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“赶时髦”乐队——英伦电子音乐的传奇
黄 欣
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出于对英伦电子音乐的偏爱,一直想写写“赶时髦”(Depeche Mode)这支老而弥坚的英伦电子先锋乐队,虽然从知名度上来讲,它并没有另一支同样以字母D开头的英国乐队“窘迫”(Dire straits)的名气那样大,特别对发烧友们来说是如此,因为“窘迫”的几张代表作如《情同手足》(Brothers in Arms)、《爱比金坚》(Love over Gold)和《在夜晚》(On the Night)都曾经作为发烧天碟风靡一时,而“赶时髦”的作品却很少见到有人提及与介绍,尽管在我看来这两支乐队的成就可以说是不相上下的。Mute唱片公司的网站上公布了今年5月推出全新专辑《激励者》(Exciter)的消息,这个消息终于可以让那些苦盼他们新专辑的拥趸放心了,要知道这款新专辑距他们推出的上一张专辑《极端》(Ultra)已经足足有4年之久了。
初次接触到“赶时髦”的专辑大约在3年前,那是他们于1997年4月发行的《极端》。正是这张专辑让我迷恋上了他们的音乐,我至今仍清晰地记得第一次听《极端》时的感受:“赶时髦”乐队彷佛为我打开了一扇奇幻的电子音乐之门,马丁·戈尔(Martin Gore)浪漫灰色、凄美迷离的旋律填满了我的小屋,大卫·加汉(David Gahan) 带有金属质感的嗓音是那么的磁性,我也喜欢安迪·弗莱切(Andy Fletcher)在重重的电子低频中闪耀着灵性的吉它声,这为他们的音乐增添了一丝迷幻色彩,象暗夜里盛开的玫瑰……
《极端》当时给我的震动是难以言表的,因为我从中听到了一些熟悉的东西,而这些东西曾被许多电子乐队所借鉴和发扬,包括合成器的音效与配器的手法,有时听“赶时髦”的音乐,会产生一种溯流而上、发现源头的惊喜。就这样一边听着他们的音乐,一边留意着他们的唱片,随着时光的推移,对这支乐队的了解也越来越多,虽然我不知道有多少人同我一样对“赶时髦” 乐队有着浓厚的兴趣,但我还是乐意向大家介绍一下他们的音乐。
“赶时髦”乐队成立于1980年,由马丁·戈尔、安迪·弗莱切和文斯·克拉克(Vince Clarke)组成。乐队的核心是马丁·戈尔,他既能演奏乐器也能演唱,同时还是天才的词曲作者,乐队几乎所有的歌曲都由他执笔,可以说他就是乐队的灵魂,这一点他和“窘迫”乐队的大脑马克·诺夫勒(Mark Knopfler)很相似。不过他可不像马克那么自由散漫,经常抛下他的队友不管去出自己的个人专辑,与此相反,尽管这20年来“赶时髦”也历经许多磨难,马丁却一直作为乐队的中坚,支撑着乐队的发展。
乐队从1980年组建至今,成员已几经更替,目前乐队有三位成员,除马丁外,吉它手是从乐队成立伊始的元老安迪·弗莱切,主音歌手由1981年加入的大嗓门大卫·加汉担任。
了解“赶时髦”的音乐,首先从乐队的风格谈起。作为20世纪80年代欧洲大陆新浪潮(New Wave)和新浪漫(New Romantic)运动的排头兵,电子音乐在他们身上留下了不可磨灭的烙印,无论后来的重金属(Heave Metal)和原声演奏(Unplugged)是如何风行,合成器一直是他们最有力的创作武器。另外,强烈的舞曲节奏也是“赶时髦”乐队的重要标志之一。从马丁的创作上看,迷幻和乡谣对他均有不小的影响,特别是迷幻电子手法,与马丁的灰色世界非常合拍,成为了他创作时一个得心应手的工具,而在慢板歌曲中,马丁则体现了他在电子乡谣方面的独特感觉,为乐队增加了浪漫、深情的一面。虽然在进入90年代后乐队有向摇滚乐队发展的倾向,但我相信其中大部分重金属味道的作品均出自前乐队键盘手阿兰·怀尔德(Alan Wilder)之手,这从乐队的风格变化上可以看出,因为1996年阿兰离队后,“赶时髦”的作品便大大减少了重金属的比例。
从乐队的专辑来看,1981年的《说与拼写》(Speak and Spell)和1982年的《破碎的框架》(A Broken Frame)是“赶时髦”早期作品的代表,这两张专辑都有着动听的曲调和清新的电子配乐,体现出简洁明快的舞曲风格。虽然以今天的目光来看编曲的手法还显得简单粗糙了点,但“赶时髦”以它讨人喜欢的乐风迎合了在新音乐浪潮背景下大众的流行口味,这使得他们逐渐成为一支广受欢迎的乐队。
从1983年的《再造时代》(Construction Time Again)起,“赶时髦”把目光投向了多变的现实世界。马丁创作的歌曲色调和气氛开始变得低沉,他成熟得令人吃惊,悲痛、伤感的意味似乎是“赶时髦”走向黑色电子的先兆。在这以后的几张专辑中,“赶时髦”树立了自己黑色电子与舞曲节奏相结合的乐风,合成器的音效也越来越丰富,迷幻和机械式电子作品慢慢占到了主导地位。在这一时期,“赶时髦”的多首歌曲登上了英国的单曲排行榜,专业乐评杂志《声音》(Sound)的乐评人士也对他们的作品倍加推崇,并认为‘Synth-pop音乐听起来就应该这样’。相对这时还不算太复杂的音乐形式,马丁的词作则显得灰色,艰深。怀疑、无助和绝望的情绪在他的作品中随处可见。在“奇怪的爱”(Strange Love)和“爱情的意义”(The Meaning of Love)里,马丁表现了对爱情的虚无观,而在“时代问题”(Question of Time)中则更一步加入了他对现实世界的疑虑。1987年发行的《致大众的音乐》(Music for the Masses)时,马丁的创作愈加灰色,多首歌曲都诉说对天主上帝、耶稣基督和教会的看法。在这一阶段,坚持以电子舞曲创作为主流的同时,马丁还显示了他驾驭慢板歌曲的高超能力和浪漫的一面,几首慢板的“对我撒谎”(Lie to Me)、“没关系”(It doesn't matter)、“某人”(Somebody)都叫人心动不已,特别是钢琴伴奏的“某人”,由马丁一字一句唱出,令人心痛的是歌曲的内容,每个人在世上都想找一个人来分享生命中的最好,却总是难于找到,这个人,马丁称他(她)为某人(Somebody)。
进入90年代后,乐队的风格有了变化,由于重金属摇滚的盛行,“赶时髦”也作了一些尝试,1990年的《入侵者》(Violator)和1993年成为排行榜冠军的《信念与忠诚之歌》(Songs of Faith And Devotion)已经让“赶时髦”有些象一支摇滚乐队了,这两张专辑使“赶时髦”冷酷颓废的形象深入人心,几首金曲如“享受宁静”(Enjoy the Silence)和“个人耶稣”(Personal Jesus)等在世界各地都很流行。
1997年4月,休息了4年的“赶时髦”终于推出了重量级的新专辑——《极端》(Ultra)。
实在很喜欢《极端》,我个人认为这是“赶时髦”乐队迄今为止最出色也最成熟的专辑,无论是乐队的创作还是大卫的演唱都达到了一个新的高度。除了保持嗓音的金属穿透力外,大卫向低音域拓展的能力明显加强了,乐句结束时尾音的有意强调充满了节奏感,马丁重回灰色世界,多首歌曲带有迷幻色彩,也许是他发现只有那里,才是自己熟悉的家园。
在经历了白日的喧嚣与忙碌之后,我喜欢听着《极端》,躲进幽静的内心角落,吸吮夜的冰凉滋味,这时“赶时髦”的音乐就象流入脉搏中的致幻剂,有了它,你就可以Enjoy the silence(享受宁静)了。
专辑开首的“枪管”(Barrel of Gun),扑面而来一阵熟悉的黑色气息,那是经典的“赶时髦”乐队的形象:苦涩的男中音,艰深的歌词,流畅的旋律,吉它与鼓总在挤压着灵魂。我喜欢充满迷幻色彩的“爱情窃手”(Love Thieves)和“爵士窃手”(Jazz Thieves),只有在让人心悸的乐句中,“赶时髦”才能表现出它最浪漫迷人的一面。《极端》当然也少不了象“没用”(Useless)之类传统机械式风格的舞曲作品,大卫的歌声在强烈的电子节奏下异常平静,他们总喜欢在躲闪中隐藏自己的真实想法。与以前的专辑相比,《极端》的整体音效变得厚重、沉郁,由于键盘手阿兰的离队,乐队更倚重于合成器的表现,因此碟内弥漫着黑色梦境般的迷幻色彩,灰色、绝望仍然是“赶时髦”不变的主题,不知道为什么马丁总有那么多的黑色情感流露。
“赶时髦”的专辑国内音乐家出版社引进了《信念与忠诚之歌》和《极端》,其余的较难找到,不过Mute唱片公司曾经发行过两张《dm81~85》和《dm86~98》精选集,几乎将他们所有的好歌一网打尽,所以喜欢这支乐队的话,不妨先收藏这两张。可能对大多数人来说,理解他们艰深晦暗的音乐内涵还有点困难,但渐渐地你能从他们细腻流畅的音乐中感受到无上的旋律美感和广阔的异端风景,相信你会和我一样爱上马丁的灰色世界,为他们的音乐而沉迷。
Biography:
Originally a product of Britain's New Romantic movement, Depeche Mode went on to become the quintessential electro-pop band of the 1980s; one of the first acts to establish a musical identity based completely around the use of synthesizers, the group began their existence as a bouncy dance-pop outfit but gradually developed a darker, more dramatic sound which ultimately positioned them as one of the most successful alternative bands of their era.
The roots of Depeche Mode dated to 1976, when Basildon, England-based keyboardists Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher first teamed to form the group No Romance in China. The band proved short-lived, and by 1979 Clarke had formed French Look, another duo featuring guitarist/keyboardist Martin Gore; Fletcher soon signed on, and the group rechristened itself Composition of Sound. Initially, Clarke handled vocal chores, but in 1980 singer David Gahan was brought in to complete the lineup; after one final name change to Depeche Mode, the quartet jettisoned all instruments excluding their synthesizers, honing a slick, techno-based sound to showcase Clarke's catchy melodies.
After building a following on the London club scene, Depeche Mode debuted in 1980 with "Photographic," a track included on the Some Bizzare Album label compilation. After signing to Mute Records, they issued "Dreaming of Me" in early 1981; while neither the single nor its follow-up "New Life" caused much of a stir, their third effort, "Just Can't Get Enough," became a Top Ten U.K. hit, and their 1981 debut LP Speak and Spell was also a success. Just as Depeche Mode appeared poised for a major commercial breakthrough, however, principal songwriter Clarke abruptly exited to form Yazoo with singer Alison Moyet, leaving the group's future in grave doubt.
As Gore grabbed the band's songwriting reins, the remaining trio recruited keyboardist Alan Wilder to fill the technological void created by Clarke's departure; while 1982's A Broken Frame deviated only slightly from Depeche Mode's earlier work, Gore's ominous songs grew more assured and sophisticated by the time of 1983's Construction Time Again. Some Great Reward, issued the following year, was their artistic and commercial breakthrough, as Gore's dark, kinky preoccupations with spiritual doubt ("Blasphemous Rumours") and psychosexual manipulation ("Master and Servant") came to the fore; the egalitarian single "People Are People" was a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and typified the music's turn towards more industrial textures.
1986's atmospheric Black Celebration continued the trend towards grim melancholy, and further established the group as a major commercial force. After the superb single "Strangelove," Depeche Mode issued 1987's Music for the Masses; a subsequent sold-out tour yielded the 1989 double live set 101, as well as a concert film directed by the legendary D.A. Pennebaker. Still, despite an enormous fan base, the group was considered very much an underground cult phenomenon prior to the release of 1990's Violator, a Top Ten smash which spawned the hits "Enjoy the Silence," "Policy of Truth" and "Personal Jesus."
With the alternative music boom of the early 1990s, Depeche Mode emerged as one of the world's most successful acts, and their 1993 LP Songs of Faith and Devotion entered the charts in the number one slot. However, at the peak of their success, the group began to unravel; first Wilder exited in 1995, and then Gahan was the subject of a failed suicide attempt. (He later entered a drug rehabilitation clinic to battle an addiction to heroin.) After a four-year layoff, Depeche Mode -- continuing on as a trio -- released 1997's Ultra, which featured the hits "Barrel of a Gun" and "It's No Good." The release of Singles '86-'98 was celebrated with a major tour.
Jason Ankeny
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