Making art and selling out! “I am a musician.” That’s my usual reply when asked what I do for a living. All through the 20 years of making my living as a musician, that reply has been met with a variety of responses, a mixed bag of disbelief, skepticism and often times, empathy. Twice, because of my speech impediment and occasional stutter. I’ve had people responded with: “Wow! You’re a magician, show us a trick or two.” Well, I guess I could. On rare occasions, when the stars are aligned and I am in flow state (very rare) you could say that I am performing a magic trick on my guitar? But where does music really come from? It is a vibration, we can feel and hear it but, where does it really come from? How did the magician pull the rabbit out of the hat? The experience it puts us through is unique for everyone but it’s power is undeniable. And yet, it is so undervalued these days, at least to me. So, how does one make a living in a time when music is, supposedly, undervalued? I am not even gonna attempt to explain it but I can shed light on how I managed to make a living out of it. As to whether I sold out or not, that is entirely up to you to judge and decide. I work as a musician, more specifically, a music arranger. What is a music arranger? That is enough material for another blog post. In short, I orchestrate a song, a pop song mostly. When you listen to a song that I have arranged, almost 100% of the instruments are played and recorded by me. With the help of the computer, I piece a song together using a variety of softwares and samples, programming instruments, “tricking” the listener into thinking that there’s a whole band playing together in the studio. Although sometimes, we’ll go into the studio and record some real violins and cellos which are mocked up beforehand. Other than that, everything you hear from the start till the end of the song are played by yours truly. That’s my feeble attempt at explaining what a music arranger does, I have to stop here as this was beginning to morph into a different blog post. I am a cog in the wheel, part of the many components that makes up the assembly line for the Chinese pop music industry. There are lyricists, composers and producers to list a few others. We each play a part and for that, I get paid and make a living. I make a living but, am I making art? Am I proud of my work? Yes and no, it really depends on which song you’re referring to? You see, for the greater part of my early career, I was at odds with myself. I wanted to make a mark, push the boundaries and challenge the status quo. I was constantly going against the tide, swimming upstream, why? I did not want to sell out! You know what? Nobody cares! I made peace with myself a few years ago, shortly before my wife and I decided on relocating to Taipei (I am currently based in Beijing). Something went off inside my head. I came to terms with the fact that I am not an artist (least not in this industry), I am a service provider. Let me attempt to give an analogy. When I order char kway teow (stir fried flat noodles) from a hawker. I want a plate of char kway teow! Don’t give me some Neo fusion, experimental kway teow with tomato or cream sauce. If I wanted that, I would’ve gone to some avant-garde restaurant for a trip to the loo. Give me the lard, lup cheong (Chinese sausage) and dark soy sauce. Same for my industry or any other industry for that matter, I was hired to make a pop song, so, make a pop song! Don’t try and turn it into some self serving and experimental abomination. My naivety was rewarded with premature hair loss and I probably deserved that. So, how do I live with myself? How do I sleep at night knowing that I made yet another pointless and silly bubblegum pop song? A song that revolves around the same, fail safe, good old tried and tested chord progressions. Mind you, I do not despise pop songs. In fact, I adore pop songs, although I can be quite a snob (my wife can attest to that). I enjoy all forms of music and there are so many timeless and beautiful pop songs out there. Back to my point, I am providing a service. I am a professional after all, or at least that’s how I picture myself. It is a trade-off! Let’s put it this way, out of ten songs that I produce, one or two of them are really beautiful and lovely songs. And on occasions, certain producers give me free reign and complete artistic freedom to explore, experiment and create something different, and, if I may dare say.., I am given a chance to possibly, create art! That one song makes it all worth it, that is the trade-off. To satisfy my artistic, egocentric cravings, I run a tiny Youtube channel on the side. I make little short videos from footages shot using my phone and score music to the visuals. I don’t do any of this to please anyone but me, myself and Irene, (sorry I cannot help it) my wife. So ya, that feeds my soul as I negotiate this unorthodox and often times, paradoxical life of mine. A very clear line is drawn between what is work and what is art. I do not know how others deal with it but this seems to work fine for me. So, what is making art and what is selling out? Who's to say? Art is so subjective. Although it still grates my fucking nerves when someone points out that Bon Jovi’s “It’s my life” is a Rock anthem. One may argue that it’s a matter of taste, you say tomato and I say tomato. But this is not the point that I am trying to make. At the end of the day, I am a part of this big machine! This isn’t, in anyway, a jab at the industry (though it’s very flawed). To do so would be hypocritical, as I am, after all, part of the conveyor belt. Sometimes we ship great products and most times we ship just for the sake of shipping. Although it is not always the end product or the reviews that dictates what is or isn’t a great product. To me, it’s a state of mind. When I get asked what I do for a living? I say it proudly, confidently and without remorse. I am a musician. I shall end with two quotes by Frank Zappa and Mick Jagger, respectively. “Art is making something out of nothing and selling it” - Frank Zappa “It’s not selling out, it is making lots of money” - Mick Jagger
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I just spent the last 40 minutes and 4 seconds listening to the whole of Pino Forastiere's newest album, Village Life.
It's one of the most beautiful and captivating musical works I've heard in quite a while, and I feel compelled to share it with anyone who cares. In a time where there's so much noise, smoke and mirrors, and with the majority "watching music" instead of "listening" to it. Pino has remained steadfast and true as an artist, a real artist. Pushing boundaries and venturing into uncharted sonic landscapes. He literally designed a new 16 string "Lab" guitar and composed all the songs on it, except for the track "Underground" which he composed for the piano and two marimbas. The guitar itself is a beautiful work of art and what he created with it, is truly captivating and moving. I found myself transported into the village of Tivoli, a historical town in Italy where he moved to, and the village life which gave birth to the new songs. I have never been to Italy, let alone Tivoli but when I closed my eyes and really listened, it felt like I was right there. Do check out his album, it's one of the best 40 mins of my life that I've spent this year thus far. http://www.pinoforastiere.com/village-life-new-release/ Here it is! My recreation of the electronic theme using my acoustic guitar and a bunch of plug ins. I will be uploading another video soon and that will briefly explain how I manipulated the acoustic guitar in post production to create this. Thanks for listening! I have been crazy busy with moving to a new home and the craziness that comes with it hence, the lack of activity here. I am nearly done and I can't wait to get cracking and start creating new content at the new place. Besides the usual bread and butter, here's a brief on a pet project that I intend to work on.
Stranger Things! I am obsessed with the opening theme music! The repetitive motif is brilliant, effective yet at the core of it, simple. There's this whole revival of the 80s synth score and I'm all for it. The series invoked so much nostalgia, especially for someone born in the 70s like myself. Basically, there are a bunch of covers on YouTube, from loyal synths to heavy metal covers. I am going to try and create the whole opening theme using nothing but my acoustic guitar and a bunch of effects, plug ins and hopefully some ingenuity. Why? I keep hearing how it can be done in my head and mainly, just for the fun of it. OK, I have just painted myself into a corner. Watch this space..... 約莫十二年前,坐在我左手邊的這位先生給了我這個無名小子一份任何音樂人皆夢寐以求的禮物 — 他給了我機會。由於他的提攜,我才有幸跟他一起創作音樂。
這是我跟他十二年來的第一張合照。我只是想公開在此感謝他對我的耐心。他總是不斷要求我挑戰極限,也間接造成我不斷往後退的髮線。 謝謝你,#李偲菘!感謝所有一切 Over 12 years ago, the man sitting to my left gave me the greatest gift any musician in the industry could ask for - he gave me opportunity. Through his grace, I had the privilege to create music with him. This is our first picture together in 12 years. I'm posting this to publicly thank him for his patience. He has rigorously pushed me beyond my threshold and is the direct cause of my receding hairline. Thank you, Lee Si Song, for everything. 長久以來, 我對混音師充滿了敬意, 尤其是從磁帶/類比時期過渡到數位時代的前輩們。他們耗時無數, 埋頭苦幹, 只為形塑聲音,調整頻率, 是音樂製作過程不可或缺的一部分, 樊乃綱即是其中一位。昨天晚上混音的最後一段, 感謝這位前輩大方讓我以縮時攝影的方式留作記錄。
背景聽到的音樂 (Walk With Me)是我在2003年為李偲菘做的demo, 也是第一首把我引領入行的作品。 I've always had major respect for mixing engineers, especially those from the tape/analog era that transitioned into the digital. They toil away for hours shaping sounds and adjusting frequencies and are an integral part of the music production process. Kenny Fan 樊乃綱 is one of them and he was cool enough to let me document a part of last night's mixing session through time lapse photography. The track in the background is a demo (Walk With Me) I did back in 2003 for 李偲菘 that first got me in the industry. Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone: a few days ago, I attempted another first by joining a competition. You can check it out here. The rules are simple and straight forward: pick any one of five given images and compose 30 seconds of music to complement it. This image was my favourite so I used it and named my composition "Dark Moon." The whole experience has been fun and liberating. I love how I have complete creative freedom throughout the entire process, as compared to my day job, where I arrange music by factoring in the producer's direction and the artiste's personal style. Composition is definitely something I plan to explore further while I am in Taipei. If you have 30 seconds to spare, plug in your headphones/earphones and listen to this LOUD for best effect! Thanks for dropping in; I would love to hear your comments. Last month, for the first time ever, I shot a video of myself playing a song by one of my favourite composers, Pino Forastiere (most of the time, I'm hidden behind my computer while at work).
The song I chose for this landmark venture is aptly titled 'November.' I love this piece first and foremost for its emotional intensity. It is also technically challenging because there are a lot of subtleties and nuances, and is especially demanding for the right hand. My performance is far from perfect - I was nervous playing in front of a camera and there are a couple of mistakes here and there - but given that this is my first attempt, I feel that this particular take adequately captures the mood and pace of this brilliant composition. I welcome all comments and feedback to help me improve further. Thank you for listening! |