146A Emerald Hill Road Singapore 229431 Phone: (65) 6733 8285 Fax: (65) 6736 1476

Walker Asia Partners With NTT And UBLUES Fest To Produce Live Streaming Webcast Of The Inaugural UBLUES FEST 2002

Watch Singapore's 1st Blues, Soul And Funk Festival LIVE on www.walkerasia.com.sg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SINGAPORE, July 8, 2002 - Walker Asia Entertainment, Singapore-based broadband content and technology leaders, is pleased to announce that it will partner with NTT Singapore to stream the UBLUES FEST 2002 live from Fort Canning Park (www.walkerasia.com.sg).

This marks yet another synergistic collaboration between Walker Asia and NTT to bring a lifestyle experience from Singapore to audiences all over the world.

On the home page of the Walker Asia website, visitors will find links to view the event live over the two nights, as well as a link to view some performances by the Universal Blues Band. Viewers will have the opportunity to see the streaming video with audio in 56kbps or 300kbps depending on the speed of their broadband connection.

Walker Asia, the event Media Partner, will be carrying out multiple camera switching, and simultaneous output of Windows Media streams for the Internet and video archiving. As the Official ISP, NTT Singapore will provide a dedicated 512Kbps line complete with a live streaming server.

The UBLUES FEST 2002 happens over the sizzling weekend of 13 - 14 July. Workshops start from 5:00pm on Saturday and The Holmes Brothers will close the show late Sunday night.

About www.walkerasia.com.sg
Walker Asia delivers a vast selection of streaming content and broadband applications to key Asian markets: Japanese movies, Hollywood fare, locally-flavoured videos, popular music, online games, animation, comics and events coverage. In addition, we serve up fun tech tools such as a digital community, and Xincryption™ DURUS - a webmail facility with high-strength, high-speed encryption functions for sensitive data transfers in business dealings and personal communications.

For additional information, kindly contact:
Mr A. Seki seki@walkerasia.com.sg
Esther Tan esther@walkerasia.com.sg
146A Emerald Hill Road Singapore 229431 Phone: (65) 6733 8285 Fax: (65) 6736 1476

OFFICIAL FESTIVAL MEDIA RELEASE

Singapore's Premiere celebration of the Blues comes to Fort Canning Park in July at the UBLUES FEST 2002

Blues, Soul and Funk…get ready to be moved…the world is listening

"…Making musical history…as the unique experience, imagery and sounds of African-American and Asian musicians blend to add a new and exciting dimension to the blues…"
Bruce Iglauer, Founder of Allligator, biggest blues label in the US

A festival in celebration of the blues and roots music, UBLUES Fest 2002 will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 13th and 14th July 2002 at Fort Canning Park from 5pm on.

This 2-day blues, soul and funk festival will feature the best from USA, Australia and Asia, coming together to celebrate music on a common platform promoting cultural exchange, mutual respect and passion for music. Highlights for this festival includes performances by anchor band - The Holmes Brothers (USA), Blue Shaddy and Rick Steele (Australia), to name a few. Joining these internationally renowned artists will be Malaysian renowned musicians and Singapore's own Farid Ali and ublues band, among others. What's more, get up close and personal with artists at workshops on blues guitar, vocals and harmonica at no extra charge on top of ticket price, and experience the unique thrill of international acts jamming with local artistes in a cross-cultural celebration of blues and roots music.

Causing a stir in Australia and the blues world, homegrown musicians, Danny Loong and Trevor Jalla of Ublues Network are back to spearhead Singapore's blues movement with UBLUES Fest. This is despite a disappointing postponement of an exciting US trip earlier this year. They were to travel to the US to represent Singapore in an international competition but they could not go due to US visa application restrictions after September 11. Instead of feeling dejected not being able to go, they worked tirelessly to bring a US band, the amazing Holmes Brothers to Singapore to celebrate UBLUES Fest 2002.

UBLUES Fest will bring together the music and spirit of the famous blues streets and events like Beale Street in Memphis, in Chicago and New York, with the festivities of the New Orlean's Mardi Gras to Singapore's own "Ublues Street". Come and experience the culinary fusion of the East and West, complimenting the union of music on stage. There are bound to be surprises at this premier blues and roots festival - UBLUES Fest.

Featured artistes include: -

The Holmes Brothers (USA)

The Holmes Brothers effortlessly mix soul, blues, gospel, R&B and country into a sound Billboard described as "utterly astounding."

"…the undisputed masters of blues-based American roots music…a joyous, foot stomping carnival…"
Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot

"The Holmes Brothers are the real thing: rugged, honest and undeniably soulful. What one hears in these voices is something round, real and even by turns ecstatic."
People

Numerously nominated for "Band of the Year," "Best Contemporary Album," and the premiere blues and roots WC Handy Awards, the Holmes Brothers are often the subject of features and reviews in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Newsweek, and countless other publications. The New York Music Awards named The Holmes Brothers Best Blues Artists in 1992, and they also finished first in the annual Downbeat International Critics Poll in the Blues group TDWR category.
Musicians they have gigged with include: Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, Joan Osborne, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. They have appeared on Late Night With David Letterman, and even performed for former US President, Bill Clinton. Gigging all across the globe, Wendell Holmes, Sherman Holmes and Willie "Popsy" Dixon never fail to win over audiences everywhere they play.
The Holmes Brothers have performed and recorded for Womad numerous times. Now, with their latest album, SPEAKING IN TONGUES, The Holmes Brothers speak with unmistakable clarity, as their music raises spirits high and moves souls deep. Their breathtaking harmonies resonate with a passion and conviction matched only by their superior musicianship. Expect appealingly earth soul sounds with funk overtones.

Blue Shaddy (Australia)

This dynamic and progressive four-piece group from Australia has built its reputation and strong following on exceptionally high energy live performances with infectious grooves and outstanding individual musicianship. Drawing from many influences and styles, with a background in blues and a leaning towards dance rhythms, Blue Shaddy has a unique sound, which is best described as "new roots".

"Undeniably rockin', booty-movin...a dynamic edge rooted in the blues but injected with an original and dangerously funky edge"
Perth Blues Club

Rick Steele (Australia)

With two solo albums, several singles and nominations for country performer of the year to his credit, Rick Steele is an evening's entertainment in his own right. He possesses one of the most recognisable voices in the business, telling stories of life's pains, joys, heartaches and struggles that has left countless audiences in awe of his brand of blues-tinged acoustic folk.

Farid Ali Trio (Singapore and Malaysia)

After performing and recording with Ernie Watts, Eric Marienthal, Steve Thornton, Face First, among others, Farid is now working on his own CD Project, which is due for release by the third quarter of this year.

Not only is Farid a virtuoso on the guitar, but he has also acquired a reputation for his vocal talent. Some musicians have described his style to be "a jazzier aspect of the blues," clearly depicting the relationship of how jazz evolved from the blues.

ublues band(Singapore)

"The sheer enthusiasm the band generates in audiences would be hard to match in Europe and the USA, let alone Australia and Asia…The world needs a new slant on the blues in the twenty first century and that's a 'universal' truth."

Victor Brox, British Blues pioneer

"...the best parts of this album are as good as many American blues bands which are at recording level (in other words, as good as some of the musicians that I record). Thanks for sharing some very good music."

Bruce Iglauer - Founder of multiple-Grammy nominated Alligator Records, USA

This band is now regarded as one of the premiere blues bands in Asia and Australia, performing a variety of styles and formats including a two-piece acoustic duo, four-piece electric band and a four-piece with horns. They are recognized for their efforts in rejuvenating the blues and have also gained approval for their performance from music legend, Buddy Guy. They will be joined by Singapore's No.1 harmonica player, Kelvin "Smokey" Ng.

On the brainchild of UBLUES Fest

Both Danny and Trevor hope to see a wide variety of audiences of different backgrounds from locals to expats to tourists, in the "ublues" spirit. Why so, a brief account of how they met and the reason behind the drive and passion to uphold the blues as a universal language.

Universal Blues - Film and Thesis
The definitive turning point in Loong's understanding of the blues arose out of his experiences of racial prejudice, which allowed him to understand what it felt to be treated differently on the basis of race and culture. "The blues suddenly all made sense" he says. "I'd always loved the blues and enjoyed listening and playing, but I never quite knew why." One particular incident of abuse left a noticeable mark on Loong. "I was physically shaking after the incident, and an emotional wreck on the inside. I remember playing my guitar later that night, and this time it was different, I understood something about the blues that was far deeper than I could ever have imagined. I was allowed a glimpse into the very heart of the blues - the feeling of being discriminated against based on skin colour. I wrote a song, 'Cross-cultural Blues' to express my feelings and it also pushed me on to search even further."
Loong wrote, produced, directed, edited, acted in and composed music for "Universal Blues - film, racism and the blues", his honours dissertation for Media Studies at Murdoch Univesity, Western Australia in 1998. The 15-minute short film was also accompanied by a 130-page written thesis. The film documents Loong's experiences and offers blues music as a means of cross-cultural exchange, communication and understanding. The written component of his thesis explores the history of the blues as well as a study on racism and African-American slave history. The film and thesis is at the root of the objectives at ublues network - to promote the blues and roots as a natural form of cross-cultural expression and to introduce this music to the Asian region. It is a product of a 3-year research into race relations in Australia, and African-American culture and cultural products.
Blues at Bridgetown, Australia in 1998 - Loong meets Jalla
While promoting his film, Loong met Trevor Jalla (lead vocals/guitar) at the 1998 Blues at Bridgetown Festival, Western Australia, being introduced by Perth Blues Club President, Rick Steele. Joining Jalla onstage for a jam, the two found a synergistic chemistry - Loong's passion, vision and dream and Jalla, his voice and talent being a realisation of the Asian blues. "I heard Jalla play for the first time at Bridgetown, and I knew immediately I had to jam with him. I saw him up there, belting out some serious blues tunes, and being watched by an almost disbelieving, mostly Caucasian audience. I could tell they were having difficulty reconciling the music and voice they were hearing, with the sight of a young Asian holding a guitar, it was a powerful manifestation for me." he observes.
"Something just clicked onstage as soon as we started jamming," says Jalla. "We were feeding off each other's energy as if we'd been playing together for years. Later offstage, a member of the audience remarked to me "I've heard most of the other bands playing here, and this is the music I came here for." I knew we had touched the audience, and showed them something that they hadn't seen and heard before." Loong and Jalla went on to form the Universal Blues Band and soon after, ublues network was born, believing that this was an excellent opportunity to introduce and represent Asia to the rest of the world.
Loong and Jalla relocated in 2001 to Singapore where they have strong cultural roots to further their objectives, while continuing to develop and foster artistic ties between Asia, Australia and the rest of the world. "We will always remember the support we received in Australia," say Loong, "it is where we began our journey, and we are grateful for their belief in our concept." We believe that by introducing the blues to a wider Asian audience and that a new arts and cultural revival could happen in Asia, at the same time encourage multi-cultural friendships, and on a larger scale between East and West, with ublues as a common platform."
Loong and Jalla hope to make UBLUES Fest a bridge for cross-cultural exchange between East and West. UBLUES - a new voice in Asia, the world is listening.

TICKETING INFORMATION

Festival Launch at CHIJMES Fountain Court on 12th July 2002,
by invitation only.

13th & 14th July 2002, Saturday & Sunday
Fort Canning Park
From 5:00pm

Early Bird Tickets - Nightly
Adult: S$25 Student: S$20

Gate Ticket Prices - Nightly
Adult: S$30 Student: S$25

(Free admission for child under 7 years of age)

*Ticket price excludes S$1 TicketCharge fee

TicketCharge Booking Hotline 6296 2929

Online Booking: www.ticketcharge.com.sg

Official Festival Website: www.ublues.com
Please visit for more information about UBLUES Fest and ublues band, including international reviews, radio charts and articles.

Festival Manager's Website: www.caldwellarts.com.sg

American Express Priority Reservation:
Exclusive 10% discount for American Express Card members. Call American Express Priority Reservations at 1 800 880 1929.

Sponsors and supporters for the Festival include the following :
Singapore Tourism Board, Australian High Commission, American Express, Eu Yan San, The Arts Magazine, Walker Asia Entertainment, CSP Productions, CHIJMES and Qantas British Airways.

Notes to the Editor / Journalist : Festival Programme attached. Content will be different for the two days programme by the bands.

For media enquiries, please contact :

Sandra Goh
Senior Manager, Arts & Entertainment, Caldwell Arts Pte Ltd
6332 6275 (O), 6334 3801 (F), 98171523(Hp) sandra@caldwellarts.com.sg (Email)
Visit us at www.caldwellarts.com.sg

Danny Loong
Festival Director, Ublues Network
6444 2719 (O), 6444 0317 (F), 97719453 (Hp) danny@ublues.com (Email)
Visit us at www.ublues.com

Early bird tickets now available online at www.ticketcharge.com.sg or call 6296 2929

Exclusive 10% DISCOUNT for all American Express Cardmembers.
Call Priority Reservation on 1-800-880 1929

Tickets now also onsale at Harry's Bar and Wala Wala (call 6462 4288). Drop in for a special price!