看不見的城市

兩年前的《歲月鴻溝》，惘聞用宏大的氛圍之聲，描繪出在他們眼中，在這個時代我們都將必然捲入的巨大黑洞。出人意料的是，兩年後他們並沒有延續前作，執迷於綿長悲壯的敘事和瀰漫的寬廣氛圍，而是突然轉過身，把注意力從時代景觀移回到了他們的生活場景中，帶來了一張由八首相對精短的作品構成的新專輯《看不見的城市》。  作為一支存在近20年的「老樂隊」，每張唱片的變化或者演化並不稀奇，而且這也一直在惘聞的身上發生，但這一次，我們聽到的，絕對是惘聞迄今為止最動聽、最溫暖的一張唱片，他們一頭扎進了旋律的懷抱，將他們對自己所生活的城市最直接的情感表露無疑。遠赴冰島錄音，也讓這張新唱片的聲音變得更加純淨悠遠。在《看不見的城市》里，我們感到一陣陣的關切，也聽到了惘聞下意識的，在變成這個城市一絲有溫度的能量。  關於專輯創作和錄音的自述－－  「2016年初，當惘聞完成了《歲月鴻溝》最後一天的錄制，我們在大雪封門的錄音室里回放錄音文件時，我想，下次一定要做一張暖色調的唱片。至於怎樣進入暖色，我們還完全不知道。  或許因為大連的春天總是來的很遲，那之後做出來的東西，我們都沒感覺到溫度變化。第一輪的巡演回來，才到了大連最舒適的季節。看來，我們就是始終被周圍環境影響的一幫人。  後續的創作逐漸進入軌道，在排練室錄完了一個粗糙的DEMO後，我們就開始尋思著去哪裡錄制這張唱片。和惘聞每張專輯之後都會換一個新的排練室不太一樣（因為每次都是在不得已的情況下），每張新唱片，我們都希望在一個新的錄音環境下進行，覺得這樣或許會帶給我們一些不同的情緒和感受，另外，在一個新的錄音室里，我們每個人總能學到一些新的技能。  一年前，我們的調音師小龍和經紀人孫怡去冰島旅行，拜訪了那個由游泳池改建的很出名的錄音棚Sundlaugin，之後樂隊就收到了他們發來的錄音棚環境和設備的照片資料。那時我們剛訂完了歐洲巡演，所以決定乾脆在巡演之前，去冰島錄制這張新唱片。   新唱片的製作人，是我們上一張專輯合作過的Wouter和Lode兄弟。通過《歲月鴻溝》在一起十多天的工作，現在我們對彼此的工作方式有了更多的理解，但更重要的是，我們非常信任對方。在抵達冰島之前， 我們在郵件中聊了很多錄制這張唱片的想法，希望每個人能把對冰島以及這個錄音棚的主觀感受都帶入到錄音和棚里的再創作之中。  得益於大家充分的準備和計劃，整個錄音非常順利。我們在錄音棚里把那些在市面上很難找到的老樂器和設備，挨個試了一個遍。大家玩的興奮的同時，也學到了很多東西，所以即使每天都要工作12個小時以上，也不覺得疲憊。這樣的氣氛下，就算經過了冰島的冬日極夜，最終的錄音也如我們最初所願，是一張溫暖的作品集。」    關於唱片的名字－－ 「過去兩年，我認識的不少年輕人，都離開了大連這座城市，去更有活力的地方生活和工作。而依然佇立的這座城市越來越沈默，也越來越模糊。有一天我突然想起了卡爾維諾的那本，我始終沒有讀完的書，翻開它的前幾章，我看到了自己曾經用鉛筆畫下的字句， ‘每個城市都從她面對的荒漠獲得自己的形狀；於是趕駱駝的人和水手所看到的，就是這樣處在沙的荒漠與水的荒漠之間的苔斯皮納。’於是就有了這張唱片的名字: 《看不見的城市》。然而這本書我依然沒有讀完。」  —謝玉崗 2018年6月26日  專輯發行：Space  Circle 封面藝術作品：岑駿 專輯錄制：Sundlaugin 冰島 專輯製作人：Wouter Vlaeminck／Lode  Vlaeminck Two years ago, when Wang Wen musical group released their album Sweet Home, Go!, they used sounds to create an aura of grandeur, to describe the huge black hole of the time in their eyes that would swallow us all. To everyone’s surprise, they didn’t carry on with the theme, nor got obsessed over lengthy tragic and stirring narration and overwhelming feelings. They turned around suddenly and switched their attention from the zeitgeist to where people actually live, hence the new album Invisible City, consist of eight relatively short but exquisite songs.  As an 「old band」 which is almost 20-year-old, Wang Wen’s albums vary in theme. It’s not really a surprise that the band keeps evolving during all those years. But this new album will definitely be the most beautiful and warmest one that Wang Wen has released so far. They devoted themselves completely to the music and bared their unmasked feelings regarding the city they live. They traveled to Iceland to record the new album, which made the sounds in it purer and more ethereal. In this album, Invisible City, we can feel the caring, and also hear Wang Wen becoming warm positive energy in this city without them realizing it.   Description for the creation and recording of the album - narrated by Xie Yugang At the beginning of 2016, when Wang Wen finished the recording of Sweet Home, Go!, we replayed it in the studio. It snowed heavily on that day. The studio was kind of blocked by the snow. I was thinking, the next time we are going to make an album that will have warm feelings. As to how to make that happen, we had absolutely no idea at that time.   Maybe it’s because spring always comes late in Dalian, what we made after that was still cold. We didn’t feel the change in its 「temperature」. After we came back from the first leg of our tour, it was the best season in Dalian. So it seems that we are a group of people who are always affected by the surrounding environment. After that, everything went smoothly. We recorded a rough DEMO in a practice room, and then began thinking about our options as to where to record the album. It’s not the same as that Wang Wen used a new practice room every time for a new album. We have to do so actually. But when it comes to recording studios, we always want to record a new album in a new recording environment, believing that it might bring us some different emotions and feelings. Besides, when we record in a new studio, every one of us can always learn something new. A year ago, our tuner Xiaolong and manager Sun Yi went on a trip to Iceland and paid a visit to that famous recording studio, Sundlaugin, which remodeled from a swimming pool. Later they sent us some photos of their studio and equipment. By then we already set our European tour, so we decided that we’d go to Iceland to record the album before we go on the tour.    The producers of this album are Wouter and Lode brothers whom we worked with for our last album. We had worked together for over ten days when we made Sweet Home, Go!. Now we have a deeper understanding of how each other works. And what’s more important is that we trust each other deeply. Before we got to Iceland, we exchanged ideas on how to record the album in emails with each other, in hopes that everyone can bring their own feelings regarding Iceland and this particular studio into re-creation process while recording in the studio.  Thanks to thorough preparation and planning from everyone, the whole recording went without a hitch. We tried all the old musical instruments and equipment in that studio which are hard to find on the market. When we had fun, we also learned a lot. Even we had to work for over 12 hours a day, we didn’t feel tired. In an atmosphere like that, we made an album that evokes a feeling of warmth as we hoped it would do, even after we spent several winter polar nights in Iceland. About the name Many young people I know left Dalian and went to other more energetic places to live and work in the last two years. And this city, even it’s still here, becomes less clear and more quiet. One day, Calvino’s novel Invisible Cities flashed through my mind suddenly. I never finished that book. When I opened it, and looked through the first few chapters, I saw the words I once underlined: 「Each city receives its form from the desert it opposes; and so the camel driver and the sailor see Despina, a border city between two deserts.」 Hence the name of the album, Invisible City. I still haven’t finished that book though. Xie Yugang June 26th, 2018 Released by Space Circle Artwork cover by Cen Jun Recorded at: Sundlaugin Studio, Iceland Producers: Wouter Vlaeminck and Lode Vlaeminck