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力宏專輯週記
00/06/01~00/06/08 No.1
大家好！在我還沒有開始寫之前，我在這裡先向你們說聲「謝謝」。 謝謝大家一路以來那麼支持力宏，尤其是近一年來，當我在 為自己的新專輯《永遠的第一天》努力的時候。時間再次的證明，你們是最誠懇、最忠實的歌迷。在我心中，你們是最
特別的一群，當我在埋頭工作的時候，你們是那麼的耐心等 待；也不曾忘記過我。我希望你們和我一樣，很喜歡這張新專輯。它是屬於你們的，也是屬於我的。」
接著，我想藉著這個機會感謝那些為我的個人網站付出的歌迷。這是我今年收到最棒的生日禮物！我很高興看到來自亞 洲以及世界各地的歌迷通過網路互相聯繫。我感到很驕傲自
己的歌迷是活躍在今日新科技的一群。
我也想在這裡和大家說說自己的新專輯。我感到有點無奈， 因為我無法讓媒體多關注我的音樂。每一次接受訪問，在一 個小時的訪談中，我都是在說自己的音樂。可是隔天翻開報
紙，裡面所報導的往往是我用了五分鐘回答記者一些有關於 我私人感情的問題；為什麼會這樣呢？大家聽了那麼多次不 覺得厭煩嗎？。
現在開始說……這張專輯是從幾個簡單的概念開始的（如專 輯內頁上所述）新的世紀，華人流行音樂以及亞裔美國人的 發展會獲得更具國際性的認知。從這些簡單的概念，我付出
了我的全部，用內心的情感去做好聽的音樂。新專輯和我以 往的專輯有些不同，因為在這張專輯裡只有我一個製作人、 作曲人和編曲人；因此我能夠把它視為一個完整的作品，而
不是十個單獨的（指來自不同作者的）作品。 透過這些歌曲，我希望帶領大家到不同的地方，新奇的、特 別的、孤單的、很High的……過去的日子裡，我的生活就好
像雲霄飛車一樣，從一個國家飛到另一個國家；住在不同的 城市、不同的飯店、說不同的語言和試著去了解不同的人以 及他們的文化背景。我希望透過音樂和大家分享我的經歷。
千禧年的時空： 當踏入公元兩千年一月一日午夜，鐘聲響起的時候，我覺得 那是我、還有我的音樂的新開始、是重要時刻的來臨。專輯
的第一章是「Introduction 」（指介紹、簡介；序曲）；是我 寫的曲，由新英格蘭音樂學院榮譽弦樂四重奏（通常為二小 提琴、一中提琴、一大提琴）演奏。此曲採用現場收音，錄
音的時候沒使用耳機﹐沒有經過特殊的音質處理，是完全自 由式的一氣呵成的錄製方式。在「Introduction 」裡面，你可 以聽到我仿彿是在自己跟自己說話。我提到了我去年到過的
一些地方、世界各地，然而﹐背景音樂裡的弦樂讓人覺得時 間在慢慢安靜的移動著。儘管我一直到處跑，可是，我擁有 著和你們一樣脆弱及敏感的思想和回憶。
專輯的結尾也採用了同一個弦樂四重奏，不一樣的是這次加 入了鼓、貝斯，還有我自己彈奏的吉他部份。除了讓聽眾感 受到專輯的結尾，還能夠讓大家深入探討非移動式的行駛感
覺，最後回到了起點。充滿速度及快感的一年就這樣飛逝， 在吵鬧聲中存有寧靜、在移動中存有靜止。在人群中，我們 幾乎都可以感受到孤單的存在。相同的情況在今日步伐急速
的生活裡出現；我們同一個時候可以去很多地方，然而我們 離不開自己的電腦。我們可以在極短的時間內，透過科技的 援助完成很多事情，然而我們覺得能夠擁有的時間將會比以
前少。
『Introduction 』直接引導我們進入《永遠的第一天》，是一 個夢、一首「如果…將如何呢？」的歌。歌曲描述分隔兩地
的情侶，分手多年以後在一次在機場偶然相遇。再一次，這 首歌表現了時間強烈對比的寫照。『永遠』可以是一天，在 一年的時間可能因為兩個人分開而停留，然而，你可以說任
何一天都是永遠的第一天。每一個人所感受到的「時間」都 不相同；舉個例子，我常常聽到身邊的朋友計劃著：「我希 望先工作幾年，存一點錢，接著才去做自己想做的事情。」
會不會覺得這是你我都很熟悉的話？
雖然「永遠的第一天」有很圓滿的結局（如同我說的『如果 ……將又如何呢？』），真正情感中心的開始是在歌曲的第 二節，『回憶傳進心裡全是你…』。在ＭＴＶ中會跳出許多
畫面…那就是回憶，模糊而混亂卻又充滿情感。今天我抵達 了香港，在機場的時候，隨身聽正在播放這首歌。我壓抑不 了自己，開始在想『如果…將如何呢？』我想，曾經歷過感
情因距離而受到考驗的朋友們都可以體會那種挫折和艱辛， 也是我創作這首的靈感來源。
《龍的傳人》也是一首花費很長時間才完成的歌曲。公元兩 千年正好是龍年﹐我本身也是屬龍﹐所以我與這首歌結緣似 乎是被註定一樣。這是翻唱我表舅李建復﹐在1980年代的經
典佳作，一首歌頌身為華人而感到自豪的歌曲。我相信經過 ２０年的歲月，隨著華人散佈的世界各個角落，這首歌的意 義也隨著時間而改變。很多人曾經說過，２１世紀將看到「
喚醒巨龍」的來臨，全世界的華人將發展成較強大的勢力。 我深信這個說法，因為華人有著極大的人力資源，再加上科 技的進步，難道這不會成為事實嗎？
選擇重新演譯這首歌的用意是希望重新喚起我們身為華人應 感到的自豪﹐不管我們生在哪裡﹐長在哪裡。在錄制《龍的 傳人》這首歌的時候，我在聲音的部份下了２４軌，把聲音
表現得更龐大。音樂的部份，我請教了一位在Berklee 任職 的教授Rich Mendelson，在 drum programming
方面加入更 具世代感的節奏。最後，我覺得這首歌像強烈的舞曲，有很 多舞蹈員在舞動。這是我第一次嘗試跳舞，去學會所有的舞 步是一個很大的挑戰，最後我還是做到了。你們肯定可以在
現場的演唱會以及在亞洲各音樂臺播放的ＭＴＶ中看到我跳舞﹗
我還有很多很多有關新專輯的話想對你們說，再多的媒體訪問，我都說不完，更何況是一封信。接下來，我會每星期給 大家寫一封信，一直到我說完為止，ＯＫ？
下一次我會和大家分享，我嘗試把華人流行音樂國際化的想 法，更重要的是，我為什麼會有這樣的想法呢？
我們就用電子郵件保持聯繫，這樣你們可以陪我在飯店渡過 這個夏天！請不要因為我在這張專輯裡加入了很多想法和主 意而將他看得嚴肅。你們可以把它當成背景音樂或是在娛樂
場所跳舞的音樂播放。我沒有意見！就如我說的，這是一張 屬於你們的專輯，你們愛什麼時候聽，愛怎麼聽都可以！
對了，我目前人在香港拍身平第一部電影作品。接下來的幾 個月，拍電影的同時，我會到亞洲各地為新專輯做宣傳。電 影和宣傳工作撞期，我覺得很遺憾；可是，這總比要同時拍
電影和製作唱片來得好，對不對？做音樂始終是我重視的部 份，我希望自己的專輯是充滿音樂性的。
再次感謝大家的友誼和支持！
much love, Homeboy
力宏專輯週記
00/06/01~00/06/08 No.1
Hello everyone!
Before I write anything, I first want to say...THANK YOU all so
much for the support you have given me. Especially in this past
year while I was working on the new album, "Forever's First
Day", you have proven time and time again to be the most committed
and dedicated fans. You are all very special in my heart. You were
so patient and never forgot me as I worked on the production. I
hope you love the new album as much as I do. It is as much yours
as it is mine.
Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for
all the work you did on my websites, yours was the best birthday
present I received this year! I am so happy to see fans from all
over Asia and the rest of the world keeping one another informed
over the internet. I am proud to know that my fans are so involved
with technology and are active members of today's digital world
community. I'd also like to talk with you a bit about this new album.
It's been so frustrating and difficult to get the media to focus
on my music. It seems that everytime I have an interview, I can
spend an hour talking about music, and five minutes answering the
reporters questions about my love life...and the next day's newspapers
come out all about my love life! WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? Aren't people
sick of hearing the same old stories?
So here we go. This album began with a few simple concepts (as I
said in the liner notes): time in the new millenium, the development
of a more internationally recognizable Chinese pop music sound,
and Asian American identity. Of course, within these concepts I
gave my all to make the songs musical, emotional and from the heart.
This album is a bit different from my works in the past and the
biggest reason is because I was the sole producer, composer and
arranger.I was able to approach the album as a whole work instead
of 10 separate singles. In these songs, I try to take you places,
strange and exotic...lonely and high! You see, my life in the past
years has been like a rollercoaster. Flying from country to country
every week, living in different cities and different hotels, speaking
different languages and trying to understand different people and
their cultures. By creating my music, I feel like I can take my
listeners with me and share some of these adventures.
TIME IN THE NEW MILLENIUM:
When the clock struck midnight on 1/1/00, I felt that that was a
new beginning for me and my music, and that time was of the utmost
importance. The album begins with "Introduction" for which
I wrote a piece performed by the New England Music Conservatory
Honors String Quartet. They recorded this piece live, with no headphones
and no click, just in "free time". In "Introduction",
you can hear me almost talking to myself. I mention some of the
places that I've been to in the last year...all over the world,
yet, because of the string quartet in the background, you still
feel like time is moving slowly and peacefully. Though I may be
always on the move, my thoughts and memories are just as fragile
and senstive as any of yours.
The album ends with the same string quartet in its entirety rerecorded
with drums, bass and me playing the guitar. This not only gives
the listener a sense of closure to the album, but also gives you
insight to the feeling of travelling without moving. In the end
coming back to the same place. A whole year filled with speed and
andrenalin has flown by...amidst the noise, there is silence, and
amidst the motion there is always stillness. Amidst the crowds there
is the true loneliness of being an individual that is common to
us all. The same irony holds true in today's fast paced world where
you can be everywhere at once yet never leave your desktop computer.
You can accomplish so much in so little time with the aid of technology,
yet it seems that we have less time than ever before.
"Introduction" leads directly into "Forever's First
Day", which is is a dream, a "what if?" song. Of
course, it talks of two lovers living on different sides of the
world finally meeting at the airport after years of separation.
Again, this song shows the contrast of how relative time can be.
Forever, may exist in a day. And time may stop for years when two
lovers are apart. Yet still, you could say that any day is the forever's
first day. Time is felt very differently from person to person...for
example, I've heard from so many of my friends, "I'll work
for a few years first and then start doing what I want to do after
I've saved up enough money". Sound familiar?
Although "Forever's First Day" has a happy ending (like
I said, "what if?"), the emotional center of the song
begins with the second verse, "my memories are all of you..."
That's why in the music video so many of the cuts fly by in a fraction
of a second... those are all memories, disorganized and unclear,
yet full of emotion.Today, I arrived in Hong Kong and was listening
to this song in my walkman in the airport, and couldn't help but
wonder to myself, "what if?". I think that anyone who
has been in a long distance relationship should be able to understand
the frustrations and difficulties which were the inspiration for
this song.
"Descendants of the Dragon" is another time-conscious
song. The year 2000 just happens to be the year of the dragon. I
am also a dragon, so this song and I just seemed to be meant for
each other. It is a remake of my uncle, Li Jian Fu's 1980 classic
which became a song associated with pride for being a member of
the Chinese race. I believe this song has taken on a new meaning
over the last 20 years as Chinese people now have spread across
every corner of the earth. Many people have said that the 21st century
will witness the "awakening of the dragon", the rise of
Chinese people in the global community. I too believe this to be
true. How could it not be with such an immense population combined
with the improvement of global information technology? The remake
of this song is intended to encourage taking pride in who we are
and creating a general awareness of this pride regardless of where
we live or may have grown up.
When recording "Descendants of the Dragon" I laid down
24 tracks of vocals to make the sound big. I did some work again
with one of my professors at the Berklee School of Music, Rich Mendelson
on the drum programming to give it a more contemporary beat, and
last but not least decided that this would be an intense dance number
with lots of dancers. A first time for me, and a huge challenge
to learn all the moves, but I finally did it, and I'm sure you will
all have a chance to see this live in concert, and on music video
channels across Asia!
As you can see, I have a lot to say about this album. Much more
than I can tell you on the radio, tv or newspapers. Even too much
for one letter. I'm going to write to you once a week from now on
until I finish , ok? Next time I'll write about my attempts to create
a more international sound for Chinese pop music, and more importantly,
why? We'll keep in touch over e-mail and that way, you all can keep
me company here in my hotel for the rest of the summer! And please
don't think that just because I had a lot of concepts and ideas
in this album that you have to take it too seriously. You can just
listen to it as background music or dance to some of the songs at
your local club. That's perfectly fine with me! Like I said, this
album is for you and you're free to listen to it however you want!
By the way, many of you know I'm in Hong Kong today shooting my
first movie. And in the next few months I will be promoting my album
across Asia and shooting the movie at the same time. It's too bad
that my album promotion and the movie's schedules bumped into each
other, but I think this is much better than if I were to be filming
and producing the next album at the same time, don't you think?
Thanks again for your friendship and support!!
much love, Homeboy
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