For music, Yi Yangqianxi's works are not much, but he is ambitious.
From the collaboration with various independent musicians in "Temperature Difference" to the remake of classic songs with the concept of "sound plot" in "Backseat Theater", Yi Yangqianxi has built his own musical aesthetic with only two full-length albums. It is not conformist, not vulgar, and has always maintained a strong connection with his interpretation career, that is, the narrative, story and visual nature of music.
And this time the new album "Liu Yanfen", from the day the album title and cover visual were announced, represents the continuation of this musical aesthetic and attributes.
The name of "Liu Yanfen" comes from the name Yi Yangqianxi casually took when he participated in the variety show "Let Go of My North Nose", playing the program staff in women's clothing. And using such a name as the name of the album is not only in line with the entertainment of banter in the Internet age, but also a more literary expression.
"Liu Yanfen" is not only what Yi Yangqianxi himself calls a "virtual observer codename", but also a third-person perspective of God in the literary world, which also makes the musical subject of the album, not only the intuitive presentation of my feeling, I think, and my perception, but also can be more free in musical expression.
Everything is like a movie, more wonderful than a movie.
As a very conceptual album, the special thing about "Liu Yanfen" is that it belongs to an album with various attributes related, rather than an album that puts the conceptual in the air.
The visual cover of the album is derived from a photo taken by Xia Yongkang for the French edition of Vogue magazine twenty years ago, and the protagonist is Gong Li. This is a collection of artistic photographs, colorful yet full of urban atmosphere.
This vision is precisely related to the fulcrum of the album "Liu Yanfen" - "Song and Dance City". "Song and Dance City" is not a gorgeous theater, it is just a city entertainment venue known to everyone within a radius of more than ten miles, here is down-to-earth, very citizens, art is staged here, and here is also full of human feelings and sorrows. As a result, "Song and Dance City" became a stage, and "Liu Yanfen" became a Vlog, and one story after another unfolded.
"Liu Yanfen" is of course a concept album, but it is precisely because of its connection with reality, the human fireworks it presents under the concept of art, so it has become a very dynamic concept album, rather than an illusory literary art concept for the sake of concepts.
In music, "Liu Yanfen" also has a musical character.
The whole album is dominated by Jude and "Radio Mars" in music production and music direction, at least from the perspective of "Song and Dance City", Jude's appearance actually forms a strong relationship with this album. Because Jude's aesthetic orientation has always been this kind of stage play and musical dramatization of art popularity, such a style is reflected in this album, which is natural and appropriate.
From 20:55 to 23:00, the story of "Liu Yanfen" unfolds at this time of a certain night, and completes a complete theatrical performance with nine works.
On the basis of the musical atmosphere music as the fulcrum orientation, the album also uses Bossa Nova elements from "Hello, I Am ____", Reggae elements in "Daycat", and folk songs in "Ride" that are also real and fantastical, expanding the boundaries of audio-visual, making the "performance" appear rich and full and deep.
In an era where singing skills are used as the standard, I don't think Yi Yangqianxi is a singer, but you also know that in the world of popular music, the so-called singing skills do not simply refer to the physical vocal range and pitch. For a singer in the Internet + multimedia era, aesthetics and feelings are even more important than simple singing skills.
After experiencing the control and grasp of many Indie's works in "Temperature Difference", Yi Yangqianxi's performance in the album "Liu Yanfen" did not surprise me. Of course, for a work like "Jiulizhuang Talent Center", which is unpredictable and melodic like a dragon and phoenix, Yi Yangqianxi's heavy-lifting treatment still makes people have an accident on the basis of not being surprised.
The depth and texture accented by guttural sounds in "Hello, I Am ____", the flowing and soft interpretation in "Colorful Colors", the sense of narration presented with whispers in "Pingqi", the mysterious and sexy ear chopping in "She Waits Before Midnight", and the warm and peaceful, real and dreamy soft chanting in "Together", all give these non-his works a character imprint that belongs to the singer's own personality.
In this era where loudness is pursued in both instrumental music and vocals, Yi Yangqianxi's "acting" but not lacking in true color interpretation can better reflect the balanced attributes of the work at both ends of art and life.
This balance is precisely the characteristic of the album "Liu Yanfen".
Although it is a conceptual album, although it is an album that is connected from end to end and has a unified story, the nine songs in "Liu Yanfen", whether it is the pleasant melody, the expression of vocals, or the gorgeous, delicate but not cumbersome arrangement, can be separated and can be beaten. None of the nine works are obviously weak, which also makes it a bit difficult to recommend singles, if you want to recommend it, it is an album.
Among them, in addition to Jude's "Jiulizhuang Talent Center" and Chen Jingfei's "Hello, I'm ____", the compositions of works such as "Cold Ass", "Neon Clothes", "Colorful and Colorful", "Daydream", "Ride" and "She Waits Before Midnight" all come from creators (groups) who are very unfamiliar to most people: UNI· MONSTER LAB。
From the previous interpretations of works by independent musicians such as Wen Zhaojie, Taiyi, and Daylight, to this time and UNI· The cooperation of MONSTER LAB is actually another symbol of Yi Yangqianxi's unique aesthetic.
The relevance of the album "Liu Yanfen" is actually reflected in the musical text. This is an album by Yi Yangqianxi, an album about "Liu Yanfen", and an album about many people. The latter two can also be said to be a group in themselves.
Under the tone of indulgence, entertainment, and carnival, this album also often has doubts, sadness, or "human sobriety" constantly floated by, such as "If you really fade your neon clothes, is your heart open enough" ("Neon Clothes"), "No one is spared the moment you wake up" ("Colorful and Colorful"), "Do you remember which station to learn to be an adult, and there will be no return journey from this road" ("Same Ride"), "Each has different circumstances, create a joy together" ("Jiulizhuang Talent Center") and other doubts, sadness, or "human sobriety" constantly float by.
You are the person offstage, you are also the person on the stage, you watch the people on the stage play the people offstage, and you also watch the people under the stage become the people on the stage.
It is obviously full of literary and artistic atmosphere, but it is full of realistic temperament, which is probably similar to artistic realism similar to magical realism.
I will book this "Liu Yanfen" in advance as one of my top ten albums in 2023, and I will not regret it.