Altiyan Childs held a listening party for his long awaited and much anticipated album "Born Before the Sun" on Saturday June 29. It has had nothing but rave reviews! Here is one of them from Leanne Woning: "From the moment the event was announced, I HAD to put my name in the draw. I have been waiting for Altiyan’s original album for so long, that a chance to hear it in full, in the studio, was a rare opportunity. Hoping for but not expecting the invitation, I was thrilled to indeed receive one. On the day, it was pouring with rain, but to be clichéd, that was not going to dampen my enthusiasm and excitement for what lay ahead. We were ushered into the studio. Food and drinks were laid out, there were just enough seats for everyone, and there was a massive sound panel where Altiyan had his seat located. After Altiyan got a couple of hugs from excited fans, we were asked to take a seat. Altiyan stood before us, nervously it seemed, hands clasping and unclasping. He welcomed us and then referred to the latest cruel media story about him, starting things off by saying his Goddaughter was NOT pregnant with his baby (Elle added ‘not pregnant at all’), well supportive cheers from us seemed to relax him slightly. Altiyan then introduced us to the track he expects to be the first on the album – ‘Just Like You’. As with the majority of the songs we got to hear, this song has been performed at many of Altiyan’s gigs this year. It’s easy to sing along with and a good opener for the album, the backing music just adding an extra dimension. Just want to mention too, that the songs have not had their final mixing....but sounded incredible! As Altiyan introduced each song he would stand and tell us a bit about it, and would then sit down in his chair in front of the sound panel. Even though his back was to us, I could see him nodding along to some of the songs, or tilting his head with thoughts of his own… His next song was Kiss Me, a remake of Simple which as has been well documented, reached no 41 on the Aria charts in 2004. He has added a catchy little ending which sticks in your head. When Altiyan introduced his next song, I could see he seemed conflicted with his emotions about it. It was ‘Water’. Altiyan shared that he wanted to give a song to Ronan Keating, his mentor from X Factor, and had decided upon this one. But he felt Ronan ran away, and consequently Altiyan kept the song. While he shared this, to me he appeared confused, disappointed, but mostly, sad. It explains why when I’ve seen him perform this, twice, he got emotional both times. Although it is very hard to choose a favourite, if you twist my arm, this next one would get the nod – ‘Exhale’. .Altiyan said this one was borne from a broken heart, but I didn’t catch what else he said about it. Either way, it sounded just as powerful and heartfelt as at his gigs, and the background music complemented it beautifully. It was around now that Altiyan expressed surprise at us applauding each song, and even though he said he’d been told to not cry so much, he couldn’t help feeling emotional at our response. Up next we heard a new one – ‘Celebrity’. Altiyan said it was poking fun at the industry and was tongue in cheek. He also said having it as a single probably wouldn’t happen because of a particular line in the song – when that line was sung Alti threw his hand up to let us know, but we knew anyway and had a laugh about it.. J Out of all of his songs, this one had everyone’s toes tapping madly and heads nodding like yes men the most. It also got the majority of votes from attendees as to which song we would like to see come out as his single – Rise Up was second choice. (We were handed a sheet and asked if we would mind giving our first choice for the single – mine was Exhale or Rise Up) Speaking of which – ‘Rise Up’ was played next for our listening pleasure. This is another that Altiyan would like as the first single, as he said he gets such great reactions from the crowds when he plays it live. For our 7th song, we had the privilege of listening to ‘Mother’. Altiyan said as much as his Dad gets much of the praise, it’s his Mother he wants to call when the good news finally happens. Listening to it brings a different perspective when you know more about the inspiration behind the words. After the song, someone asked what ‘I made it’ means to him, to want to share with his Mother. Altiyan commented on the large amount of money taken by his previous music managements and then graciously shared that as his Mother has physically suffered working as a cleaner, he wants to be able to call his Mum and say, I can pay this bill for you, I can take you out to dinner… As simple as that. ‘Driving’ was next – a song written in 2001 about his ex fiancé. Some of us have previously heard his story behind this but I will give a brief run down. A Yugoslavian girl, she became interested in becoming part of Altiyan’s band and started out as back-up singer working her way up so that Altiyan ended up being backing singer – NOT where he belongs! This girl eventually got a recording contract and left the band, and left Altiyan, for more materialistic desires. This song is a result of his shock, and expresses his understanding of what she had done. Despite his broken heart, he assured us that even though she’s never had a hit song (he won’t name her), he hopes she one day does achieve a number one - twice. The next song is one I first heard at his Carlton performance and was drawn to it then. I again heard it at his Shepparton gig, and enjoyed it even more. As Altiyan said, he wrote this to encourage a particular friend of his who had body image issues. With this version he had the added delight of piano playing (Dan Rivers) and violin. These elements along with Altiyan’s emotive vocals, gave it a haunting quality and listening to it in the studio made me fall in love with the song even more. My only criticism, and it’s my only one throughout the whole song list, is Altiyan’s added lyrics of la la la at the end. I felt it unnecessary, and that it detracted from the song. Oh, the song is ‘Nine’. Long anticipated by many – ‘Bad Boy’ was played for us. The snippet we heard some time ago gave me the impression of a more upbeat song than it actually is. It is a fairly slow track with one line of lyrics being ‘it’s a struggle between cruel and kind’ - this seems to be the main theme of the song. . And now ‘Shipwreck’. Altiyan said this one was written for/about God. He said it was the last song he ever wrote before he retired from singing prior to X Factor. With this studio version it sounded quite intense, with a tinge of sadness, and Altiyan’s voice reminded me of how he sounded from his Masonia music. Unfortunately this was the last song we got to hear, and is the one Altiyan wants to close his album with. He wants to add three more songs – ‘Sad Song’, ‘God for a Day’, and a yet to be decided choice. The songs were unique, especially after hearing Altiyan explain each one, and Altiyan’s voice never fails to impress, as the emotion and commitment to every song is evident and appealing and I just want to hear more. After our ‘Listening’ session, Altiyan shared his time with us all individually – giving each person his full attention, and depending on each person’s conversation, responding with empathy, jokes, laughter, concern – and telling us how thankful and appreciative he was/is for our ongoing support. He seems to be in disbelief that we have stuck by him through thick and thin. Throughout our time with Altiyan today, he was humble, funny, cheeky, giving, gracious – a pleasure to spend time with. I feel incredibly privileged to have enjoyed this one of a kind opportunity and hope that when this album is released, that the public will disregard any negative press, and give the album a fair go with an open mind, appreciating the music for what it is – brilliant, inspiring and worthy of airplay and accolades."
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 08:30:32 +0000
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