A generation of heavenly groups has returned: I will still cry when I listen to their songs again

streak

2024-05-13 17:13Posted in Anhui Life Field Creator

In 2001, Soda Green was established on campus,

A six-man lineup was then confirmed.

Over the past 20 years,

They have influenced the youth of a generation with music.

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In March this year, the scene of the Soda Green concert (Photo: Shen Jing)

In 2017, due to a contract dispute with a former broker,

Soda Green announced a three-year hiatus.

After a few years away from the stage, as drummer Serena Williams said:

"It's like going back to retreat and practicing", and also waiting for the moment of reunion.

During this period, Aomine returned to the music scene as a solo singer,

The orchestra has also undergone a reboot (renamed "Uchoito"),

The plan to reproduce the old album and finally get back the name of "Soda Green".

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Soda Green gave an exclusive interview in Taipei

At the end of 2023,

Soda Green announces its 20th anniversary tour,

Recently, the sessions in Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Chengdu have been completed one after another.

6 people gathered on the stage, full of memories and killing,

But it is extremely low-key, and there is almost no video streaming on the Internet.

Some fans said, "Listening to the Soda Green concert is to the extent that you can 'cry anywhere'." ”

Not long ago, I saw Soda Green in Taipei.

Editor: Chen Qin

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Invite Soda Green to return to the founding campus

At the end of April, it was rainy in Taipei. On the campus of National Chengchi University, when the sun suddenly cleared, we saw Soda Green on the roof of a school building. From the top of the building overlooking the campus, memories flashed back to 20 years ago, "I remember this building turned out to be a swimming pool," drummer Serena Williams told us.

In 2003, six young people in their early 20s who love music decided to form an orchestra under the name of Soda Green, and they "hope that music can give people a sense of bubble freshness", and they quickly established their status in the Chinese pop music industry: they have contributed countless highly sung works, won the Golden Melody Award, and were the first independent band to hold a concert at Taipei Arena.

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A group photo of Soda Green members when they were in college

At that time on campus, the head of the troupe and acoustic guitarist Ah Fu Nian was in the Department of Public Administration, the lead singer Qingfeng was in the Department of Chinese Literature (and graduated first in the department), the bassist Xin Yi was studying business management, the drummer Xiao Wei was studying sociology, the electric guitarist Kai Nian was studying psychology (later went to Berklee College of Music for further study), and the keyboard and violist A Gong was a student of the music department of Beijing University of Arts next door.

In the Chinese-speaking music industry, such highly educated orchestras are rare. The delicate ingenuity of the lyrics, the gorgeous and changeable arrangement, and the blessing of Aomine's ethereal and unique voice make their music shine, and the fans who have followed them for many years have also found endless courage and healing in the music of Soda Green.

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Soda Green members and kids

In the blink of an eye, the members of the group have experienced the suspension and restart of the previous few years, and they have also settled down in their lives, Ah Fu, Xinyi, Jia Kai, and Xiao Wei have been upgraded to parents and have their own children. What has always remained the same is that Soda Green is still singing on stage.

Ichijo got in touch with the Soda Green team in December, just after announcing their plans for their 20th anniversary tour. Aomine said it might be his last big tour, saying his voice was in a "midlife crisis."

In between the hectic and intense performances, we finally made an appointment with Soda Green on the campus where they founded the group, inviting them back to the place where it all began, and chatting with us about the changes in recent years and the feeling of getting together on stage.

Here's a conversation with them.

A: In the past few years of remission and reunion, what life changes or nodes have you experienced?

Serena Williams: The biggest change is probably having children. In the past few years, it feels like everyone has gone back to retreat and practiced, and when we get together again with different abilities, the chemistry between us may not be the same as before.

Afuku: My words are that I finally broke 90 kilograms last year (laughs).

Aomine: So my point was that I finally broke through 55 kilograms, which was also the peak of my life (laughs).

Jia Kai: I used to be very busy at work, so I took a break and went back to my own life and had more time to spend with my family. In addition, as you know, we have experienced some things in the past few years, and I feel fortunate to have these members together.

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When reproducing the MV of "You Are Written in My Song", I invited my friend Ella (Chen Jiahua) to participate in the shooting

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Some reproductions of album covers

One: Talk about the plan to revive the album? What's interesting going on in the process?

Xinyi: Now there are 7 reproductions and releases, including "Unparalleled Beauty", "Small Universe", "This Day", "Sing with Me", "A Moment in Ten Years", "What Are You Worried About" and "Spring Daylight".

The main reason for reproducing the album is that we want to have our own master tape, and from the very beginning of the studio, we are quite strict to control the whole recording process, and the quality is a big upgrade. Each album is separated by more than ten years, so we have recorded the changes over the years.

Ah Fu: Also, because of the reproduction of the album this time, we also collaborated with many young directors and filmmakers, and there were quite a few encounters that said, "Eh, I grew up listening to your songs." ”

Article one: How do you feel when you hear young people say that they will grow up listening to your songs?

Xinyi: Alright, the time has come (laughs).

Serena Williams: Yes, it's someone's turn to talk about us.

Ah Fu: So now I also let my son grow up listening to our songs.

Aomine: Well, I actually grew up listening to their songs. How do you feel? After all, I'm the new lead singer (laughs).

One: How do you feel when you meet on stage again?

Aomine: Can you say the most honest thing? To put it most honestly, it's "regret" (laughs). I was very anxious about my voice, plus I was physically exhausted. Before this in life, there are few regrets, and this may be the first thing.

Serena Williams: I may be turning back, I'm getting better. At first, it was a little warm-up, and then I slowly regained that sense of stage.

Aomine: Then I'll be happy for you!

Ah Fu: I think it's living in the moment, whether it's the energy given to us by the audience, or what we want to present, I'm actually quite excited.

Xinyi: I feel that I was moved by the enthusiasm of the scene, which is more like a gathering of friends.

One: In the 20 years since the group, which song/lyrics do you sing that best represent the current state of mind?

Aomine: I think the most in line with my current state of mind is probably the song "You Don't Need to Be Perfect" written by Serena Williams during our first concert tour. Compared to 20 years ago, the stability of sound now inevitably makes me feel frustrated. Often when I can't catch it, I say in my heart, "Xiao Wei told me, you don't need to be so perfect, don't you start to be more relaxed about yourself." ”

Ah Fu: I think it's "If you haven't walked it, how can you understand it" in "I Like Lonely". The 6 of us have really been through a lot together. Good, bad, happy, sad, this lyric actually springs up in my heart very often.

Gong: The lyrics of my All Time Favorite have always been "Good is because we ignore the good passing", and in the past few years, I have actually experienced quite a few partings, and I learned the way to say goodbye after saying goodbye, which is to "ignore the good passing".

Jia Kai: I think there is a song in "Spring Daylight" that fits my current state of mind, that is, "Between Us".

Serena Williams: I feel more about "He Summers Summer", the lyrics describe the cyclical state, which is very similar to the portrayal of my current life, getting up in the morning to send my children to school, and picking up my children from school in the afternoon......

Xinyi: I chose "A Thousand Years Late", and this song is really impressive. At first, I couldn't understand the lyrics, but when I played the demo, I took the lyrics very seriously. I'm still enjoying the wait, maybe it's better to be late.

Photo: Wu Zhonglun

One: What is the founding story of Soda Green?

Aomine: I need to recall this incident, and today we happened to revisit the same place. Williams, do you remember where you met me?

Williams: I remember lying by the pool taking a nap......

Aomine: I'm dreaming of spring...... When I opened my eyes, I saw me (laughs).

Serena Williams: Hahaha, yes, when I opened my eyes, I saw Aomine coming with Xinyi, it was still a cassette at that time, and we used a small tape recorder to play Aomine's demo, I remember it was like "Audiovisual and Illusion in the Air".

Aomine: It's "Voyeur".

Xinyi: The other three people didn't know each other until they were in their junior year and senior year, and Ah Fu was also famous at that time, Jia Kai used to be a guitarist in other orchestras, and Ah Gong was still playing the piano in the mountains.

Serena Williams: The process of choosing the name of the group was also very important, at that time, we wanted our music to give people a sense of bubble freshness, so we called it "Soda", and all famous bands are three words, such as cranberries, so I added another color, I remember Aomine also mobilized his classmates in his department to vote together, and the final selection was green.

Qingfeng: We first took a lot of group names, and after everyone voted, they just chose Serena Williams' soda, and then Serena Williams felt that it had to be three words, so I said that I like green, can I add a green. I can't think of anything else, it seems like there's an "octopus" or something. If it were called an octopus, we might call it "Takoyaki" today (laughs)......

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Soda Green takes a walk on the campus of NCCU

One: Reuniting on campus, would you like to recall each other's 20 years old?

Soda Green: OK, we don't want to, it's too embarrassing to look back on (laughs).

Aomine: Serena Williams met us when we were 20 years old, so what was your first impression of us?

Xiao Wei: I remember that Jia Kai and Xinyi were very fast swimmers, and I practiced to death or alive as fast as them, Ah Gong's fingers were as fast as a bumblebee at that time, and everyone was scared when he came to practice, it was really a technical crush.

Jia Kai: I remember that Xinyi was often in the swimming pool, and Serena Williams was often absent. But he is a very action-oriented senior, and the only time the six of us went on a trip was Williams "Joe".

Strip: What is the most memorable thing for Soda Green in your memory?

Aomine: I think the first time I performed at Taipei Arena in 2007, we seemed to cry on stage for 30 minutes, but I didn't waste any time, and when I sang "I Only Care About You", I cried and sang (laughs).

Jia Kai: I think when I was about to graduate from university, Xinyi drove us to various cities in Taiwan in a nanny car to run around and meet various performances, and my memory is very deep. Recently, we are also going to reproduce the MV of Xinyi driving a nanny car to take us on a trip, so you can keep looking forward to it.

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In mid-April, Soda Green was on the stage of a concert in Hangzhou (Photo: Shen Jing)

One: What do you want to say about fans who have been following them for 20 years?

Soda Green: I remember the last time Ah Fu said on stage, the performance was like an old friend who hadn't seen each other for many years, and suddenly got together, sometimes just one eye contact was enough. In fact, we cherish this tour.

We didn't think about what would happen next, so we welcome you to come and meet us.

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