The Art of Music II

02-06-15

IMG_8248.JPG The second in our series for The Art of Music, we were delighted to have Stars and Rabbit from Indonesia showcasing their original indie folk music along with Mr Adrian Fu, to give our ears musical orgasms. Thanks goes to Backstage for allowing us to host this event. Let’s do more of these events in the future. The Art of Music第二擊,我們榮幸請到嚟自印尼嘅Stars and Rabbit以及Adrian Fu,佢地嘅獨立民謠音樂帶俾樂迷一場豐富嘅聽覺盛宴!再次感謝Backstage借出場地,令音樂會順利舉行,期待未來更多嘅音樂聚會!
love Chris B x​


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Adrian Fu 符致逸

  1. One Take
  2. 孤獨天使
  3. 終點之外
  4. 恃愛行兇
  5. New York State of Mind (Billy Joel cover)
  6. Don’t Dream It’s Over (Crowded House cover)
  7. Good Morning, Hard City
  8. Please Walk Away (unpublished demo)
  9. Moving On (Anthony’s Song) (Billy Joel cover)

 

符致逸一直有為主流歌手作曲,如陳弈迅的<我們都寂寞>。而他自己亦為不少台灣劇集, 如籃球火和犀利人妻創作並主唱插曲。由於大部分的歌曲都是國語歌。在開場曲One Take後亦打趣地說,現場觀眾今晚要學國語了。對於現場的外籍人仕來說,國語歌曲實在是新鮮事。但對香港人來說,符致逸的台式國語歌曲應該算是正常的流行曲吧。

當晚符致逸只是單人上陣,沒有其他樂手的輔助下,唱了9首歌曲。第一首中版的One Take編曲都偏向主流流行曲。有著容易上口的副歌。即使之前未有聽過, 最後都能把副歌唱出來了。第二首的<孤獨天使>跟<One Take>的曲風相約,中段符致逸亦表演一下自己的假音技巧,此曲的起伏亦比<One Take>多。<終點之外>的鋼琴部分有很多重音,彈出了籃調節奏,現場亦為之而歡呼。但原來此曲的CD版本是一首Funky的歌曲, 並且沒有鋼琴音軌,這個現場的另類版本在有限的人手下, 實在相當不俗。之後的<恃愛行兇>有九十年代國語歌的感覺。之後,Adrian自己打趣地自封為Elton John,但Underground 主持人,音樂會搞手Chris B就說他比較像Billy Joel, 引起全場大笑。不知道是否即慶,Adrian彈起了Billy Joel的名曲<New York State Of Mind>。 之後又Cover了Crowded House 的<Don’t Dream It Is Over>,不過是籃調版本。接著Adrian唱出了自己大碟的點題歌曲,Good morning hard city,此曲亦是台灣電影<我的自由年代>的片頭曲。林夕的填詞沒有完美的表達出城市人迷失的心情。Encore時Adrian玩了一首未發表的新曲和Cover了Billy Joel的另一首歌Moving On (Anthony’s Song)。只有Adrian一人自彈自唱,沒有Back Up Band,實在令歌曲有點失色,原本一些不錯的Bass和Guitar部分都未能看到,這是當晚演出的一些美中不足之處。
– Dicky Kwong

If you shut your eyes, you would swear you were back in time with Elton John crooning to you during the 70’s.  You open your eyes and who do you see? Adrian Fu on keyboards, entertaining the crowd with his voice, playing and easy-going banter. He sings passionately with a good voice, although there were times he was straining to hit the high notes which was more noticeable on the first few tracks, perhaps his voice had warmed up after that.

Unable to understand Putonghua, I can only comment that 終點之外 is exactly how I imagine Billy Joel would sound like if he sang in Putonghua. I personally am not a fan of Crowded House, although the crowd seemed to be singing along.  “Good Morning Hard City”, the intro reminded me of Air Supply (maybe this is not a good thing).  The new demo “Please Walk Away” didn’t have enough hooks to keep my attention (unlike Good Morning Hard City).

Clearly Adrian is a friend of Chris B, as she got to choose whether he covered Billy Joel or Elton John.  Luckily she chose Billy Joel.   A nice way to kick of the evening.
– Benjamin Ko

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Stars and Rabbit (Indonesia 印尼)

  1. Oldman Finger
  2. I Will Go Alone
  3. Catch Me
  4. Na Mss
  5. Rabbit Run
  6. You Are The Universe
  7. Summer Fall
  8. The House (民族風)
  9. Worth It
  10.  Man Up The Hill

 

來自印尼的Stars and Rabbit擅長玩Indie pop和Psychedelic Pop的曲風。當晚是他們亞洲次旅的香港站。他們的歌曲實在難以抵抗,難怪當日有位觀眾由上一站追看他們到今站。他們先用柔和電音做出夢幻的氣氛,讓全場一起進入他們的迷離世界。他們先用兩首比較陽光的Indie Pop的<Oldman Finger>和Indie Rock的<I’ll go alone> 開場。陰沉又緩慢的<You Are The Universe>和<Summerfall> 加上非洲鼓,現場就像正午舉行一些另類宗教的儀式般。之後的悲情的<Cry Little Heart>,有點像Lykki Li風格的如<Love Me Like I Am Not Made of Stone>。<The House>是另一首帶有民族風的歌曲。當中的電音加上主音聲嘶力竭地唱出副歌,仿似在大草原,聽到了風的歌聲一樣。最後以兩首比較陽光Indie Folk的< Worth It>和<Man Up The Hill>作結。必須一提的是女主音Suri 的聲線像是Duffy 和Bjork的混合,有沙啞的扭音非常有特色。
– Dicky Kwong

Stars and Rabbit require a proper introduction before seeing them perform. The compositions and the singers’ haunting, artistic ambience are not typical of a trio one might expect to hear upon walking into a pub on acoustic night.

The singer’s stage presence was tangible and fitting with the edgy vocal style. She plays up her vocal resemblance to Björk with hair bunches and it all adds to the presentation. There are moments when she deliberately adds gravelly-touches to her vocals and they are spine-chilling for this listener at least.  The addition of bass drum is a nice touch. “I Will Go Alone” is remarkably full-sounding with drums, foot stomping and Nirvana chord sequences. Tasty music indeed.

Their band sound is superb, perhaps this is because they wisely travel with their own soundman, who utilized Backstage’s acoustics better than I’ve ever heard there.  On “Rabbit Run” I thought I was listening to the Sugarcubes ☺ Overall I was exceedingly happy that I was asked to attend this event and watch this band.  I would highly recommend their live act.   I bought their CD which I have to say is a work of art in itself.   They described themselves as something like Björk x Joan Baez.   I would prefer to describe them as “Björk meets Florence Welch meets Mumford and Sons”

Great show.  Hope they come back to Hong Kong.
– Benjamin Ko

Photos by ​​Freya Kwok​.
由​Freya Kwok​攝影。
Poster by ​Freya Kwok.​
海報由Freya Kwok。

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