Dick Lee is a famous music icon in Singapore. In an interview conducted for the 938 LIVE's Bharati Jagdish that it took him some time to build the guts to say that the music he wrote is based on a Singaporean concept. Dick Lee is one of the finest music icons in Singapore. He is a singer and a songwriter. One of this famous songs is entitled Home. It was written and released twenty years back, but still it is being sung by most Singaporeans to this day. In fact, it has become among Singaporeans. He has been in the music industry for over forty years and to this day he is still significant in terms of composing the pop music, national songs and scores for musicals. To this day, he is also working in the fashion industry, he works for events management and advertising companies.

It is just that he says he is sorry for the upcoming projects and the musicians must do to succeed in a competitive global market. However, he started to relay about his background as an artist and how he started in the business. He added, for him, growing up has never been simple, it was not a bed roses. As a teen, penetrating the music world and pushing through the pop culture back then is still not allowed. There was a big hindrance with regards to the negative aspects of the Western culture. He added, if you want to pursue rock music, it wasn't possible, then, since it was linked with drugs. If you wanted to pursue the pop culture, you must also be involved in some heavy metal music along the way. Did you push through with it? He eagerly says yes. He did and his parents were suspicious of him them. Rock concerts were banned during those times and so do with long hair. These cool things back then are all unlawful.

But is it the challenge that made him push through with his career in music? Somehow yes, he uttered. There is just this rebellious feeling in his and it never stopped him from pushing through with the music that he likes the most, even if he must go through rough times. But why did he say that it was hard back then? Is it because of his parents? Is it because of the judgmental minds of the people? He simply answered yes without elaborating his answer. But how did he able to go through the times when his parents are suspicious of him and doesn't want him to go through those unlawful kinds of music trends then? He simply says that he just did what he must do in a secretive manner. That made interesting for him, he added. This was during 1970s. It was just after the big music boom in the 1960s. He added, to this day, you can still say that it is still the golden age of Singapore pop music genre. It was when the local bands are everywhere with fans screaming for their music, then it just disappeared through time. That must be because of the National Service.

What is the National Service and why did he think that it may be the reason for it? It was around 1970-1971 when he started to work on his compositions and there was nothing to start with. All of the bands are nowhere. They must have rounded up all of the kids, their hair might be cut short and they might be placed in the army. It is truly hard to find, out why they are all broke during those times. The recording industry might have died just like that. When he started to be in the big music world, he started to write some music. He may be perceived as weird or as a freak back then, people may start to ask why would anyone write songs if this is not trendy at all.

He started to recall how people were able to cover some of his songs and that started the age of the Talents. They were the only few methods for them to sing the songs they have made and then let them be heard by a lot of people. The Talent Time Contestants mostly sand the cover versions of the songs as well. The hardest things were, the more he pushed through in his career and his thrive to be heard. But apart from the rebellious urge, what does he say in his effort to write music and to be a performer. As he recalled things, when he was still in the 6th grade, he considers himself as a typical kid. However, when he reached grade 10-12, he started to be lured in pop music and he thought that that is where it all started. He enjoyed learning and playing the piano all at the same time, he was sure then that he will get into the pop music world.

When he was 17 years of age, he started to work at his mom's shop, he started designing for teen clothes and he also runs some fashion shows. But the question is, were he not scared to go off the beat from the path that he wanted to take. He said that he was just a kid back then. There were no responsibilities, yes, he was so fearless and is ready to embrace fear in particular. That is the difference of Dick Lee to some of the teens today, he was so fearless then, while the new generation today easily gives up on something. He started to send demo songs back then only to be rejected due to his lack of experience. However, why does he took the hard path when he came from a well off family. He eagerly says yes, he came from a well off family, but there are so many things to do in life than to just be merely fed on a silver spoon by the parents.

CULT, the latest album from Caulfield Cult, is by far the most mature album so far, with a total of 23 minutes playing time. As one listens from track to track from start to finish, one becomes more mesmerized by the lyrics and ideas. The band previously launched two albums before CULT, and it is the result from a band that is not afraid to stand on its own and producing unique music. They are not your typical punk bands. Their ideas and lyrics represent a hint of clarity, hence carving out a niche for them. The music may sound heavy but it is more than compensated by the deeply meaningful lyrics.

Nicholas Wong, the main poster boy and vocalist for the band, commented that the band is trying to go for clarity in sound, while not going too far up, and has taken into consideration the effects of performing better musically compared to live shows. There are a total of 4 member in the band, consisting of Nicholas as introduced, Brian the bass and backup vocalist, Feroze the guitarist and Andrew the drummer.

Nicholas Wong had been the key person for the album's production. He gave a detailed walkthrough for the whole album by describing a little about every single track. He also shared on ways that the band juggled between different themes concerning relationships, self-esteem and jealousy. Wong emphasized that he aims to write the lyrics in a transparent manner while avoiding overused metaphors which will bury the meaning of the lyrics. If you want to find out more on Wong's opinion about other famous songs such as I Cannot Save You by Patrick Kindlon, you must read on and stream CULT.

For the first track ‘I Do not want you anymore', it was in the instant that Nicholas wrote the song that it will be the opening track. The influence he had in the mid-00s octave chords which are common for Cult's music is the perfect formula for maintaining their musicianship. The main theme for the song is to be less temperamental and upset over petty issues. Wong shared that the recurring theme is not to give up whenever tragedy strikes. It is not exactly written in a positive manner, but it was from the view and experience that Wong gained since young and being a heavy traveller. According to Wong, there will always be someone out there who is in a worse situation than you.

For the second track 'Deadpan', Wong's friend showed him an article where a famous band was interested in Caulfield Cult. It was collaboration between Suis LaLune which provided the vocals recording to Wong. Wong was extremely pleased with the collaboration with a big name band and they consider themselves lucky for an obscure band like Caulfield.

The third track ‘Jealous' is actually not a typical track and it is a band culture to place at least one song that sounds unique and non-conventional. Wong was made to repeat the singing multiple time by his sound engineer as a test to seek out the best use for Wong's vocals. It is discovered that Wong's vocals are limited and have very little endurance. The meaning behind the song is actually about a human being who wants to be over possessive over another companion. It may be interpreted as between two romantic couples. The person in the song tried hard to be open minded.

The fourth track ‘Marwood' was selected over another song called Abolition as Wong preferred this song over the other. Another reason was because they do not have a backup guitarist. The title of the song makes reference to a main cast for a 1987 movie titled Whitnail & I. Marwood is actually a jobless actor who relied heavily on drugs and booze. He is more rational and will be stressed out on any issues they fall into. In the end he finally got back his act together and started pursuing a real career by leaving Whitnail. The song was not written entirely for Marwood persona, but there is very little difference on the track's mood. It has a deeper meaning for listeners which encourage people to slow down and analyze a bad situation more rationally and be more content and happy in a low profile career.

The fifth track title 'Our Wounded Vessels', was inspired by a movie line. The quote which goes by "we make the trip back to our wounded vessels” was very interesting to me and relevant. It has the meaning of soldiering on in a badly damaged ship after many hardships. The entire quote was too long, hence the simplified version for the song title. It is clear as to the meaning of the song. Our band thinks this could be the hit but I do not have any specific comments and just let them have their own say.

The final track '2 Weeks from every-where' is actually taken from a movie quote. It was supposed to be an introductory song but there were many other better songs that could be sung right away. It is for the purpose of adding a dynamic twist to our live performance and singing to a live audience.

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world's leading music and entertainment organisation, incorporating recorded music, music publishing and artist merchandise activities. The Group discovers, develops, markets and distributes recorded music through a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees in 77 countries worldwide.

Universal Music has market leading artists in the Region including Jacky Cheung, Nana Ouyang, Sa Dingding, Eason Chan, Alan Tam, Priscilla Chan, Kelly Chen, SamSons, Dean, Siri Nurhaliza, Darren Espanto, Gentle Bones, A-Mei, and Yanzi Sun.

Universal's Global roster includes Taylor Swift, Drake, Mumford and Sons, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Sam Smith, Metallica, Fall Out Boy, Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons, Madonna, Andre Rieu, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Florence and the Machine, and many more.

Universal Music Group are the global market leader in music-based entertainment, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories, working across recording, publishing, merchandising and artist management. Just as Universal Music Group have the most talented recording artists and songwriters in the world, Universal Music Group also have the most talented employees and are proud to be an employer of choice. Universal Music Group know that an organization is only as good as its employees so Universal Music Group continues to seek out the best. If you live for music, value innovation, thrive in creative environments and want to be part of an exciting culture then Universal Music encourage you to apply for one of their openings or join our talent community.

Are you passionate about music and events and always hoped to combine the two into 1 dream job? Universal Music Singapore are hiring a Senior Executive - Brand Partnerships & Events to join our rapidly growing New Business division. The successful candidate will support the team to identify, create and project manage exciting commercial opportunities for our artists. You will be experienced in managing events and also have a knack for business development and strong commercial acumen. 3-4 years of relevant experience in events, business development, account management, sponsorship, or other related area. Excellent client relationship management skills and an effective negotiator. Fluent in English and Mandarin?

If the above sounds like you head over to the universalmusicgroup jobs portal.

Stress often comes to everyone suddenly, without prediction, and sometimes makes us ruin our relations with our beloved one or other people around us. A lot of work, disturbance while doing something, and a lot of things around the world that makes us blow out of our mind. The bad thing is it is hard to avoid. It is happening to adult and even children. What may cause it, is our hormone inside our body, called cortisol or stress hormone.

Cortisol is produced while our body or our psychological is in stress. Nonetheless, cortisol not always a bad hormone, we also need it. In a proper dose, it can help us to be more alert and concentrated. But in an excessive amount, it will cause a lot of diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, and many other diseases related to it.

The researcher has made 22 kinds of research and the result is remaining the same, that listening to a music with some settings can reduce cortisol levels, even when it is located in a hospital or laboratory. Right now, they are trying a new research related to music. The research held in London, with 117 people as a volunteer. Next, the researcher has them listen to live music held by composer Eric Whitacre. They are collecting the volunteer's saliva to be tested in order to measure the amount of cortisol hormone on it. They took two sample; The first sample taken before the concert. And the second are taken during the concert. And the result is clear, there's a decreasing level of cortisol hormone in the second sample saliva which is taken during the concert.

The researcher is willing to do the other test with a lot of different things to try. They used to do this research with a classical music, but now they try a live music. Can't wait to know what the results are when they try with a metal. Why not? Since every research with a different genre of music has shown positive results so far. They also looking for an answer about the engagement between music, art, and cultural setting to human biologically, and even psychologically, for a very generous purpose, which is to enhance human health and become a well-being.

Usually, people listen to music by hearing it. But, for some artists, they could even ‘see' the music as a colour. This condition what is called with synesthesia. This known as a phenomenon of a neurological. Synesthesia is a condition when one of the usual sensories do the work, but then elicit with another sensory. By the former sample on this paragraph, the hearing sensory are elicited with the vision sensory.

The artist who have this ability and have revealed it is Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean, and Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington, the legend of jazz has said that he heard the note played with one of his band members, and it is in one colour. Then he heard someone else playing the same note, but it is revealed as a different colour. The people with synesthesia can see music manifested in many colours. It is so interested from where the usual people see this different.

Later, Melissa McCracken has interpreted this colour of music into a painting. The results are very interesting; Karma Police painted in many colours, and Prince interpreted in an aggressive stroke of the brush till out of the canvas. There's also another painting by her which is an interpretation of the synesthetic vision. There's also an Israeli artist called Michal Levy's who has to interpret "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane.