請注意： 本文使用翻譯軟件輔助翻譯，我自己手動修改，所以有讀起來很機翻的地方，如您在閱讀過程中發(fā)現(xiàn)錯誤請指出，感謝!

僅供交流分享使用，請勿轉(zhuǎn)載，一切版權(quán)歸原作者所有，請支持正版圖書

AT THE FAR END OF At Night’s basement space on Styrmansgatan was a long, narrow room with a singing booth, the white-painted stone wall covered with a rug to dampen the sound somewhat. There was a desk with a computer and speakers, on the floor a keyboard on a stand.

在位于Styrmansgatan的At Night辦公室的地下室空間的遠端，有一個狹長的房間，里面有一個錄音間，白色涂漆的石墻上覆蓋著墊子，以減少聲音的反射。房間里有一張桌子，上面放著一臺電腦和音箱，在地板上還有一個放在支架上的鍵盤。

One day in February 2011, a slender figure with curly and unruly hair stepped into Tim’s small studio. Salem Al Fakir was eight years older than Tim but had a bubbling energy that made him seem younger.

2011年二月的一天，一個身材苗條、有著卷曲不羈頭發(fā)的人步入了Tim的小工作室。Salem Al Fakir比Tim大八歲，但他充滿活力的氣質(zhì)讓他看起來更年輕。

Tim had known about him since his breakthrough five years earlier. Delighted journalists had repeatedly told Al Fakir’s story: growing up in a home with almost as many pianos as siblings, he started nagging about playing the violin as a three-year-old, writing his own pieces in preschool. At the age of twelve, he began studying with a music professor in Russia, soon touring as a concert violinist and prodigy before he got tired at sixteen and instead began composing distinctive pop.

Tim早在五年前他出名時就知道他了。欣喜若狂的記者們一再講述了Al Fakir的故事：他在一個幾乎有和他兄弟姐妹一樣多鋼琴的家庭中長大，三歲時就開始嘮叨著要學小提琴，在學前班就開始創(chuàng)作自己的曲子。十二歲時，他開始在俄羅斯跟一位音樂教授學習，很快成為了一名音樂會小提琴家，被稱為神童，直到十六歲時感到疲倦，轉(zhuǎn)而開始創(chuàng)作獨具特色的流行音樂。

By this time, the twenty-nine-year-old had managed to release three albums, win four Swedish Grammys and well establish himself in the industry – when the Crown Princess got married six months earlier, Salem Al Fakir had performed a specially composed song for the royal bride and groom during the festivities.

此時，這位29歲的藝人已經(jīng)發(fā)行了三張專輯，贏得了四座瑞典格萊美獎，并在音樂行業(yè)中穩(wěn)固了自己的地位。在六個月前，皇儲公主結(jié)婚時，Salem Al Fakir為皇室新人表演了一首特別創(chuàng)作的歌曲。

Salem did not really know what to expect in the basement studio; what he had heard of Avicii so far sounded to him like blippy computer game music. But their co-publisher had insisted that they do something epic together.

Salem并沒有對地下室錄音室報有期望；迄今為止他所聽到的Avicii的音樂聽起來像是電腦游戲中的叮叮聲。但他們的共同出版商堅持讓他們一起創(chuàng)作一些史詩級的音樂。

‘I think this sound is cool,’ Tim said, and screwed a digital synth on the screen as the studio was filled with a deep howl.

“我覺得這個聲音很酷，”Tim說著，然后在屏幕上調(diào)整了一個數(shù)字合成器，整個工作室被一陣深沉的嚎叫聲所充滿。

‘What do you think about this? Do you like it?’

“你覺得這個怎么樣？你喜歡嗎？”

On the keyboard that stood by the wall, Salem began to improvise based on a simple major chord. The rhythmic stomp slowly grew.

Salem站在墻邊的鍵盤旁，基于一個簡單的大調(diào)和弦開始即興演奏。有節(jié)奏的重音慢慢增強。

When Salem let his ring finger wander away to an unexpected tone, Tim reacted immediately.

當Salem的無名指漫游到一個意外的音調(diào)時，Tim立即做出了反應。

‘There! What did you do there?’

“就是那里！你做了什么？”

Salem played the same keys again.

Salem 再次彈了同樣的鍵。

‘Yes, exactly! That! Damn what a hook!’

“是的，就是那個！該死，多么吸引人的旋律！”

And so they met, an instrumentalist drilled in classical music theory and a self-taught guy who did everything out of emotion.

于是他們相遇了，一個受過古典音樂理論訓練的器樂手，和一個憑激情自學成才的家伙。

Salem was impressed by Tim’s lightning-fast ability to capture a tone that glimmered. Even a simple accompaniment needed variety and life, and Tim seemed to have a perfect ear for the small shifts that gave a song its spark. In addition, it was interesting to be around someone who moved so freely around the traditional structures.

Salem對Tim迅速捕捉到閃耀音調(diào)的能力印象深刻。即使是簡單的伴奏也需要多樣性和生命力，Tim似乎對賦予歌曲活力的微小變化有著完美的嗅覺。此外，身邊有一個如此自由地在傳統(tǒng)結(jié)構(gòu)外穿梭的人是很有趣的。

Tim was now sitting at the computer and working out a drop that didn’t gave a damn about the framework that the 4/4 time signature would usually create. He stretched the sequence out, pulling it far beyond the first beat, in a way that went against all conventional ways of composing house music. It was noticeable that Tim wasn’t educated – it was also clear that he had total control over what he was doing.

Tim此刻正坐在電腦前，設(shè)計一段旋律，根本不在乎通常4/4拍子框架所創(chuàng)造的規(guī)律。他將這個序列拉得很長，遠遠超出了第一拍的范圍，這種方式違反了所有傳統(tǒng)的創(chuàng)作電子音樂的方式。顯然，Tim并沒有接受過專業(yè)的訓練，但他完全掌控自己的創(chuàng)作。

Tim, on the other hand, envied Salem’s ability to master the instruments. He himself used the keyboard only as an idea machine, to get a feel for the sound and melody. Then he drew up the corresponding chords; with the computer mouse he could control the nuances with greater precision. Salem’s fingers seemed to be able to handle every single instrument on earth, it didn’t matter if it was strings or keys or boulders that were placed in front of him.

而另一方面，Tim羨慕Salem熟練掌握樂器的能力。Tim只把鍵盤當作一個創(chuàng)意機器，用來感受聲音和旋律。然后他會列出相應的和弦；通過電腦鼠標，他可以更精確地控制細微差別。Salem的手指似乎能夠彈奏地球上每一種樂器，不管是弦樂器、鍵盤還是放在他面前的石頭。

This was the direction Tim wanted to go in. With the help of a musician like Salem, he would be able to make songs that in the future wouldn’t be out of place next to Ray Charles or Nina Simone or any of his dad’s favourites on the vinyl record shelf in Skillinge.

這正是Tim想要走的方向。在Salem這樣的音樂家的幫助下，他將能夠制作出未來不會和Ray Charles或Nina Simone或他父親最喜歡的黑膠唱片架上的任何歌曲格格不入的歌曲。

Tim could not hold back when he wrote to Arash: ‘THIS IS SO DAMN SIIIIIIIICK!’

當Tim發(fā)消息給Arash時，他忍不住說道：“這太他媽的棒了！”

What a fucking anthem they had made. And it went so quickly. How long did it take, like three hours? When they parted, they basically had a finished song; Salem had promised to go home and finish the lyrics.

他們創(chuàng)作了一首多么棒的頌歌。而且完成得如此之快。他們花了多長時間，三個小時嗎？當他們分開時，他們基本上已經(jīng)有了一首完成的歌曲；Salem已經(jīng)承諾回家完成歌詞。

It would be called ‘Silhouettes’.

它將被稱作Silhouettes（剪影）。

‘We have to get him to fall in love with house too, so we can do 1000 things together!’

我們要讓他也愛上浩室音樂，這樣我們才能一起做1000件事情！

Outside of the studio, in the office space in the basement, the work went on day and night.

在工作室之外，地下室的辦公空間里，工作日夜不停。

The others sat around Arash’s black armchair, in cheap folding chairs from IKEA.

其他人圍在Arash的黑色扶手椅旁，坐在宜家的廉價折疊椅上。

By this time, the main squad of At Night had formed.

此時，At Night的主力小隊已經(jīng)形成。

Carl Vernersson had gone to the same school as Tim in both junior high and high school, Tim had always thought he was well behaved and proper. Together with Panos Ayassotelis, a club promoter from Gothenburg, Vernersson booked gig after gig while the filmmaker Marcus Lindgren took the main responsibility for how Avicii was portrayed in the video clips on Facebook and YouTube.

Carl Vernersson曾經(jīng)和Tim在初中和高中就讀同一所學校，Tim一直認為他很守規(guī)矩。與來自哥德堡的俱樂部推廣員帕Panos Ayassotelis一起，Vernersson一次又一次地預定演出，而電影制片人Marcus Lindgren則主要負責在Facebook和YouTube上展示Avicii的形象。

Filip Holm now also belonged to the office crew – he had slowed down on the touring and instead started working as an assistant to Arash.

Filip Holm現(xiàn)在也成為了辦公室團隊的一員——他在巡演方面減緩了腳步，轉(zhuǎn)而開始擔任Arash的助手。

Filip Holm watched his boss’s drive with fascination. Arash Pournouri had the entire repertoire of a salesman, could be presumptuous and persuasive when he needed to, cold and calculating when it was convenient. The opponent was an enemy to be defeated, the competition ruthless.

Filip Holm著迷地看著他的老板開車。Arash Pournouri擁有一名推銷員的全部技能，當需要時可以自負而有說服力，當便利時冷靜而精明。對手是需要打敗的敵人，競爭是殘酷的。

Holm adopted the same techniques. They would do all negotiations by email, and always let the other party place the first bid. Instead of answering what Avicii cost for one night, they would ask what the promoter’s budget was. Either they were then offered more than the price really was or the bid was so low that they could immediately dismiss the question. The bookers had exposed themselves while At Night had not shown their cards.

Holm采用了同樣的技巧。他們會通過電子郵件進行所有談判，并始終讓對方先開價。他們不會回答Avicii一夜的費用是多少，而是會問推廣者的預算是多少。要么他們會被提供比實際價格更高的價格，要么出價太低，以至于他們可以立即拒絕該問題。預訂者已經(jīng)暴露了自己的底牌，而At Night卻沒有。

At the beginning of 2011, they were able to squeeze out almost fifteen thousand dollars for certain gigs, and that price tag was rising quickly.

2011年初，他們能夠為某些演出擠出近一萬五千美元的價格，而這個價格標簽在迅速上漲。

When something important was going on, everyone in the office was expected to be available around the clock. If they were to take over the world, they would have to work in several time zones at once. And Arash himself pushed harder than anyone else. He used to go home in the evening to have dinner with his girlfriend and daughter, but after a couple of hours he would return to the basement and stay well into the night.

當有重要事件發(fā)生時，辦公室里的每個人都被期望隨時能夠工作。如果他們想要征服世界，就必須同時在多個時區(qū)工作。而Arash本人比任何人都更加努力。他曾經(jīng)晚上回家與女友和女兒共進晚餐，但幾個小時后他會回到地下室，一直工作到深夜。

‘This will be fucking mode,’ said Marcus Lindgren, who sat at his place and worked on a new video.

Marcus Lindgren坐在自己的位置上，制作著一段新視頻，“這將是他媽的完美模式(mode)?！?/span>

The expression came from Sebastian Ingrosso. Mode was to be pronounced as in English and meant that something was good, nice, powerful. Meich, on the other hand, was miserable or boring. Pagir meant money, and both s?nder and v?rst were amplifying superlatives.

這個說法來自Sebastian Ingrosso。Mode的發(fā)音應該和英語一樣，意思是某物很好、不錯或者很有力量。相反，Meich則表示某物很糟糕或者很無聊。Pagir則表示金錢，而s?nder和v?rst都是加強語氣的最高級別形容詞。

There was a lot that was v?rst right now. Lindgren finished editing something on a Tuesday and by Thursday hundreds of thousands of people had already seen it.

眼下有很多事情都很v?rst。Lindgren在一個周二完成了某個編輯工作，到周四已經(jīng)有成千上萬的人看到了它。

‘Do-do-do-do-do-do-do,’ Tim hummed for Arash in one of the latest clips, which was filmed on a train on their way to a gig in Gothenburg.

“Do-do-do-do-do-do-do，”Tim在最新的一個視頻里為Arash哼唱，這個視頻是在他們前往哥德堡的演出途中在火車上拍攝的。

Tim had made a new tune, one that felt effective and big. He had laid seven, eight synths and acoustic piano chords on top of each other, until he reached a sound that was rich and distinct at the same time. Wet finger snaps, screaming sirens and a rumbling bass.

Tim創(chuàng)作了一首新曲，給人感覺非常有力量和大氣。他將七八個合成器和鋼琴和弦疊加在一起，直到達到了一個豐富而又獨特的音色。濕潤的拍手聲，尖叫的警笛和隆隆的低音。

‘Damn, that’s cool,’ said Tim.

“該死，這太酷啦，”Tim說。

‘Yeah, it’s fucking cool,’ said Arash.

“對，這太他媽酷了?！?/span>

Tim also had a sample that would probably fit over the melody. The music was almost fifty years old, recorded in 1962 by one of his dad’s favourite artists. ‘Something’s Got A Hold On Me’, as the original song was called, was a love song where blues singer Etta James explained how her new love made her blissful and thrilled. Producer duo Pretty Lights had used the same part in the song ‘Finally Moving’ a few years earlier, that’s how Tim had found the sample.

Tim還有一個采樣，可能適合這個旋律。這首歌幾乎有五十年的歷史，是他父親最喜歡的藝術(shù)家之一在1962年錄制的。原名為Somethings Got A Hold On Me的歌曲是一首愛情歌曲，藍調(diào)歌手Etta James解釋了她的新戀人如何讓她感到幸福和興奮。二人制作組Pretty Lights幾年前在歌曲Finally Moving中使用了同樣的部分，這就是Tim找到這個采樣的方式。

‘Ooooh . . .’

“哦......”

‘What are you up to?’ asked Arash.

“你在干什么？”Arash問。

‘Trying to put it in the right key.’

“試圖將它放在正確的調(diào)上。”

While Tim smiled, Etta James’s raspy voice echoed across the train: ‘Ooooh, sometimes . . . I get a good feeling!’

Tim面帶微笑，Etta James嘶啞的聲音在火車上回蕩：“哦哦，有時候……我會感到一種美好的感覺！”