Yang Naiwen has not released a new album for 3 years - in fact, this is the normal frequency of her albums, which is a very "backward" approach to the current era. But for Yang Naiwen, all she cares about is the recording effect of the album. She describes herself as "at war", having recorded nine songs as of May 23, the tenth of which, although auditioned, was unsure of "suitability". As long as the album has not been officially released, she will always be anxious about everything, "the next thing is to worry about mixing, and then worry about shooting the MV, before these things are over, I am in a state of preparation." 」
Wen | Li Tingting
Editor| Liu Bin
Yang Naiwen has never been a person who "plays cards according to the routine". Ask her what she likes best, and she'll ask, "Why do you like it the most?" Whether the question of conservatism or breakthrough was considered musically, she would reply, "I don't care." Even at the 2000 Golden Melody Awards ceremony, when Jacky Cheung and Mui Yanfang presented the Best Chinese Female Singer Award, she only said 6 words on stage, "Thank you, thank you."
Ning Zida, a bassist who has worked with Yang Naiwen for many years, commented on her, "I think it is a concise and powerful feeling, that is, she does not mean to pretend to be cool, but she will say a sentence and then a full stop." 」 The first time they cooperated was at a music festival, the day before Yang Naiwen broke her leg while drinking, on the day of the performance, Ning Zida carried her to the stage, Yang Naiwen greeted the audience, "Hello everyone, I am Yang Naiwen with a broken leg."
Such a personality is not hidden even on this year's "Singer" program. In her first performance, Yang Naiwen only got the bottom three results, and music critic Tian Yimiao felt that she was "full of elasticity and at the same time a cold and cool voice... It will cause the aura of her voice to be poorly interactive." In the second performance, when other singers who also did not rank well were trying to dedicate their unique skills, Yang Naiwen did not make much change, and the choreographer asked her, "Is it that the songs that interact with the audience will be more popular?" Yang Naiwen replied, "I don't know." "Then you will..." Before the choreographer finished, Yang Naiwen replied directly, "No!"
In the end, Yang Naiwen was eliminated after two issues of "Singer". Wu Qingfeng commented that she was the only "non-kitsch voice" on the stage of "Singer". After being eliminated, Yang Naiwen did not change his attitude, "In fact, I don't hope to stay for a short time or how long... I just wanted what I did that day to be the best I could do, and if I did the best I could, I actually couldn't do it, I really tried."
Musically, Yang Never Tries to Please Others, and her standard has always been "personal preference". She originally wanted to choose "Silence" as the debut track of "Singer" (but was sung by Wu Qingfeng in advance before giving up). It's a song with a strong sense of power, "It's pretty representative of my personality... Maybe more girl singers can sing such heavy songs." Yang Naiwen, who has been debuting for 22 years, has a clear self-perception of his music, "I am not the most singing person, but basically no one in the market can express it in my way, so I am now focused on strengthening my characteristics and will not want to do some things that need to be forced to do." 」
"I just love singing." In a 2007 interview with City Illustrated, Yang Naiwen said, "I don't think I have any passion for music politics... When I sign a record label, I have to accept their commercial considerations, and do publicity and promotion in a fixed form, which I still have a lot of headaches."
When Yang Naiwen's Magic Rock Records announced its dissolution in 2001, Yang Naiwen, who only wanted to sing well, suddenly did not know what to do. Magic Rock Records, which has only been established for 9 years, has always been regarded as a sign of the heyday of Chinese rock in the 90s, when Magic Rock Records signed Dou Wei, He Yong and Zhang Chu in the mainland. At that time, Yang Naiwen would often go to the Magic Rock Records Company in Taiwan to hang around, and she would often meet Zhang Zhenyue, Chen Qizhen and Shunzi, who were also in the company, and they would play electric, computer, and table football together.
At that time, the music market had changed a lot, with sales of physical records falling sharply, and then the magic rock collapsed. For Yang Naiwen, who describes herself as "very unproficed", she had to find a new owner herself. She went through a period of wandering. She certainly found a new owner, but times were different.
At the end of May, the "People" reporter met Yang Naiwen in Beijing, who was preparing to participate in the Maitian Music Festival. She wore a long red tank top dress, black mid-tube Martin boots, and her hair was casually tied to the back of her head. She described herself as "trembling" when she recorded "The Singer", "accidentally agreed", and after being eliminated, she was happy that she dared to sing in front of a bunch of cameras and a group of audiences who didn't know her well, "Standing on that stage and singing is actually very scary, okay?" 」
Yang Naiwen at the Wheat Field Music Festival Image source Weibo
When recalling the reason why the singer Liu Xijun chose the song "Wandering in the Waves" released by singer Liu Xijun in 2018 for the second "Singer" performance, Yang Naiwen opened his eyes and said with a happy expression, "It is a very wonderful thing, just a short time ago, I attended the company's annual meeting in Beijing, and the big screen will always be looping the works of some other singers of the company this year, the only thing that makes me notice is this song, and I don't remember anything else."
For Yang Naiwen, who rarely sings other people's songs, choosing songs is a difficult problem, and she admits that she can't be like Wu Qingfeng, just choose a song and then practice it, "For me, I need to learn first, and then practice to be more familiar." 」 When her team of seven or eight people was sitting in the conference room discussing what to sing for the second "Singer", Yang Naiwen listed "Journey in the Waves" that he had heard many times at the annual meeting and liked very much, and as a result, "no one paid any attention to me."
After the recording of "Singer", Yang Naiwen re-entered the preparation track of the new album. She hasn't released a new album in 3 years – in fact, this is the normal frequency of her albums, which is a way that is "backward" for today's era. But for Yang Naiwen, all she cares about is the recording effect of the album. She describes herself as "at war", having recorded nine songs as of May 23, the tenth of which, although auditioned, was unsure of "suitability". As long as the album has not been officially released, she will always be anxious about everything, "the next thing is to worry about mixing, and then worry about shooting the MV, before these things are over, I am in a state of preparation." 」
"I'm probably the toughest person in our company... Have I ever asked them and I said I was the harshest? They usually say yes." Yang Naiwen has an extreme sense of control over his work, even if the song is ready, the CEO of the company has listened to it and said OK, but as long as Yang Naiwen has not been determined, the song is not over.
She has worked with others to produce her own albums, and as a producer, she often works until midnight, sleeps without an alarm clock and wakes up, and even dreams that she is working. Sometimes lying in bed still listening to the song, after hearing that she is asleep, she will suddenly wake up because of a problem in the song, and want to wait for the recording engineer to wake up and find him to modify it as soon as possible. "I'm going to get myself a little neurotic, I'm going to get people a little neurotic, and people around me are reassuring me that it's okay, I know it's okay, I just think of something, I want to deal with it as soon as possible." 」
But as long as he finishes work, Yang Naiwen will stay at home, wash clothes, buy vegetables, cook dishes, "I am a love of eaters, when I have time, I will go to the supermarket." 」 If it was Monday to Friday, she would go out for a few hours, and she had tried aerial yoga, tennis, retraining, suspension training, running, boxing. She is often surprised that people say that music is everything to them, for Yang Naiwen, friends, family, food... It's all very important, music is just her environment, she's happy to be able to "live in it".
Yang Naiwen practicing aerial yoga image source Weibo
The following is the dialogue between "People" and Yang Naiwen.
"People": You actually rarely participate in the show, now look back at your journey to "Singer", do you think you enjoyed the process?
Yang Naiwen: I really doubt that anyone working in this state of high pressure will still enjoy it. At the moment are trembling, in fact, you see only very, very few parts on TV, we will have a camera to follow from beginning to end, wearing wheat, and we will be interviewed in the middle, and after the interview, we also have to take pictures, including some life tidbits, we need to spend time to record, the moment is really, busy can not be busy. My only rest time was to fly back to Taipei to sleep on the day I flew back, and when I came back, I had to practice singing and pick out clothes...
People: When you participated in "Singer", you posted a Weibo post, "The results of how you recommend it are all the same... I'll sing the songs I want to sing."
Yang Naiwen: Right. I feel (expressed) two points of view, one is, why should I listen to them when I choose songs, this is what I am going to do. Another point of view is that everyone chooses different songs, so how do I want to, if I really want to listen to them, who do I want to listen to, so it is actually not true.
Yang Naiwen participated in "Singer"
People: Do you feel that you are conservative in the field of music, or have you ever thought that you need to break through?
Yang Naiwen: I don't care. I was faced with a similar problem before, and I said that I didn't care, because I didn't want to be conservative or conservative, I only wanted to sing the song I wanted to sing, and the song I wanted to hear, and the song I liked to listen to, which had nothing to do with being conservative or not conservative.
People: Have you ever thought about creating your own?
Yang Naiwen: I'm not the kind of person who has to create from beginning to end, and I don't care. I write when I have inspiration, and I can't write without inspiration. I didn't insist on it. When I first debuted in the past, I might have wanted to do this thing, because I felt like a talented person or a talented woman (both can create). But I found that I didn't have a talent for this, and I didn't force myself later. I think [forcing yourself to create] is a ridiculous thing. And I've more or less figured out what's special about myself, I'm not the best at singing, but basically no one in the market can express it the way I do, so I'm focused on reinforcing my character right now and don't want to do things that I need to force myself to do.
People: Wouldn't creation help you more express the thing you want to express?
Yang Naiwen: So why is the choice of songs so important to me, in my album, why do I choose songs for a long time every time, because very few people write what I want to say, or the music I want to express.
People: How is the new album being prepared? Can it be sent out this year?
Yang Naiwen: I have recorded nine songs. If I don't release an album this year, I'll be angry. It's been almost three years since the last album. Actually, I didn't want to spend that long. And because the previous album songs will be selected for too long, so I asked the company to open the case early, and as a result, we started the case six months early, or the same, no (suitable song) is not. Originally, I hoped that I could send one card every two years, and then it became three years.
"People": Do you have a concept before picking songs when making an album?
Yang Naiwen: There has never been any concept, and I may really not care (the connection between songs and songs). Before there was a song in the arrangement, I heard it later when I was very disliked, and then asked the producer to adjust, I still feel that I don't like it, the company has colleagues who think it is very OK, but I just don't like it, just don't want it. In the end, the song flipped back, using the original direction, that is, sticking to my opinion. The producer has told me that he hopes that this song has a little bit to do with other songs, he feels that he wants to try it, and then it is hard to come, he thinks that the hard result is still quite good, I said no, you use hard to these two words, it is not OK. I feel that it is particularly important to find a relationship, when it does not exist, it is inexplicable for me personally, I don't need this thing, maybe in the eyes of others, it is actually suitable, but because I want to sing, I think it is not suitable.
People: What are your criteria for choosing songs?
Yang Naiwen: That's not the standard, I think that's a personal preference. When we had production meetings, I sometimes said, hey, is this song going to be very popular, and then everyone is like this (Yang Naiwen made a face of silence). Every time I felt like I guessed right, and then okay, I did guess wrong. So I basically don't have any judgment on the mainstream thing. But in fact, I don't seem to care particularly, I just think the song is good. Mainstream is not mainstream to the end is a chance problem, it becomes the mainstream if it becomes the mainstream, if anyone can be so accurate to pinch this thing, I think casually release a piece of red bar.
"People": How is this "personal preference" of yours reflected in the process of song selection?
Yang Naiwen: I don't look at the name to choose songs, just listen, just listen to it. For example, the song "Centrifugal Force" is good. At that time, when the words were written, there were three versions, none of which were named, so that everyone could choose. Then everyone chose other lyrics, and I chose the current "Centrifugal Force". I can't care who you choose the other lyrics, because if the song isn't Centrifugal Force, I won't sing it. Because that word was so well written, I couldn't accept seeing the lyrics of the song "Centrifugal Force" and then singing another lyric. So even though most of the people chose other lyrics, I stuck with it.
"People": Then why did you choose the lyrics of "Centrifugal Force" at that time?
Yang Naiwen: There are a lot of things in it that I like very much, and what impressed me the most was the sentence "How charming it is to accompany you to death", I think it is a very warm thing, when I was recording, I was smiling and singing. Maybe when you hear the word death, you will think, uh, very unlucky, but it is very romantic for me, and my heart is a very romantic person. Like most people think that saying "Push Open the Door of the World" moves them more, it will hurt their hearts when they hear it, but I won't, I think "Centrifugal Force" is more heart-wrenching. I think "Centrifugal Force" has a kind of beauty, and there is a little bit of poignancy, and then "Push Open the Door of the World" is beautiful for me, it is not poignant.
"People": You like beautiful things, is this related to the fact that you learned so many instruments and loved classical music when you were a child?
Yang Naiwen: I think that has something to do with being born like this, because I have a memory of singing at a very young age, and then I want to learn an instrument and argue to learn it. But I didn't go deep enough to learn anything, the flute was taught to me myself, the three strings and the pipa were learned when I was very young, and I can't even play it now. For the concert, I will practice the piano every day for half a month. I also like classical music, classical is usually beautiful, I like beautiful things. And I like to fall asleep when listening to classical, usually listening to classical sleep should not have nightmares.
"People": In 2000, when you were 26 years old, you released your second album, and competed with heavyweight female singers such as Faye Wong, Karen Mok, and Fan Xiaoxuan for the Golden Melody Award for Best Female Singer, and finally got it.
Yang Naiwen: In fact, I didn't particularly care about winning or losing from the bottom of my heart, but if you ask me, I don't think I might win at the moment, so I was actually shocked, and the other female singers who were shortlisted that year were very famous than me. I don't know how the Golden Melody Awards work, but I just went to a gala and I thought I'd just sit over there and watch. However, someone very casually stood in the first row 30 seconds before the announcement and said to me in a lip-synching voice that I had won the award, and then I wanted to say that Jacky Cheung and Mui Yanfang had not yet spoken. Now I think it is quite lucky, the best place to win the award that year is That Mei Yanfang and Jacky Cheung presented the award to me.
Golden Melody Award-winning album "Silence"
People: But your acceptance speech is only 6 words.
Yang Naiwen: I am not the kind of person who goes on stage to thank the heavens and the earth, so I will conclude, thank you, thank you, I think this includes everyone, is there anyone unhappy, should not be.
People: After winning the award, did anything change?
Yang Naiwen: In fact, since then, the market has begun to have a very big change, the record has slowly stopped selling, that is, there is no longer a company like before in the sale, and then the sales volume has declined, at the beginning it is relatively slowly declining, to the back is super fast, the records are no longer selling, and then the digital (digital) things come in, and then become downloaded. Don't tell you that when I released my third album (2001 "Should"), I was OK, but many other singers were more affected than me, and I was lucky enough to escape, but no one escaped later. Later, when the Magic Rock disintegrated, I felt that all the singers in the Magic Rock didn't know what to do. Because we were very, very happy in Magic Rock at that time, the atmosphere in Magic Rock at that time was very different. When the singer is bored, he will go to the company to shake. We go to play electric, play computer, and then it's, hey, Ah Yue (Zhang Zhenyue), hey, Qi Zhen, hey, Junzi, there is no appointment, but everyone will go to the company when they are bored, so you can know that the feeling in Magic Rock at that time was very good.
People: How did you react after the collapse of the Magic Rock?
Yang Naiwen: Because I am not a person who can do business or help myself talk about things, so when the magic rock disintegrates, I don't know where to start, I want to say what to do now? Want a room (company) visit? I feel like I'm still trembling and losing, because I really don't know how to talk to people, I don't know what I can ask for in the contract, I don't know anything, I haven't done it, ah, how to discuss money, how to discuss terms, or what rights I have, I don't know. And then in the end, it was the current company that took me in.
People: What was it like in 2006 before the release of the fourth album?
Yang Naiwen: It's more turbulent, a lot of things have happened. At that time, I went to Paris and London with Shunzi to relax, and then came to the mainland with friends to play in Beijing and Shanghai, that is, purely to play here, although I came, but I did not play purely. I met a very good friend in Beijing, and now I see each other every time I come to Beijing.
Someone once told me what music is for you, because some people will say that music is everything he has, I say that music is not my everything, making friends is all I have. The music is just my environment, and then I think I'm pretty happy to have this environment and live in it. But without my friends and family, with everything in the world, where would there be any inspiration to write songs or create.