Gipsy Kings: "Inspiration" - Cover featuring Spanish guitar & accordion! By Nguyen-Anh Le

Buenas dias, amigos!  My latest music video is quite a change of pace from my recent ones.  We'll be switching gears to Latin pop with the Gipsy Kings!  "Inspiration" is a beautiful instrumental from their very popular "Gipsy Kings" album from the late 1980's.   Click on the image above or here to view the video on YouTube.

The Gipsy Kings' music is kind of a blend between Spanish Flamenco and pop music.  The genre is known as Rumba Flamenca.  The songs have pop music structures - with verses, choruses, bridges, etc.  The Flamenco is quite apparent in Gipsy Kings music, with all the strumming and tapping of the rhythm guitars and the fancy melodies from the lead guitar.  The Gipsy Kings are technically from France, but they speak Spanish and grew up in Spanish culture.  Their Spanish accents are a little strange to me - it's apparently Andalusian Spanish.

My cover of "Inspiration" is a bit unique.  Why?  It features the accordion!  The original song features a strong lead Spanish guitar.  I turned the song into a duet between guitar and accordion.  I was inspired by the melody at the bridge (1:53 mark); it always sounded to me more like a French accordion melody than a Spanish guitar melody.  So I figured, why not add a accordion throughout the whole song?  I really like the result.  The guitar and accordion harmonize well together.  The accordion's mellow, breathy sound is a nice contrast to the precise, plucky sound of the nylon string guitar.   The accordion's mellowness is great for carrying a secondary melody that shadows the lead melody.  On the other hand, chords on the accordion produce a bright, brashy sound, which is great for accenting the song (kinda like what a brass section does).

For my fellow musicians, Flamenco music is a bit different from Western pop/rock music.  First of all, playing lead Flamenco guitar (or just classical guitar) is different.  You don't play a riff or two here and there; you play a complete piece, full of unique phrases of music.  The melodies are pretty intricate and fast too.  Rock lead guitarists play with picks.  Flamenco guitarists just have long, ugly fingernails on their right hands.  You pluck with your nails.  I just can't stand long nails - not to mention I also play piano which requires short nails.  So I ended up getting some metal finger picks to fit around my fingers.  Without them, I simply couldn't play the lead melodies fast enough.  Nonetheless, there were still some showoff moves from the original song that I still couldn't play (I used some "creative license" to get around them).

Flamenco music is also different tonally (warning: this may get a bit technical).  Western pop/rock music uses mainly major, minor, and pentatonic scales.  Flamenco music doesn't have any pentatonic (which came from American blues, which didn't really get to Europe much at all).  Instead, Flamenco music employs a couple scales that you aren't used to hearing: "harmonic minor" scale (minor scale with sharp 7) as well as "Phrygian dominant mode", a.k.a. the "gypsy scale" (minor scale with flat 2, sharp 7).  You'll see these scales not only in Flamenco music, but other Spanish music and its derivatives (like in Latin America).  Since the Gipsy Kings are a fusion band, they only use these scales part of the time.  Here's a link to a song you may know that uses the "gypsy scale" significantly.  Don't ask me how to finger these scales or for tabs - I don't know hehe.  Once you play some Flamenco music for a while, you just "get it", and then you start having some fun!

My cover somewhat departed from Flamenco music as well.  Most obvious reason is the accordion, which isn't used in Flamenco music (afaik).  But it's used all over Europe and Latin America.  Most of my accordion playing on this song is French/Italian inspired, I think.  But I also threw in some Eastern European flair around the middle of the song (2:14 mark), and even bits and pieces of Argentinian tango accordion styling too.  And the outro at the end sounds like a Brasilian samba.

All in all, "Inspiration" was a wonderful song to learn and play.  Enjoy!

Music Video: Passion Pit's "Carried Away" - One-man band cover by Nguyen-Anh Le

Wassup, my friends!  It's time to release a new music video!  Passion Pit's "Carried Away" has been stuck in my head so much lately.  It's such a catchy and danceable tune (just don't pay attention to the depressing lyrics).  So I felt compelled to do my own cover of it!  Click here or on the screenshots above to view the video in YouTube.

My "instrument of the day" is the Keytar!  I had purchased a Roland Lucina AX-09 a while ago, but just realized I've never shown it off in its own video.  "Carried Away" was perfect for it, since it has a great keyboard lead riff that fits the strengths of the Roland.  For those of you who are interested in the keytar, here's a nice demo video.  I love this baby.  It is quite versatile, and it's super portable.  I've decided to clear out my other keyboards and just stick to this one (and a stage piano).

For the music video, I decided to shoot it "on scene" at the Great Wall of China!  Well maybe not exactly on scene, since I went there in 2008 and filmed this music video in 2014.  Details, details :)

Enjoy!!!

Music video: Metric's "Synthetica" - iPad Video Cover by Nguyen-Anh Le

Happy New Year!  I went back to the iPad to make this latest video.  "Synthetica" is the title track off Metric's latest album (2013).  It's a great song with powerful lyrics, rocking guitars, and cool synth sounds.  Click here or on the pic above to view on YouTube.

I had planned to work on a different song by a different band.  But some interesting things happened last month (November).  Through a friend of the band, Metric discovered my A Capella cover of "Gold Guns Girls."   They shared my video via Twitter and Facebook, and in two days, 8000 viewers had seen it.  It went almost viral!  Well not that viral - maybe "bacterial" haha.  Metric also invited me to meet them backstage at their show in Chicago (see above).  I had never met a band backstage before.  They were so nice and fun to talk to.  I felt a little flattered having this awesome band ask little ole me about my home video.  It was a bit ironic since it was their song in the first place haha.  So.... I thought I would pay tribute to Metric by doing another cover of their songs (my 3rd Metric cover), one off their new album.  And voila - Synthetica!

I've done several videos on the iPad already.  In fact, music was the primary reason for buying an iPad originally.  So what's different about this one?  The big thing is that "Synthetica" is a guitar rock song.  My previous videos were almost entirely synths.  It is pretty cool using the guitar and bass instruments on GarageBand.  GarageBand put a lot of effort into making lots of guitar effects and amps, so you can choose how clean or dirty, reverb, delay, wah wah, flanger, etc.  The acoustic guitar sounds are pretty nice too.  The iPad interface allows you to just tap to play chords, or you can play notes like on a real fingerboard.  One limitation, however, is that you can't play frets up the fingerboard - I think only the first 7-8 frets are accessible, while most electric guitars have at least 22.

After the bridge of the song, I switched to a real instrument - an electric guitar!  My buddy Chris wanted to trim his lineup of guitars.  So I acquired his Ephiphone Les Paul Standard, which he had some nice custom work done on, including fancy Seymour Duncan pickups.  It's a beautiful guitar, and it plays very well.  I thought I'd show off the guitar with my own guitar solo on Synthetica - hopefully it was somewhat worthy of Metric's Jimmy Shaw! :)

Enjoy!  Happy New Year!

Music Video: Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" - A one-man band cover by Nguyen-Anh Le

I know, I know - everybody has covered "Get Lucky." You may be sick of the song by now, since it's been the hottest song all summer.   It's a fun and catchy song though - makes you just want to bounce around, wherever you are.  Listen to my cover!!!  Your life will change once you do it!!! :)

I've been a Daft Punk fan for years.  I missed seeing them live at Lollapalooza 2007, but one day...  I'm glad they departed from their heavy DJ set to a more full band with instruments.  Pharrell Williams's guest vocals on this track are great, and Nile Rodgers on the guitar was amazing.  If you didn't know, Nile Rodgers founded the classic 70's disco band Chic ("Freak Out!").  No wonder "Get Lucky" has such a great disco groove.  Pharrell has been all over the music scene, though mostly as a producer and songwriter.  He sounds pretty darn good for someone who doesn't sing lead vocals often!  Some trivia: Pharrell and his production group The Neptunes had previously collaborated with Daft Punk, on a remix of "Harder Faster Stronger Better" :)

Doing a cover that everyone else has done can be tough.  How do you make it unique?  How can it be special?  At least I have the "one-man band" approach (although there are a few great ones of these already).  I wanted to keep it strongly disco.  But more layered than Daft Punk's version, which is a little sparse.  I couldn't sing nearly as well as Pharrell or play guitar nearly as well as Nile... but I had other instruments to work with.  So my cover ended up with:

• A faster tempo (120 bpm)
• A more prominent bass line
• A cool super disco bridge & outro
• Lots of keyboards - including my cool Keytar!
• An entertaining music video :)

Here it is!  Enjoy!  You can either view it directly on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIl7msQKgGk or view it embedded below.

France 2013: Normandy, WWII, and Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day in the USA!  Normally I think of the summer and barbecuing on Memorial Day.  But today is cold and rainy.  And my France experience is still on my mind.  It's only fitting that I write about Normandy and its WWII D-Day sites today.  Visiting these places certainly made me remember and honor those of us who have served for our countries.

The Normandy coast sits on the English Channel.  England is directly north.  Although it's not the closest place in France from England (Calais is), the Allies chose Normandy as its target for the D-Day invasion.  Five areas of coastline (known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches), were the landing points for the Allied troops.  For the rest of the story, go watch Saving Private Ryan :)

Normandy Coast Towns

The drive along the Normandy coast was relaxing.  There are a bunch of small seaside fishing towns.  Each one had some kind of memorial or museum dedicated to WWII.  I don't remember all the towns we went through, but it was all nice.  Too bad it was cold and rainy that day.  I would have enjoyed sitting on a pier and eating some seafood...

Perhaps the best scenic view of the Normandy coast was at Arromanches, pictured above.  Cliffs overlook the town on both sides, so you can get a great view.  There's a memorial/museum area here too.  Arromanches was the site of the WWII Mulberry Harbor, a portable temporary harbor built by the Allies to unload troops and supplies in order to win Europe back from the Nazis.  In the photo, the four objects in the water are remnants of the Mulberry Harbor.  There are some great WWII photos of the harbor in the museum onsite and on the internet (follow the link above).

Omaha Beach

When it comes to D-Day, Americans probably remember Omaha Beach the most.  Unlike the other beaches which were fairly easy to overtake, Omaha Beach was nasty.  It overlooked bluffs rising up to 150 ft.  German fortifications covered the beach.   Needless to say, thousands of people died on those beaches that day.  Once again, refer to Saving Private Ryan for more detail - its Omaha Beach invasion scene was amazing.

Today, there isn't much to see at Omaha Beach.  The area is a big memorial park now.  Almost all the fortifications are gone.  If you walk out a bit, you can see some bomb craters and perhaps a few remnants of the battle.

The main thing to see at Omaha Beach is the American Cemetery.  About 10,000 soldiers are buried here.  Makes you think about life a bit when you visit.  Thanks again to all those who have served.

It's crazy to think that the Nazis had a good chance of defeating the Brits and conquering all of Europe.  I was born a couple generations later, so the feeling wasn't the same as those who lived through it.  But seeing a few things sends a shiver down your spine.  On this trip, we had a long layover in Berlin and visited some of the landmarks there too.  They have a nice outdoor exhibit on the rise of the Nazi party in Germany.  And below is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin - a tribute to the millions of Jews who were systematically persecuted and murdered by the Nazis.

Caen

There are a few bigger cities in the Normandy area.  One of them is Caen.  We stayed at a hotel there.  Caen was a major site in WWII during the Battle for Normandy (which started on D-Day). A significant portion of Caen was destroyed and was later rebuilt.  However, the medieval core of the city remains intact.  Below is the Chateau de Caen, or Caen Castle.  It was built by William the Conqueror, who led the Norman invasion to conquer England in 1066.  Across the street is the Church of St. Pierre, located across the street from the castle.  There are a few other churches you should see if you go there - Abbaye aux Hommes and Abbaye aux Dames - but we got lost and couldn't find a parking spot....

Related Links:

• France 2013 Trip Overview 
• France 2013 photos on Flickr - slideshow
• France 2013 photos on Flickr
• Travel at the Disco Palace 

France 2013: Le Mont St. Michel

Le Mont St. Michel is a very unique combination of characteristics: island, mountain, castle, monastery, medieval town, geological phenomenon, architectural marvel, and a place of legend.  Built sometime around 700-800 CE, the town and its fortifications have served a strategic role in the region over the centuries.  Le Mont has a special place in the hearts of the French.  Many songs, stories, and movies have referred to it.  I've personally wanted to visit it since I was young.  Finally seeing it in person was amazing.

Le Mont is located in a shallow bay in Normandy (northwestern France).   It is classified as a "tidal island," which means it is surrounded by water when the tides are high.  During low tide, you can walk over from the mainland.  Just don't get caught when the water rises; the water level goes up quickly, and the quicksand can be deadly!

Inside Le Mont St. Michel

There's a single road that connects the island to the mainland.  The road gets lots of traffic - 3.5 million tourists and Christian pilgrims visit the town every year.  They are currently renovating the area, changing the water flow with a new dam and building a new raised road leading to the town. There are a few small but expensive hotels on the island itself. We stayed on the mainland, however. It was much cheaper, and you can just walk or take a bus over to the island.

When you first enter the island, you walk through the tiny medieval town. Less than 30 people officially live on the island today. Le Mont has never had more than 1500 inhabitants over its entire history. The town probably had some interesting shops back in the day - carpenters, blacksmiths, etc. Today, it is only for tourists: souvenirs, food, and lodging. You need no more than a couple hours in town and less than a day at the site in general.

The fortifications of Le Mont are quite impressive. The island is completely surrounded by city walls. The central core of the mountain is situated at the top of the mountain and covered with more walls. Imagine launching projectiles from a catapult from the top!

The top of the mountain is reserved - for God!  There's a Gothic-styled Benedictine Abbey up there.  It is dedicated to Michael the Archangel. To get there, you need to walk up a bunch of stairs, but the view is amazing.  You can also pay a fee to tour the Abbey, but we chose not to do it.

The Tides

Perhaps the most unique aspect of Le Mont is the tidal flow.  I'm not aware of any other landmark in the world that is sometimes part of the mainland and sometimes an island.  It just takes about 60 minutes for high tide to cause the town to be completely surrounded by water.  We climbed the steps to the abbey and watched the tidal phenomenon happen.

#1: 7:22pm

#2: 7:46pm

#3: 7:58pm

#4: 8:14pm

Related Links:

• France 2013 Trip Overview 
• France 2013 photos on Flickr - slideshow (many photos still to be uploaded)
• France 2013 photos on Flickr (many photos still to be uploaded)
• Travel at the Disco Palace 

France 2013: Trip Overview

Bonjour, messieurs et madames!  I just got back from a très magnifique, two-week trip to France.  Unlike my typical trips with friends, this one was a family vacation.  My parents just had their 40th anniversary, and I wanted to take them on a trek in Europe while their health was still in good shape. 
Our trip was spent entirely in northwestern France.  It was the second time in France for all of us. Aside from Paris, all the places we visited were new to us.

Trip itinerary & blog article index:

1) Flew in to Paris (A). With a long layover in Berlin
2) Normandy coast (B): The historic sites of the WWII D-Day invasion
3) Le Mont. St. Michel (C): The medieval city built on an island mountain (photo at top of this article)
4) Loire Valley (D): Region filled with beautiful chateaux (castles/mansions) built by French royalty
5) Chartres (E): Home of the beautiful gothic Cathédrale de Chartres.
6) Paris (F): 4+ days wandering the most beautiful city on the planet

As I write more, I will link to blog articles on the above locations. 

Here are maps of our trip.  The one on the left is a macro view, showing where we were in relation to France overall.  The one on the right shows more detail on the specific locations.

Getting Around

We rented a car to travel to all these locations. It was a great experience. The Normandy coast has a lot of small sites that you can visit, so having our own car allowed us to visit them at our own pace. The car was great for the Loire Valley too, since there are 10-20 chateaux you could visit. We planned around the big chateaux(Chambord, Chenonceau, Villandry); for the rest, we played it by ear. The French countryside was beautiful too. We really enjoyed driving through all the small towns and peaceful country roads.

When you rent a car in Europe, most cars you get are manual transmission. I was the sole driver, and I can only drive an automatic. So I reserved an automatic for a lot more money... but hey, it was a "premium class" rental - so they gave us a BMW 5 Series! What an awesome car for a road trip! The photo above is me with the BMW, in front of Chambord, the most grand of the chateaux in the Loire Valley. It also came with an excellent built-in GPS system, which saved us from getting lost many times.

Driving in Europe has its good points and its bad points. On the bright side, highway driving is great. Everyone is taught to drive very well, it seems. You rarely see slow drivers in the passing lane. People move aside to let faster drivers pass. And you don't see clueless cell-phone users cluttering up the roads. On the other hand, driving in cities and towns can be a pain! The streets are very small and crowded, and directions aren't marked clearly. Parking spots are tiny too. Most cars are very small compact and sub-compact cars; our BMW was quite a behemoth on the roads! Luckily, I managed not to hit anyone or anything...

The one place I did not drive in was Paris. Driving in Paris, just like any of the world's largest cities, is a complete mess! No way! We took public transporation instead. The metro and bus systems in Paris were excellent. Trains ran very frequently and were comfortable (and not smelly and rickety like Chicago's El hehe). The bus system was great too. Although the buses ran less frequently than the trains, there were more buses, and they covered lots of ground. It was nice to gaze out the window and admire the beauty of Paris during the bus rides. Tip to travelers: you can buy a "Mobilis" ticket that gives you unlimited train & bus rides in central paris for the great price of 6,60 EUR. Or a 5-day "Paris visite" card.

The French

Everyone seems to be curious how the experience was when dealing with the French.  I guess they get a bad rep in the States hehe.  Actually, just like my previous time in France, the French were great.  The French, on the whole, have a great sense of taste - whether it's in architecture, food, or fashion.  They are well-read, cultured, and have a good sense of what's going on in the rest of the world.  I think where Americans sometimes rub the French the wrong way is either from being ignorant ("I'm American, I don't care who you are") or not showing interest ("I don't want to try your food, where's the McDonald's?").  If you're gonna visit their country, you just need to be open to their ways.  The French are very proud of their culture and seem to want to share its greatness with you.  We had a great time talking to the locals.  All three of us can read and speak French too, so it made things much easier.  Many were impressed that these strange looking Asian visitors could speak their language.  But even if your French is poor, you get a lot of points by simply trying to speak their language.

Conclusion

It was a great trip!  Hmm, I think every trip is a great trip :)  We saw a lot, experienced a lot, and had spent some good family time together as well.  More blog articles and photos to come!