Zhong Chi | zh

EASY WORLD – I WILL STOP YOUR CRAZY WORK

Even if we listen to the same melody
Even if we ruminate upon the same lyrics
Shrouded in the mystical light of music
We believe
Every soul’s experience
Is colorful and varied

We also believe
That in the process of infinite musical listening
You and I are one and the same
Collectively searching for an Easy World --
She is direct and elaborate
Perhaps we have passed her by several times
Perhaps our paths have never crossed

2007
We have a spontaneous rendezvous with Zhong Chi
An enigma of a female voice
And that Easy World becomes clear
Now, please listen carefully
The end of the riddle that you and I sought out for so long
May perhaps be found in the momentary release of this resplendent voice






An intricate fabric – the threads of coldness and warmth


Without a doubt, music has a type of hidden, unspoken consensual connection with the heart and soul. The distance between the two, however, is determined by the life experiences of every individual. The inescapable relevance of life in music is indicative of reality for the listener and undeniably important for the singer.

This album “Easy World” not only contains out-of-the-world and ethereal musical rhythms, but also entrances the listener with singer Zhong Chi’s translucent and soaring voice. For anyone who has ever led with the heart and soul, “Easy World” provides more than auditory pleasure; more importantly, this record is Zhong Chi’s reminiscence of fading memories, her reflection on moments of intense emotional vicissitudes that have slowly settled to the bottom, her expression of the same joys and heartaches none of us are exempt from. Her expression is not preachy or haughty, nor is it a glamorous romantic cliché; she carries with her a temperature, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, and journeys with us earnestly until we find a dynamic equilibrium between coldness and warmth.

In actuality, the experience the listener gains from listening to any singer will still bring about a lot of experimental and superficial guesswork. For a low-key singer such as Zhong Chi, apart from the music, we essentially know nothing of her. Luckily, that inexplicable consensual connection between our listening souls and her music gives us a chance to get to know Zhong Chi and understand the interpretive possibilities of Easy World. We can still gain a sense of the colorful and uncompromising personality of Zhong Chi.

Listening to “Easy World,” we can clearly feel the purity of one side of Zhong Chi. Zhong Chi faces music and life with a simple attitude. Even the most devastating occurrences in life can be expressed with simplicity, viewed from a direct, uncomplicated perspective. In Zhong Chi’s eyes, relationships, life, and their many problems still can be and must be transformed into a ray of brightness and purity. Of course, she doesn’t interpret her simplicity in life as invariable, or uni-elemental, music. A lot of times, a simple and pure outlook allows Zhong Chi to more easily experience the reality and tranquility of life, and thus the music in this “Easy World” album becomes carefree, calm, and easy.

Perhaps the simplicity of Zhong Chi makes her a unique spiritual entity, but we cannot ignore that in “Easy World” we hear a certain type of conflict and irony along with simplicity. To put it directly, Zhong Chi is a songstress who feels no emotion and yet is impacted deeply and utterly by all emotions. It is exactly this conflict of experiences that makes Zhong Chi’s voice and music multi-layered, emitting a rare facet of brilliance. In the song “Fairy Tale,” Zhong Chi describes a story that begins with a fairytale, yet ends in complete isolation in a world devoid of magic and hope; unforgettable is the cold cruelty of reality beneath the superficial fairytale façade. In the song “Kill Sarah,” the music almost allows us to venture directly into the musical core of “Easy World.” And the simple music that comes from the strumming of a guitar is not a gesture of sappy romance. When a person hurts so much she cannot remember how to cry, when a person loses her smile; when the coming and going of a person leaves no trace, no scar, no caress, like a gust of wind; then, Zhong Chi discovers that nothing in this world will change for anything else. And the only thing she can gain, the only she can control, is herself. We feel the frostbite of personal experiences in songs like “I Can’t Hide” and “Angel Eyes.”

The simple and pure Zhong Chi, the silently calculating Zhong Chi, the hypersensitive Zhong Chi, the conflicted Zhong Chi, all use the same voice and the same music to construct her own “Easy World,” just like she sings in “From The Moon”: “I can see your panic tell your sorrow…Is it the time for me to get back from the moon….”

Thus, we begin to understand, in Zhong Chi’s Easy World, the intricate tapestry of coldness and warmth in any spiritual entity is an unchanging phenomenon in life.



Production

Shanghainese singer Zhong Chi’s personal debut album “Easy World” finished production in 2007. This album is also the first major product of the innovative independent music production company Soma to be published in 2007. It is a testimony to the independent and unique conceptual abilities of Chinese indie musicians, as well as the unique expression of a singer of the new generation.

“Easy World” emits a full musical spectrum of personality, making it difficult for us to find labels to represent the musical styles of this album. The music will without a question be a one-of-a-kind emotional experience. This is what Zhong Chi and all of production staff at Soma would like to share with the public.

For a sensitive singer like Zhong Chi, “Easy World” is her most concrete expression of her perspective on life and the world. This world could be bathed in every corner with sunlight, or it could be chilled to the marrow with ice, but it will forever be real, simple, and conflicted.

Independent Music Truthful Expression

As an independent music production company, Soma’s philosophy is to expose the most truthful and unique music to more people. This type of music does not fit into any one style. Soma believes that anyone who is in touch with personal, human music should be freed from semantic limitations such as style.

In the production of “Easy World,” producer Jamyang Yeshe combined his own unique musical experience with Zhong Chi’s unique musical expression. A lot of experimentation took place. The truthful and vivid music you now hear is the result of a long period of trial and error. This earnest approach to collaboration helped pave the way for an earnest form of expression, with the two perfectly complementing each other to create a balance between the individuality of the music and the idealistic quality of it. This record is a mark of the uncompromisingly honesty of independent music.

Production Staff

“Easy World” was produced single-handedly by renowned young generation Chinese musician Jamyang Yeshe (Yao Yao). Jamyang Yeshe is well-known in the Shanghai rock music world. The band he created in the mid-1990’s always put innovation first as a musical philosophy in their performances. Later, Jamyang Yeshe went solo and founded Soma records and has now left strict rock music behind to experiment with music that is more natural and more close to the human heart.

As a solo artist, Jamyang Yeshe now has even more new musical ideas. The international sound and colors of the music in “Easy World” is a result of the personal interest this talented producer has put into the record.

A 3-Dimensional Concept The Perfect Presentation

Apart from the impact the music of “Easy World” will have on the local indie music industry, this whole album has a 3-D concept. Through music, Zhong Chi and Soma want to send messages about the importance of animal protection and maintaining a balance in life on earth.

Soma’s three-dimensional concept is definitely not a promotional gimmick. When you listen to this album, you will understand that the visual concepts of this album are not limited by comprehension of the lyrics. Even if you do not look at the lyrics, vivid pictures and images will still appear before you. Through careful attention to details, Soma Records has created an album that is proof of the constant forward-striving production attitude of the studio and our emphasis on all areas of the album



About Easy World

［ I Can’t Hide ］

Zhong Chi explains:
2006 was the first time I clearly understood the meaning of death. I lost two very, very dear people; one to a terminal disease, and another to an accident. The loss of friends left me with a stabbing pain to my heart. I’m not really sure how to explain this feeling. It’s just that I kept thinking and thinking and I couldn’t escape from the whirlpool of my own thoughts. When I was creating this song, I was trapped in my feelings. You could say that part of the lyrics and the melody of the climax of this song flowed out of my head in the minutes of creation. I remember at that time I felt as if the melody and the words were gushing out of my body.

［ Easy World ］

Zhong Chi explains:
I remember when I was a child if there was a flood or drought in some province in China it would be the biggest headlines of the month, and the whole country would unite to donate money and materials to the victims. I don’t know when it all began, but news of natural disasters and problems are no longer year by year, but instead month by month. Sometimes in one month natural disasters will occur in multiple places. Not long ago I read that a place had 65 tornadoes pass through in one day.
The inspiration for the lyrics of the song “Easy World” started with the above realization that I made. In the song, what I want to express is no longer what people should do or what I hope people will do; it’s not that day and age anymore. What I envisioned was a world in an even more terrible state (I personally think it will be in the future) where people hear an announcement without any feeling, in a world without any room for negotiations or discussions, no freedom to bargain, just like a water shortage notice stuck on the bulletin board by the management team of an office building – you can’t change it.


［ Fairy Tale ］

Zhong Chi explains:
I remember that when Jamyang Yeshe (Yao Yao) let me listen to the basic accompaniment of this song, he told me a few ideas and images he wanted to express, such as a mermaid and animal protection (at that time we were always discussing about issues of animal protection). Afterwards I made up a story in my mind (it must be because I watch too much anime and cartoons). The story is about a beautiful mermaid who was caught by fishermen. The news of this made the biggest headlines in the world. A notorious millionaire paid a hefty sum to purchase the mermaid, and put her in the center of the elaborate marble fountain in his luxurious gardens for display, to boast his wealth. One day a homeless little boy passed by the gardens and saw the mermaid and immediately fell in love with her. He saw the hurt and understood the sorrow inside the mermaid’s eyes. But they couldn’t speak to each other, couldn’t communicate with language, so the little boy sang this song for her.


［ 12:44 ］

Zhong Chi explains:
First I’ll explain the title of this song. It’s called “12:44” because from the first second I heard the music for this song to the time the first demo was finished was all at 12:44 am. The accompaniment of this song is my absolute favorite of all of Yao Yao’s creations. When I listen to it now, the two measures of simple guitar chords looping continuously is simple beyond simplicity. This simplicity fit me perfectly and even without lyrics I hummed freely with the music. I realized that to be able to work with Yao Yao to create music, to have such a good singer-producer balance relationship is rare and special. During one early morning in the creation period, I received a text message from Yao Yao. It was a very, very long text message, in which he explained what he wanted to express about his insight into the concepts of “start” and “finish.” I didn’t see the message until I woke up the next morning and wrote the lyrics really quickly. Yao Yao really likes the lyrics to this song.


［ Kill Sarah ］

Zhong Chi explains:
When you listen to this album, you won’t necessarily notice this song because it is the most simple and mellow of all the songs. This was the first song Yao Yao and I created after we met. The very low-fi version you hear today is the unaltered original acoustic demo that we recorded. Because of this song, we established the symbolic musical place each has in the other’s heart, and we were both assured that we should establish a long working relationship in creating music. I personally hope to express something through a calm, simple melody, without expression; expressionlessly performing a song about the experiences after a big rise and then a big crash, and the quiet that follows nothingness. It was extremely hard for me to come up with a song name because for me, it is much easier to come up with lyrics that represent the melody, but much harder to find a name. It’s hard to find a name that fully describes the meaning. Afterwards producer Yao Yao reminded me that during the recording of this song, I kept telling him that I felt like a voice singing from the other world, dead and gone from this one. Thus we decided to call the song “Kill Sarah”.


［ Out of the Box ］

Zhong Chi explains:
Betrayal is an unforgettable feeling. A lot of people will hold on to this feeling and forget what it was that triggered the betrayal to start with. I used my own experiences of being betrayed in this song to remind others that sometimes we should stop and think about our ignorance instead of always seeing the evil in others.


［ Rain ］

Zhong Chi explains:
When I wrote this song I wrote a story for myself. The story is about a boy who used to own a magic genie in a bottle and a water faerie named “Rain”; their friendship was once strong long ago. But as the course of the world changed and “Rain” could no longer survive in this world, their friendship was shattered. This song is the boy’s search and plea for “Rain.” We also want to express that even if we humans have the help of the heavens and perhaps spirits who grant our wishes, we can still easily lose many things we take for granted, such as rain. Is praying and pleading all we can do at times like that?


［ Truth ］

Zhong Chi explains:
I’m most satisfied with the lyrical content of “Truth”. The inspiration came after I watched all three installments of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy movies in one 9-hour sitting. What I want to express is that after the complete destruction of everything, when the greedy and conspiring people are no longer worth anything, at this moment of strong emotions, truth becomes something that can change at any time, at any place, to anyone.






［ And this is cut ］

Zhong Chi explains:
A lot of times we tend to think that everything has a start and a finish. This song expresses my point of view that sometimes for different people the start and finish for the same thing is different. Furthermore I think that we must understand how to pick something up and how to let go. In the song I used the beautiful “her” as a metaphor for the things that people desire and was inspired to write the lyrics.


[ Angel eyes ]

Zhong Chi explains:
Although it is the song of an angel, the singer is somewhat lost, singing with a hurried and pressure emotion. The whole musical environment of this song makes me think of the way many different worlds are connected due to unstable factors and an unstable connection, and yet, despite the abnormality, the connection still exists.



[ From the moon ]

Zhong Chi explains:
The performer of this song is a woman who left Earth a long time ago to live on the Moon. In the song “she” refers to the Earth. I used the four seasons to develop the lyrics and express the pain that is present at all times on Earth. But the “light of happiness” from the east in the climax of the song allows us to escape from the mystery of it all and march towards hope. When creating this song, a lot of images surfaced in my mind and I wanted to put them into the lyrics.



“我要阻止你疯狂的行为”，钟茌决定用音乐来表达她对环境与动物保护的关切，当歌声中不再充斥无病呻吟的情情爱爱，矫揉造作的虚假伪善，我们也更容易被这样的音乐所感动。对于任何用心灵来选择聆听方向的人来说，《Easy World》提供给你我的不仅仅是简单而表面化的耳膜欢娱，在更大程度上，这张唱片是钟茌本人多年游走各地所沉淀的生活感受，当一个人欲哭无泪，失去了笑容；当一个人的来来去去就好象风吹一般没有痕迹的时候，钟茌发现这个世界上没有任何事情会因为另一件事情的改变而改变，而她可以掌握的只有她自己。这不是高高在上的说教，也不是闪烁其词的暧昧，带着心灵的温度，或暖或寒地与我们真诚相对。

这是一个美丽的童话 --钟茌《Fairy Tale》
在这几年，无论港台还是内地，各种独立乐队纷纷涌现．我们习惯了带有个人气息或是民谣气质的风格清新的乐队，也习惯了众多或可爱或古怪的小独立。却缺乏一种编曲更丰富，形式更另类的音乐。钟茌《简单世界》的发行给我们带来了这种惊喜。这是一张糅合了多种音乐形式的专集。有着BJORK式的充满想象力的编曲也有POTISHEAD式恰到好处的采样和擦片，将你带入Dummy的氛围中。钟茌的声音简单而富有爆发力，穿梭在一片迷幻的音乐背景中，富有强烈而直接的冲击力，能穿透感官给人更为深入的听觉体验。

《简单世界》是上海独立场牌SOMA公司发行的第一张唱片。由制作人嘉洋益西经过16个月的探寻与磨合才最终得以完成。这是一张概念性专集，以环保为理念。每一首歌都有一个主题，围绕在发生在我们身边的事物进行阐述，对于自然主义的追求和保护环境的呼吁在这喃喃的吟唱中得以传达。这张专集见证了国内音乐人的独立理念和对音乐形式的进一步探寻。整张专集无论封面的设计还是歌曲的制作和编曲都有很高的水准，包含了很丰富的国际化元素。

《Easy World》随着空旷的电音推进，用强烈的打击乐器结合在一起构成喧闹的背景，钟茌的声音变得坚定而高亢。当这种纯粹和原始的呼唤越来越强烈时，我们能否感觉到在人类的命运也越为岌岌可危。这是本能的呼唤，对简单世界的追求隐藏在每一个人的心中。

《Fairy Tale》的编曲很简单，钟茌的声音在一片迷离电音中浮出水面，如散烁的珠粒透明而恍惚，在音韵间散落着幽悒而神伤的思绪，仿佛童话中失去家园的美人鱼。

在刚听这张专集是就被《from the moon》这首歌所打动。缓慢而诚挚的女声贯穿于整个歌的结构。这首歌写的是一个居住在月球的女人以四季的角度表达离开地球的痛苦。歌曲有一种由低迷走向希望和前进的感觉。

《I Can\'t Hide》也是用琐碎的打击乐构成一个有些喧嚣的背景，钟茌PORTISHEAD式的吟唱和咒语似的男声采样的加入使这个曲子充满了异域氛围。

《Rain》是首颇具梦幻流行色彩的歌曲。这首歌说的是寻找水精灵的童话故事。低靡静谧的音乐背景，钟茌的声音在这也更显飘渺迷离，有如躲藏在雾气中吟唱的精灵，在幻觉般轻盈虚无的音效中喃喃自语。

《Truth》是钟茌最满意的作品，灵感来源于《魔戒三部曲》。这首歌表达的是在人类的贪婪和欲望面前，真相就越难以被发觉。这首歌的节拍被迷雾环绕一般，带有工业的冰冷质感，着重突出了声音部分的感觉，十分悦耳。

《And this is cut》是一首静谧而充满迷幻感的曲子，开始用了一段女声作为采样与曲中钢琴构造的阴郁氛围是这首歌的点睛之作。《kill sarah》只有简单的钢琴和女声的喃喃自语，和众多INDIA一样，有更加自我的和
自省的色彩。

《Angel Eyes》写的是一个天使彷徨而失落的情绪。有着强裂的迷幻氛围和丰富层次感的音色。女声也十分飘渺迷离。

《12：44》 12点44分。这首歌曲在开头营造出如同一段梦呓般的场景。钟茌的声音像被蒙上了一层水汽随着音符飘荡，
在抵达歌曲高潮处哽咽爆发，随即是一阵断裂的鼓声，场景随之破碎消失。一种无奈的心绪和不安感呼之欲出。

这整张专集给人很丰富的听觉体验。TRIP HOP的各种元素在这里糅合。有一种梦幻而直接的触动。









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