http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UWYwIATTh8

Hope you likes :) :) :)

In Touch with Moulann

With this site's first Featured artist, it's my true pleasure to be introducing Moulann. With a recent release of her second cd Spirals and Mazes, she is making great strides in the pop/rock music world. She epitomizes a true artist with her passion for writing, love of music, and desire to impact people with her songs. This Toronto singer/songwriter was gracious enough to lend her support to this website and project by taking some time to answer some questions regarding her music, her work and inspirations.

*****

Rommel - A close friend of mine and a huge fan of yours describes you as vibrant, down to earth, very interesting, outspoken and really intelligent and easy to get along with. If there is one thing you want people to know you as, what would you like it to be?

Moulann- Wow, your friend is too kind - I'm blushing! I would like to be known as whatever positive attribute each individual sees in me. Turn a blind eye to the rest!

Rommel - What inspires you to sing?

Moulann - A combination of what inspires most people to sing. I also love exploring the possibilities and limitations of my voice.

Rommel - Which do you prefer doing more, singing or writing songs?

Moulann - My preference depends on the occasion.

Rommel - Since your second album cd release of Spirals and Mazes, what are your plans next?

Moulann - I feel that Spirals and Mazes truly represent me at this moment and I'd like to expose the album to as many listeners as I can. Other than that, I'd like to evolve and grow as an artist.

Rommel - You ever feel like you get mental blocks when you're writing your songs? If so, what do you do to help inspire you to continue?

Moulann - I've been getting mental blocks lately. Now that I've written so many songs, I start getting paranoid that I'm repeating myself. I am neurotically critical of my own work. Sometimes I refresh my perspective by exposing myself to music that I don't usually listen to.

Rommel - Who would you like to do collaboration with, independent artist or not?

Moulann - Oh! What a question. Honestly, there are too many people I'd like to work with on some level or other. There are so many amazing musicians out there. Right now, I am absolutely in love with Toca Rivera, Cadence, Imogen Heap, and Raul Midon.

Rommel - If you were to have one song for anyone to hear, which song would it be?

Moulann - Do I really have to pick one? Although I love Supernova, What is Love and Move On, I would have to go with the title track, Spirals & Mazes, which came to me at 4am, lying sleepless in Toronto. This song is the most recent composition and by far the most misunderstood - I like the notion of being a misunderstood artist.

Rommel - Where can people expect you to be performing next?

Moulann - The only place to find out is online!

Rommel - I really love your song Move on, which do you find harder to capture: writing songs on paper, songs about breaking up or songs about finding love?

Moulann - Songs about breaking up or unrequited love are the easiest to write! Not that it's so easy to just come up with quality material, but the state of mind during a particularly lonely time is conductive to creativity... you know, there's this void that you feel obligated to fill.

Rommel - I noticed that if you weren't making music, you'd love to teach. If you were to teach a child with natural musical talents but lacked the motivation to continue with it, what would you teach them?

Moulann - Ah... motivation is so important yet it's often difficult to attain, given all the nice distractions we have in our society. I have many students who are super-talented and don't practice "enough", so I try to give them material they enjoy playing. In the end, however, persistence is needed to make meaningful musical progress. Unfulfilled genius is so common that it's a cliché. I think that's where parents need to step in. While I'm not in favor of extreme measures, children need to be guided into forming good habits... I wish I was a good example of that.

Rommel - You know it's really great to be able to talk to you about your work. It really feels like you're not just some artist after the fame and fortune and it's great to know where you draw your inspirations and motivations from. I just wanted to conclude this column with this final question. "Which one of your songs could you relate to closely that you have written and sang would best describe an individual truly in love and willing to do whatever it takes to show their significant other their true devotion for them?"

Moulann - Wow. I can't say. My happier songs are mostly about falling in love uncontrollably. I suppose 1000 Dreams from my first album, Introflective, would best show the intense feeling of hopefulness. Incidentally, I know two couples who played this song on their wedding day!

Rommel - Thanks for taking the time to answering my questions. It's really great to know an artist like yourself showing some support to this site.

Haha I hope you do weddings!

Moulann - Aww... The pleasure was all mine - and yes, I do weddings - great food is always a bonus!

If you would like to find out more about Moulann, you can check out her website "here" or visit her myspace account here or by clicking on her image. You can check out samples of her songs and latest album Spirals and Mazes. I hope you find the same enjoyment and appreciation to her songs as I have. Stay tuned for more news about Moulann here and don't be surprised to hear more of her in the future!


SOURCE: http://www.myringforher.com

British government report: global warming will devastate world economy

Mon Oct 30, 5:53 AM
LONDON (AP) - Unchecked global warming will devastate the world economy on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression, a major British report said Monday.


Introducing the report, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said unabated climate change would cost the world between five per cent and 20 per cent of global gross domestic product each year. He called for "bold and decisive action" to cut carbon emissions and stem the worst of the temperature rise.

Report author Sir Nicholas Stern, a senior government economist, said that acting now to cut greenhouse gas emissions would cost about one per cent of global GDP each year.

"The evidence shows that ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth," said Stern's 700-page report, the first major effort to quantify the economic cost of climate change.

"Our actions over the coming decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century."

Blair said the scientific community agreed that the world was warming, and that greenhouse gas emissions were largely to blame.

"It is not in doubt that if the science is right, the consequences for our planet are literally disastrous," he said.

"This disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime.

"Unless we act now . . . these consequences, disastrous as they are, will be irreversible."

5 Quick Questions for Toronto's Moulann

Written by Philippa Scowcroft
Wednesday, 25 October 2006

Moulann officially released her sophomore album, Spirals and Mazes, October 4th at the Revival Music Lounge in Toronto. Recently, she took a few minutes to answer Lucid Forge's 5 Quick Questions about her new album, clean living, art imitating life, and more.

Could you tell us a bit about your choice for the title of the album, Spirals and Mazes? Obviously it's the title of the twelfth track, but do these words/ideas hold any other special meaning for you?

"Spirals & Mazes" was the last song of the twelve to be written, and I actually wrote it during the final stages of recording the album. There is a line in the lyric: "Emptiness breeds spirals and mazes". I realized that the entire album was created by a desire to fill an internal void at various points in the past few years, whether that emptiness was caused by relationship matters or not being able to find a good pair of jeans.

"Certified Organic, that's the way I like it!" is the title on your MySpace page. You also abstain from animal products and alcohol, and you don't smoke. Do you think these lifestyle choices have influenced your music at all? Or vice versa?

I never thought of my lifestyle choices as being related to the music I do. However, I strive for integrity in as many aspects of my life as I can. It takes effort and I try not to be a hypocrite.

Again, on your MySpace page, you list your influences as being "everything from the ridiculously mainstream to the surprisingly obscure". Tell us a bit about the most ridiculously mainstream and the most obscure.

Hmm.. well, my first contact with pop music was in high school when I often went to Karaoke bars and subconsciously picked up the pop songwriting form from Taiwanese and North American radio hits. More obscure influences would include a list too long to name of things I hear in passing, such as local indie artists and snippets of "new-music".

I always wonder how much, say, music artists have in terms of how their work is marketed--the visual aspect, the packaging I guess. I love your album art as well as your website and Space. Did you have much say? Do you feel the filigree, dark colours, and black and white photography accurately reflect what you're doing musically? (sorry, that wasn't such a "quick question")

I'm so glad you like the album art. I did have a lot of say, but I'd probably pick brighter colours and a sans-serif font if I had a chance to do it again. That being said, I still like the cover photo and filigree. There was actually a really nice straight-on face shot, but I decided on the profile because it reflects the mood and style of this album more accurately. Spirals & Mazes is a contemplative, down-tempo album that may sound somewhat "tame" at first if one is expecting "bam-bam-in-your-face" tracks. It takes a trained ear or a few listens to fully appreciate the subtle intricacies.

And lastly, if you weren't making music, what might you be doing?

If I wasn't making music, I would be teaching it. I love teaching children; it is so fulfilling! However, if I wasn't doing something music-related, I would put my efforts toward some kind of environmental work. There are so many causes I'd like to be involved in, but I believe that taking care of the planet will create an avalanche of positive effects. It's all a matter of cooperation!

Thanks very much Moulann -- and best of luck.

Thank you so much!


SOURCE: http://www.lucidforge.com

I want to thank EVERYONE who came out to Revival tonight for the wonderful time I had. It really means so much to me and hope you enjoyed your time as well. I'd like to give a BIG, HEART-FELT, FUZZY THANK YOU to you all... you've blessed my night with your love and support!

Warmest wishes,

moO

I've added two new songs from my upcoming album... any feedback would be happily appreciated!

A couple live performances and a short interview will be on CBC Radio One this Saturday around 5:30pm - tune in to hear me playing/singing some songs with Mark on guitar, and raise your eyebrows at how I maintain my super-fast nonsensical speech without taking any breaths.... it's all tied together beautifully by the lovely host, Claudia Garica de la Huerta.

And so I must begin my MySpace blog with a piece of sad news.

I just lost over 500 beautiful pictures taken in the past month because of a corrupted memory card. The worst part is that this is the first time I let myself accumulate pictures on the card b/c I felt like I was spending too much time dumping pics everyday... boohooooooo.

Chocolate, here I come.