Mainland China composer turned singer Chan Siu Ha 陳小霞 (Salsa Chen) did an interview with sohu revealing her experiences as a composer for 20+ years. Here is the segment where she talks about her experience and collaboration with Eason Chan, whom she wrote Ten Years 十年 (the Mandarin version of Next Year Today 明年今日) for.
Question: In all the singers whom you've worked with, who do you feel you worked best with or who you feel happy working with?
Chan Siu Ha: I think I should put it like this, [there was a point in time (10+ years ago)] when I decided to no longer produce albums so my interaction with singers was minimized. I then wrote and produced 3 songs for Eason [in 2003] and people asked "why?" Eason has previously sung my Cantonese songs and when he first promoted himself in Taiwan I paid attention to him. I realized he was a good singer but the company he was with then [Capital Artists] didn't get him good exposure. They didn't choose songs for him, their promotion wasn't good and they didn't get any attention. In Hong Kong [before 2003] I realized he must be a good singer in order for him to have the status he had. One day he called me and asked if I would help him produce. I said, 'the nerve of you! didn't you hear that I was no longer producing albums?' But his personality was what I liked, he was straight-forward and willing to say what he felt. Communication was not a problem, we talked for a short half an hour and I already knew, in my heart, that I would help him. And I would help him for one reason only - if I gave up the opportunity to work with such a great singer there's no guarantee that I will ever encounter such a great singer again, and it was then that I told him I would help him. Eason Chan's album (Black White Grey 黑.白.灰) is probably the last album I will help produce.
Question: Is Ten Years 十年 biggest hit you've composed?
Chan Siu Ha: Probably at this moment, but in terms of sales I don't know if Faye Wong plus Zhou Hui's 約定 sales are greater or about the same as 十年's sales, but from what I heard they are about the same.
Question: Back to Eason as a singer you're happy working with.
Chan Siu Ha: Yes, I like his sensitivity towards music. Being in the recording studio with him I saw something in him that was different from others at his young age, and it is his feeling towards music. I don't know what everyone's interpretation of "feeling towards music" is, if it is interpreted as feeling "high" then it is emptiness. "Feeling towards music" is, if you give him a song and tell him to record 100 different versions of it, he can do it; if you tell him to give you 10 different feelings, he can do it; but at the end after many different tries and many different versions, the final feeling is the correct feeling. If a singer doesn't have the heart for music, he would not be able to have such "feeling towards music." It involves a lot of time and a lot of energy to find the correct direction before you can say "ok, let's start recording."
Question: In all the singers whom you've worked with, who do you feel you worked best with or who you feel happy working with?
Chan Siu Ha: I think I should put it like this, [there was a point in time (10+ years ago)] when I decided to no longer produce albums so my interaction with singers was minimized. I then wrote and produced 3 songs for Eason [in 2003] and people asked "why?" Eason has previously sung my Cantonese songs and when he first promoted himself in Taiwan I paid attention to him. I realized he was a good singer but the company he was with then [Capital Artists] didn't get him good exposure. They didn't choose songs for him, their promotion wasn't good and they didn't get any attention. In Hong Kong [before 2003] I realized he must be a good singer in order for him to have the status he had. One day he called me and asked if I would help him produce. I said, 'the nerve of you! didn't you hear that I was no longer producing albums?' But his personality was what I liked, he was straight-forward and willing to say what he felt. Communication was not a problem, we talked for a short half an hour and I already knew, in my heart, that I would help him. And I would help him for one reason only - if I gave up the opportunity to work with such a great singer there's no guarantee that I will ever encounter such a great singer again, and it was then that I told him I would help him. Eason Chan's album (Black White Grey 黑.白.灰) is probably the last album I will help produce.
Question: Is Ten Years 十年 biggest hit you've composed?
Chan Siu Ha: Probably at this moment, but in terms of sales I don't know if Faye Wong plus Zhou Hui's 約定 sales are greater or about the same as 十年's sales, but from what I heard they are about the same.
Question: Back to Eason as a singer you're happy working with.
Chan Siu Ha: Yes, I like his sensitivity towards music. Being in the recording studio with him I saw something in him that was different from others at his young age, and it is his feeling towards music. I don't know what everyone's interpretation of "feeling towards music" is, if it is interpreted as feeling "high" then it is emptiness. "Feeling towards music" is, if you give him a song and tell him to record 100 different versions of it, he can do it; if you tell him to give you 10 different feelings, he can do it; but at the end after many different tries and many different versions, the final feeling is the correct feeling. If a singer doesn't have the heart for music, he would not be able to have such "feeling towards music." It involves a lot of time and a lot of energy to find the correct direction before you can say "ok, let's start recording."
Source: sohu 9.5.2006
No comments:
Post a Comment