His Name Is Alive

擁有Cocteau Twins、Red House Painters、Mojave 3、Pixies等大牌樂隊的4AD，在人們心中向來是個神圣而奇異的輝宏宮殿形象。在近些年來兵荒馬亂的唱片界，4AD的風(fēng)頭已經(jīng)大不如前，造腕兒頻率越發(fā)遲緩，但依然還是低調(diào)的推出了一些制作精良的專輯。4AD旗下的His Name Is Alive在今年1月底推出了全新專輯Detrola。
 
其實，His Name Is Alive論資力和實力都是和我一開始提到的那些樂隊平起平坐的 ，只不過HNIA在國內(nèi)的影響力遠遠不及他們。制作人Warren Defever, 主唱Karin Oliver, 鼓手Damian Lang三人早在1989年的時候便成立了His Name Is Alive，并用卡帶將他們的歌曲錄制下來。后來這盤卡帶被Ivo Watts-Russell聽到，也就是4AD的創(chuàng)始人之一，對他們詭異的音樂頗感興趣，便將HNIA正式簽入4AD。對His Name Is Alive音樂風(fēng)格的定位，其實是件很困難的事。他們絕對算得上是那個音樂大雜燴年代的先驅(qū)，音樂中融合了Alternative Pop/ Rock、Dream-Pop、Experimental-Rock、Indie-Rock等多重風(fēng)格。
 
在His Name Is Alive的第一張專輯Livonia中，Karin Oliver幽魂般的嗓音配以Loop、采樣以及吉他沖擊波，營造了一個有關(guān)鬼魂、復(fù)生以及夢境的臆想世界。1992年底，HNIA推出了第二張專輯Home Is in Your Head，樂隊的音樂視野明顯拓寬了不少。新的主唱Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott，以及吉他手Jymn Auge的加入為HNIA的音樂注入了新鮮血液。這張23首歌的專輯，包羅了民謠敘事詩、電子、吉他風(fēng)暴、抽象的實驗等多重元素。在93年中，HMIA又發(fā)行了兩張專輯。King of Sweet，一張集合了樂隊一些未發(fā)表作品和Demo的限量版專輯；Mouth by Mouth，一張在樂隊原有實驗、夢幻曲風(fēng)上加入更多流行元素的專輯，這成為了HNIA有史以來最為多樣化也最為大眾化的一張作品。此時，新鼓手Trey Many加入樂隊，取代了Lang。
 
隨著HNIA一張繼一張專輯的推出，HNIA的核心人物Warren Defever的名聲也越發(fā)響亮，越來越多的人開始認識并肯定了Defever的創(chuàng)新才華。他在為HNIA忙活的同時，也開始時不時的到其他一些樂隊客串一把，其中包括與Pale Saint樂隊前成員Ian Masters合作的專輯ESP Summer。Warren還和童年時代的伙伴成立了Time Stereo，一個專門發(fā)行出版一些小電影、彩色印刷品，以及一些只發(fā)行卡帶作品的樂隊專輯的工作室。
 
Defever出生長大在密西根州的小鎮(zhèn)Livonia，這個快要睡著的小鎮(zhèn)，沒有時髦的流行文化或年輕的音樂。而從小就喜歡病態(tài)的Hard-core和怪異的Noise-pop的Defever無疑成為人們眼中的異類。“什么都沒有，那要怎么辦？我就喜歡的什么都搞。” Defever曾這樣說。他多元化且善變的興趣深深影響了HNIA之后專輯的風(fēng)格。96年的專輯Stars on ESP充滿了像the Beach Boys那種60年代中期流行音樂的復(fù)古感覺；接下來一年發(fā)行的EP Nice Day的靈感又來源于車庫搖滾和60年代R&B音樂；98年的LP Fort Lake又融入了Funk, Soul, Classic- Rock元素。99年，HNIA在美國發(fā)行了Always Stay Sweet，兩年后又推出了Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth。2002年的Last Night是HNIA與4AD的散伙專輯。此時的HNIA找到了新的出口，沿著他們奇異的音樂路線越走越穩(wěn)健。
 
如果說你是一個對上個世紀末的音樂還小有了解的人，如果你的音樂庫里少了His Name Is Alive，那真是一件很遺憾的事。這樣說并不意味著His Name Is Alive是如何經(jīng)典的好，功力如何的高。HNIA的特點正是表現(xiàn)在這后現(xiàn)代文化環(huán)境中，一種雜燴式的藝術(shù)性格。最重要的是：HNIA并未忘記音樂的基本元素：旋律之調(diào)和與聲韻之優(yōu)美。他們于實驗、大膽、反傳統(tǒng)的架構(gòu)背后更接納了傳統(tǒng)式的音樂品味，結(jié)合爆發(fā)出一波當(dāng)代最具形象指標的音樂組合。
 
我們試著從另一種看待音樂的角度出發(fā)，如現(xiàn)代偶像化包裝流行音樂，棄音樂淪為附庸。相同的道理，HNIA的重點不落在音樂本身，而在潛移默化的塑造這些音樂的概念與動機。我們可在HNIA音樂里找到所有類型的音樂元素，所有與時俱進的制作技巧，包裝設(shè)計整體配合的破格式意象，歌詞附帶出的完全飄浮無垠，以及這種音樂為己加工上市的商業(yè)行為，直接深入當(dāng)代文化前沿模態(tài)，毫不妥協(xié)的突破了藝術(shù)范疇形而上的最后防線。HNIA音樂中那完全抽象化之后，再經(jīng)過修飾，具體化、形象化的呈現(xiàn)，試圖搗毀否定一切而從不可思議的根基發(fā)展出一種性格，給與古典、傳統(tǒng)以全新的現(xiàn)代美之感動——就如蒙娜麗莎亙古不變的微笑容顏，只是她在看、在笑的時代不同罷了。
 
Detrola是His Name Is Alive加入Reincarnate旗下發(fā)行的首張專輯。這是他們沉寂四年后，重新的復(fù)活，Detrola向我們證明，這四年的等待是值得的。Warn Defever其實是那種很個人主義的音樂家，他會呆在某個角落，靜靜的思考，安靜的說話，周圍的圍觀者只是能完全理解并沉迷于其中的人。他不會用音樂去諂媚任何人，永遠忠于自己。這是17年來他始終奉行的原則。當(dāng)然，這種自戀式的音樂理念也正是標準的4AD氣質(zhì)，盡管HNIA已經(jīng)離開了她。在Detrola中，HNIA一如既往的抽象、夢幻、詭異。這張專輯仿佛是把HNIA以往所有專輯的音樂拿到一起然后剁成碎片，然后再以新的順序拼貼起來，它們聽上去那么的熟悉而新鮮。當(dāng)然，它繼承了HNIA專輯的一貫的孤獨氣質(zhì)：你大概只能在一個人的時候聆聽他們的音樂，因為與人分享的話它就一定會變味。這是一種相當(dāng)私人的美。
 
4AD的美學(xué)是不朽的。那種潮漲潮退一樣自然寬廣的shoegaze式陰郁，已經(jīng)深入了HNIA的骨子里無法磨滅，它奠定了一種獨立的基礎(chǔ)，將對他們產(chǎn)生溯及既往的影響。“Introduction”以一段悲痛的噪音Loop開始，女主唱的聲音極其哀怨，歌詞則頗具詩意：“The darkest night I ever saw was the night I left my love…”接下來的“After I Leave U”則是一首特別時髦的synth-pop；第三曲“I Thought I Saw”又蹦回復(fù)古的靈歌和布魯斯旋律；第5首“C*A*T*S”電子舞曲感十足，那合成器做出的貓叫既誘人又迷離；在“Your Bones”里我們又聽到了HNIA最讓人熟悉的低調(diào)民謠，旋律波動極小，反復(fù)摩挲著耳邊的那塊軟骨；隨后的“You Need a Heart”風(fēng)格凜然一轉(zhuǎn)，又變到了在96年專輯Stars on ESP中大范圍使用的類似Beach Boys庸懶詼諧的調(diào)調(diào)；第9首“Get Your Curse”是整張專輯的高潮，70年代的singer/songwriter-pop風(fēng)格，搖擺的鋼琴、喇叭合奏，就像是婚禮中間場的小插曲；“Seven Minutes”是一首有點小悶騷小神經(jīng)質(zhì)口味的作品，電子Jazz Fusion律動十足，薩克斯即興的流轉(zhuǎn)，和女主音的有些沙啞的聲音仿佛跳貼身舞般性感；整張專輯最后以一曲溫暖的民謠布魯斯“I'll Send My Face to Your Funeral”收場。
 
Detrola就這樣結(jié)束了。比起以往HNIA的專輯，它似乎平和了一些，但依然讓我們看到了他們奇異的優(yōu)雅。Defever所做的一切，正是我們期盼著從一個真正的音樂家那里汲取的力量。他的音樂永遠只屬于他自己與眾不同的世界。重要的是，他的世界疆域無邊，橫貫美國音樂發(fā)展的各個時代。他像個隱者，但并不唯我獨尊或者性格孤僻，他善待每個路過他世界的聽眾。這是場私人展覽，你最后獨自消受。如果可以喜歡上他，便是你無比的幸運。His Name Is Alive的樂迷們會從這張Detrola開始時常幸運，因為大概再不用等四年才等來這樣的好音樂。
 
Named after history class notes on Abraham Lincoln, the Livonia, MI-based sonic manipulators His Name Is Alive formed when multi-instrumentalist/producer Warren Defever (also of shockabilly group Elvis Hitler) was still in high school. Defever, former schoolmate Karin Oliver (vocals), and drummer Damian Lang released self-produced cassettes of their music, one of which made its way to Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the pioneering art label 4AD. Intrigued with His Name Is Alives blend of spectral vocals, poetic lyrics, and textural guitars, Watts signed the band.
 
The group recorded its first release for the label, Livonia, in Defevers home studio. The album features Olivers shivery vocals along with tape loops, samples, and guitar blasts, for a noise-damaged, ethereal collection of songs about ghosts, reincarnation, and dreams. By 1992s Home Is in Your Head, the bands lineup and scope expanded. New singers Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott, and guitarist Jymn Auge added depth and breadth to the bands original lineup. An epic 23 songs long, Home Is in Your Head ranges from folky ballads to electrifying guitar maelstroms and tape collages. That year also saw the release of The Dirt Eaters EP, named for Defevers other, more rock-oriented group, of which Elliot was also a member. In 1993, His Name Is Alive released two albums: King of Sweet, a limited-edition release that mixed tape effects, samples, demos, and unreleased songs, and Mouth by Mouth, which added more pop structure into the groups inherently experimental and dreamy sound, resulting in its most accessible and diverse album to that date. A new drummer, Trey Many, took over Langs duties.
 
As Defevers reputation as an innovative producer spread, he lent his skills to bands like Grenadine, a side project of Tsunamis Jenny Toomey and Unrests Mark Robinson, other 4AD acts like Liquorice (which featured Toomey, Dan Littleton from Ida, and His Name Is Alives Many) and Tarnation, and other Detroit-area bands like Godzuki and Outrageous Cherry. Defever also worked on other projects, including the folky ESP Summer (with former Pale Saint Ian Masters) and the electronic Robot World and Control Panel, and founded the Time Stereo art collective with a childhood friend, artist/musician Davin Brainard. Some of Time Stereos projects included films, coloring books, and cassette-only releases from bands like Princess Dragon Mom, the Crash, Godzuki, New Grape, and Noise Camp.
 
Defevers diverse interests influenced His Name Is Alives next release, 1996s Stars on ESP. Very little of the groups original ethereal sound remained, augmented instead with touches of dub, folk, gospel, and early- to mid-60s pop like the Beach Boys Pet Sounds. At the time of the albums release, Defever claimed that he was so fascinated by the groups Good Vibrations that he listened to it for months at a time. The following years Nice Day EP reached to garage rock and 60s R&B for its inspiration, and featured some of the gospel singers from Stars on ESP, including Lovetta Pippen, whose singing also gave His Name Is Alives 1998 LP, Fort Lake, an earthy sensuality. Fort Lake also marked the first time the band worked with another producer, recording engineer Steve King. King, another Livonia native, had also worked with Funkadelic and Aretha Franklin, and his touch meshes nicely with the funk, soul, and classic rock allusions His Name Is Alive makes on the album. In preparation for recording Fort Lake — named after a waterlogged Civil War fort in Michigan — the group played monthly shows at the Gold Dollar, a tiny Detroit club. At this time, Pippen, bassist Chad Gilchrist, and additional drummer Scott Goldstein debuted as part of the new lineup.
 
In 1999, His Name Is Alive released a U.S. compilation of tracks from their first five albums called Always Stay Sweet; at the time, those albums were only available as British imports. Like the rest of the bands work, the compilation highlights their mercurial, unique nature. Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth appeared two years later. Released in 2002, the darkly soulful Last Night ended up being the groups final album for 4AD, but His Name Is Alive found other outlets for their music, and were actually busier than ever. Time Stereo released several CDs, such as 2004s ten-disc Cloud Box set, Leaf Club, Brown Rice, and The Detroit River, as well as many MP3-only works, including the Summer Bird and Something_Nothing EPs and a remastered version of King of Sweet. UFO Catcher was released in 2005 on CD by the German label En/Of and on vinyl by Time Stereo, while Ypsilanti Records issued the full-length Summer Bird that spring. That year, Defever also set up the Silver Mountain imprint, which was distributed by Sony BMG.
 
Late in 2005, His Name Is Alive released the Raindrops Rainbow EP via iTunes as a teaser for Detrola, their debut for Reincarnate, also the home of fellow former 4AD artist Lisa Germano and Sing-Sing, the project of former Lush member Emma Anderson. The album featured new vocalist Andrea Francesca Morici, aka Andy FM. In late summer 2007, His Name Is Alive released Xmmer, which expanded on Detrolas sound with African and Asian influences. That fall, Sweet Earth Flower: A Tribute to Marion Brown — which augmented excerpts from a 2004 tribute concert to the legendary saxophonist with studio tracks — arrived.