alan – my life (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

1. reflection ~overture~
2. Swear
3. One
4. 見つめていたい
5. 涙 (Smooth Jam Mix)
6. Lost Child
7. Butterflies
8. Essence of me
9. Call my name
10. 白い翼
11. Nobody knows but me
12. BALLAD ～名もなき恋のうた～
13. 久遠の河
14. my life

Alan Dawa Doma, the Tibetan-Chinese artist who became the first Chinese artist to debut at #1 on the Japanese Oricon Daily Singles charts with her ninth single “Kuon no Kawa”, her second movie theme song for John Woo’s “Red Cliff”. A song which the singer got worldwide recognition and even performed the song at the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival.

I have had the opportunity to watch and listen to this artist from the first marketing single I received from the label and each release, I’m just in awe with her vocals, her musical ability and her stage presence. A beautiful singer with an incredible voice, needless to say, I love her music.

In my interview with Asian pop star alan, when asked about her second album “my life”, she said, “As for “My Life”, that album is how I feel about music. “music is…my life”. It is an album full of my feelings towards music, my music”.

Her debut album “Voice of Earth” released earlier in 2009 was a representation of alan expressing the voice of the Earth and with this latest album, there is a sense of confidence with this latest album. Confidence in that alan feels much more in her element, showcasing her gorgeous vocals and collaborating with talented musicians, the production of “my life” is much more improved over the last album.

“my life” includes alan’s ninth CD single “Kuon no Kawa”, her tenth single “Ballad (Namonaki Koi no Uta” and her eleventh single “Swear”. Also, included is the titular song “my life” which was used for the Sony PSP video game “God Eater”.

Outside of the singles which I have covered on previous reviews (especially my favorite track “Kuon no Kawa”), every track on “my life” are amazing. From the piano-driven ballad “Mitsumeteitai” to the Toko Furuuchi written track “Namida” which is a smooth jam mix in which Furuuchi’s style works perfectly with alan’s vocals. Then there is the beautiful ballad “Shiroi Tsubasa” and the piano-driven “Nobody knows but me”. All ballads on this album are wonderful and its a style that alan is known for.

But instead of going the route of other avex trax female artists which are known for their bump and grind upbeat R&B tracks, alan’s upbeat tracks are suitable for her vocals and musical style. She’s more angelic in presence, whimsical in style and there is no need for her to be like any other avex female pop diva.

And of course, the single tracks are just magnificent. “Swear” is, in my opinion, the catchiest pop track that alan has ever released as a single thus far.

Her tenth single “Ballad ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~ is an awesome ballad follow-up to “Kuon no Kawa” incorporating the strings and a song that your heart just gravitates to when you hear her passionate plea as she sings the main chorus. And as mentioned earlier, “Kuon no Kawa” is a song that alan achieves perfection. Incredible vocals and the music arrangement is just fantastic.

The 14 tracks included in “my life” are enjoyable and entertaining. And it’ll be interesting to see where alan’s music continues in upcoming releases as we are seeing more experimentation with her music.

But as for now, she is known for her terrific ballads and this album is a wonderful all-round, well-balanced album.

As for the CD insert, the album features the lyrics to each song and also pictures of alan along with production credits. There is a CD+DVD version available and a special limited first press edition as well (which includes a 40-page book).

Overall, “my life” is a wonderful second album that manages to surpass her debut album vocally and musically. If you are an alan fan, this album is recommended!

BUY THIS ALBUM from CDJapan.com:

my life

alan