Han Han Interview
采访：Duck Fight Goose和弥勒唱片的韩涵

By Josh, 2011年 9月 6日

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《 看中文采访 》

In conversations with visiting Shanghai music people the first “band to check out” to pop off the tongue is usually Duck Fight Goose. I saw them play in Beijing in 2009, about a year and half before they released their Flow EP. I’ve heard countless rave reviews of Flow from aforementioned pundits, and it really is an exceptional record: a playfully postmodern exploration of rock and late-20th-century avant electronics that doesn’t fall totally into either the “postrock” or “synth noise” camp but feels at home in both (it can be streamed for free on DFG’s douban and NeochaEDGE).

DFG includes Han Han, a long-time Chinese underground music head who founded the seminal Miniless record label in 2006. In the years that have passed, many of the Miniless bands have dissipated and the founder has relocated from Hefei to Shanghai where he currently operates the label, produces solo work under the name GOOOOOSE, and pushes on with Duck Fight Goose, who are currently mastering a new LP set for release in late 2011.

Here is Han Han on Miniless, Duck Fight Goose’s continuing evolution, working with Maybe Mars, and more:

pangbianr: You founded Miniless in 2006 and since then have released 18 albums, most recently Duck Fight Goose‘s Flow EP [stream here]. Where does the label stand now? Who are your current active artists? What are your next plans?

Han Han: The label now stands in Shanghai. Most of the former bands are kind of retired for some reason. So the active artists now are Duck Fight Goose and my own project, named GOOOOOSE. I’m now talking with our production guy about releasing a limited edition of X is Y‘s most current EP.

pbr: From what I’ve read and heard, it seems that after releasing Flow, DFG moved in a totally new direction with your music. In your own words, how has DFG’s music changed or evolved? What are your current influences?

Han Han: From the very beginning of DFG, we hope the sound of us will be unique and evolving constantly. And that’s why we never want to tag our music. The first EP is heavily influenced by some modern math rock bands and based on layers and loops. But after that we rethink all the songs, I mean kind of re-design the previous concept. The original idea is to make all the songs out of normal beats and stuctures, to make them sound different at the first listening. It’s a radical way but gradually we think it’s time to abandon some of these thoughts – we’ve been there already. And we realize that most of the former bands were doing almost the same thing – to rebel the context of pop music rather than expressing what we are and what we feel about the city and the country we are living in. And that’s what these new songs are about – the strange structure, lyrics, sounds, EFX, everything else will serve for one purpose – to describe what we truly feel and build a bridge for us and the audience to communicate, which I think is the most interesting and meaningful purpose. If we want unique sounds, it’s just natural to make the music sounds like what we are, because we are unique individuals.

Normally, talking about influences will mislead everyone. But I think Steve Reich and Tortoise lie in the core of our influences. They are symbols of music in modern or even post-modern societies and fearless of showing what they are.

pbr: DFG has just finished recording a full-length follow-up to Flow. The recording was in part financed by Maybe Mars records, a label that has shown an interest in Miniless before: they released Mind Shop, an album by Miniless artist Muscle Snog. What is your relationship with Maybe Mars? Is it a normal label/band relationship, or more like a collaboration between two labels? In their 2010 follow-up Meng Noize, released on Miniless, Muscle Snog open with a song called “Mind Shop is On Sale.” Is this some kind of a comment on Maybe Mars?

Han Han: The relationship is just like friends who like each other and MM really help some of the artists from Miniless to reach who they should reach much faster. Collaboration is a better word.

For the title..no they are not implying anything from that. They just like the phrase maybe. I mean none of the bands here have reached the level of serious business in Miniless. So even it is a comment, from the situation I know it will be no more than a friendly joke. :]

pbr: When will your new album come out? What will it be called?

Han Han: Around OCT or NOV, 2011. It’ll be called SPORTS.

pbr: What are DFG’s plans after releasing the new album? Any trips to Beijing?

Han Han: Yeah we will have trips including every major city here and of course we will go to Beijing, it’s the cultural and media capital of CHINA! Besides, I should go there and buy some real drinks for [Maybe Mars’s] Michael, Nevin, Charles and Yang Haisong, this LP will not be out without their help.

pbr: What are some of the most exciting new bands or musicians coming out of Shanghai?

Han Han: Pairs, X is Y, Rainbow Danger Club.

旁边儿: 你在2006年所创立的弥勒唱片至今发表过18张专辑，包括Duck Fight Goose (鸭打鹅)新发行的EP, Flow. 可以告诉我们现在厂牌位于哪里？目前有哪些活跃的艺人以及接下来有什么计划？

韩涵: 弥勒厂牌现在位于上海，之前许多签约的乐队都各自因一些原因友好的退出了，所以，现在就Duck Fight Goose和以GOOOOSE为命名的我的个人音乐计划。我正在与我们的制作谈论计划发行X is Y乐队的最新EP。

旁边儿: 据我所了解，在Duck Fight Goose发行EP Flow之后在音乐上有完全不同的风格定位，就你个人而言，乐队有什么样的变化以及现在乐队主要受哪些音乐影响？

韩涵: 在DFG最早成立的时候，我们当初的想法都希望是独一无二的并且不断地尝试变化。这也是我们从来不想给我们的音乐贴任何标签的原由，第一张EP主要影响是来自一些当前的Math Rock乐队及以铺陈和循环为基础来创作的。但之后我们重新考虑所有的歌曲，我的意思是重新再构思之前的想法。最初的想法是让所有的歌曲脱离常规的拍子和编曲结构，并且使得所有歌曲听上去与最初的不一样，这是激进的改变方式，但慢慢地我们觉得这应该是放弃其中一些想法的时候了，我们现在就是如此。并且我们意识到许多之前的乐队也是有着同样的看法，只是一味的对流行音乐文化的反叛，而不是去表达发生在我们周遭的体会感受，这些新歌就是我们现在所要呈现的——怪异的结构、歌词、音效和效果，所有其他的都只为一个目的——去描述我们最真的感受，传达我们自己并与听众建立好的关系，我想这是最有趣且最有意义的一个方向。如果我们想要自己听上去独特的，那么就是以最自然的方式去创作我们所喜欢的音乐，因为我们任何个人都是独特的。

一般说来，谈论我们的音乐影响将会误导所有人。但我觉得Steve Reich和Tortoise是我们最主要的影响艺人。他们大胆地展示他们的音乐，在现代甚至后现代社会的音乐领域里，他们就是一个符号。

旁边儿: 继DFG乐队发行EP Flow之后又刚结束了一张由兵马司唱片录制的全长专辑，之前兵马司就对弥勒唱片感兴趣，一起发行过Muscle Snog乐队的专辑Mind Shop, 你们之间是什么样的关系？只是乐队/厂牌的关系吗？或者更像是两个厂牌的合作？在弥勒唱片发行Muscle Snog的专辑Meng Noize中，其中开篇曲目为Mind Shop is On Sale, 这是予兵马司的评论吗？

韩涵: 我们互相只是朋友，并且兵马司也真正地帮助一些弥勒厂牌的艺人，让更多人听到他们的音乐。我们也喜欢这样的合作关系。

关于那首歌名，并没有隐含什么意思。他们纯粹只是喜欢那样的取歌名，跟厂牌没有关系。我的意思是在弥勒发行唱片的乐队都并没有达到真正的商业盈利。因此即便那是评论，就此形势来看那只是一个友好的玩笑 :]

旁边儿: 你们什么时候发行新专辑，专辑名是？

韩涵: 大概今年十/十一月份，专辑命名为SPORTS

旁边儿: 那乐队发行专辑后接下来有什么计划，有计划来北京吗？

韩涵: 是的，我们将会去国内的几个主要城市进行巡演，当然也包括文化传媒之都北京在内。而且，我将会带上一些佳酿跟Michael, Nevin, Charles和杨海松他们好好喝上一杯。如果没有他们的协助，DFG乐队这张专辑将不得以实现。

旁边儿: 现在上海有什么新乐队或音乐人是令你最激动的？

韩涵: Pairs, X is Y, Rainbow Danger Club.

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