Demo 丙

這張專輯自2010年10月開始籌備，2010-2013年間進行了第一次的編曲、錄製、混音，後來因休團而暫停。事隔六年至2019年又再度回到了錄音室，繼續進行第二次的編曲與錄製。 名稱取為《Demo丙》，將Demo一詞當作正式專輯的名稱，並取其甲乙丙順序作為制式編號，如同我們紀錄日期的數字排列組合。期望作品將隨時空流動，超越時光而被賦予任何意義。 使用舊式類比錄音器材錄製，在樂器與效果器的選用上，風籟坊亦偏好六零年代溫暖質樸的聲音，回映呈現出巨大的九零年代風情，有機而不失細節。有別於前作《Demo乙》以台語大量敘述彼時感同身受的苦澀風景；《Demo丙》有較多的中文曲目，編曲上擺脫三件式樂器的框架，在「十秒鐘」、「夢」、「星期三終場的電影」這幾首歌裡，都可窺見製作人王昱辰與風籟坊的合作無懈，纖細的筆觸，將現實冷酷幻化為水月鏡像。 專輯概念意在記錄青春的模樣，當下我們也正面臨著等待、懷疑、追逐、夢境、迷惘、瘋狂、躲藏、落寞、妥協等等諸多課題考驗，讓這張專輯更多了一層臨場感。 最後送至Abbey Road Studios的Alex Wharton（Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine)做最後的母帶工程。相隔多年再次回首聆聽，我們認為這樣的聲響，是再也複製不來，值得驕傲且致敬式的刻成黑膠：無論是對當年試圖追尋著什麼的青春歲月，或是十年後已更能坦然面對自己的我們。 《Demo丙》的混音有兩個版本，一種聲音較為古典，貼近過去30年；另一種則較為現代，相對於古典版主唱的聲音更穿透樂器，是兩種不同的聆聽體驗，大家可以依照自己的喜好選擇。封底編號1～315號是古典版本，之後為現代版。 “Sometimes Starlight, Sometimes Moonlight:” On Windmill’s new release “Demo III” The Taipei-based Indie band Windmill’s new album is called "Demo III (Bing)". It is their third release, following “Demo II (Yi)” (2009) and “Demo I (Jia)” (2008). The recordings come full circle in both matching the raw youthful vigor and promise of the early releases as well as illustrating the band’s growth and maturity. Part of this is embedded in the process of its recording and creation. The first sessions occurred from 2011-2013 and were paused for what turned out to be a six-year hiatus. In 2019, the band reformed with a new sense of purpose, began playing shows, working on new songs, and decided ultimately to return to and finish the recordings. This long process of patient creativity, growth, and reflection resulted in a singularly unique outcome. In short, “Demo III" is a stunning piece of auteur songwriting and musical performance, an album that is filled with lyrical and musical bravado, emotional soundscapes, spaces, and stories, manifesting powerful iterations of loss, confusion, frustration, hope, joy, wisdom, and celebration. Sonically, the sound of the “Demo III”, engineered, recorded, and produced by Yuchain Wang at Rooftop studio in Banqiao New Taipei, fits comfortably into the 90s era guitar-driven Indie rock oeuvre. The guitars are largely offset and rewired, the amps stacked and turned past midnight, the pedals are modded in all the right ways, and the reverbs are set somewhere between Nashville Skyline, Zuma, and Dark Side of the Moon. The sounds on “Demo III” are rich, textured, warm, and authentic, the production is skilled, imaginative, and artful, and propels the performances, where feeling clearly comes first. The album opens with the short track “Ten Seconds,” an atmospheric looped guitar accompanied with double-tracked vocal that steadily rises powerfully then falls gently. This “wave” motif is one that is repeated musically, lyrically, and thematically throughout the album. Another motif is the simultaneous presence of opposites: Ten seconds is an instant; however, when it captures some powerful understanding, it can feel endless. “We watch the balloon slowly rise into the sky In these ten seconds of silence There’s no need to say anything” “Song of the Other” is an anthem rocker, a song that seems to take off effortlessly and never cease. The layered guitars and powerful drum and bass seem to mirror the lyrics emotional intensity, self-reflection, and remorse: “It’s always like this/Always disappointing/ I’m always so careless every time I pass by/Pass by that window” mirroring “The Last Movie on Wednesday” is another standout track, a short story that introduces its characters with a light acoustic intro: “A girl walks out of an office building/She looks up at the sky/[Plans her] weekend beer and movies.” The song than twists through a number of musical changes and modulations, concluding with a vaudeville drumbeat and toy-piano fantasy ending: “The couple complete a circle before they realize/ Each other’s dreams are perfectly shaped” “Youth,” one of the Taiwanese language tracks, is perhaps the most direct distillation of the youth theme that animates “Demo III.” The stark production is powerful: The acoustic guitar, e-bow bass feedback, piano, and mout organ set the lyrics poetically for the listener to bear witness to: “But what is youth? Like a poem that no one can explain Watching the sea surge breaking through the breakwater on a hot day What is youth? A star that no one cares about in the sky Waiting for the sea sand to fill the heart’s emptiness” The album closes with the invigorating and upbeat Taiwanese language track “The Sea,” a song that you should keep in your pocket for your next moonlight drive, one that expresses the duality of feeling and experience that much of the best art seems to constantly reminds us of. “The darkness of the bottom of the sea can be horrifying or intoxicating. Sometimes starlight, sometimes moonlight in a dream” Michael Loncar Tainan, 3/12/2021 Note: There are two master versions: 1) Vintage Master, which was made for listening on vintage analogue equipment; and 2) Modern Master, which was made for listening on more modern systems. Choose your listening experience! Cover code 1~315: vintage mastering version; after 316-, modern mastering version.