The night before arriving in Beijing, Zhou Chuanxiong had a rare insomnia. Based on his experience, holding a concert should be "pretty relaxing" and shouldn't be so stressful. He thought about the reason, which may have something to do with Beijing's indescribable intimacy.
Starting in 2000, Zhou Chuanxiong often went to Beijing for work. In such a "place that music workers yearn for", he learned a lot from musicians and singers from all over the world and achieved self-growth.
Bits and pieces of memories helped Zhou Chuanxiong realize the fact that his youth existed in this city. "Whether it is at the low ebb or at the peak, it is all related to Beijing."
October 2023, Beijing. Zhou Chuanxiong walked into the Beijing Cadillac Center and held a long-awaited concert. Picture source | Respondent
After the record company launched Zhou Chuanxiong’s album transfer, there was a sudden change in the top management, resulting in no one to follow up on the publicity and promotion work. Zhou Chuanxiong had to temporarily retreat behind the scenes. During this period, he helped a mainland singer produce an album, and was later invited to Beijing to attend a new album launch conference.
In this picture of youth, Zhou Chuanxiong is a casually dressed producer. It wasn't until a reporter came forward and said that he had heard "Twilight" in Transfer and wanted to interview him that he realized that the album had received attention - this was the first time that Zhou Chuanxiong felt treated as an "artist" while working behind the scenes. ".
Another picture of youth is fixed in 2005. Thanks to the strong strength of the newly signed international record company, the MV for Zhou Chuanxiong's new song "Lonely Sand Island Cold" was directed by Kuang Sheng, and the filming location was set to be in Beijing. On the day of filming, a sprinkler truck was dispatched to the scene. Zhou Chuanxiong still laments that "the scene was gorgeous."
10 years later, Zhou Chuanxiong's "I don't know when to return" global concert tour came to Beijing. Because his body had not fully recovered, he collapsed weakly on the sofa backstage after the concert, "unable to move." This collapse seemed to be a warning. Later, several performances in other cities were canceled for some reason, and the tour was not smooth.
In 2017, Zhou Chuanxiong went to Beijing again with the "Where Are You Sober Tonight" world tour concert. Despite the postponement, the atmosphere at the venue was still warm and "the concert went very well from beginning to end." Therefore, he was determined, "My concert can actually be done."
html On October 27, 2006, Zhou Chuanxiong walked into the Beijing Cadillac Center for the rehearsal of the Beijing leg of the "Never Forget" tour concert. The lights in the venue went on and off, the dances started and stopped, but he was the only one who always stood on the stage. Staff members would come up to him from time to time and work with him to adjust equipment, stage design and other details.Looking from the empty auditorium, Zhou Chuanxiong’s figure looked slightly thin. His shirt jacket and loose cropped trousers were dangling. During his movements, his wrists and ankles were exposed from time to time, allowing the light and shadow to outline his distinct muscles. When he is not singing, he is either relaxing, smiling or being funny, but as soon as the prelude sounds, he will immediately return to his focused and powerful appearance.
As much as fans cherish the gentle power of Zhou Chuanxiong's singing, they love to watch him dance on the stage. "Gypsy Lover" is one of the few songs that Zhou Chuanxiong can perform like this.
At the 2015 "I Don't Know When to Go Back" concert, Zhou Chuanxiong took the song by surprise, removed the maracas and dance, and presented a "gentle version" of "Gypsy Lover", which a fan will never forget. In September this year, when this fan saw Zhou Chuanxiong perform this song again in Kunming, his "radiant appearance after transformation" was engraved in his mind. For Zhou Chuanxiong,
offline performances are also a wonderful opportunity to create shared memories with fans. “These songs also represent some of their experiences in growing up. Many years later, when you and your fans gather together, they will sing these songs. , then it’s the same for me, my memories are here too.”
When composing music, Zhou Chuanxiong always looks for information and images in his memories. The richer the details, the more inspiration they can provide him. Therefore, memories are very important to him, especially good memories. "The more you observe at that time, the deeper your memories will be and you will remember them clearly."
Of course, memories, whether good or bad, are inevitably biased, but the feeling remains. Even if it cannot be described in words, the objects and events at the time can help him build a story with feelings. For example, things that were broken when breaking up and gifts given by the other party before can all materialize the devastating feeling when falling out of love.
Zhou Chuanxiong is not just nostalgic. Lately, he's been wearing the same blue shirt he wore while promoting "Air Dry My Sorrows," a 1996 song. The reporter marveled at the quality of this shirt, but he said: "I just like (it). I like (clothes) that are good in every aspect, including the temperature."
Offline performances are also good for Zhou Chuanxiong A wonderful opportunity to create memories with fans. Picture source | Interviewee
Zhou Chuanxiong seems to be more willing to use expressions that can convey emotions than words that describe objective facts. The same goes for his music style, which "is all about interpreting emotions and following them." He usually decides on a theme first, thinks about what state and emotion he wants to convey, and then uses appropriate music types to carry them, rather than creating around a popular emerging music type.
For a long time, Zhou Chuanxiong’s music has focused on emotion, and there are also some audience-level considerations in doing so. Later, as his music became more and more all-encompassing, it became increasingly difficult to define his own style.
Zhou Chuanxiong doesn’t know whether this is good or bad, and he doesn’t know whether using genres and styles to guide creation can lead to deeper exploration, but one thing is certain: “I will try and use all kinds of music styles.”
In 1988, Zhou Chuanxiong was still A member of a heavy metal rock band who listens to songs like U2 and Queen. When he participated in the "Taiwan Campus Singing Competition", he wore a leopard-print top and ripped jeans, and the picture was quite messy. After
emerged from the competition, Zhou Chuanxiong signed a contract with the organizer's record company. Afterwards, the company boss, planners and well-known director Chen Wenbin sat together to discuss his positioning and development route after entering the industry. Chen Wenbin looked at him and suggested: "You should wear a pair of glasses, be very polite, and sing love songs."
As a newcomer, Zhou Chuanxiong could only sit there and silently watch the "funeral" of leopard print tops, ripped jeans and heavy metal music. ". But he has no regrets in his heart, because this incident helped him understand the pop music industry more deeply and stopped him from dwelling on his past imagination.
Moreover, it might be difficult to make heavy metal rock in the music scene at that time. In addition, the debut of a new member is the responsibility of the entire team, so he accepted the company's arrangement as long as he could continue to make music.
After embarking on the road of love songs under the stage name "Xiao Gang", Zhou Chuanxiong quickly occupied a place in the music market in Taiwan. Among the many songs that followed, "My Heart is Too Confused", "Dusk", "Is there a song that will remind you of me" (this song was composed by Zhou Chuanxiong and sung by Zhou Huajian), "Lonely Sand Island Cold", etc. were all composed by him. The success of hit songs he sang or composed for others brought him many brilliance.
When faced with the problem at the beginning, Zhou Chuanxiong was overwhelmed without realizing it. Fate seemed to wake up this frivolous young man and soon pulled him down from his glorious heights. Years later, he found the crux of his original self-inflatedness. At the same time, as he grew older, he gradually distanced himself from his inflated self. Between the glory of
is the so-called trough, and Zhou Chuanxiong spent most of his days behind the scenes. During this period, he wrote a song about his unforgettable first love, which was deeply and intensely emotional.
The female singer who collected the song was only 17 years old, so the sweet style that suited her was selected during production, but it failed to fully express Zhou Chuanxiong's creative mood. Later, he wanted to find a song he had written for someone else to reinterpret for his new album, so he tried to sing the song again.
Since his voice did not match the sweet lyrics, Zhou Chuanxiong contacted the original lyricist He Qihong: "Should we write a song where we now re-examine first love and reminisce instead of reminiscing about it?"
in Zhou Chuanxiong In the story she conceived, a man who once fell in love with his love without hesitation and was attracted by a moth to a flame retraced the path of his youth. "When we walk again, there will be a parallel line. For example, the place I have been to with her before is here." In the process, I recalled every bit of the time, and most of those bits and pieces were my own.”
This story impressed He Qihong very much. In the next three years, he and Zhou Chuanxiong finalized the final version of the lyrics and named the song "Parallel Line to First Love".
To a large extent, this song is the epitome of Zhou Chuanxiong's current view of love - compared with the pursuit of passion and romance when he was young, he now prefers the tranquility of a long and steady flow. "Two people don't need to say anything when they are together, the other person just He understands what is in my heart and feels very comfortable."
Fans cherish the gentle power of Zhou Chuanxiong’s singing. The picture shows Zhou Chuanxiong performing on the stage. Picture source | Interviewee
Many of Zhou Chuanxiong’s songs are related to waiting. He feels that he is also a person who is good at waiting: “For example, in our industry, we often have to wait. After a time is set, it may be delayed due to something. ), so I think looking at 'waiting' from another angle means that you have more time to prepare."
However, fate will not always give you time to wait or prepare, in the countless surprises it throws , there must be one that neither you nor I can avoid. The "unprepared" thing that hit Zhou Chuanxiong was called a disease. After
was diagnosed with gastritis, he received two courses of "sterilization" treatment, but he still felt that the situation was not good, so he went to the hospital for examination again. The doctor told him there was nothing wrong and told him not to worry. Friends who got the news also advised him to just put down the burden.
It's easier said than done. Even though Zhou Chuanxiong persuaded himself to let it go, he still couldn't help but work. He felt entangled and afraid, and for a time he felt that he wouldn't survive that winter. One ordinary morning, he woke up and saw that his hands were even more skinny under the sunlight.
Worry inspired Zhou Chuanxiong to think. He remembered the saying that stomach problems were related to inner anxiety, and then realized that his illness may be caused by the pressure of the musician's profession, and that he did not pay attention to his health when he was young and had to endure no matter how intense the work was. He thought again of the philosophy books he had read, and told himself: You must let it go.
"What is letting go? It means not doing anything, not wanting anything. I don't want any fame or fortune, I don't want other people's approval, I don't want other people's applause." He asked himself if he could, "Okay, I Just survive."
After "letting go" for two months, Zhou Chuanxiong began to gain weight. When he was happy, he started doing some music again, and as a result he lost 1 kilogram. He had no choice but to let go completely, do nothing, and finally gradually regained his health.
This disease has tempered his psychological quality and made him treat music creation more calmly and rationally. He is no longer results-oriented and no longer does it because he has to do it. The best time may be when inspiration and passion inspire you to move involuntarily.
However, the belief in wanting to do things well is correct and necessary. What needs to be discussed is the "way to do it well". It may not be right to just keep doing it. Sometimes, stopping and taking a rest may have better results.
At this stage, Zhou Chuanxiong will spend more time on the things he likes and wants to do, such as songs like "Parallel Lines to First Love"; for example, he will make more attempts in arrangement and musicality, and then Be a little bolder and a little more out of the ordinary, even if this is not the style that everyone is accustomed to.
At this stage, Zhou Chuanxiong will spend more time on the things he likes and wants to do. Picture source | Interviewee
Zhou Chuanxiong used to write songs mostly to complete "homework" based on the company's audience analysis, but now it is to complete his self-expression. "Maybe he cares more about whether he still wants to express something or whether he has any thoughts. What do you want to sing, do you want to do something, do you want to try something, then go for it."
Zhou Chuanxiong extends this free and comfortable state to other jobs, arranging his itinerary according to his physical condition so that he will not be particularly tired. When
encountered a situation where he couldn't let go, he couldn't find a better way besides encouraging himself, "(I can only) do it slowly. I think this is one of the joys of my life now, even when I encounter nervous things or pressure." For big things, see if I can smile calmly."
What is fortunate and admirable is that Zhou Chuanxiong has been able to smile at the adversities he has encountered.
As the saying goes, good and evil depend on each other. Those setbacks, regrets and misses have enriched his life, allowing him to comfort his young friends: “Everyone will be angry and angry when things first happen, but the duration will become shorter and shorter. It might have been dull for a month before, but now it might be a week or two days, and maybe it's over right now."
However, Zhou Chuanxiong has not yet completely let go. He has only let go of seven or eight points now, and he still "can't let go, can't let go, and can't forget" the remaining three or two points.
"I like to write songs and let everyone listen to my songs. I like to express my emotions in music and resonate with everyone. I will never forget this. And I have been doing a lot of concerts recently, and many former fans are with me in the audience. Sing, that touching feeling, that beautiful feeling, I will never forget it."
Maybe when the day comes that he wants to completely let go of the past and return himself to zero, Zhou Chuanxiong will go to the wilderness, the seaside or the mountains to start a new pastoral life, and no longer be entangled Instead of focusing on what we once had or lost, we seek new experiences in new possibilities. Until then, he will keep singing.
Author: Dong Photo
Typesetting: Li Qiuhui
Operation: Li Jingyue
Producer: Luo Yu
