the notes that's important. Yang penting nak main jazz, study piece tu.Tau chord ape sume, sbb jazz selalu sgt tak resolve dalam diatonic punye sequence.Bile die modulate, kita kena ikut skali.

GN: Awesome explanation.Blues jazz ke jazz blues?

AF: Hehehe,  blues jazz.

GN: Ok lah ameer nak kena study, jadi last but not least apa guitar pertama ?

AF:  Rhythm guitar (lebih kurang kapok) sudah hilang tinggal kat kolej der..

Begitulah temubual ringkas bersama beliau. Sama-sama kita doakan kejayaan beliau.

5 minit bersama Daniel 'The Man' Anding

Kali ini saya nak memaparkan sessi 5 minit bersama Guitarist Ethnic Transmission iaitu Abang Daniel Anding. Sebagai individu yang tidak asing lagi dalam GN dengan video2 shred beliau tidak kira lagu sendiri atau lagu cover beliau memang sangat berbakat.Secara peribadi saya sudah tahu kewujudan beliau semasa membaca artikel di Guitar & Bass. Mari ikuti temubual ringkas bersama beliau...

GN : Tahniah kerna terpilih lagi untuk masuk di dalam ROTTW

DA: Terima Kasih. Eelz dah beli ke ROTTW edisi terkini.

GN: Belum lagi... (terus ubah topik). Jadi, boleh saya tahu bilakah Dan mula menceburi dunia Gitar ini?

DA:  uihh hehe..ok ya .umur mula blajar gitar 14 tahun. blajar sendiri..takde yg sudi nak ajar ku time tu...tgk buku kord jerr dan main dgr je....lagu2 yg aku belajar time tu lagu2 dari kumpulan search dan wings...rock 90an hihi

GN : Oh bermula dengan rock kapak ye.. guitar pertama? masih ada lagi kah guitar tersebut?

DA:  err...mesti la gitar kapok hihi...gitar elektrik yg pertama aku, ialah gitar "Session" made in Indonesia. efx time tu boss Hyper metal..gitar kapok dan elektrik tu masih ada..wa simpan sbgai kenang-kenangan di hari tua hihi...

GN: Dari  rock kapak ke Petrucci..cerita sikit influence Dan.

DA :  influence yg paling kuat dulu ialah Yngwie malmsteen...ku sanggup prektis berjam-jam untuk blajar scale die..sampai sanggup tune down to Eb.....pas tu datang la John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai dan Joe Stariani...jadi style permainan saya bercampur2 la...rojakss hihi

GN: Ye ternyata YJM sangat besar influence dalam komuniti GN dan guitarist Malaya ni. ye...kongsi Rig Dan.

DA:  rig peribadi ku at da moment, sterling Musicman JP50, Ibanez RG1570 prestige, Boss GT8 dan Marshall 50watts amp. (rig org miskin)

GN: Mana pulak orang miskin, err ada orang tanya apa makanan kegemaran Dan la.?

DA : Saya suka Pisang. Banyak potasium..hihi

GN : Hahahaha..kongsi sedikit Tips untuk Gners semua.

DA: Hihihi,  ips or advice yg mampu wa bagi ialah, takde ubat nak jadi terer dlm main gitar ni...klu pegi kat farmasi or jumpa bomoh pon tak juga dpt membantu.....melainkan anda berusaha dan berlatih dengan penuh komitmen dan byk2 bersabar......

GN : Macamana nak mahir dalam sweep picking ye?

DA:  ..hmm...klu nak mula blajar sweep picking, jgn mula dgn smua string...mula kan dgn string dulu ( E1 dan B string)....mesti guna metronome...mula dgn perlahan dulu...pas tu 3 strings, 4,5 dan 6...harap2 bole membantu... :)) sweep picking or arpeggios ni adalah triplet dlm beat 4/4..

GN : Errrrr

DA:  maksud ku mulakan dgn 2 string dulu..hihi

GN: awesome,dah berapa album saudara rakami ye?

DA :  menjawab soalan saudari tu,....saya dan band saya Ethnic Transmissions (Iban alternative rock), dah 2 album dah. untuk album solo aku, belum ada lagi...tapi aku dh composed sebanyak 13 instrumental sendiri dh... Eelz nak pisang?

GN :  Saya kenyang ..huhuhu.berkenaan pemilihan note pulak. adakah saudara ada scales atau appregios fevret?

DA : sampai skrg ku mmg minat JP kerana tahap ekstrem beliau dlm music dan solo beliau jugah...JP byk apply fusion or jazz kat solo beliau dan dicampurkan dgn rock...tu yg buat die unik....mmg ku suka tone JP...especially pickup D'Marzo Air Norton kat neck....mmg bulat tone die..i guna set up die juga.

GN : Kira saudara peminat hardcore Petrucci la ye? Saya baru tahun ni nak belajar dengar DT...

DA:  kena dgr Dream Theater dulu bro hihi...br lah kita paham style die...sbb JP tak byk solo album...hanye satu je "suspended animation" yg ada lagu Glasgow Kiss tu....utk arpeggios, style yg paling byk ku guna ialah style malmsteen. klu style Jason Becker punye arpeggios, aku agak kurang skit sbb tak biasa....at da moment ku mmg minat string skipping...scale2 lain spt pentatonic, modes, linear scales, chromatics..pun aku sukah dan byk apply..

GN: Last sekali, pendapat bro. adakah guitarist malaysia setanding guitarist barat?

DA:  errmm...secara jujur, klu setanding barat, dr segi teknik, knowkedge dlm ilmu2 gitar...ku rasa lum ada lagi...kita mmg ada gitaris2 yg hebat kat m'sia ni...tapi klu perbandingan dgn barat tu, masih jauh bro...setakat ni, dr asia tenggara, guitar idol Jack Thammarat je yg ada aura2 tu...mayb sumday die bole setanding dgn gitaris barat.....hanye Akira Takasaki (loudness) wakil asia je yg ada setanding ngan gitaris2 barat....


Begitulah temuramah saya dan beliau... Kami di GN wish all the best tuk Daniel Anding dan ET.