Zhou Chuanxiong's concert became popular, not just because of "Dusk"
Author | Cave photo
Title Picture | Visual China
The night before arriving in Beijing, Mr. Zhou suffered a rare insomnia. In his experience, holding a concert should be "quite easy", and there shouldn't be so much pressure. He pondered why, perhaps it had something to do with Beijing's indescribable intimacy.
Since 2000, Zhou Chuanxiong has often traveled to Beijing for work. In such a "place that musicians yearn for", he learned a lot from musicians and singers from all over the world, and achieved self-growth.
The bits and pieces of memories helped Zhou Chuanxiong recognize the fact that there is his youth in this city, "whether it is at a low tide or a peak time, it is related to Beijing."
In 2012, Zhou Chuanxiong participated in the offline public welfare song club. (Photo/Visual China)
It's not your usual nostalgia
After the record company launched Zhou Chuanxiong's album Transfer, there was a sudden high-level change, resulting in no one following up the publicity and promotion work. Mr. Zhou had to step back into the background, during which time he helped a mainland singer produce an album and was later invited to Beijing for a new album launch.
In this youthful picture, Zhou Chuanxiong is a casually dressed producer. It wasn't until a reporter stepped forward and said he had heard "Dusk" from Transfer and wanted to interview him that he realized that the album was getting attention — it was the first time that Zhou Chuanxiong felt like an "artist" in his behind-the-scenes work.
Another picture of youth was frozen in 2005. Thanks to the strong strength of the newly signed international record company, the MV of Zhou Chuanxiong's new song "Lonely Sandbar Cold" was directed by Kwong Sheng, and the filming location was set in Beijing. On the day of filming, a sprinkler truck was also dispatched to the scene, and Zhou Chuanxiong still sighs that "that picture is very gorgeous".
10 years later, Zhou Chuanxiong's "Time Doesn't Know Home" global tour came to Beijing. Since his body had not fully recovered, he collapsed weakly on the sofa backstage after the concert, "unable to move". This collapse seemed to be a kind of warning, and later, several performances in other cities were canceled for some reason, and the tour did not go well.
In 2017, Zhou Chuanxiong went to Beijing with the world tour of "Where to Wake Up Tonight". Despite the postponement, the atmosphere was still warm, and "the concert was very good from beginning to end." Therefore, he was determined, "My concert can actually be done".
Six years later, on October 27, Zhou Chuanxiong walked into the Beijing Cadillac Center for a rehearsal of the Beijing leg of the "Never Forget" tour. The lights in the arena turned on and off, and the dancing stopped, but he was the only one who always stood on the stage. The staff stepped forward from time to time to adjust the equipment, stage and other details with him.
Beijing, October 2023. Zhou Chuanxiong walked into the Cadillac Center in Beijing and held a long-awaited concert. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)
Looking over from the empty auditorium, Zhou Chuanxiong's figure was a little thin. His shirt and loose cropped trousers swayed, and his wrists and ankles were exposed from time to time between movements, allowing the light and shadow to outline his muscles and bones. When he's not singing, he's either letting go, smiling, funny, but as soon as the prelude sounds, he immediately regains his focus and strength.
How much fans cherish the gentle power of Zhou Chuanxiong's singing, how much they like to watch him dance on stage. "Gypsy Lover" is one of the few songs that Zhou Chuanxiong can perform in this way.
At the 2015 "Time Doesn't Know Where to Go" concert, Zhou Chuanxiong took it by surprise, removed the shakers and dances, and presented a "Sven version" of "Gypsy Lover", which made a fan unforgettable. In September this year, when the fan saw Zhou Chuanxiong perform the song again in Kunming, he engraved his "radiant after transformation" appearance in his mind.
For Zhou Chuanxiong, offline performances are also a great opportunity to create shared memories with fans, "These songs also represent some of their experiences in growing up, and many years later, when you and your fans get together, they will sing these songs, then I am the same, and my memories are here."
When composing music, Chow always looks for information and images in his memories, and the richer the details, the more inspiration they can provide for him. Therefore, memories are very important to him, especially good memories, "the more you observe at that time, the deeper your memories will be, and you will remember them clearly."
Of course, whether the memories are good or bad, they will inevitably be biased, but the feelings remain, even if they cannot be described in words, the objects and events at that time can help him construct a story with feelings. For example, something that was broken during a breakup, or a gift from the other party before, can concretize the feeling of ruins when you fall out of love.
Zhou Chuanxiong in a blue shirt. (Photo/Visual China)
Zhou Chuanxiong is not an ordinary nostalgia. Lately, he has been wearing the same blue shirt he wore to promote "Air Dry My Sorrow," which was released in 1996. The reporter was amazed at the quality of the shirt, but he said, "I just like (it)." I like to wear (clothes) that are good in all aspects, and the temperature is very good. ”
"Follow the emotion"
Rather than describing objective facts, Zhou seems to prefer to use expressions that convey emotion. His music style is the same, "all about interpreting emotions and following emotions". He usually sets the theme, thinks about what kind of state and emotion he wants to convey, and then carries them with the appropriate music genre, rather than creating around a popular emerging music genre.
For a long time, Zhou's music has been emotionally focused, and there are some audience considerations in doing so. Later, his music became more and more encompassing, and the question of "how to define his style" became more and more difficult.
Zhou Chuanxiong doesn't know whether this is good or bad, and he doesn't know if he can drill deeper with genre styles to guide creation, but one thing is certain: "I will try and use all kinds of music styles." ”
(Photo/Provided by the interviewee)
In 1988, Zhou Chuanxiong was a member of a heavy metal rock band, listening to songs like U2 and Queen. When he participated in the "Taiwan Campus Singing Competition", he was wearing a leopard print top and ripped jeans, and the picture was quite "messy".
After standing out from the competition, Zhou Chuanxiong signed with the organizer's record company. After that, the company's boss, planners and well-known director Chen Wenbin sat together to discuss his positioning and development route after entering the industry. Chen Wenbin looked at him and suggested: "You should wear a pair of glasses, be very gentle, and sing love songs." ”
As a newcomer, Zhou Chuanxiong could only sit there and watch the "funeral" of leopard-print tops, ripped jeans and heavy metal music. But he has no regrets in his heart, because this incident has helped him to understand the pop music industry more deeply, so that he no longer indulges in the imagination of the past.
Moreover, doing heavy metal rock may be difficult in the music environment of the year, and the debut of a newcomer is the business of the whole team, so he accepts the company's arrangement, as long as he can continue to make music.
Keep making music. (Photo / Courtesy of the interviewee)
After embarking on the road of love songs under the stage name "Xiao Gang", Zhou Chuanxiong quickly occupied a place in the music market in Taiwan. In many subsequent songs, "My Heart Is Too Messy", "Dusk", "Is There a Song That Will Remind You of Me" (this song is composed by Zhou Chuanxiong and sung by Zhou Huajian), "Lonely Sandbar Cold" and other popular songs written and sung by him have come out one after another, bringing him many times of glory.
At the beginning, in the face of results, Zhou Chuanxiong swelled without knowing it. As if fate wanted to wake up this frivolous young man, it soon dragged him down from the heights of glory. Years later, he found the crux of his original self-aggrandizement, and at the same time, as he grew older, he drifted away from it.
Between the glories is the so-called trough, and Zhou Chuanxiong spent most of his days behind the scenes. During this period, he wrote a song of unforgettable first love, which was deep and intense.
The female singer who collected the song that year was only 17 years old, so she chose a sweet style that suited her during the production, and failed to fully present Zhou Chuanxiong's creative mood. Later, he wanted to find a song for the new album that he had written for others to reinterpret, so he tried to sing this song again.
Because his voice did not match the sweet lyrics, Zhou Chuanxiong contacted the original lyricist He Qihong: "Shall we write a song where we will now re-examine our first love and re-recall it instead of reminiscing about it?"
In the story conceived by Zhou Chuanxiong, a man who once had no hesitation for his love and fought a moth to the fire re-walked the path of his youth, "Walking again is to have a parallel line coming out, for example, the places I have been with her before, in the process recalling the bits and pieces of that time, most of those bits and pieces are my own."
This story made He Qihong feel very much, and in the next 3 years, he and Zhou Chuanxiong finalized the final version of the lyrics together, and named the song "Parallel Line to First Love".
To a large extent, this song is the epitome of Zhou Chuanxiong's current concept of love - compared with the pursuit of passion and romance when he was young, he now prefers the tranquility of the long stream, "Two people don't have to say anything together, the other party understands what I think in my heart, and I am very comfortable."
It's also a pleasure to let go slowly
Many of Zhou Chuanxiong's songs are related to waiting, and he feels that he is also a person who is good at waiting: "For example, our industry often has to wait, and often say that after the time is good, it may be delayed because of something, so I think from another perspective 'waiting' is that you have more time to prepare." ”
However, fate will not always give you time to wait or prepare, and among the countless surprises it throws, there must be the one that you and I can't dodge. hit Zhou Chuanxiong's "caught off guard", which is called disease.
After being diagnosed with gastritis, he received two courses of "sterilization" treatment, but he still felt that the situation was not good, so he went to the hospital again for examination. The doctor told him there was nothing wrong and told him not to worry. Friends who got the news also advised him to just let go of his burden.
It's easier said than done, while Zhou Chuanxiong persuaded himself to let go, he still couldn't help working, he was entangled and scared in his heart, and once felt that he couldn't survive that winter. One ordinary morning, he woke up to see his hands looking even more skinny in the sun.
In 2016, he built momentum for the promotion of the Beijing concert, and became a "paper man" due to physical reasons. (Photo/Visual China)
Anxiety inspired Zhou Chuanxiong to think about stomach problems and inner anxiety, and then realized that his illness may be due to the pressure of the musician's profession, as well as the fact that he did not pay attention to his health when he was young, and he had to work hard, no matter how hard he worked. He thought about the philosophy books he had read, and he told himself: you have to let go.
"What is it to let go? to do nothing, to do nothing. I don't want any fame or fortune, I don't want other people's recognition, I don't want other people's applause. He asked himself if he could, "Yes, I'll just survive." ”
After "putting down" for two months, Zhou Chuanxiong began to gain weight, and as soon as he was happy, he made some music again, and as a result, he lost 1 kilogram of weight. He had to let go completely, do nothing, and finally gradually regained his health.
This illness has tempered his psychological quality, made him more indifferent and rational towards music creation, no longer result-oriented, and no longer do it because it has to be done. When inspiration and passion tick you involuntarily, it may be the best time.
However, the belief that you want to do things well is correct and necessary, and what needs to be discussed is the "way to do it well".
At this stage, Zhou Chuanxiong will spend more time on what he likes and wants to do, such as songs like "Parallel Lines to First Love", and for example, make more attempts in arrangement and musicality, be a little bolder, and jump out of the way, even if this is not the style that everyone is used to.
Zhou Chuanxiong used to write songs mostly to complete his "homework" based on the company's audience analysis, but now it is to complete his self-expression, "I may care more about whether I still want to express something, whether I want to sing something, whether I want to do something, and whether I want to try something, then go for it."
Zhou Chuanxiong continues this comfortable and comfortable state to other work, arranging the itinerary according to his physical condition, and will not make himself particularly tired.
When he can't let go of the situation, he has not found a better way except to encourage himself, "(only) to do it slowly, I think this is one of the joys of my life now, that is, when I encounter nervous things or stressful things, see if I can smile calmly."
At this stage, Zhou Chuanxiong likes to be comfortable and comfortable. (Photo / Courtesy of the interviewee)
Fortunately and admirable, Zhou Chuanxiong has been able to smile at the adversity he has encountered.
As the saying goes, good and bad depend on each other. Those setbacks, regrets, and misses have enriched his life and allowed him to comfort his young friends: "When something first happens, everyone gets angry and angry, but it lasts for a shorter and shorter time. It used to be dull for a month, but now it may be a week, two days, maybe it's gone now. ”
However, Zhou Chuanxiong has not yet completely let go. He has only put down seven or eight points now, and the remaining three or two points are still "unable to let go, reluctant, and unforgettable".
Fans cherish the gentle power of Zhou Chuanxiong's singing. The picture shows Zhou Chuanxiong performing on stage. (Photo/Provided by the interviewee)
"I like to write songs and let people listen to my songs. I like to express my emotions through music and resonate with everyone, and I will never forget this. Then I have done a lot of concerts recently, and many former fans in the audience have sung with me, and I will never forget that touching feeling, that beautiful feeling. ”
Perhaps when he wants to let go of the past completely and return himself to zero, Zhou Chuanxiong will go to the wilderness, the seaside or the mountains to start a new pastoral life, no longer entangled in what he once had or lost, but to seek new experiences in new possibilities. Until then, he would keep singing.
Proofreading: Yang Chao, Operation: Xi Xi, Typesetting: Liang Ningyan