Review: Wendy Phua - Between Here and Then

Reviewed by Bob Tan

Between here and then – Wendy Phua

There is little reason to understate the immensity and diversity of Wendy Phua's musical journeys, as all one needs is a little time and separation from the world outside to fully appreciate the spectrum of what she has to say. Too easy to box in as a skilled bassist, and too careless to describe as a seasoned performer, Wendy's recent work on the bass guitar has transcended beyond performativity to one of patient story-telling.

A familiar face on the local circuit, this often understated on-stage performer has always preferred to let her fingers do the talking; her playing reminiscent of bass greats Victor Wooten and Jaco Pastorious. Her illustrious performing career further reflects her growing stature as a pillar of local music. Founder of prog-rock band Zhen, she also plays for the cinematic-rock group Embryo, and sessions for local guitar institution Rosli Mansor and the renown all-female jazz group Walking on Water. I personally have had the pleasure of performing with her once, and found playing in the rhythm section with her a great joy, as rhythmic densities are fully explored and respected in support of the melody section – in a nutshell she almost never overplays, and knows where to best fill in the gaps in tandem.

Kaki King on bass seems a decent fit to describe her new work, available on Reverbnation. "Between now and then" is a tasteful piece of work with her Line 6 DL4 Looper. With eyes closed, it feels like a conscientious stroll with time on hold, and boasts 2 distinctive mixes. The radio mix invites the listener to a quiet moment of solitude in reflection, whilst the full mix feels like a storybook unfolding its chapters revealing the emergence of new life taking shape. The motifs of the song overlaying each other via different instrumentation is also hard to forget, and speaks like a canon from yesteryear. If "Between now and then" was a sharing of her storytelling side, "Stormy Weather" is where Wendy shows off her playing ability, coaxing brilliantly sounds from her bass for both bass and lead parts. "Stormy Weather" features an elegant chorus which was a brilliant departure from the hypnotic gloom the verses offered, a great piece of work at changing moods effectively within a track. "Sojourn" is a neo-classical effort with layering appegios as the mainstay. It shows Wendy's out-of-the-box capability, cross-pollinating the old and new into an avant garde Mozart meets Pastorious track. It is, however, a tad let down by the patches used. The Violin string patch could have offered more attack to blend more meaningfully, whilst the Oboe part could have been brought further forward to become a better counterpoint.

Wendy's music is available at www.wendyphua.com. Give yourself a reason to check her new work out, and she'll give you plenty reason to listen to her again.