WE HAVE LIFT OFF翱翔雲間
Electronic producer Cruel Buddhist wants to soundtrack your next flight. By TIM PRITCHARD電子音樂人Cruel Buddhist為你的下一段旅程譜寫配樂。撰文： Tim Pritchard
TRAVEL IS AN experience many musicians have tackled in their work. It’s an intrinsic part of any successful touring musician’s lifestyle – and some of the not-so-successful, too.
And while travel brings plenty of perspective-shifting benefits, as long-haul passengers are only too aware, it also comes with physical and psychological challenges.
Musicians like The Beatles, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell conjured up destinations they’d visited or the ideas they’d absorbed along the way. Others, like Brian Eno, created pieces that spoke of the act of travel itself. Eno reinvented himself from glam rocker to ambient music pioneer with 1978’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports – 48 minutes of softly tinkled pianos, chimes and synths, designed to soothe passengers in airport terminals.
In the same vein comes Plane B. Much like Music for Airports, Cruel Buddhist – aka 30-year-old American Henry Robinson – evokes the dreamier feelings of travel on this concept album of 14 short, atmospheric tracks inspired by, and partly produced on, transatlantic commutes between his native Neenah, Wisconsin, and Shanghai, where he’s currently based. Anxiety and tension are defused with a seductive palette of wide-open soundscapes.
Cruel Buddhist’s sound lands somewhere between Eno’s ambient tinkles and the experimental, instrumental triphop of Flying Lotus, Quantic and Bonobo. Take the slow jam of Cruising Altitude – warm synths, a floaty keyboard melody and spacey blips that wouldn’t be out of place in a meditation class. Complimentary Beverage Service personifies the upbeat relief you feel once the brouhaha of checkin, immigration and boarding is forgotten, your body begins to settle into the seat and the beverage trolley pulls up to your row. Seatbelt Sign Off (G-Phonk) is a lo-fi instrumental hip-hop affair while Please Stay Seated (Laydown Mingus) treats us to some bass lines inspired by the master of meandering hipster jazz, Charles Mingus.
Like the best travel experiences, there’s little turbulence, the transitions are seamless and you’re left feeling content and relaxed.
旅行是許多音樂人工作的一部分，對巡迴演出的音樂人而言，無論是否大紅大紫，到外地演出與生活有著密不可分的關係。
旅遊固然可以拓闊眼界，增廣見聞，但有時亦會令人身心俱疲，這一點長途旅客應該甚有同感。
披頭四、Paul Simon、Joni Mitchell 等音樂人透過作品生動地喚起對舊地的回憶，或以歌曲演繹在異地吸收到的新意念；另一些音樂人如 Brian Eno 等，則以作品直接回應去旅行這件事。Eno由華麗搖滾樂手轉型為氛圍音樂的先驅，於1978 年推出專輯《Ambient 1: Music for Airports》，帶來48分鐘結合清脆琴音、鐘聲和合成音效的音樂，為身在機場的乘客紓緩緊張情緒。
另一張專輯《Plane B》與《Ambient 1: Music for Airpor ts》風格類近，由Cruel Buddhist（30 歲美國音樂人 Henry Robinson 的藝名）將14首簡短的氛圍音樂收錄在此概念專輯中，為旅程增添夢幻感。專輯當中的部分歌曲，是他在往返故鄉威斯康辛州尼納鎮及現居地上海的越洋旅途上寫成。開闊的音效構成誘人的聲景，為人們沖淡旅途上的不安和壓力。
Cruel Buddhist 的音樂風格介乎 Eno清脆的氛圍音樂和 Flying Lotus、Quantic與 Bonobo以樂器演奏、帶實驗味道的神遊舞曲之間。慢板的〈Cruising Altitude〉結合柔和的合成樂音、輕盈的電子琴和飄渺的嗶嗶聲，冥想時用來作背景音樂亦是不錯的選擇。〈Complimentary Beverage Service〉則將你在完成煩瑣的登機及過關手續後、安坐機艙享受飲品的輕鬆心情演繹得淋漓盡致。〈Seatbelt Sign Off ( G-Phonk)〉是帶有 lo-fi 曲風、以原音樂器演奏的hip-hop純音樂，而〈Please Stay Seated ( Laydown Mingus)〉的低音大提琴，則帶有爵士樂大師 Charles Mingus 迂迴曲折的風格。
這張專輯就像上佳的旅遊體驗一樣，飛行時沒有遇上強烈的氣流，旅程暢順無阻，一路上令人感覺輕鬆而滿足。