I'm Alive
October 18th 2008 20:17
Yes, I'm alive and kicking. It's just that I was offered a new job and have been in an extremely tight schedule since the end of July.
Hasta la vista baby!
Hasta la vista baby!
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Ayda
Istanbul, TURKEY
Joined May 14th 2008
Number of Posts:
30
Number of Comments:
70
Karma:
8
"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living." ~ Terry Pratchett
- Inlay Card
- It all began when little Ayda was exposed to a Boney-M Greatest Hits and Christmas Album when she was around 5. She still remembers looking at the album cover of the latter, touching the snowflakes and daydreaming away. She was the star of the show, the diva of the night and her life lingered between one encore and another.
Well, that never happened but dreaming was fun while it lasted.
Then, came the Madonna obsession during high school. She literally grew up with her. Oh, she liked growing up with her. Madonna kept writing/singing those songs that made her go, "How the heavens does this woman describe how I feel, what I go through in the exact same manner I would describe if I had the chance?". She'll always have a soft spot for Maddy for that.
Somewhere around her 19th birthday, she entered her Diva era and along came Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Bette Midler, Belinda Carlisle and the likes. She drowned and drowned again in pop until that day when she came across Portishead's "Dummy" in her best friend's apartment.
She has been a fool for trip hop ever since! Chill out, dark ambient, dream pop and downtempo have been added into the mix in the years that followed. If soundtracks, her all time favorite music, are the topping of the cake, indie and alternative rock are the novelty candles.
Describing herself as a "soft goth", Ayda is a novice freelance writer, a mediocre blogger and a seasoned translator. She dreams to open a Giger bar and still hopes for that day when she will be featured in an Akira Yamaoka song.
Dreams don't last easily for the dreamer. - Contact
- If you are one of the artists whose song is in Phantasmelodia and would like to show some support, send your love to "phantasmelodia -a t gmail -d o t- com". Also, please consider allowing your song to be listened fully on this site.
If you are an artist and would like your song to be featured, please make sure you have comprehended the texture of the tracks presented here before submitting your work to the aforementioned mail.
Recent Posts Numbers at the end of URLsJuly 8th 2008 04:32
I have mentioned this somewhere as a comment but I think it is time to bring it out in the open as an issue. I edit my posts heavily because I'm pathetically keen on details, I typo a lot etc. Sometimes when I edit my posts (or even when I create them for the first time), they come up with a number at the end of the URL.
Why do some posts come up with URL numbers at the end? And most importantly, how can I avoid this from happening in the future?
Wasted Time - My Life With the Thrill Kill KultJuly 6th 2008 20:41
Dirty Little Secrets by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
Cigarette smoke swirls in the air and scatters under the dim light. The spell of the night is being woven as the music starts. Flesh begins to undulate to satisfy the hunger of man. Whispery vocals entwine a seductive bass walk, audacious beats, aphrodisiac saxophones and enticing key strokes. American industrial band My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (abbreviated as TKK) tells the "you can look but you can't touch" story that starts as the sun sets with their hypnotic Wasted Time. It is a sneaky track that tickles deep down inside and awakens the hidden devils. Chicago based musician and vocalist Frank Nardiello (aka Groovie Mann) came back from England (where he performed vocals for a goth band named Drowning Craze that recorded for 4AD. One of his band mates was Cocteau Twins' bass player Simon Raymonde) to team up with his friend Marston Daley (aka Buzz McCoy). They started shooting an autobiographical art movie named Hammerhead Housewife and the Thrill Kill Kult which would later become the inspiration behind TKK's name. Although they never completed the movie, they wrote and recorded songs for it regardless. These recordings caught the attention of new wave/industrial record label Wax Trax! and were released as an EP in 1987. Hence began the legacy of My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult which sure is among the most controversial bands in history with their cult songs. TKK's music that is based on predominant beats ranged from industrial to electronic, from disco to pop and rock throughout their discography. They stood out with their eclectic style together with their lyrics that depended on samples from B-movies. Throughout the 80s, they were considered as the pioneers of industrial music alongside others such as Ministry, KMFDM and Front 242. The beginnings of the band were highly occult both lyrics-wise and as far as the artwork they used went. Their debut I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits and second album Kooler than Jesus included supernatural elements, unconventional imagery and openly discussed taboo concepts like sex and drugs. This made the band an instant favorite of college radios and the nightmare of the "perfect parent". Titles such as "Universal Blackness", "Gateway to Hell", "Kooler than Jesus" and "Devil Does Drugs" were enough to stir the still waters and shunned by religious groups that labeled them as satanic (which was far beyond truth as one can imagine. Although they used paranormal and esoteric concepts in their music, TKK hardly ever promoted demonic worship of any kind). Then came Confessions of a Knife in 1990, followed by their breakthrough album Sexplosion! which turned out to become the label's most selling album in its history and featured the alternative hit, "Sex on Wheelz". Having broken a leg with Sexplosion!, TKK moved on to a bigger label and released Above the Night & Hit on Holiday. They made 4 more studio albums (along with various compilations such as Dirty Little Secrets) until their last album The Filthiest Show in Town which came out in 2007. TKK is also an avid soundtrack contributor, thus, one probably have been exposed to their music at some point or another without even knowing. Some of their tracks are featured in movies and TV series such as Cool World, The Crow, The Flintstones, BASEketball, Beavis and Butthead, CSI NY and Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven's box-office-disaster-turned-cu lt movie Showgirls. Wasted Time is, most suitably, featured in this last film and sets its main idea as soon as the first lyrics are heard, "She's gotta work it for the pleasure of the people"
The titillating aura of the song keeps building as it takes the listener to the intimate corners of the "dreamer's" mind (in this case, those who watch the stripper) and creating a notorious urge to waggle the feet if not directly sway with the idle tempo. The dancer casts her spell and exploits the fantasies of her audience just like a Femme Fatale or like a black widow feeding on her prey. The lyrics warn, "Watch out: You're just wasting your time With her" However, the hypnotized crowd has already forgotten time and space in her and she makes them skillfully loose their sense of time and space some more as she becomes one with the music, becomes one with each and every one and transforms into the only thing they want and need until the fade out. Just before they could collect themselves, another song begins, another spell is cast... And this nocturnal tale reiterates until the first ray of the sun appears in the east.... ...and until it begins again the following night. Ink Blots Browse music online at IMEEM Buy Dirty Little Secrets from Amazon Meet the artist My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult at Really Long Link Read the entire lyrics at Non Album Tracks -- A part of Kooler than Ascii
Saturnine - The GatheringJuly 5th 2008 19:47
if_then_else by The Gathering
Atmospheric strings, rebellious guitars, piercing lyrics, dramatic vocals, a mourning cello, an eerie synth and bleeding piano await the listener in Dutch alternative rock band The Gathering's highly penetrating piece Saturnine. The song is an uprising and submission, an appeal and an oath all combined in one -- Just like the mood swings of being left behind in love entail.
Coda & Roger and Me - Matt UelmenJuly 4th 2008 17:10
Diablo II Soundtrack by Matt Uelmen
The legacy of Blizzard's everlasting game, Diablo, continues in Phantasmelodia with Coda and Roger and Me, two mellifluous tracks by Matt Uelmen that mark the end of Diablo II Soundtrack. This time the epic oboe tells the story of the victory of mankind while grieving flutes that open the song sing an elegy for a fallen hero whose heart was once young and pure.
Town (Tristram Village) - Matt UelmenJune 29th 2008 14:37
Diablo Original Game Score by Matt Uelmen
The harmonious embrace of 12-string guitar and flute create a breathtaking, medieval aura which emits the colors of a most unforgettable tale about an old village named Tristram and the desecrated church within the nearby graveyard that spawns terror after terror upon its people. American musician Matt Uelmen captures the essence of this village and the sorrow it harbors beneath fear with his Town (also known as Tristram Village) and manages to climb and conquer the most arduous of musical peaks, ie. making a melody the trademark of a story.
What Else Is There - RöyksoppJune 28th 2008 08:49
The Understanding by Röyksopp
Interplanetary electronica, music that falls from outer space into wistful lyrics, a song that harbors a storm so artistically that the listeners might easily find themselves trying to find shelter from a tempest made of chaotic feelings.. These can be scattered poetic statements that might endeavor to describe Norwegian electronica duo Röyksopp's What Else Is There yet still fail to paint a picture. The song is that enthralling with frequent doses of underlying eeriness.
Everything Is Never Quite Enough - Wasis DiopJune 23rd 2008 16:35
Everything Is Never Quite Enough by Wasis Diop
The sultry waves of Africa fuse into a western breeze to give birth to one of the most eclectic downtempo tracks ever born. Guitar, silky vocals and sensual percussions dance in utmost harmony for Senegalise guitarist / musician Wasis Diop's Everything is Never Quite Enough and take the listener to the heart of a continent where man and nature have learned to co-exist without yielding to each other
Into Dust - Ashtar CommandJune 19th 2008 23:21
The O.C. Mix 6: Covering Our Tracks by Various Artists
Base a song upon a mesmerizing guitar riff played as softly as possible and you are on your way to a relaxing plane. If your muse is really in its element, it can convey you a melody not only calming but also somewhat hypnotic when repeated over and over again. If that is the case and you have no intention of decorating your song with heavy orchestration, just the intense plainness of your melody and you, mumbling scattered lyrics of desperation then you have a haunting song. American dream pop band Mazzy Star's Into Dust is that song. It is rare, almost astral sounding and adorned with imaginary lyrics. Just when one thinks this song can't get any better, American alternative band Ashtar Command appears and takes it to an even more starry dimension. They so elevate an already dreamy song that the song becomes the dream itself.
Never-Ending Story - Within TemptationJune 18th 2008 03:21
Mother Earth by Within Temptation
Imagine a pixie dancing on the piano keys while accompanied by the lyre of a satyr and the voice of an elf in a lush green forest next to a serene lake. Add a gentle breeze that conducts a chorus of tree leaves and kisses ripples on the water and you have Dutch symphonic rock band Within Temptation's Never-Ending Story surrounding you in an invisible embrace. Amidst the song, one can find traces of Galadriel's wisdom, Arwen's love and Lúthien's timeless beauty.
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on Turkish Delights: Turkish Delight...a recipe
Phantasmelodia
What a surprise to come across such a blog in Orble. As a blogger hailing from Turkey, it is a "delight" for me to see a foreigner writing about Turkish cuisine. I'll be following your posts for sure. Thank you for bringing the Turkish tooth out into Orble.