Hero

10 hours ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

 I can only do this on my left hand, not my right! 😅

46 minutes ago, AmelieCharlotte said:

I can bend my little finger on my right, but not left.

A new partnership in the making? 

56 minutes ago, mellody said:

But it doesn't make sense to me, because when you count with your fingers, you start with the thumb showing "one", don't you? So "4" would automatically be all fingers except the little one.  

Yes, that makes perfect sense to me! 

So do you show 3 with the thumb and first 2 fingers? Or curl in the thumb and little finger to show the 3 middle fingers? 

Don't practice this outdoors folks, your neighbours will think you're throwing gang signs. 

5 minutes ago, mellody said:

 

My fingers are pretty flexible, I can bend them all backwards much more than most people... still, the "4" works slightly less well with my left hand than with my right. But it always was the way I showed "4" before people were wondering about Mika doing it that way in the BG video, and I was like, what, why, is there another way to do it?!

Lol, I think most people just bend in the thumb. 

I can do the Mika method on both hands though. Maybe it's something keyboard players can do as they're used to stretching?

Not ill, looking very healthy and in good spirits in Miami. Presumably resting and working on the album?

I firmly believe he's in Miami to store up some sunshine, before having to perform in the dingy grey wet and cold UK. ☀ 

He looks good. Happy and healthy. 🥰

Love the shirt in the TT. 

Have we seen John before? 

Hi Sarina! Welcome to the MFC! 

The different threads can be confusing at first, but they do make sense once you've got used to them. I only ever use my phone too. 

Enjoy it here, and if you get lost or stuck, just shout! 

13 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

And here for the first time The Mask Singer....

The Camel!!!!!!!  🤣🤣🤣🤣

From French TF1 Instagram account

 

(sorry I can't remove the first image - something went wrong while uploading - watch the second one)

 

Wait, its called "mask singer"? That's annoying. It should be The Masked Singer, or The Singer in the Mask. 

Then again, that costume is more than a simple mask. Maybe I'm being pedantic. 

13 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

And here for the first time The Mask Singer....

The Camel!!!!!!!  🤣🤣🤣🤣

From French TF1 Instagram account

 

(sorry I can't remove the first image - something went wrong while uploading - watch the second one)

 

That's an impressive costume! 

1 hour ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

YES! I'll find it! Tempted to also ask a keeper if they've seen a mystery curly haired man just standing by the camel enclosure, quietly singing to them maybe... 😁

Oh boy... that doesn't necessarily narrow it down.  Curly hair? Fluffy hair? Gelled, moussed, waxed and blowdried hair? He has several options. Besides, he'd probably wear a hoodie. 🤣

But if the camels whip out a xylophone for a burst of "keep it simple" you've got your answer. 🎶 

2 hours ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

 

There will be so many pictures!

 

 

I will give this a go! 😁

Can't wait for the news reports next week. "Camels run riot, hold TinyLove_CJ hostage, demand more Mika music and their own theme tune."

1 hour ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

I AM SEEING MIKAS CAMELS NEXT WEEK! 🐫 🐫 

 

 

That is all.

😁

Play them some of the soundtrack, see how they react. 

1 hour ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Yes. It seems that Mika recorded all the voices. At least it is what I understood from one of his French interviews.

 

And in Tehu Theme it's for sure his voice 

In No Time To Leave at the first time I thought it was someone else's male voice. But it is Mika as well 

 

His voice is really an instrument and Mika is using as such !!!

It's all him?????

I was convinced there was a choir on some tracks! Oh my god. That's INCREDIBLE. 

2 hours ago, SusanT said:

https://soundtrack-universe.blogspot.com/

2 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

An appropriate review.

 

Movie Music UK

https://moviemusicuk.us/2023/03/08/under-the-radar-round-up-2023-part-1/

March 8, 2023

 

ZODI ET TÉHU, FRÈRES DU DÉSERT – Mika

 

Zodi et Téhu, Frères du Désert – known in English as Princes of the Desert – is a French action adventure film directed by Eric Barbier. The film stars Yassir Drief as Zodi, a 12-year old African nomad boy, who discovers an orphaned baby camel in the desert; ne adopts the camel, which he names Téhu, they two become inseparable friends. When it becomes apparent that Téhu is very fast runner, he immediately becomes the target of poachers; to protect his friend, Zodi takes Téhu and decides to run away across the Sahara, heading for Abu Dhabi, with the ultimate goal of entering Téhu in the world’s largest camel race.

 

The score for Zodi et Téhu is by the Anglo-French-Lebanese pop star Mika (real name Michael Penniman Jr.), and if in 2007 you told that the singer of the hit bubblegum pop song ‘Grace Kelly’ would 15 years later write an excellent orchestral adventure score I would scarcely believe you – and yet here we are, with him having done just that. Zodi et Téhu is an outstanding score that blends lyrical passages for orchestra with some fascinating world music influences – including innovative vocal stylings – and occasionally erupts into unexpectedly rousing action-adventure music.

 

There’s a wonderful, mystical quality to the vocal work in the opening cue “The Beginning” – which I assume is performed by Mika himself but can’t be sure – btu then when the music shifts and becomes a dark, thrusting action piece in its second half you know that this is going to be a score that defies expectations. A lot of the action music makes excellent use of ethnic woodwinds, tribal percussion, and also some more modern electric guitar riffs, and comes across as fresh and exciting. It’s an enticing blend of western rock and the Middle East – just as Mika himself is. Later in the score, cues like “Facing the Storm” and “Final Race” showcase Mika’s surprisingly robust and compelling action writing with intensity and a real panache in the orchestration that sometimes reminds me of James Newton Howard.

 

Several other cues impress with their beauty and lyricism. “Early in the Morning” has some lovely writing for harp backed by lush strings. “Téhu’s Theme” introduces the playful and slightly mischievous recurring theme for the orphaned baby camel at the heart of the story, and the theme recurs frequently thereafter, at times giving a real emotional depth to the film’s central friendship. The deep, soulful vocal effect running through the theme conjures up the steady, rhythmic plod of the animal, trekking across an inhospitable desert with determination.

 

Elsewhere, “The Butterfly and the Miracle” has some wonderfully expressive writing for darting, fluttering woodwinds. “Two Hearts Beat Together” has what can only be described as ‘beatboxing’ over creative, vigorous orchestral lines. “Issouf Saves Zodi” has a gorgeous, deeply emotional cello element. “Danger on the Road” is a festival if tense, nervous writing for chattering woodwinds and pizzicato strings. “The Boy and the Camel in the Night” is beautiful, expressive, and intimate.

 

The album also two original songs from the film, “Feels Like Fire” and “No Time to Leave”, both performed by Mika. “Feels Like Fire” is really quite excellent, with sympathetic vocals and a pretty melody; an instrumental version of “Feels Like Fire” appears in the score track “Farewell Téhu” as well. Unfortunately, the score for Zodi et Téhu is not available to purchase on CD, but is available to stream and as a digital download via most of the usual online outlets. If you want to experience one of 2023’s most excellent scores, from perhaps the unlikeliest source in quite some time, this gets a solid recommendation.

 

 

That's a beautiful review! I'm so glad! I hope he has seen it. 😍🥰

3 hours ago, mellody said:

How is everyone getting from Cattolica to Perugia (those who are going to both gigs)? It seems they don't sell the train tickets for July yet. Is there a Flixbus between the 2 towns @Anna Ko Kolkowska?

Still need to sort out my Italy trip! There is a flixbus:

2 hours ago, mellody said:

So after spoiling us with stories and posts for a few weeks, Mika has now disappeared again.  I suppose he might be back in Italy, maybe met up there with Andy, who just returned from recording his 2nd series of Epirus Falls. Or maybe he's in Paris, recording more songs? Tho if I assume that his work of writing and recording the French album might be finished, maybe he has started the English one now? And who knows where he's recording that, could be anywhere. Was the flight to Geneva this week and maybe he's spending a few relaxed days there, hiking and sitting by the lake (hopefully without losing his wallet again... )? Is he still in London, recording interviews for Eurovision and putting his wardrobe for the tour together?

I would hope he's back in Italy and, erm, "catching up" with Andy after the Epirus trip.. and spending quality time with him and the girls. ❤️  Before preparing for his new album release and hitting Cheltenham. 😁🥳

2 minutes ago, krysady said:

 

Every time my cat have to wear a collar, I put his food and water in some icecream glass cups, it's the best solution I found so far   Something like this:

 

 

Also a good idea! I'll have to get some. 

29 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Poor baby....

When my cat was wearing a collar I cut of a small bit in the front. Because my baby was not even able to eat from her bowl.

I noticed last night she was having to use it like a little shovel to push her food up so she could eat. That could work! 

3 minutes ago, krysady said:

Ah, I understand now! Then she'll be fine soon 

3 minutes ago, krysady said:

I hope she'll recover soon, take care of her! Any side effects from getting her eyelid removed? Would affect her in any way? 

It's difficult to see in the photos, but she's actually still got her eyelids. What they've done is take a small sliver of skin from just below the lid, and stitched it so that as it heals, it pulls the lid out slightly, so her fur and lashes don't rub against her eyes when she blinks.  

So, Martha had her surgery yesterday. All went well (thank god), and she is back home to recover. She has to wear a collar to stop her scratching her stitches, which she is very annoyed about! She is also frustrated because the collar keeps getting in the way - she couldn't even climb the stairs to bed last night as the bottom of the collar kept catching on the top of the next step and pushing her back. Currently a grumpy mess cuddled into a fluffy blanket on my knee. 😢😿💔

Picking her up from the vets yesterday...

*That's not her carrier, it's borrowed from the vet. Her carrier went home with another kitty by mistake! Not sure the other kitty would have liked that, it had a well-used blanket in that smelt of Martha. Oopsie. 

On 2/27/2023 at 2:02 AM, kreacher said:

 

i made this google doc spreadsheet w/ all Mika's tour dates (that i know of) on it for the Mika encyclopedia...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RbF0qnm5veYKqr5P7D_bOGLlMjNedRWya77DJSKZykk/edit?usp=share_link I updated it in the autumn of 2022, so it doesn't include any late 2022 or 2023 dates on it.

 

For your first question @Hero, that's an interesting one. I can't think of any offhand, but I haven't checked my list. It seems festivals tend to switch up the lineup from year to year and Mika doesn't always tour every year.

 

For your second question, it depends on what you mean by "played". The list Eriko posted includes things like radio performances, and my list only includes live concerts of at least 3 songs (so it includes gigs like private event concerts and his street performances in Livorno and Ancona, but not other things like radio recordings and award shows).

I guess you can't sort the doc by city as a guest, but I can and according to my calculations he played live concerts in London 42 times (plus 3 cancelations and 1 i think was in London but i'm not sure) and in Paris 40 times (no cancelations). Next closest seems to be Milan at 16 times.

You didn't ask but I was curious, so I sorted by country and found he's had 88 concerts in England, 152 in France, and 64 in Italy.

@kreacher Dee, I'm sorry, I've only just seen your reply! This is awesome work, thank you so much! 

And since I asked that question, he's announced Cap Roig again this year! 

28 minutes ago, Kumazzz said:

 

The ever present dining companion. 😅😍

Oh look at her! Paws in the water, relaxed and happy. 😍❤

6 hours ago, Prisca said:

It was not a real private gig. It was open to anyone with the wherewithal. The phone number to sign up was public. 

Really? Wow, I thought the Bal was an invitation only event. *makes mental note for future events*