Hong Kong-based DJ Ricky Stone jets into Bangkok next week to man the decks at Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 on Wednesday from 10 until late. A native of Sheffield in the UK, Stone cultivated his taste for acid house music in the late ‘80s. The seasoned DJ has been ranked on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list for four consecutive years, peaking on the #35 spot in 2008. Tickets are Bt400 for men and Bt300 for women with one drink. Find out more at (082) 731 8885.

Beam turns two

Hot night spot Beam on trendy Thonglor fetes its second anniversary next Saturday with a party featuring Arthur Yeti (Yeti Out), Saryu, Noxro B2B Foresto and special international guest Jacques Greene. Greene is best known for his tracks “Another Girl”, as well as “On Your Side” and “You Can’t Deny” and released his debut album, “Feel Infinite” last year on the LuckyMe label. Entry is Bt500 including one drink. Book a table at (02) 392 7750.

Dance till you drop

Don’t Let Daddy Know – one of the biggest electronic dance music brands in the world – is back for its second year in Thailand at Live Park Rama IX over the February 23 weekend. Running from 5pm until late both nights, it will feature world-class DJs, edgy decorations, and special “DLDK” gadgets. The festival, which began five years ago on Ibiza, is now a worldwide phenomenon that takes place in stadiums and arenas around the globe. Tickets are Bt3,300 for a twoday pass and Bt4,500 for a VIP twoday pass available at http://www.TicketMelon.com/event/dldkthailand2018.

All an illusion

Chang Carnival 2018: World of Illusion returns to Asiatique The Riverfront on February 16 and 17 and this time brings together big name Thai artists including Buddha Bless, Joey Boy, Slot Machine, Modern Dog on the first day and international world-class DJs on the second day. Find out more at http://www.TicketMelon.com/event/changcarnivalworldofillusion.

A little night music

The London Symphony Orchestra – the oldest of London’s symphony orchestras – will be back at Thailand at Prince Mahidol Hall, Mahidol University on June 6 and 7 for a programme that includes Ravel’s “Rhapsodie Espagnole”, Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No 3” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”. The second day will feature Dvorak’s “The NoonDay Witch (Polednice) Op 108”, Liszt’s “Piano Concerto No 2 (Bronfman)” and Shostakovich Symphony No 10. Tickets costing from Bt3,000 to Bt20,000 are already on sale at Thai Ticket Major counters and online at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

THE THAILAND International Jazz Conference returns next weekend to its Mahidol University Salaya home and this year is celebrating its tenth anniversary with what promises to be a memorable and enriching musical experience – the first jazz symphony ever to be performed in Thailand. As ever, the event will be playing host to some of the greatest jazz artists in the world.

“We have really come a long way. The Conference started as a small-scale music event featuring our students and those from other universities. Over the years, we have built a great music community. I had the chance to attend a jazz conference in New York and was surprised to see that it focused on musicians and jazz educators in addition to media, students and the public. Jazz festivals in our country, on the other hand, are always focused on tourism and business more than the music content, and are regarded as a tool to stimulate the economy,” says Krit Buranavitayawut, saxophone instructor and associate dean for construction development for the university’s College of Music.

“So we decided to organise a jazz music conference because we could educate people and build bigger a fan base, as well as foster inspiration in our students. We bring the world of jazz music into our university and students can learn from this real world, instead of watching their favourite jazz artists on YouTube or videos. And when world-famous jazz artists come here, we can learn about their rehearsals and the way they think. Learning from a world-famous artist for just one day is more valuable than studying in the classroom for one year,” he adds.

Looking back to the early days of the Thailand International Jazz Conference, Krit remembers worrying if the content would be too complex for people to understand.

“We discovered that the greater part of the audience was seriously interested in music and thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with the artists. On the other hand, the workshops we held generated far less interest, which clearly indicates that the public much preferred the performances to education. For their part, the artists were great both in performing and educating. They really inspired those who turned out for the workshops. The first year, Japanese trumpeter Toru ‘Tiger’ Okoshi’s performance drew plenty of audience participation. Attitudes have changed though and today the audience, both Thais and foreign, with many coming from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, seems much more interested in the education aspects,” he continues.

Krit points out that the College of Music is primarily an educational institute and was the first in the country to offer a jazz curriculum.

“We don’t organise TIJC for ourselves but for the jazz community, and more importantly, to promote sustainable growth in the jazz festival business. TIJC is a stage for new artists to show off their abilities. Today, we have 60 big bands from educational institutions, universities and schools asking to perform on our oval stage. Content has changed too. In the past, the bands would perform commercial covers; today they play their own compositions. TIJC continues to grow and attract a wider diversity of fans. We are proud that the TIJC is known among jazz musicians in New York with some of them even wearing our t-shirts at jazz clubs.”

Krit, who is a member of the jazz quartet Pomelo Town, has personally witnessed the fame of the conference.

“We [Pomelo Town] performed on the same stage as Canadian tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake at clubs in New Delhi and Mumbai, India. While we were flying from Mumbai to New Delhi, Blake asked me if I had heard of the TIJC, as he really wanted to play there. I told him that I was on the organising committee and invited him to perform the following year.”

This year’s conference features a broad range of categories including performance, education, a solo jazz competition, lifetime achievement, an exhibition and a three-day jazz camp. The camp will bring together 80 interested people from Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“The education part continues to grow. We want TIJC to be a model for people to enjoy an artistic and academic balance, one that can be applied to other musical genres or even traditional Thai music. The benefits are enormous. Take South Korea: It has the highest number of students going to study jazz in the US and as a result, K-Pop is very popular. Those students came back home and develop music and apply jazz to pop and other music genres.

“And the Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia does better that ours even though our jazz festival came first.”

This year, TIJC will welcome more bands from the Asean bloc in addition to such big names as the Will Vinson Quintet, the Claudio Filippini Trio, the Alfredo Rodriguez Trio, Enrico Zanisi, Steve Cannon Soultet, Jared Sims, Randy Johnson and, thanks to the support of the Italian Embassy, Italian trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso. Thai artist Tachaya “Keng the Voice” Pratumwan will also perform.

The Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, which holds the majority of its performances at the university’s Prince Mahidol Hall, has been part of the TIJC for the past three years and returns for this edition, providing the backing for four concerts. The first features electric guitarists Petchpoom Petchkaew, winner of the junior division at TIJC 2017, who will perform His Majesty King Bhumibol’s “Old-fashioned Melody”, and Pamai Chirdkiatisak, who will perform “The Man We Love”, composed by Darin Pantoomkomol. The second sees trumpeter Bosso on stage, while the third melds classical music and jazz for a recital of Shostakovich’s “Suite for Variety Orchestra” also known as “Jazz Suite No 2”.

The TPO will close the concert with a performance of a new piece based on two Northern Thai folk songs, “Noi Chaiya” and “Selemao”, rearranged by Narong Prangcharoen, composer and dean of the College of Music.

“Pomelo Town performed the rearranged piece for the first time at Corfu Festival in Greece in 2009 and again at TIJC in 2010 before recording it on our album in 2012,” says Krit.”

“This year, we will play it again at TIJC, but together with TPO.”

LET THE MUSIC BEGIN

– A three-day conference pass for all events costs Bt3,000, a one-day clinic pass Bt500 and a one-day performance pass Bt800 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com, (02) 262 3456 and the College of Music.

– Call (02) 849 6565-6, extensions 6604, 6609.

– Find out more at http://www.music.Mahidol.ac.th/tijc.

Oasis – one of Britain’s most consistently successful rock bands with 70 million records sold – broke up in 2009 amid fierce sibling rivalry between Liam and Noel Gallagher, but both of them still command attention around the world.

Just ask the Thai fans packing into Hall 106 at Bitec in Bang Na last week for another gig by Liam, the younger of the brothers.

We’ve seen them both before. Noel and his follow-up band High Flying Birds played the same venue in 2012. Liam was here while touring behind “As You Were” through with his back-up outfit, not with his band, Beady Eye, which split up in 2014 after two albums.

This time Liam had again nearly sold out another spacious hall, drawing not just rank-and-file fans but also some fellow rock stars (of the Thai persuasion) – Sek LoSo and Thawatpon “Mueay” Wongboonsiri from Scrubb were there, as were Patiparn “Mos” Pataweekarn, Teerapat “Tui” Satjakul and Virithipa “Woonsen” Phakdeeprasong.

Also spotted in the crowd was Somkwan “Moy” Tonsompong, managing director of music label What the Duck.

The Whitest Crow opened the proceedings with an amazing, skilful show of original tunes, sounding very British and psychedelic. The sound system let them down, but was still an interesting performance to watch.

The hall was separated into zones according to how much you paid for your ticket. Big spenders were up front centre, the press behind them and centre. I couldn’t help smiling when the lads in security started moving the crowd forward to fill up the front zone, saying Gallagher wasn’t going to sing if it wasn’t jammed.

I could just imagine how the folks who forked out for the most expensive tickets felt at that point.

It didn’t matter. Everyone screamed in unity when a recording of the opening track from Oasis’ fourth studio album, “Standing on the Shoulder Giants”, started blasting out of the speakers. The song’s title is the sort of language best left to the President of the United States, but the Thai fans recognised the alarm going off.

Liam was using the tune as the overture to the show, just as Oasis had done.

He soon strode onstage with the band and launched into two more Oasis favourites, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and “Morning Glory”. The place was already going nuts.

Gallagher, at 45, hasn’t changed much since the glory mornings in Manchester, unwilling to smile – or make any other facial expression for that matter, and the level of excitement was unchanged too.

He next did “Greedy Soul”, the fourth single from his solo debut “As You Were”, and it sounded just as perfect as what had preceded it. It bore the unmistakable influences of the Beatles, a favourite of both brothers.

The newer singles like “Wall of Glass” were richer in town, aided by a monstrous harmonica sound, and there were great ballads like “Paper Crown” and “For What It’s Worth”.

The audience helped along on the reprise in the former – “You went too far, oh, woman, now you’re feeling the fear, cause you’ve never been alone before, and the wolf is at the door” – and in the latter – “I’m sorry for the hurt, I’ll be the first to say I made my own mistakes.”

Amazed to hear everyone so knowledgeable about the lyrics, I glanced around and saw a fan reading them off his phone.

“Soul Love” was a track from the Beady Eye days, but we quickly got back to Oasis on “Some Might Say” and “Slide Away”.

This being the famously ill-tempered and petulant Gallagher brother, the fans weren’t too surprised to see Liam stalking back and forth in a foul mood and then slamming his maracas onto the stage. Fury at the shoddy sound in the hall was probably the accurate diagnosis.

It still didn’t matter. The crowd kept cheering as he tucked into “Come Back to Me” and “You Better Run” and the Oasis hits “Cigarettes and Alcohol” and “Wonderwall”.

But maybe Gallagher was still fuming, because he and the band then left the stage and never came back for an encore, despite the insistent chanting for more.

Instead, we got another recording, this time Sid Vicious’ angry rendition of “My Way”. It was Liam’s way of telling us to go home or fornicate in the bushes or whatever. The lights went up and the time on the phone app said a mere hour had elapsed since Gallagher ascended the stage.

So the fans finished the show for him. Walking outside, everyone was singing “Live Forever” – the Oasis tune that should have closed the evening, the one that got away.

Saddle up, put on your boots and mosey on over and dance until the night turns to day! For more information and reservation, call (02) 200 9000 extension 2998, 2999, or log on to Facebook.com/dusitthani.

Ace gets Insanity

Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 welcomes special international guest, Ace 1 (aka DJ Ace) tonight and he’ll be spinning from 10 until late. The DJ is best known for his track “Empire” which took the #1 spot on the Spinnin Records Talent Pool and was released on Warner Music. Tickets are Bt400 for men and Bt300 for women, both with one drink. For more information and table reservations, call (087) 804 9542.

Techno in the house

Nigeria-rooted, Amsterdam-based house and techno DJ and producer, Shinedoe mans the decks tonight at Beam on trendy Soi Thonglor. With her deep connection to the sounds of Detroit, Chicago and the often unsung Amsterdam scene, her DJ sets blend influences of Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Carl Craig, Kevin Saunderson and Orlando Voorn with a warmth and style that few can hope to emulate, taking dancers on a sensual, explorative trip to the beyond. Tickets are Bt500 including one drink. Book your table at (02) 392 7750.

In her [2]elements

Germany-based DJ and producer 2elementsis will be at Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Soi 11 tomorrow night from 10 and will be spinning her remixes for Axwell, Angello & Ingrosso, and Klingande as well as her single “Tell Me”, a cool housy tune strengthened with a raw but catchy vocal. Tickets are Bt400 for men and Bt300 for women with one drink. Find out more at (087) 804 9542.

Sounds like the Stantons

English DJ and production duo Stanton Warriors, consisting of Dominic Butler and Mark Yardley, are also in Bangkok tomorrow night, stirring up the dancefloor at Beam on Soi Thonglor. The duo has taken their infamous Stanton Sessions parties all around Europe, North America, Asia and Australia and regularly release free-to-download promotional DJ sets through their websites, where there is also live video footage of their gigs. Now based in West London, they run a successful record label (Punks). Entry is Bt500. For more information and table reservations, please call (02) 392 7750.

James got into producing at the age of 18 and guided by video tutorials set up his first production company. He released  “Sphinx” two years on Boom Boom Records.

That was followed up by an official remix of “Ecuador” by Sash on Spinnin’ Records and collaborations with Revealed Recordings and Maxximize Records.

A new EDM talent, James is on his way to the top.

For more information and table reservations, call (085) 250 2000 (Thai) or (096) 387 4569 (English).

“Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London today, family members are devastated,” Lindsey Holmes said in a statement.

“The lead singer…was in London for a short recording session,” she added. “No further details are available at this time.”

A spokeswoman for London’s Metropolitan police said officers are “dealing with a sudden death” after they were called to a hotel in Park Lane, in the centre of the British capital, at 0905 GMT this morning.

She did not confirm the identity of the person found.

“A woman in her mid-40s was pronounced dead at the scene,” the spokeswoman said.

“At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained and enquiries continue,” she added.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was among the first to pay tributes, calling O’Riordan “the voice of a generation”.

“For anyone who grew up in Ireland in the 1990s, the Cranberries were an iconic band, who captured all of the angst that came with your teenager years,” he said in a statement.

“Her voice and her contribution to music will be remembered far beyond her native county for many years to come.”

Family ‘very devastated’

The London Hilton on Park Lane confirmed “with deep regret” that an unnamed guest had “sadly passed away” at its hotel.

“Team members acted swiftly to alert the Metropolitan Police and we are co-operating fully with their investigation,” a spokeswoman said.

The Cranberries achieved international success in the 1990s with their debut album “Everyone Else is Doing it, So Why Can’t We?”, which included the hit single “Linger”.

Follow-up album “No Need to Argue” went to number one in Australia, France and Germany, and number 6 in the United States.

The album also gave rise to politically-charged single “Zombie”, an angry response to the deadly Northern Ireland conflict, which hit number one across Europe. The band sold around 40 million records worldwide.

O’Riordan, from Friarstown in the Irish county of Limerick, will be buried in Ireland, according to the parish priest in her home town.

James Walton, priest at Ballybricken and Bohermore parish, told Britain’s Press Association her family “is very devastated and upset”.

“Her family are still waiting for more details to come from London about her death,” he said.

“The plan is for her to be buried here at home. When that will be will depend on when her body is released.”

‘Immense influence on rock’

The Cranberries, formed in 1989 but went on a hiatus in 2003.

O’Riordon told AFP in a 2012 interview that “we were stuck in a rut. We just needed a break.”

She headed to Canada, where she gave birth to her third child, but The Cranberries reformed in 2009 after getting together for a one-off show.

“At home I’m a house-keeper and a mum. The kids are, like, ‘What’s for dinner? Where are my clothes?’. On tour it’s, like: ‘room-service’,” she said of the comeback.

She hit the headlines in 2014 after pleading guilty to assaulting three police officers and a flight attendant during a flight from New York to Ireland, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder shortly afterwards.

The band was forced to cancel 14 concerts last year due to “medical reasons associated with a back problem” for O’Riordan.

The singer’s last Facebook posting came shortly before Christmas.

“Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band,” it read.

“Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo”.

The band recently played in South America, with O’Riordan tweeting pictures of a show in Lima, Peru.

O’Riordan married Don Burton, former tour manager of Duran Duran, in 1994 but the couple, who had three children together, divorced in 2014.

British 1980s band Duran Duran posted on their official Twitter page that “we are crushed to hear the news about the passing of Dolores O’Riordan. Our thoughts go out to her family at this terrible time”.

The Cranberries released their final album “Something Else” last year.

Timberlake has won 10 Grammys and numerous other awards. This will be Timberlake’s third time performing on the Super Bowl Halftime stage, giving him the distinction of having the most appearances by an individual entertainer.

Timberlake performed at the 2001 Super Bowl with N’Sync and sang “Rock Your Body” with Janet Jackson in 2004 in Houston. That performance concluded with Timberlake ripping her costume to reveal her right breast, bare except for a nipple shield.

Timberlake joins an esteemed list of recent halftime acts including Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Madonna, the Who, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2.

The Halftime Show is the most-watched musical event of the year. Last year’s show was the most-watched musical event of all-time, across all broadcast and digital channels, reaching more than 150 million people, garnering more than 80 million views.

Super Bowl LII marks Pepsi’s sixth year as title sponsor of the Halftime Show and 16th year as an NFL partner.

The concert is based on the research project “Art Songs in Thailand: Arranging and Performing Dr Saisuree’s Vocal Works” by Dr Chanyapong Thongsawang.

“Art song” derives from a German musical term “Lieder”, a 19th-Century practice known as lied and referring to the setting of poems to music, specifically for voice with piano accompaniment. Famous lieds include works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. These repertoires demand vocal skill and techniques. In the late 18th-Century, renowned composers often applied rhetorical figures and wrote music related to a context of a selected lyrical poet. From the 20th Century art songs were applied for Thai vocal music by Dr Saisuree. These art songs are distinguishable from other Thai songs, traditional music and Thai popular music. One notable feature is the application of Thai pentatonic melodic lines and language to western classical harmony.

The programme includes Thai art songs composed by Dr Saisuree as well as Thai vocal compositions written by prominent Thai classical music teachers such as ML Puangroy Snitwongs Apaiwongs, Piyabhand Sanitwongse Na Ayudhya, Prasidh Silapabanleng, Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri, and Nat Yontararak. The concert will be performed by Dr Chanyapong, Moragot Cherdchoo-ngarm (piano), Sittichai Pengcharoen (violin), Jairat Pitakcharoen, Asst Prof. Pongsak Arayangkoon, Korawij Devahastin Na Ayudhya, Mashima Meebamrung and Zion Daoratanahong.

Admission is free but reservations are recommended. Call (02) 447-8597 extension 1130.

The Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music is on Soi Arun Amarin 36, in Bang Yi Khan sub-district. Visit http://www.pgvim.ac.th.

Scheduled to kick off on June 26 in Tokyo, the “Celine Dion Live 2018 Tour” will see Dion return to cities she hasn’t performed in for 10 years, including Tokyo and Macao, and cities she will perform in for the first time ever, among them Singapore, Jakarta, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok.

The Bangkok concert will take place on July 23 at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani with the tickets going on sale at 10am on February 3 at all ThaiTicketMajor counters and online at www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

Members of Team Celine will have access to purchase tickets before the general public through an advance pre-sale that runs from 10am on February 1 to11.59pm on February 2 with a maximum of six tickets per transaction. Exclusive VIP packages will also be available.

The tour is produced by AEG Presents and co-promoted by Live Nation BEC-Tero in Thailand. For tickets and information, visit www.Celinedion.com.

The band, featuring vocalist Chris McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Lee Stanton and bassist Kevin Butler, will perform a set of songs from their fourth studio album, “Dear Desolation” released in August 2017 on Nuclear Blast. It is also vocalist CJ McMahon’s first album with Thy Art Is Murder since his reunion with the band in January last year.

Following the release of their third full-length album “Holy War” in 2015, vocalist Chris “CJ” McMahon left the band. In January, the band announced McMahon’s return to the band and released the stand-alone single “No Absolution” (a B-side from the “Holy War” recording sessions) as part of the announcement. McMahon stated that he had cleaned up his issues with cocaine dependence and had also married.

After their Thailand gig, the band will go on to Hong Kong on January 24, Beijing on January 25, Taipei on January 27, Seoul on January 28 then perform across Japan from January 31 to February 6.

Early bird tickets are Bt1,000, pre-sales Bt1,200 and Bt1,500 at the door. They’re  available at Gram on the fourth floor of Siam Paragon (02) 610 7995, Indy Pop Concerts (085) 060 4120, and Sick Chainsaws at Room No 26 of MRT Chatuchak Station (086) 663 4054.