Regarding Zhang Huanhao, my personal impressions are concentrated in the "Children of Tomorrow 2" program.
Especially in the 9th issue, he performed "Ip Man" on stage. Independently composing and participating in the production, and the Live part of the song is wonderful, especially considering that he is still presenting as a contestant, it highlights the unusual maturity.
What I appreciate most is that the whole work is based on the Fusion logic of combining jazz and blues, with blues as the framework, with the most typical guitar dominance of this style, and at the same time, due to the addition of Chinese instruments, from the configuration to achieve the effect of the Big band in jazz, the instrument expression is very abundant, and the interaction between Zhang Xunhao and the band members in the performance process is the essence of improvisation.
From that moment on, my impression of him was that a singer with musician attributes had sufficient originality and live expression. The point is that because of the exquisite design and rather explosive effect presented by the scene of "Ip Man", I privately think that his works are biased towards release.
So when I heard his new single "Ru Mu", I was surprised. Compared to the release, this time he is introverted; compared to the explosion, this time he is gentle.
Sweet song warm sound is the best annotation of "Ru Mu". 4 minutes and 32 seconds, the whole process is advanced in a delicate narrative meaning, and it is not cold in the cold winter, because the temperature is found in Zhang Huanhao's songs.
There are two pictures in my mind at the same time, one is him who plays the guitar in "Ip Man" and sings "Master Ip Man punches without stopping", and the other is him who sweeps the strings and hums "In this moment I am like a spring breeze in this moment" in "Ru Mu". He was a little split from him and seemed a little split? On second thought, it's not. This is the most three-dimensional and complete Zhang Huanhao, he can interpret different styles, show different atmospheres, and he did not start to show warmth until "Ru Mu", remembering that it was also in the "Children of Tomorrow 2" program, he performed such soothing works as "Thinking of You".
Given that he does everything well, it can be said that he is a well-rounded singer.
The point is that his comprehensiveness has a good measure, less deliberate, more natural. Just like "Ru Mu", a Ballad paradigm song, but not as sweet as the love songs on the market, it is comfortable and enjoyable. The reason is that the song does not deliberately pursue the industrial texture from creation to production to presentation, but preserves the taste of life as usual. Therefore, "Ru Mu" is by no means a commercial routine, it is like a small song of love that is involuntarily hummed when meeting the girl you like.
But this is not to say that "Ru Mu" has no technical content. On the contrary, I think that being able to process the song so delicately and with spirit is the best technique. Zhang Huanhao was responsible for composing music, participating in lyrics and production, and finally creating a clear stream-like work. This is a return to music, a return to the most sincere emotions, the most simple expression, the whole song with a Spirit Jazz flavor, conveying love elegance. Compared with the way many young singers urgently show love and exaggerate the way of talking about love, Zhang Xunhao's choice is restraint.
This is a choice that suits his personal characteristics, and he already has a rare sense of youth, which can be described as a refreshing separation from the trend, like a moment of relaxation obtained in the hustle and bustle. To be honest, I haven't felt such a traditional pop music temperament in the works of young singers for a long time. If rich tricks and breakthrough innovations are worthy of recognition, then such a tradition should also reap high scores. This time Zhang Huanhao's idea can be summarized as creating a nostalgic romance with a retro technique.
In layman's terms, this young musician has an old soul.
Personality is never only based on pioneering experiments, but also can follow the persistence and purity of the craftsman. He does not appeal to the out of line, but only dedicates the exquisite texture through fine polishing. This texture is the classic and traditional texture. There will always be a moment when I get a taste of John Mayer in "Ru Mu", the way the band is presented, the fusion of old elements such as jazz, blues, and folk songs, and the formal overlap of Soul music and Acoustic rock. Even, in the song, Zhang Xunhao's vocal texture has a low-frequency performance of the classic Soul flavor full of sweetness, and the magnetic sense and gas sense are sufficient.
When you think that "Ru Mu" is just an improvised song, it actually contains big articles. It may indeed be a smooth creation after a sudden inspiration, but the final product is actually full of design.
Of course, the core of the design is rich in simple manufacturing. As reflected in the song's MV, simple sets create a dream, which is not as good as the romantic offensive of the big battle, but it is strong in the real and appropriate. The song has always been the tone of the MV, and the sweet songs and warm tones in it have finally found the foothold of life. Therefore, the love flavor emitted by "Ru Mu" can stay in your and my heart and stay fresh for a long time.
There is also a bit of drama in the process of preservation. The song "Ru Mu" is interesting, it is about "a fantasy love", and in the end I was not with her because she already had him. What the song really wants to express is that even if the reality is so dramatic, it does not prevent "you make me feel like a spring breeze". In this way, "Ru Mu" has a pattern of uplift, it is separated from the routine love story of paying to have to take, but in the state of conveying that the focus is not "getting" but "loving". Realizing this, you can also harvest a sudden and cheerful transparency in the loving atmosphere of the song.
Since then, I can say that as the title song of Zhang Huanhao's 2019 original Mini album "Good Guy" album, "Ru Mu" has set the overall tone. This tone of course has sweet songs and warm sounds, which is his pure and sincere performance in music, indicating that his works are projections of real life, and the purpose of creation is to trigger resonance. In addition, it also shows that in fact, his songs, whether musical or content, have their own thinking. The music hides richness in a non-revealing way, and the content is expressed in an introverted way.
Sweet song and warm sound, is only one side of Zhang Huanhao, there will be more sides in the future album.
Zhang Xunhao's 2019 original Mini album "Good Guy" album was launched on December 23, 2019.