Philbert’s Phables

Lakipak: 音乐粒子的实验

When guitarist Nick Aliev asked a veteran Shanghai bassist if he wanted to jam to some of Aliev’s songs, he didn’t expect the answer to be yes. That’s how the backbone of Lakipak was founded in pre-pandemic China, with the group is slated to perform four nights at the Shanghai Lincoln Center jazz club starting in late April. 

吉他手Nick Aliev在疫情前问资深上海贝斯手Fred要不要谈谈他写的歌的时候，“Yes”是出乎他预料的回答。如今Lakipak 会在4/30开始在上海Lincoln Center演出。

Aliev describes Lakipak as a musical experiment: Put experienced musicians together with the outline or “skeleton” of one of his songs, and pretty soon the mostly classical, jazz and gospel-trained members are going to fill out a bass line here or a hook there on their own. Aliev defines the genre solely as jazz/R&B, but listeners of Lakipak – of which there are thousands on Spotify – probably don’t need to pay much attention to labels to enjoy the show, and neither should you. Six singles so far – with more coming soon – feature a whopping four lead singers, which speaks to the inventiveness of the ensemble and its diverse styles, although Veronica will be the crooner taking the stage come April 30th along with keyboardist Chad Higgenbottom, bassist Francis Akwasi and drummer Pascal Naigom.

Lakipak是一个音乐的实验：把经验丰富的音乐家与Aliev的歌结合，原本受古典和爵士乐教育的成员顿时开始演唱Jazz/R&B这么一个东西。别担心-六个single马上会变多，但是四个主唱应该不会了，短时间内以后都由Veronica主唱。

“The goal is to surround myself with better musicians than I am,” Aliev laughed, noting that “there must be something in the water in Mauritius,” where bassist Fred is from, given how many good musicians come from there. Aliev’s own music background is a winning combination of classical and metal, and he describes Lakipak as not for the “casual listener,” due to the group’s music having complexity mixed with a little pop simplicity. The trained ear will hear complex breakdowns with countervailing but at times soaring melodies, bringing a fusion genre to bear in a process that Aliev describes as “just do stuff…it’s more valuable to experiment” at this point in the group’s formation than be tied to any particular style or formula. 

“目的是要找一些比我厉害的乐手，” 包含毛里求斯来的Fred，又是一个那个国家来的音乐奇才。Aliev 自己是古典音乐和重金属的结合品，使得Lakipak在某种程度上不是随便听的音乐，颇有剧情和复杂度，时而反切时而高昂的旋律值得分析，也很值得听进它们的pop内容。这种制作过程被形容为“just do stuff”。

On Lakipak’s signature “Groovin’,” cozy visual cues from Silk Sonic’s pandemic-inspired in-studio music videos mix with decidedly jazzy chords in an R&B style. Anti-war “Without a Gun” reflects the Eastern European origins of some of Lakipak’s members, while the pandemic also saw some musicians stranded in exotic locales for a time or leaving China entirely, although without too much effect on the ultimate composition of the band. 

虽然有乐手在国外待了一阵子，甚至离开中国，疫情并没有重度影响Lakipak的进度，推出视觉上虽受Silk Sonic影响的”Groovin’”，音乐上确属于完全不同的阵地。

“Shanghai is still the capital of Eastern music, with the possible exception of Jakarta or Tokyo – definitely for the Chinese scene, which is starting to get into the spotlight with new performances and artists going abroad,” Aliev describes. Many of the new generation of musicians were trained by a previous generation, which goes to show how Shanghai’s music scene in particular is very welcoming, with people being largely non-judgmental and willing to greet and help out newcomers. 

“上海仍是东方音乐的首都之一，特别是对于中国本土音乐，新上演及出国巡演的艺人多的是，” Aliev说。很多当代的音乐人是被上一代教导的，大家都是互相鼓励的一群人，上海就是这种音乐人人情味特别重的一个地方，对于新手也是。

He has an additional message for readers, delivered with his classic deadpan and laugh: “Come to our show!” 

”来看我们的演出吧！“

Waidiren’s front man Will Kemp has been here before – the bands, the music, the eccentric underground art events in subterranean digs – which is why Waidiren’s debut EP album is about the third or fourth thing on the agenda as we meet in one of Shanghai’s swanky, tasty yet decidedly nondescript luxury Thai restaurants for “curry shrimp” and Cab-Sauvs.

外地人的Will Kemp早已见识过了：乐队，音乐，地下室里的诡异艺术。所以我们边吃咖喱虾这个玩意儿边交谈的三四个话题里，外地人的第一张EP反而不是最关键的议题。

“It’s whatever this economic death machine we’re building ourselves, it’s the kind of dialogue that I would feel a pat on the back on playing this game on the toilet of my corporate office.”

“这是经济的自讨苦吃，这种对话会让我边上厕所边打手机游戏的时候有一种被认同的感觉。”

Yes, we’ve all felt the shadowpat-on-the-back before, the quiet conviction of quiet quitting, the “I might as well shit on company dime,” the nagging angst that despite what the corporation is wont to say, you are part of the problem, not the solution.

是的，我们都曾体验过这个感觉，努力躺平的阴影，安静的接受边上班边拉屎的节奏，还有就是觉得所有事情都无药可救了，虽然公司的意见是我们在解决问题，但是很明显的我们自己就是问题。

Will finds meaning in his work now, which somewhat complicates the whole angst of performance rock itself. He simultaneously helps run KAOS in the Underground, an arts, culture and local crafts showcase that puts on monthly performances and mini-festivals in a well-known underground bar in Shanghai. All from tattoo artists to animal rescuers and budding musical talent make an appearance, so Mr. Kemp finds balance, from corporate to underground administration to music-making and performances, although there haven’t been many of those going on recently.

Will 在工作里找到了意义；这稍微与表演艺术/摇滚乐里的无奈产生了一种矛盾。他是KAOS的主办人，一个邀请音乐人，纹身师和救救小动物的爱好者共同努力的活动。Kemp先生在繁忙的工作和兴趣和音乐里找到平衡。

The band’s EP is a whimsical mix of material from Will’s early music in the UK, where he is originally from, and other more recent fare such as “Wake up in Pudong,” another shadowpat everybody can enjoy. Other songs are about his father, who passed away earlier in Will’s life. The music sounds tight and the songs are catchy, so you’ll have to see them for yourself live to garner the full experience of the bilingual quips and gift of the gab that Will holds the audience’s attention with. Make no mistake, their performances are exciting. However a lack of venues due to obvious reasons and changes in band lineup due to other reasons has made it difficult, but not impossible for Waidiren to find their sweet spot.

说到EP，是个环绕着Will早期在老家UK写的音乐和像“我在浦东醒来，”较为近代的作品的风趣创作。其他歌曲写到Will早年去世的父亲。节奏感，韵律十足的歌值得各位在现场聆听，并且享受Will自己研发出来的一套双/三语相声，是从英国，重庆还有在上海学来的各种方言演变出来的。演出是精彩的，但是最近因为标准原因所以变得比较少。

Waidiren performs at C’s Saturday night, possibly to ring in the New Year, which better not be a repeat of 2022.

外地人明天晚上在C’s表演, 可能是半夜跨年时演奏的的乐队。2023年，请对我们好一点。