--1. Recently Mr. Ling and the other memmbers are busy writing new singles,
we offer our congratulations, as
the bandleader do you feel any pressure at all?
Ling: To be honest, this time I have a lot of pressure. The main reason
is because this is the very first time I
am in charge of recording and production since Lucy left the band. Relatively
speaking, I don’t have enough
experience in this area. This is because originally, Lucy is the one who
is responsible for all the works in this
area. Basically he also did the final mixing for the band’s DEMO. However,
I did gain a lot of enjoyment out of
the work. But of course, there are times when it all felt very troublesome.
Especially when recording the bass
parts (Mr. Hong please don’t blame me). Because Mr. Hong was way too studious,
even though the
recording is only used as a demo for the company to hear, yet he refuses
to ignore even the tiniest details.
Often times, just when he finished recording a section, (at least I thought
it was good), all of a sudden he
would get another inspiration, completely change the way he played that
part in order to get the perfect
result. So often times we have to record a section several times before
we’re satisfied. This time I’m also
responsible for the sound effects, played some keyboard parts (very crappy
skills), and I also tried to arrange
some beats on the drum machine… most importantly, I listened in on myself
as I record my own singing. Felt
overwhelmed.
--2. So what are some of the creative asspects included in these new singles?
Ling: Of all three of the new songs, like always, I am still responsible
writing the lyrics for them. But this time
the writing process hadn’t been that smooth, because I spent most of my
energy on the various details of the
production process as well as the arrangement of the songs. So as I was
listening to the melody and filling in
the words, often times I would stop to fix various imperfections in the
song arrangement, but then my train of
thought gets broken. Only now did I truly realize how troublesome and hard
the job of recording and
production is. Because it isn’t like musical notations or lyrics which
are very perceptive. Also the various
data and statistics are the biggest headache. So that’s why even thought
I wrote several paragraphs of lyric
for each song, but they are still not very satisfying.
Among the three songs, I wrote the melody to “Sleep”, also I tried, for
the very first time, to write all the
arrangements on my own (not including bass), and then the others helped
to fix up the imperfections as well
as contribute with their opinions and their own styles. The result is that
the original melody now sounded
even more layered and full. The other song is a collaboration between Mr.
Hong and I. I was in charge of the
electric drum and some part of the keyboard, he was responsible for the
bass and electric guitar (Yue hasn’t
joined us yet). Of course, Mr. Zhen’s final touches to the drums was like
icing on the cake. Another one was
created from a very beautiful piano intro that Mr. Hong wrote out of a
sheer burst of creativity one day. Then
later at home, going by the feeling of the song, I gave it a brand new
chord arrangement as well as the melody
to the main part of the song, I guess that was a group collaboration.
--3. What are some of the difference or breakthroughs you see in these
new singles as compared to the
previous songs?
Ling: This time we dropped our previous practice of using the guitar as
the main method of creating the main
melody. We used electric drum and bass as the main tool for creating the
melody. Also, in terms of the
melody, we gave more consideration to how the chord arrangement interact
with the main vocal element, that
in term enriched our chord arrangement, so that our melody sounded fuller.
Hong: The difference between album and singles’s concept, the difference
between quality and quantity
ROU=MV…
Zhen: very low (<- I have no idea what this meant), I think you’ll know
once you hear it, so please buy the
disc and give it a listen when it comes out.
--4. Can you tell us which song is your favorite among the new songs?
Ling: I kind of like “Sleep”, maybe I’m a bit partial because I wrote that song.
Hong: I like << Seduction>>
Zhen: I also like “Sleep”, I think the state of this song is pretty good.
Yue: “Sleep” because the mood of the song is very similar to my personality.
--5. In terms of the music, please talk about where the musical inspiration for these songs came from.
Ling: For “Sleep”, mainly because I was very oppressed a while ago, always
couldn’t sleep at night… a
sudden burst of inspiration I guess.
As for <<Seduction>> it’s probably thanks to Mr. Hong’s sensitivity
to beats. I programmed a beat into the
drum machine, Mr. Hong played the bass according to the beat and I hum
the tune and that was it.
<< Never End>> was a group effort. We have always wanted to write
a song like this. This is also the first
time where we used the greater atmosphere into a sorrowful song. (<-
I can’t quite understand what Ling is
saying in this sentence) Even though our main goal from the very start
is to create a song that sounded
mournful and lingering, yet when we have finished, we could defiantly feel
that this song is vastly different
from our previous works. We all felt that the air and demeanor of the song
is defiantly more mature than
before. So it is a rather satisfying piece. Also, little Yue’s contribution
to the song is also great. This song is
defiantly his very first officially published song where he took a great
part in since he joined the band.
--6. As a band, difference of opinion iss unavoidable, so how did you deal
with the inter band member
relationship during the recording phase, yet allow each of your individual
musical idea to flourish?
Ling: Difference in opinion is unavoidable. But basically everyone is able
to seriously consider and accept
other people’s opinions. Of course when that is not possible, we use voting
by raise of hands (we are very
democratic). This way everyone could accept. Mr. Hong and I both tend to
hold onto our opinions
stubbornly, (so we raised the most number of hands ^^). But as for each
individual instrument, we usually go
with the way the player of that instrument desired.
--7. So what are your views regarding thhe joining of a new band member
as well as his performance during
recording?
Ling: Very gratifying. Because we both have similar music direction and
hobbies, so it’s very easy for us to
talk, very enjoyable collaboration. Also he has his own unique thinking,
he often surprised me with his
creativity. But still, certain area needs more polishing.
Hong: I welcome his joining into our band, hope he will have even more
ideas for improving the tone of the
guitar parts.
Zhen: Felt pretty good, enjoyed our collaboration.
--8. Will the new songs be made into Mussic videos?
Ling: so far no, we have to discuss this type of things with the company.
--9. Which song do you plan to recommendd?
Ling: We have never thought about this. We never considered this as we
write our songs. To us, every song
is our most important work.
--10. Please use a word to describe whatt you occasionally feel as you are making new songs.
Ling: concentrated
Hong: Longing
Zhen: joyous
Yue: interesting
--11. Normally, under what type of situaation or during what time do you perform the best?
Ling: The band usually records in the afternoon, and we practice in the
morning, so usually I am most clear
headed at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning.
--12. So do you think the sales number oof the new songs will surpass the previous album?
Ling: I only hope more people could hear our music, that’s all. I hope
that our friends who have purchased
our CD before will continue to support the new Silver Ash.
--13. If you have successfully recorded a new single this time, do you
have any special plans for
advertisement?
Ling: Live shows again, this seems to be the most direct and effective
way. But so far the roads ahead
doesn’t seem that optimistic, the band needs more chance to perform, especially
outside of the local area.
--14. During the production of the new ssongs, did you have any unforgettable experiences?
Ling: It was mainly painful, body wise. A few days ago I wasn’t being careful
as I was exercising and caused
my old waist injury to relapse, I couldn’t even stand up straight (they
say I look like an old geezer when I
walk -_-) Because recording usually requires that I sit in front of the
computer for a whole day, by the time
everyone has finished and it was time to go home, I couldn’t even get out
of the chair. Also missed a few
days of practice, but its basically all healed in the last few days…
Hong: During the recordings for the guitar part of <<Seduction>>
, it was the perfect union of my hands and
Mr. Ling’s foot (Ling: Mr. Hong was responsible for playing while I was
in charge of stepping on the effects
pedal) P.S. the guitar track on the final version was played by Yue.
Zhen: When we were busy, we didn’t even have time to eat.
Yue: writing the solos… but it wasn’t a big deal
--15. The unison of a group is a very goood motivation force, how did you
arrange your free time during
postproduction?
Ling: lately we don’t have much free time anymore. Usually I would play
basketball, loosen up a bit. Now I
can’t do that. The most relaxed time of the day would be when everyone
gathers around for lunch and
supper.
Zhen: drink some beer…
Hong: write poem. I’m preparing my own poem collection.
Yue: practice piano. (<- or guitar? I can’t tell from just one word)
--16. As the vocalist, what steps do youu take to make sure that your voice
could successfully last throughout
each recording day?
Ling: Recently I can’t do anything to take care of my voice, I’m very troubled
by this as well. Because of the
recent pressures from work, I have been smoking more now. The main thing
is to drink lots of water, it helps
to keep the skin healthy too. Of course I have also accepted the advice
of a Si Chuan friend, eat sliced licorice
root. At first I couldn’t get used to the taste because I had to hold it
in my mouth. But as you hold it in your
mouth, after a while, then comes the taste of sweetness after the initial
bitter taste. It seemed to be a pretty
effective way to protect my voice. The new songs are pretty challenging
to sing, after recording several
versions of them, I am still not satisfied with the outcome, perhaps its
because I haven’t taken good care of
my voice. I want to apologize to the rest of the band, this is my own responsibility
and I have failed. I don’t
want to see my poor vocal performance affecting the whole feel of the songs.
Because everyone else
performed his own part very well, I’m kind of mad at myself…
--17. Please say a few words to your suppportive fans.
Ling: Believe in what you believe about, insist on what you should be unyielding about.
Yue: Please don’t be shy to point out my mistakes.
Zhen: Hope everything is well with everyone, and please support us.
Hong: Let us eat fingers then. (actual quote)
PS: This interview was conducted before our very first tour of the whole
country, our newest single,
NEVEREND, is on sale now, we will visit GuanZhou, ShangHai, NanJing and
other cities during the first half
of 2003 for CD signing promotions and live performance. Hope to see everyone
there.