HOUSE OF THE WEEK

An abundance of space at FMI City

CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...more

Yangon Weather Forecast, Burma

Word on the street

QUICK on the heels of the successful Alex vs Big Bag concert on December 6, much-loved alternative rock singer Alex is preparing to release an album with the unconfirmed title “A Nit Na Se” (Twenty Years). Rising to fame some 15 years ago, Alex is well known for his mix of pop and rock songs. Timeout caught up with him to get the latest on his upcoming album and December’s concert.

Were you satisfied with the concert?

Yes, we were satisfied with the singing and practise, and also the fans.

This concert combined punk and rock music, were you worried before the concert that it wouldn’t work?

We had performed with Han Htu Lwin (aka BigBag’s Kyar Pauk) at a similar concert before, although that wasn’t just the two of us, so it’s wasn’t so strange for us. Also I sing some punk songs too although this time I chose more rock songs than punk.

Do you have anything to say to the concert audience?

We would like to say thank you to the audience for coming and appreciating us. We tried the best we could. In the press conference we said that I would sing about 20 songs and Han Htu Lwin would also sing 20 songs. I also said that I would give out some CDs of my upcoming album. In the end, we sang an extra five songs that night with Han Htu Lwin singing one extra and I sang four extra. I also gave the CDs to the fans.

Is there much difference between pop and rock concerts for you?

When I sing rock songs the fans are more active and when I sing pop songs the fans sing along with me so I feel like we’re all performing. Also, I have two different types of fan; younger people tend to like my rock songs and older people prefer my pop songs so I do both.

Your son was dancing at the back of the stage while you were singing. Are your children interested in music?

I didn’t know he was on the stage. They like music and are familiar with it because I am a singer, but I don’t want them to do music so don’t let them learn about it. Actually, this is the right time to train them as they are young. Sometimes I wonder if I am wrong to not let them learn about music and I worry that they might want to do music when they grow up.

Why don’t you want them to do music?

To do this job you have to be selfish. For example, when I have a concert or am recording and practising songs I can’t spend time with my family. I am undutiful to my family when I am doing music. I can’t even take them to the hospital when they are sick. Actually, I can do that for them but if I do then the entire mood of the music will be gone. So I don’t want my children to be like me to their children. When they grow up they will get married and they will build a family and I don’t want that family to get in trouble like mine.

Tell us about your new album

I intended to release it in December but I held the concert instead so I couldn’t focus on my album. I now plan to release the album in January or February 2010. About 14 songs will be included on the album.

Pirated music is hurting the industry so is it a big risk for you to release an album?

I compose songs whenever I am in the mood. After composing I record them one by one and when I have enough for an album I release it. I just want to present what I’ve done to my fans. If the fans like my songs then I am satisfied wtih that. We already know that we will lose out to the pirates, but we want to present what we have done anyway.