Composer Chan Siu Ha Talks About Eason Chan

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."

Source: sohu 9.5.2006

Michael Lai, "Crying in the Party"

For his 30th Anniversary Michael Lai & Friends Concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum on October 18th & 19th, Michael Lai Siu Tin 黎小田 did an interview with Nan Fang Daily.

At the age of 5, Michael Lai Siu Tin made his debut in the Hong Kong entertainment industry as a child actor. Now, at age 61, Michael Lai is a celebrating his 30th year as a "master" in Hong Kong music. Once been married to Susanna Kwan Guk Ying and once dated Nancy Sit Ka Yin, Michael Lai has invited them to join him on the same stage at his Michael Lai & Friends Concerts. Most notably having written numerous songs for the late Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung, Michael Lai hasn't written a song in the past 6 years.

When asked why he hasn't written in so many years and why he wrote Crying in the Party this year, he simply answers "Who can afford my songs? I charge a hefty fee, tens of thousands of dollars (10 thousand plus) per song. I don't have excess songs [sitting around]. Also, who am I going to write for? The current Hong Kong music industry needs to learn from the Mainland industry and get their basic skills grounded first. But Eason Chan sings well."

Source: sina (courtesy of nddaily) 10.18.2007

Interview with lyricist Heung Suet Wai

The 7th Global Chinese Music Awards will be given out on June 30, 2007, former lyricist Heung Suet Wai (向雪懷) attended a function for the award ceremony and was later interviewed regarding the Hong Kong Music and Film Industry.

Heung Suet Wai, originally Chan Gim Woh 陳劍和, has been in the music industry for over 20 years. From 1998 to 2000, Heung Suet Wai was General Manager of BMG Records Hong Kong. From 1985 to 1997 Heung Suet Wai was with 寶麗金 records, starting off as a record producer and later became in charge of the promotion and signing of new artists. As record producer, Heung Suet Wai worked with artists such as Alan Tam, Paula Tsui, Teresa Teng, Sam Hui, Jacky Cheung, Hacken Lee, Sammi Cheng, Christopher Wong, Leon Lai, Vivian Lai, Karen Tong, Grasshopper, etc. Worldwide sales of the records he produced have exceeded 10 million copies.

Lyricist Heung Suet Wai's works include:

一人有一個夢想 - Vivian Lai

愛你多過愛他 - Vivian Chow

對不起我愛你 - Leon Lai

如夢初醒 - Cass Phang

朋友 - Alan Tam

一生中最愛 - Alan Tam

毋忘我的愛 - Yeung Choi Nei

愛一次便夠 - Grasshopper/Vivian Lai

你愛我什麼 - Vivian Lai

哪有一天不想你 - Leon Lai

一生最愛就是你 - Leon Lai

我和秋天有個約會 - Karen Tong

愛你這樣傻 - Vivian Lai

一生不變 - Hacken Lee

最傷心是誰 - Jeff Chang

Q (Interviewer): Why are there fewer and fewer good songs? Why are there fewer and fewer people willing to sing?

A (Heung Suet Wai): I don't think so. It's just the industry [as opposed to whole market] that has fewer good songs and fewer people who are willing to sing. Recently there has been a song that I really like, Miriam Yeung's 大城小事, I really liked it when Miriam performed it, but after Jacky Cheung performed it, I liked it even more, enough to not like Miriam's version anymore. Is it because Miriam did not perform it well? No, only because Jacky performed it better, better that it seems perfect. It is the first song after Jacky's 李香蘭 that gave me a really really comforting feeling. Which is why when a song meets its perfect singer it will have a liveliness; no matter how good a song is, if you don't perform it well then there's no use.

Q: A good song finding its perfect singer is hard? Why is it hard? Was this problem present during the "Four Heavenly Kings" era?

A: This problem was present in the past, but it is quite different in the past. There was only one scenario in production when an artist was popular: one album with ten songs will have eight good songs, and the more you listen to them the better they will become. Why was this scenario present? Because the creator will know about an artists' previous album and will know to choose good songs for the artist. And why was this scenario present? Because the previous creator took their time to create the album, in the present, they're creating too quickly. In the past an artist will have a 10 to 15 year career. Now? Three to five years and you never hear of them again, look at Cookies, how many of them are left? There is no way for creators to fully get to know the singers, so how can good music be made?

Q: Will Cantonese music ever have another "Golden Era"? In the present Hong Kong music industry, are there any male or female singers that you particularly like?

A: I don't dare speak about another "Golden Era" but there will always be good songs. At the moment, I particularly like Eason Chan he really is a hard working singer. He has battled for the past 6 to 7 years.

Q: But Eason is considered a veteran. Compared to the newer singers, he is considered old.

A: He is still considered young outside of Hong Kong. Right now he has two songs that are known outside of Hong Kong, 十年 and 富士山下. Eason is a representative of Hong Kong [outside of Hong Kong]. Hacken Lee's music selection is rather narrow and he has poor Mandarin, he can improve on that, but maybe not as fast as Eason. Leo Ku's voice is rather tender, if he sings tender songs, he will not out-sing Jeff Chang.

Q: Female singer?

A: Can't think of any at the moment.

Q: What about Joey Yung?

A: No. To be popular outside of Hong Kong you have to hold your own. If one day, you sing on the same stage with Liu Huan 劉歡, Han Hong 韓紅, Natasha Na (Na Ying) 那英, etc. and you don't sing as well as as they do, it's the end for you. Eason Chan and Jacky Cheung are the only ones that won't be out-done by them on the same stage.

Q: Are there any more young people that are willing to become singers?

A: Young people think becoming a singer is easy. Take movies for example, which of the younger generation actors are actually good actors? There's only one, Daniel Wu. If Daniel Wu is acting in a movie, it will interest me to consider watching. As for other actors, I will wonder whether it will work. Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Andy Lau film's I will watch, Jacky Cheung films I will watch. For the younger generation of actors, only Daniel Wu, Nicholas Tse movies I won't watch. It is hard to find a successor. The Hong Kong music industry, like the Hong Kong movie industry, is hard to find a successor.

Source: tianya.cn 6.15.2007

Recent Radio and Television Appearances

After filming the upcoming October release Brothers, Eason made a couple of public appearances to promote his upcoming concerts, album and new plug Crying in the Party.

1. He first appeared on CRHK 903's radio program, hosted by Mini, on August 16th.

2. He then appeared on RTHK's radio program, hosted by 李志剛, on August 22nd.

You can listen to the interview at RTHK's site, here.

Note: The interview is in 2 parts, when the first part ends the second part will automatically load.

3. His Johnnie Walker sponsored television special, 與臣同行, aired on TVB August 25th.

Here's the clips to the television special (in 3 parts)

4. Additionally, the commercial for his upcoming concert Moving on Stage 1 started airing the week of August 19th.

Here's the clip to the commercial