BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER打破時代隔閡
本月推介一張1982年推出、影響深遠的唱片專輯。撰文： Tim Pritchard This month we profile a seminal album from 1982. By TIM PRITCHARD
THOMAS ROBERTSON HAS spent a career fusing technology and music. In his early days, the young English muso joked that he ‘knew too many chords’ to be in a punk band. So he built the PA systems for them instead. This led to experiments with keyboards and synthesisers – to a point where his friends called him ‘Dolby’ (after the sound engineering company).
With synths coming into vogue with ’80s dance-pop bands like Depeche Mode, New Order and German electronic tinkerers Kraftwerk, Dolby found plenty of work as a session artist for mainstream bands. But it was his debut, The Golden Age of Wireless, that announced Dolby as a true pioneer of the nascent genre.
But how does that 1982 album sound in 2018? Despite attaining classic status among top producers and dedicated vinyl diggers, mention the word ‘Dolby’ and people probably think of surround sound rather than The Golden Age of Wireless.
Yet, with pop music’s current fascination with nostalgic ’80s sounds (and fashion),
The Golden Age of Wireless has plenty to entice today’s music nerds. She Blinded Me with Science – a top five hit in the US and an MTV staple – has a funky backbeat and warbly synths, over which Dolby playfully sings: ‘She blinded me with science, but failed me in biology.’ It has the exaggerated, upbeat enthusiasm and sharp production you’d associate with a typical Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson chart-topper today.
Airwaves, a melancholy ballad constructed around a grand piano, vocal harmonies and sprinklings of synths, sounds just as cinematic and widescreen today – and its disconnected lyrics about mass communication and our dependence on it are just as relevant in the age of Facebook and always-on internet.
Dolby has long been a proponent of sustainable power – as chronicled in Windpower: a woozy, whirring ode to a sustainable future. Fast-forward to 2018, Dolby has fulfilled his vision with a windand solar-powered studio built in an old lifeboat moored in his garden in England.
The Golden Age of Wireless’ intoxicating sound and vision, nostalgia and obsession with technology feels just as vital, vibrant and relevant today.
英國音樂人Thomas Robertson 的事業建立於科技與音樂的交匯點上，早期他曾笑稱自己「太熟悉和弦」而無法加入龐克樂隊，所以改為為他們製造擴音系統。他擅長改裝鍵盤和音響合成器，以大膽實驗見稱，以至他的朋友都叫他做「Dolby」，意思就是他跟那家著名音響工程公司一樣，是聲音的專家。
當年音響合成器在1980年代的跳舞流行樂隊如Depeche Mode、New Order及德國前衛電子樂團Kraftwerk等之間大為流行，讓Dolby有大量機會在主流樂隊客串演出，但是直到他在1982年推出首張專輯《The Golden Age of Wireless》，才令他成為這個新生音樂類型的先驅。
那麼，這張專輯在 2018年是否仍未過時？儘管在一流音樂監製及忠心不移的黑膠唱片迷心目中，這張專輯已成經典傑作，可是一般人聽到「Dolby」這個字時，想到的可能是環迴立體聲而非《The Golden Age of Wireless》。
不過，現今流行音樂對 1980 年代的音樂與時裝趨之若鶩，這張專輯對今日的音樂狂迷來說仍頗具吸引力。其中的〈She Blinded Me with Science〉（曾高踞美國流行榜第五位，更經常在音樂頻道MTV出現）有跳脫強勁的重音節拍，跌宕囀鳴的合成音樂，加上 Dolby輕快地唱道：「She blinded me with science, but failed me in biology」，洋溢誇張的熱情與俐落的製作，令人聯想起現在Bruno Mars及 Mark Ronson的上榜佳作。
傷感情歌〈Airwaves〉以三角鋼琴及和音作基調，再加入少量合成音樂，在今天依然充滿極具氣魄的電影感；而歌詞描寫我們
對大眾傳播的依賴，在當今與Facebook 和互聯網形影不離的世代，仍然貼切。
Dolby 很早就提倡使用可持續發展的能源，正如〈Windpower〉一曲，就是對可持續發展的未來的頌歌。跳到2018 年， Dolby身體力行，他在一艘舊救生船上建造錄音室，以風力和太陽能發電，這艘船停泊在他英國家中的後花園內。
《The Golden Age of Wireless》有醉人的音樂與宏大的願景，加上懷舊潮流與對科技的沉迷，在今天聽來，依然充滿活力，一點也不過時。