I always feel that There is some similarity between Zhang Yadong and Ryuichi Sakamoto, who once told me that professors are his spiritual pillars, and that it is the music of professors that has made him what he is today, and Ryuichi Sakamoto has long known this very talented young Chinese musician.
In the late 1990s, the professor wrote to me that he liked Faye Wong's voice very much and hoped to have the opportunity to work with her, and sent me a single that he had recorded for his daughter Miyu Sakamoto. I later handed it over to Yadong, and although I couldn't fulfill this wish for various reasons, a few years later, in Zhang Yadong's solo album "Undercurrent", he collaborated with Miyu Sakamoto on a song called "All I Have". In this cooperation, Miyu Sakamoto praised Yadong's talent, and naturally reached his father's ears. Last year, during the professor's short visit to Beijing, I took him to Zhang Yadong's studio in 798, and when Yadong first saw the professor, he excitedly stepped forward and hugged him, and the professor suddenly became as happy as a child.
Let's look forward to the cooperation between the two of them in the near future, when the time comes to tell you an incredibly magical story, now let's review how Zhang Yadong evaluated Ryuichi Sakamoto and his music in my program 15 years ago.
Q&A
To be x Zhang Yadong
TO: I know that one of the musicians who influenced you the most was Ryuichi Sakamoto, can you talk about his influence on you?
Yadong: I personally think Ryuichi Sakamoto is a musician who is very suitable for this era. I first learned about him through "The Last Emperor", I didn't know much about the music of "The Last Emperor" he wrote, and the music he wrote at the end of the film seemed to contain countless messages, first of all, he had Jazz's harmony, oriental tone and Oriental temperament, but also had pure Western techniques, there were many completely Jazz harmonies, and some of the downward tones kept like a sigh, completely emotionally conquering me.
Film "The Last Emperor", "Best Picture" at the 60th Academy Awards
Sakamoto Ryuichi gave me a change of concept, I used to think that whether it is classical music or modern music, foreigners are very good in technology, although Chinese is also good, but there are different directions. Because China has always paid no attention to harmony, it is a single melody musical structure, which highlights the main melody, while the West is a polyphonic structure, it is more scientific, this is not a question of who is good and who is bad, but a completely different system. Maybe I think Western music can show different levels of that kind of emotion, so I've always felt that I'm Chinese, and I may not be able to make music like a foreigner.
But when I heard Ryuichi Sakamoto, I thought he was also an Oriental, why he could do so well with Western culture and eventually combine it with his own culture, and I thought that maybe this idea ended up being a stimulus to me. Later, I started to pay attention to Ryuichi Sakamoto, listened to his series of things, and felt that he was very, very comprehensive in music, and his knowledge included classical, jazz, and electronics. He was the first to do electronic music, formed YMO, was a very good electronic band, and was popular all over the world at that time. He seems to have shown extraordinary talent in every field, so I think he's a great fit for the direction that musicians are going to go right now, because now some kind of single thing can put you in a very passive situation.
Yellow Magic Orchestra专辑《Solid State Survivor》
A:So apart from Ryuichi Sakamoto, what other musician can give you such an impact?
Yadong: I think that in addition to Sakamoto Ryuichi is this Craig Armstrong, because he is the same type, basically pure music works are more, a lot of strings, but also use a lot of modern electronic components, absorb a lot of things, he has a very popular thing, are more impressive to me.
Craig Armstrong专辑《The Space Between Us》
TO: Do you remember how you discovered the Craig Armstrong record?
YaDong: It was in the 1990s when I was doing Faye Wong's concert in Hong Kong, and a friend named Alvin gave me this record, and the first time I listened to it, I was knocked down in an instant. I think I met one of my favorite musicians, because he also has a deep musical background, but at the same time he also has a very advanced musical technique, and the most important thing is that I found that he brought me a rare, in my opinion, a kind of melody and lines and harmonies that are close to Providence, and he will make me feel perfect, and it sounds like you will be deeply moved by him. He found that method, that is, there is also some music that is very good, for example, it has a place that is shining, but most of the time it is not so perfect, just like we often say that this sound is more than one, less than one and less, his music is very perfect, the most important thing is that I think the emotion of his music, I think it is an emotion that is deeply hidden in the heart, and I am unwilling to say it.
In fact, most of the music I like is hidden very deeply that kind of emotion, that is, there are some popular songs that try to poke into your heart, that is not what I like, I am not willing to communicate with people, to try to figure out what others think, may be like these musicians, they did not speculate on my psychology when they made music, I can also accept him, most of the music I like is to use the notes as a carrier, the emotion is deeply hidden in the time and space of his entire music, I will be particularly touched. Although sometimes some pop songs can also move me, but that kind of touch is relatively weak in comparison.
Antonio Carlos Jobim专辑《The Wonderful World Of Antonio Carlos Jobim》
WAITS: Which musician do you think moves you most emotionally?
Yadong: I think it's Jobim, and his music is the most touching kind of music I've found so far, and I can even describe it as saying that if you haven't heard his music, it's a trip to the world. I think his music expresses this desire too strongly, he is actually very Jazz, his colors are very beautiful. We talk about the color of music, in fact, the most important is harmony, Jobim's harmony is very very good, I may say that this is more professional, for example, 1 (dol) 3 (mi) 5 (sol) is a big third chord, usually we use a 1 (dol) 3 (mi) 5 (sol) will feel very bright, but with a 1 (dol) down 3 (Mi) 5 (sol) will become a small triad chord, it will feel very dark, music like paint can bring out different colors, Small harmonies will give you a blue feeling, large harmonies will give you a beautiful, bright feeling, if the 1 (dol) 3 (mi) 5 (sol) 7 (xi) seven chords are bright and dark together, if you use the nine chords or ascend nine, it will become blue, bright, stimulating, harsh, many things are contained together, so it will bring a big shock to your hearing, is a very strong auditory experience.
And the interesting thing is that although Jobim's harmony is very complex, he can make his melody so natural and sincerely flow directly into your heart in such a complex harmony, and let you firmly remember that this is the highest state of music in my opinion. So I like his music very much and often pick up his scores at home and practice his tunes.
The Carpenters were all the rage around the world in the 1970s and 1980s
TO: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Craig Armstrong, and Jobim were all discovered by you later, so what was the first Western pop music to influence you before you discovered them?
Yadong: The first Western pop music that influenced me was definitely The Carpenters. In fact, the first time I heard carpenter was not the original song, it was many years ago when I was at home, when China produced some tapes like light music sets, all of which were translated. But I don't know who Carpenter is, whether it's a band or nothing else, just hearing some light music like songs, when I heard their "Yesterday Once More", it was also a very, very perfect pop song in my opinion, very touching me, I thought it was too good, it was very relaxed, slowly, carefully told, not the kind of posture to put on, I was touched by this very perfect tune and melody and harmony, very like.
TO: What is it like to hear this song again at this moment?
Yadong: It's like seeing an old friend, when I bought this record, I was with you in the UK, I listened to the original version of the original singing again, of course, I have heard it before, I like to buy her old record, after buying it, I feel very, very touched. I think the power of music is to make a difference in a person's mind, and I think there is a very elegant feeling in their music, so that I myself become elegant after listening to this music.
I think good music can change my life, change my habits, that is, after you listen to his music, you will feel that some things are in the past and will not come again, so we must cherish every minute and every second of the present.
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