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First meeting with Ash went well, started out as him just helping me out and eventually grew into our first management agreement. I remember him telling me he would make me the biggest DJ in the world, and that he knew exactly how to do so.

與Ash的第一次見面很順利，一開始只是他幫我一些忙，最終發(fā)展成我們的第一份管理協(xié)議。我記得他告訴我，他會(huì)讓我成為世界上最著名的DJ，并且他知道如何做到。

I was happy and thought it was cool as fuck to have a manager at 18 so I went along with it, having no work experience at all.

我當(dāng)時(shí)很開心，覺得自己18歲就有經(jīng)紀(jì)人很酷，所以就跟著他走了，其實(shí)我完全沒有工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

___________

WHEN TIM WOKE UP the sun was scorching his face, the black tin roof almost boiling. When he lifted his head, he could look out over the conglomeration of rooftops of Stockholm’s centre. Straight ahead rose Sankta Klara’s church tower, to the right was the square Norra Bantorget; it was possible to catch a glimpse of the tourists gliding along the shopping street of Drottninggatan.

當(dāng)Tim醒來時(shí)，太陽炙烤著他的臉，黑色的鐵皮屋頂幾乎滾燙。當(dāng)他抬起頭時(shí)，他可以俯瞰斯德哥爾摩市中心密集的屋頂。正前方屹立著Sankta Klaras教堂塔樓，右邊是Norra Bantorget廣場(chǎng); 可以瞥見游客們?cè)贒rottninggatan購物街上滑行。

Right after graduation, just a few weeks after the meeting with Arash, Tim had moved away from home, to his older brother Anton’s old pad on Kammakargatan in the middle of the city.

畢業(yè)后不久，在與Arash見面的幾個(gè)星期后，Tim就搬離了家，去了哥哥Anton在Kammakargatan市中心的舊公寓。

He had one year. During that time, his parents would pay for Tim’s living expenses while he tested the waters to see if music could be financially viable. He had found a perfect strategy. At night he would stay up and work on songs and in the morning when it became impossible to stay awake, he would climb up on the roof and lie down on the small ledge. That way he got both sleep and sun. Although he fried himself red, he thought that the spots seemed to disappear with the burn.

他只有一年的時(shí)間。在這段時(shí)間里，他的父母會(huì)支付Tim的生活費(fèi)用，同時(shí)他會(huì)嘗試制作音樂是否可以在經(jīng)濟(jì)上可行。他想到了一個(gè)完美的策略。晚上他會(huì)熬夜寫歌曲，早上當(dāng)他無法保持清醒時(shí)，他會(huì)爬上屋頂，躺在小窗臺(tái)上。這樣他既能睡覺又能曬太陽。雖然他把自己曬得通紅，但他認(rèn)為痘痘似乎隨著曬太陽而消失了。

Now he was lifting himself down through a hatch, continuing along the steps that sat against the wall, and landing in the building’s attic storage. The one-room apartment was a few staircases down and was cluttered with unwashed plates, packets of tobacco, and burned CDs. The bed was supposed to be pushed up against the wall, but since Tim could never make a bed it basically filled the whole room, except for the area occupied by a refrigerator that he had filled up with Coca-Cola and frozen pizzas.

現(xiàn)在他正通過一個(gè)艙口爬下來，沿著靠墻的樓梯，并著陸在建筑物的閣樓儲(chǔ)藏室。這間一室公寓在幾個(gè)樓梯下，雜亂無章地堆放著未洗的盤子、煙草包和燒毀的CD。床原本應(yīng)該靠著墻，但由于Tim從來不會(huì)整理床鋪，所以床基本占據(jù)了整個(gè)房間，除了一個(gè)他裝滿可口可樂和冷凍披薩的冰箱占據(jù)的區(qū)域。

Tim squeezed himself through and sat down at the desk and continued working. He had got money from his parents to buy components and accessories for a computer he had assembled himself. It had fast processors, RAM and a hard drive that could handle huge amounts of data. The mousepad was called Razer Destructor and was covered by a metal coating that allowed Tim to make quick movements across the screen, which was not only good for playing World of Warcraft but also for building chords.

Tim擠過去，坐到桌子前繼續(xù)工作。他從父母那里得到了購買電腦組件和配件的錢，然后自己組裝了一臺(tái)電腦。它擁有快速處理器、內(nèi)存和可以處理大量數(shù)據(jù)的硬盤。鼠標(biāo)墊叫做雷蛇毀滅者，覆蓋著金屬涂層，使得Tim可以在屏幕上快速移動(dòng)，這不僅有利于玩《魔獸世界》，也有助于構(gòu)建和弦。

The best part was that Arash Pournouri had a plan. He had already explained how the music industry worked; he thought about boring stuff like distribution, positioning and marketing strategies.

最好的部分是Arash Pournouri有一個(gè)計(jì)劃。他已經(jīng)解釋了音樂行業(yè)是如何運(yùn)作的; 他考慮了像分銷、定位和營銷策略這樣令人乏味的事情。

The strategy was pretty hands-on. Through his experience as a DJ and club promoter, Arash had acquired email addresses and phone numbers for people in the business. He would quickly find a bunch of more established artists who were interested in letting a couple of young and promising Swedes do remixes of their songs. This way, Tim and Filip wouldn’t have to start from scratch for each production and in addition they would be piggybacking on the bigger artists. If they managed to do one remix a month, their names would be established as producers who continuously delivered quality work.

這個(gè)策略非常實(shí)際。通過他作為DJ和俱樂部推廣人的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，Arash已經(jīng)獲得了業(yè)內(nèi)人士的電子郵件地址和電話號(hào)碼。他很快就會(huì)找到一些更有名的藝術(shù)家，他們有興趣讓幾個(gè)年輕有為的瑞典人為他們的歌曲做混音。這樣，Tim和Filip就不必每次都從頭開始制作，而且他們還可以借助這些更大的藝術(shù)家。如果他們每個(gè)月能完成一首混音，他們的名字就會(huì)作為不斷提供高質(zhì)量作品的制作人而得到認(rèn)可。

Arash had already arranged the first assignment: the German DJ Francesco Diaz wanted an official remix of his song ‘When I’m Thinking Of You’.

Arash已經(jīng)安排好了第一個(gè)任務(wù)：德國DJ Francesco Diaz想要他的歌曲When I'm Thinking Of You的官方混音版。

As Tim sat sandwiched in between the window and his unmade bed, his thoughts wandered freely, without pondering what was considered cool or quirky. He wanted to make his own versions of the Swedish 80s group Secret Service, or of Duran Duran or Eurodance artists like 2 Unlimited and Cut ‘N’ Move.

當(dāng)Tim坐在窗戶和未整理的床之間時(shí)，他的思緒自由地漫游，而不需要考慮什么是酷或古怪的。他想要?jiǎng)?chuàng)作自己的版本，就像瑞典80年代的樂隊(duì)Secret Service一樣，或者像Duran Duran或歐洲舞曲藝術(shù)家2 Unlimited和Cut 'N Move一樣。

So far, Arash thought those were not good enough ideas. While Tim went entirely on gut feeling, his manager was more analytical. He praised himself for the ability to put himself in the shoes of the public. Arash listened to music at home, in the car, with headphones, constantly trying to analyse how different audiences would react to a song.

到目前為止，Arash認(rèn)為這些想法都不夠好。雖然Tim完全憑直覺行事，但他的經(jīng)理更具分析能力。他自稱能夠站在公眾的角度思考問題。Arash在家里、車?yán)锖痛髦鷻C(jī)時(shí)都在聽音樂，不斷地分析不同觀眾對(duì)一首歌曲的反應(yīng)。

He emailed his comments on Tim’s songs with bullet points, and they could end up being long lists of things that should be changed. A drop could be heavier, a sample should be cut off sooner, a snare could hit quicker.

他用電子郵件發(fā)表了對(duì)Tim歌曲的評(píng)論，并列出要點(diǎn)，最后可能是一長串應(yīng)該修改的地方。drop應(yīng)該更重，采樣應(yīng)該更快地切斷，小軍鼓應(yīng)該更快地打擊。

Then they would go through the suggestions together. Getting rid of an element in a beat could be as effective as adding one. It was important to be frugal with the sounds, to refine them. The mass audience wouldn’t remember the intricacies of a song, but the essence.

然后他們一起討論這些建議。刪除一個(gè)節(jié)拍元素可能會(huì)像添加一個(gè)一樣有效。重要的是要節(jié)約使用聲音，將它們精煉。大眾聽眾不會(huì)記得一首歌曲的細(xì)節(jié)，但會(huì)記得它的本質(zhì)。

One thing was important: Arash wanted to have full control of the commercial side of things, while Tim would be free to focus on being creative. After his previously bombed projects, Pournouri would never lose control again. No one could work as excruciatingly hard as him, and every time he had handed responsibility to others everything had gone to shit. If Tim didn’t trust that Arash would make him into a global phenomenon, then it was better that they didn’t work together.

有一件事很重要：Arash想要完全掌控商業(yè)方面的事情，而Tim則可以自由地專注于創(chuàng)造性工作。在之前失敗的項(xiàng)目之后，Pournouri再也不會(huì)失去控制了。沒有人能像他一樣辛苦地工作，每次他把責(zé)任交給別人，一切都會(huì)變得一團(tuán)糟。如果Tim不相信Arash會(huì)把他變成全球級(jí)現(xiàn)象，那么最好他們不要再一起工作了。

In return, Tim could focus on exactly what he wanted, namely to sit in front of the newly purchased twenty-four-inch screen and click melodies together. For Tim it sounded like a perfect set-up.

作為回報(bào)，Tim可以專注于他想做的事情，也就是坐在新購置的二十四英寸屏幕前點(diǎn)擊旋律。對(duì)Tim來說，這聽起來是一個(gè)完美的安排。

After graduation Filip ?kesson had taken a job behind the counter at a grocery store near the square of Karlaplan. He already felt as though he had fallen behind his friend: Tim was making great musical progress every week. But not everyone had parents who wanted to sponsor their son in such an uncertain endeavour as possibly becoming a house producer. Filip had to work, but after his shift he would hurry to Kammakargatan to see what Tim had accomplished during the day.

畢業(yè)后，F(xiàn)ilip ?kesson在Karlaplan廣場(chǎng)附近的一家雜貨店的柜臺(tái)后找到了一份工作。他已經(jīng)感到自己落后于朋友：Tim每周都在取得巨大的音樂進(jìn)步。但并非每個(gè)人的父母都愿意資助兒子從事如此不確定的事業(yè)，例如成為一名house音樂制作人。Filip必須工作，但下班后他會(huì)匆忙趕往Kammakargatan，看看Tim在這一天完成了什么。

One evening, ?kesson arrived a couple of hours later than agreed because he had lost track of time on an errand. A guy at the Engelbrekt school had had a quarter ounce of Black Afghan for sale.

有一天晚上，?kesson 晚了幾個(gè)小時(shí)才到，因?yàn)樗谵k事時(shí)失去了時(shí)間概念。Engelbrekt學(xué)校的一個(gè)人正在出售四分之一盎司的Black Afghan。

Tim was already angry when Filip walked in. It wasn’t because his buddy was late, Tim clarified, but that he had spent their precious time buying hashish.

當(dāng)Filip走進(jìn)來時(shí)，Tim已經(jīng)生氣了。Tim澄清道，這不是因?yàn)樗呐笥堰t到了，而是因?yàn)樗速M(fèi)了他們寶貴的時(shí)間去購買大麻。

They had a chance to do something big now – Arash had made contact with the company Vicious Grooves in Australia, and Laidback Luke was still eager to release something, he was just waiting for the right track.

他們現(xiàn)在有機(jī)會(huì)做一件大事——Arash已經(jīng)與澳大利亞的Vicious Grooves公司取得聯(lián)系，而Laidback Luke仍然渴望發(fā)布一些東西，他只是在等待合適的音軌。

‘Fuck you,’ Filip yelled, ‘don’t be such a fucking pussy.’

“操，”Filip大喊，“別他媽像個(gè)娘們一樣。”

Tim went up into falsetto, getting angry at his friend for the first time.

Tim開始用假聲說話，這是他第一次對(duì)他的朋友發(fā)脾氣。

‘If you’re going to mess around with that then I don’t want anything to do with you!’

“如果你要用它來搗亂，那我就不想跟你有任何關(guān)系！”

One day Arash came to Kammakargatan with a few boxes of used equipment. They lined up two CD players on each side of a mixer from Numark.

一天，Arash帶著幾箱舊設(shè)備來到了Kammakargatan。他們?cè)趤碜訬umark的混音器兩側(cè)放置了兩個(gè)CD播放器。

At their first meeting Arash had explained that the real money was in performing live. It wasn’t until they had some real global hits that would they make money on the tracks themselves. People had got used to downloading files for free and therefore the songs were more to be considered a way to launch their names than anything else. The real business opportunity was the gigs.

在他們第一次見面時(shí)，Arash曾解釋過，真正賺錢的在于現(xiàn)場(chǎng)表演。只有當(dāng)他們有了一些真正的全球熱門歌曲，他們才能從這些曲目中賺到錢。人們已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了免費(fèi)下載文件，因此這些歌曲更多地被視為推出他們的名字的一種方式，而不是其他什么。真正的商業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)是演出。

Arash showed how the cables should fit, went through the most important buttons and the basics of how a crossfade on the mixer worked. It wasn’t so difficult, the technology they would soon get familiar with. The crucial thing was to learn to read the room, something that Arash had understood when he played his sets in Oslo. With a little practice they could learn to tell if the girls in the back were dancing for real or ironically or if the guys along the wall were ready for the harder stuff.

Arash展示了電纜應(yīng)該如何安裝，介紹了最重要的按鈕，以及混音器上交叉漸變的用法。這并不是很難，他們很快就會(huì)熟悉這些技術(shù)。關(guān)鍵是要學(xué)會(huì)讀取房間的氛圍，這是Arash在Oslo演出時(shí)理解到的。稍加練習(xí)，他們就可以分辨出后面的女孩是真心跳舞還是在諷刺，或者靠著墻壁的男孩是否準(zhǔn)備好了聽更猛烈的音樂。

It was possible to divide a DJ set into three different phases, Arash explained. First it was a matter of warming up the crowd, so that they started vibing to the music and dared to move towards the dance floor. Then it was about getting them to turn up, playing more and more intense stuff. Finally, it was peak time, when everybody in the club would want to get fucked up for real. A good DJ at that point already had the dance floor in his hand and could control the audience’s attention like a skilful film director. Once Tim and Filip got there, they could pretty much play anything, preferably the hardest shit they had.

Arash解釋說，可以將DJ表演分為三個(gè)不同的階段。首先是為觀眾預(yù)熱，讓他們開始感受音樂并勇敢地朝著舞池移動(dòng)。然后是讓他們?cè)絹碓脚d奮，播放更加激烈的音樂。最后是高峰時(shí)刻，當(dāng)俱樂部里的每個(gè)人都想真正瘋狂的時(shí)候。這時(shí)候好的DJ已經(jīng)掌握了舞池，并像熟練的電影導(dǎo)演一樣控制著觀眾的注意力。一旦Tim和Filip到達(dá)那里，他們基本上可以播放任何東西，最好是他們最硬核的音樂。

Arash had already arranged the first gig. It was going to take place at Carlsson’s, a school a stone’s throw away from Tim’s parents’ home, where a dance was thrown for the students in the ninth year.

Arash已經(jīng)安排好了第一場(chǎng)演出。它將在Carlssons舉行，這是距離Tim父母家僅有一步之遙的一所學(xué)校，在那里為九年級(jí)學(xué)生舉辦了一場(chǎng)舞會(huì)。

The afternoon before the school dance, Tim and Filip sat on the bed in Tim’s cramped pad and burned their songs of Tocadisco and Eric Prydz and David Guetta on CDs. Tim drummed his foot against the floor, clapped his hands on his knees, stood up, walked around in circles.

學(xué)校舞會(huì)前的那個(gè)下午，Tim和Filip坐在Tim狹小公寓的床上，把托卡迪斯科、埃里克·普里茲和大衛(wèi)·格塔的歌曲刻錄成CD。Tim在地板上敲打著腳，拍打著他的膝蓋，站起來，在房間里轉(zhuǎn)了幾圈。

‘Can I play this?’

“我可以放這首歌嗎？”

‘Yeah, man, that’s a vibe!’

“當(dāng)然，多有氛圍啊！”

‘Are you sure that I can play it?’

你確定我能放嗎？

Filip was nervous too, but Tim seemed totally freaked out. Each and every muscle in his body was tense, a cascade of words came out of his mouth.

Filip也很緊張，但Tim似乎完全被嚇壞了。他身體每一塊肌肉都繃緊了，一連串的話從他嘴中涌出。

The more they had got to know each other the more Filip ?kesson had seen that Tim was anxious about nearly everything. He had obsessive thoughts about pulling the door handle four times, he was forced to arrange the bottles of Coca-Cola in the refrigerator in a particular way. Without warning he could get a pain in his chest and make Filip feel if a cancerous tumour had grown or not. But this was still a whole new level of tension.

隨著彼此更深入地了解，F(xiàn)ilip ?kesson越來越發(fā)現(xiàn)Tim幾乎對(duì)所有事情都感到焦慮不安。他有強(qiáng)迫性的想法，會(huì)反復(fù)想著拉門把手四次，他必須按照特定的方式整理冰箱里的可樂瓶。他會(huì)突然感到胸口疼痛，讓Filip觸摸是不是癌癥腫瘤長大了。但這仍然是一種全新的緊張水平。

After a while Filip got tired of it. There wasn’t really so damn much to think about, was there? You had to bite down and get through the hard stuff, be resourceful. No one else would solve your problems and those who believed so were Social Democrats and you weren’t one of those in ?stermalm.

過了一會(huì)兒，F(xiàn)ilip感到厭煩了。實(shí)際上，沒有那么多東西可以考慮，不是嗎？你必須咬緊牙關(guān)，度過艱難的時(shí)期，要有足夠的應(yīng)變能力。沒有人會(huì)解決你的問題，那些相信這一點(diǎn)的人是社會(huì)民主黨人，而你不是那些在?stermalm的人。

‘Can I end with this track?’ Tim asked.

“我可以用這首歌結(jié)尾嗎？”

‘Of course you can. Shit, just lighten up. Look for your balls and call me when you find them.’

“當(dāng)然可以。該死的，放松點(diǎn)。找找你的勇氣，找到了再打給我?！?/span>

The gig was to take place in a downstairs hall at the school. To Tim’s great relief, it turned out that the students were much more interested in finding someone to make out with than listening to how his transitions between songs sounded.

演出將在學(xué)校的一間地下大廳進(jìn)行。讓Tim松了一口氣的是，學(xué)生們對(duì)于找人接吻比起聽他的歌曲過渡更感興趣。

During the summer of 2008 Tim and Filip got a more consistent gig. There was a café called Cozy in S?dermalm that was open at night, perhaps a place that no one actively sought out, but it was located at a busy intersection where people ended up for a piece of pie after a full day of shopping.

在2008年夏天，Tim和Filip得到了一個(gè)更加穩(wěn)定的演出機(jī)會(huì)。S?dermalm有一家名為Cozy的咖啡館，晚上營業(yè)，也許沒有人特意尋找這個(gè)地方，但它位于一個(gè)繁忙的交叉路口，人們?cè)谫徫锪艘徽旌髸?huì)去那里吃一塊派。

Tim and Filip had to set up their equipment by the aisle near the kitchen, right next to the cash register. The café was actually a very good place to practise their DJ skills, as the only person who really moved to the music was the owner of the place, an acquaintance of Arash who always requested ‘Body Language’ by the German house duo Booka Shade. But suddenly, in the middle of a song, Tim happened to brush across the pause button, and the music stopped.

Tim和Filip不得不在廚房過道旁邊的收銀機(jī)旁設(shè)置他們的設(shè)備。這家咖啡館實(shí)際上是練習(xí)他們DJ技能的好地方，因?yàn)槲ㄒ徽嬲魳窊u動(dòng)的人是這個(gè)地方的老板，Arash的熟人，他總是要求播放德國House二人組Booka Shade的Body Language。但突然間，在一首歌的中間，Tim碰到了暫停按鈕，音樂停了下來。

Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka the speakers stammered out, while Filip waited for Tim to press play again.

Filip等待Tim重新按下播放鍵，而揚(yáng)聲器卡-卡-卡-卡-卡-卡-卡-卡-卡-卡地結(jié)巴著。

Nothing happened. Tim stood petrified, paralysed with shame. Filip had to lean over his friend and start the music again.

什么都沒有發(fā)生。Tim呆若木雞，因?yàn)樾呃⒍c瘓。Filip不得不俯身到他的朋友身邊，重新開始播放音樂。

It had been an almost unnoticeable thing, ten seconds that the coffee-drinking customers hadn’t even spotted. But for Tim it was a critical error, a moment of humiliation.

這是一個(gè)幾乎不被注意的小事，喝咖啡的顧客們甚至都沒有注意到。但對(duì)于Tim來說，這是一個(gè)關(guān)鍵性的錯(cuò)誤，一個(gè)羞辱的時(shí)刻。

He no longer wanted to play at Cozy.

他不再想在Cozy演出了。

A few months later the pattern repeated.

幾個(gè)月后，這個(gè)模式再次重復(fù)。

Arash had another friend who worked with Young08, a festival that the Stockholm municipality arranged for the city’s teenagers. The centre of the festivities was Kungstr?dg?rden, a park in the middle of the city that for a few days filled up with tents where government employees tried to teach lustful teenagers how to wear a condom or how to act in the event of a fire.

Arash還有一個(gè)朋友與Young08合作，這是斯德哥爾摩市為城市青少年舉辦的一個(gè)節(jié)日。慶?；顒?dòng)的中心是Kungstr?dg?rden，這是城市中心的一個(gè)公園，幾天內(nèi)會(huì)被帳篷填滿，政府員工會(huì)試圖教育充滿欲望的青少年如何使用避孕套或在火災(zāi)發(fā)生時(shí)如何行動(dòng)。

Arash had arranged for Tim to be part of the closing show on Friday night – he would perform on the same stage as Miami rapper Flo Rida and the Jamaican duo Brick & Lace, in front of five thousand kids. It was like the greatest thing ever.

Arash已經(jīng)安排好了Tim參加周五晚上的閉幕秀，他將在與邁阿密饒舌歌手佛羅里達(dá)和牙買加二人組Brick & Lace同臺(tái)表演，面對(duì)五千名觀眾。這就像是最偉大的事情。

Tim reeled.

Tim懵了。

‘Nobody cool goes there,’ he said, ‘that’s for tweens.’

“沒人會(huì)去那里的，”他說，“那是為小孩子準(zhǔn)備的。”

Filip ?kesson understood that it wasn’t about the audience’s age. It was about how many people there were. A packed Kungstr?dg?rden was totally different than a café in S?dermalm. Now Tim would no longer be an unnoticeable figure who anonymously played songs, now someone would loudly call him up on to the stage.

Filip ?kesson明白，觀眾的年齡并不重要，重要的是人數(shù)。滿滿的皇家花園與S?dermalm的咖啡館完全不同?，F(xiàn)在，Tim將不再是一個(gè)匿名演奏歌曲的不起眼人物，現(xiàn)在，有人會(huì)大聲叫他上臺(tái)了。

Tim refused. He had eight hundred arguments that all boiled down to one thing: he would not perform that Friday night.

Tim拒絕了。他有八百個(gè)理由，但歸根結(jié)底就是一件事：他不會(huì)在那個(gè)星期五晚上表演。

Philgood had to take his place.

Philgood必須代替他的位置。

If Tim had a hard time getting used to the feeling of being a DJ, he worked all the more intensely in front of the computer. When a song was nearing completion the trio took a trip in Arash’s car to get a sense of how the music was mixed, if the sounds were compressed and tight enough to work on the radio.

如果Tim在適應(yīng)成為DJ的感覺方面遇到了困難，他會(huì)更加努力地在電腦前工作。當(dāng)一首歌曲接近完成時(shí)，三人會(huì)乘坐Arash的車，以了解音樂是如何混音的，聲音是否被壓縮并緊密地工作在廣播中。

Tim and Filip had discovered that the Mornington Hotel on Nybrogatan had a gym that often stood empty. There, Tim was able to connect his phone to the system and turn up the volume in the speakers fixed on the walls. Among exercise balls and barbells, he and Filip evaluated the hefty bass line in Tim’s latest song, ‘Ryu’.

Tim和Filip發(fā)現(xiàn)Nybrogatan的Mornington酒店有一間經(jīng)?？罩慕∩矸俊Ｔ谀抢?，Tim能夠?qū)⑺氖謾C(jī)連接到系統(tǒng)，并將固定在墻上的揚(yáng)聲器的音量調(diào)高。在運(yùn)動(dòng)球和杠鈴之間，他和Filip評(píng)估了Tim最新歌曲Ryu中沉重的低音線。

This piece of electro meant somewhat of a breakthrough. ‘Ryu’ along with ‘Strutnut’ were the first songs that Laidback Luke thought stood out enough for him to release them on his record label Mixmash.

這首電子音樂作品算是一個(gè)突破。Ryu和Strutnut是Laidback Luke認(rèn)為足夠出色，值得在他的唱片公司Mixmash發(fā)行的第一批歌曲。

And it wasn’t just that. Luke also wanted to celebrate the release by inviting Tim, Filip and Arash to the US in March 2009 for a first gig on the other side of the Atlantic.

而且不僅如此，Luke還想通過邀請(qǐng)Tim、Filip和Arash在2009年3月到美國，在大西洋的另一邊進(jìn)行首場(chǎng)演出來慶祝發(fā)行。

The party that Luke organised would take place in the basement of a luxury hotel in Miami. Besides Tim, a couple of Dutch artists were on the pink flyer: the veteran duo Chocolate Puma and Hardwell, a guy of Tim’s age who had also hung out a lot on Luke’s online forum.

Luke組織的派對(duì)將在邁阿密一家豪華酒店的地下室舉行。除了Tim之外，還有幾位荷蘭藝術(shù)家也在粉色的傳單上：資深二人組Chocolate Puma和Hardwell，他和Tim年齡相仿，也經(jīng)常在Luke的在線論壇上混跡。

If there was any place in the US where a house producer would like to be seen, it was in Miami in March.

如果有一個(gè)美國的house制作人想要出名的話，那么他一定會(huì)在三月份去邁阿密。

The Winter Music Conference had started out as a traditional industry gathering at a conference hotel. Around the turn of the millennium a rave had been thrown in conjunction with the meeting, which had gradually grown into what was now called the Ultra Music Festival. The two events complemented each other: the Winter Music Conference offered seminars and panel debates for record company executives, booking agents and managers, and when the weekend came around the Ultra Music Festival attracted thousands of spring break-intoxicated students to party to death to explosive beats and laser shows. One year earlier, the Swede Eric Prydz had done his first festival show in the US at Ultra. At that time Lady Gaga had been in town, still a relatively unknown artist – now her song ‘Poker Face’ was well on its way to becoming 2009’s best-selling single.

冬季音樂會(huì)議最初是在會(huì)議酒店舉辦的傳統(tǒng)行業(yè)聚會(huì)。千禧年前后，一場(chǎng)狂歡派對(duì)與會(huì)議同時(shí)舉辦，逐漸演變成了現(xiàn)在所謂的Ultra音樂節(jié)。這兩個(gè)事件相互補(bǔ)充：冬季音樂會(huì)議為唱片公司高管、預(yù)定代理和經(jīng)理人提供研討會(huì)和專題討論，當(dāng)周末到來時(shí)，Ultra音樂節(jié)吸引了成千上萬的春假醉酒學(xué)生，為了享受爆炸性的節(jié)拍和激光秀而狂歡。一年前，瑞典人Eric Prydz在Ultra進(jìn)行了他在美國的首場(chǎng)音樂節(jié)演出。當(dāng)時(shí)Lady Gaga在城里，還是一個(gè)相對(duì)不知名的藝術(shù)家，現(xiàn)在她的歌曲Poker Face已經(jīng)成為2009年最暢銷的單曲之一。

In general, dance music had long been overlooked in the US. While house music and techno had become mainstream genres in England, Germany and the Netherlands, they were still subcultures here. Of course, there had been sudden outbursts, moments when the scene had sparked – most recently in the late 90s when Brits like The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim had enjoyed successes on the charts. But at the same time, politicians had started to eye the culture and had cracked down hard on the raves held in warehouses and forests around the country. The seizures of Ecstasy had increased, and dance music was considered by many politicians a threat to young people. In 2002 the senator Joe Biden started to push through a bill called the RAVE Act – Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy. The proposal was criticised for being too extensive. Among other things, glow sticks were listed as reason enough for police to shut down a party. Even massage oils were seen as a sign of drugs.

總的來說，舞曲在美國長期以來一直被忽視。雖然在英國、德國和荷蘭，House音樂和Techno已經(jīng)成為主流音樂類型，但在美國它們?nèi)匀恢皇莵單幕?。?dāng)然，舞曲也曾經(jīng)出現(xiàn)過突然的爆發(fā)，最近的一次是在90年代末，當(dāng)時(shí)英國的The Prodigy、The Chemical Brothers和Fatboy Slim在排行榜上取得了成功。但與此同時(shí)，政客們開始關(guān)注這種文化，并且嚴(yán)厲打擊在全國各地的倉庫和森林里舉辦的狂歡派對(duì)。緝獲的搖頭丸越來越多，許多政客認(rèn)為舞曲對(duì)年輕人構(gòu)成威脅。2002年，參議員喬·拜登開始推動(dòng)一項(xiàng)名為RAVE Act的法案——減少美國人易受搖頭丸攻擊的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。這項(xiàng)提案因涉及過于廣泛而受到批評(píng)。其中，發(fā)光棒被列為警方關(guān)閉派對(duì)的足夠理由之一。甚至按摩油也被視為毒品的標(biāo)志。

Once the legislation came into force, it had been moderated, but Chicago, birthplace of house music, nevertheless became the country’s first city to ban rave parties without a permit. Since then, a number of notorious night-time police raids had cooled the scene considerably.

立法生效后，情況有所緩和，但芝加哥作為house音樂的發(fā)源地，仍然成為了全國第一個(gè)禁止未經(jīng)許可的狂歡派對(duì)的城市。從那時(shí)起，許多臭名昭著的夜間警察突襲已經(jīng)使現(xiàn)場(chǎng)迅速降溫。

The American radio stations had never really known what to do with music without traditional pop structure. Breaking through with a song that lacked verses, chorus and a bridge was considered virtually impossible in the United States.

美國的廣播電臺(tái)從來不知道如何處理沒有傳統(tǒng)流行結(jié)構(gòu)的音樂。在美國，一首沒有主歌、副歌、橋段的歌曲要打破重圍被認(rèn)為是幾乎不可能的。

There were certainly signs of change. The Frenchman David Guetta had just released a couple of songs that had started being played frequently on American radio. ‘When Love Takes Over’ was performed by Kelly Rowland, a former member of the American super trio Destiny’s Child, and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ was a party monster by the Los Angeles-based group Black Eyed Peas, where Guetta had distilled the repetitive bounce that made him so popular in his home country. The Frenchman seemed to have found a magical formula – combining the energy of European house music with the greatest of American pop singers.

變革的跡象顯然已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)。法國人大David Guetta剛剛發(fā)布了幾首歌曲，這些歌曲開始在美國廣播電臺(tái)上頻繁播放。其中When Love Takes Over由Kelly Rowland演唱，她曾是美國超級(jí)三人組Destinys Child的成員，I Gotta Feeling則是洛杉磯樂隊(duì)Black Eyed Peas的派對(duì)怪獸，Guetta在其中融合了他在祖國廣受歡迎的反復(fù)彈跳節(jié)奏。這位法國人似乎找到了一種神奇的配方——將歐洲浩室音樂的能量與美國最偉大的流行歌手結(jié)合在一起。

At the end of a long flight, Tim was leaning forward in his seat, hitting his knees. He looked out over the wings of the plane, seeing them rattle up and down in the strong wind. He knew that it would come to this. He hated flying, and every time he did, it was the landing that was the most unpleasant. Even for trained pilots, it must be a challenge to take a plane down, he thought, especially in this kind of turbulence. They had been circling the Miami airport for more than half an hour.

在漫長的飛行結(jié)束時(shí)，Tim身體前傾，雙手擊打著膝蓋。他望著飛機(jī)的機(jī)翼，看著它們?cè)趶?qiáng)風(fēng)中上下晃動(dòng)。他知道最終會(huì)變成這樣。他討厭飛行，每一次都是降落最令他不愉快。他想，即使對(duì)于受過訓(xùn)練的飛行員而言，在這種氣流中讓飛機(jī)降落肯定很有挑戰(zhàn)性。他們已經(jīng)在邁阿密機(jī)場(chǎng)上空盤旋了半個(gè)多小時(shí)。

‘Tim, now we’ll probably die.’

“Tim，現(xiàn)在我們可能要死了?！?/span>

Filip ?kesson, who had borrowed money from Tim’s father to be able to make the trip, laughed at Tim Bergling, sitting in the seat next to him.

Filip ?kesson向Tim的父親借了錢才得以旅行，他笑著看著坐在他旁邊的Tim Bergling。

‘We’re going to crash, Tim!’

“我們要墜機(jī)了，Tim！”

‘Fuck you, man!’

“去你的！”

Tim got a clean hit at Filip’s shoulder, which dispelled the anxiety for a moment.

Tim 準(zhǔn)確地打中了 Filip 的肩膀，這瞬間消除了他的焦慮。

They had arranged a meeting at a sushi restaurant on South Beach. Tim’s hand shook with nerves as he greeted Laidback Luke.

他們?cè)谀虾┑囊患覊鬯静蛷d安排了一次會(huì)面。Tim見到了Laidback Luke，緊張得手都在發(fā)抖。

‘I’m a little bit nervous about tomorrow, man. I haven’t been DJing for too long, so I’m not very used to the set-ups.’

“我有點(diǎn)擔(dān)心明天啊，伙計(jì)。我還沒有當(dāng)很長時(shí)間DJ，所以對(duì)設(shè)備還不是很熟悉?！?/span>

Lucas van Scheppingen, as Luke was actually called, knew exactly what Tim was going through. He himself had reached the age of thirty-one and had a long history of anxiety and self-doubt, although the cause was the opposite.

Lucas van Scheppingen，實(shí)際上就是他的名字，非常了解Tim正在經(jīng)歷的事情。他已經(jīng)31歲了，有著長期的焦慮和自我懷疑的歷史，盡管原因是相反的。

Lucas had no problem performing – on the contrary, he loved the stage. Up in his pulpit he could praise the power of music with intensity and technical bravery. But in front of the computer, it had for a long time been different. Lucas had been Tim’s age when the legendary Carl Cox started playing one of his songs in the late 90s and he suddenly saw his name in the music magazines lined up in the record stores of Amsterdam. This was exactly what Lucas had strived for in his life. He had fought for so long – now he just needed to prove that he deserved to stay on top.

Lucas在表演上沒有問題，相反，他熱愛舞臺(tái)。在他的論壇上，他可以以強(qiáng)烈的情感和技術(shù)勇氣贊美音樂的力量。但在電腦前，情況很長一段時(shí)間都不同。Lucas與Tim同齡，當(dāng)傳奇人物Carl Cox在90年代末演奏他的一首歌時(shí)，他突然在阿姆斯特丹唱片店的音樂雜志上看到了自己的名字。這正是Lucas一生所追求的。他為此奮斗了很長時(shí)間，現(xiàn)在他只需要證明自己配得上站在巔峰的位置。

The mental block became overpowering. Lucas had built a small studio in the guest room at home in Aalsmeer, but no matter how much he worked on a sequel to ‘The Stalker’, he got nowhere. In an entire afternoon and evening he could fiddle with the sound of a bass drum which he then ended up throwing away. He turned up the volume until it felt like his ears were bleeding, yet he couldn’t hear how it sounded. After a while, he stopped meeting up with his friends, stopped going out at all. When his friends asked, Lucas told them that he had been working in the studio all week. In fact, he had begun to spend the days in bed, where he veered between hubris and self-loathing.

精神障礙變得非常嚴(yán)重。Lucas在Aalsmeer的家里的客廳建了一個(gè)小工作室，但無論他如何努力創(chuàng)作The Stalker的續(xù)集，都沒有任何進(jìn)展。整個(gè)下午和晚上，他可以琢磨一個(gè)低音鼓的聲音，然后最終放棄。他把音量調(diào)高，直到耳朵像要出血一樣，但他聽不出聲音是怎么樣的。一段時(shí)間后，他不再與朋友見面，完全不出門。當(dāng)他的朋友問起時(shí)，Lucas告訴他們他一整周都在工作室里。實(shí)際上，他開始整天躺在床上，在自大與自我厭惡之間徘徊。

There were so many who dreamed of this chance – why did he not just seize the opportunity? But then again, Carl Cox had played his song: that must mean that he had become someone!

有那么多人夢(mèng)想獲得這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)——為什么他不抓住它呢？但是再想想，Carl Cox已經(jīng)播放了他的歌：這一定意味著他已經(jīng)成為了某個(gè)人！

One day as he stretched out on the couch to try to rest for a while, his body began to sting and tingle. At first almost imperceptibly, soon fiercely and intensely. Without warning, Lucas found it difficult to breathe. As he took in air, it was as if someone was pressing a hand over his throat. He tried to scream but was unable to draw in enough oxygen.

有一天，他躺在沙發(fā)上想要休息一會(huì)兒，但他的身體開始刺痛和發(fā)麻。一開始幾乎察覺不到，很快就變得非常劇烈。毫無預(yù)警地，Lucas覺得呼吸困難。當(dāng)他吸氣時(shí)，就像有人把手壓在他的喉嚨上。他試圖尖叫，但無法吸入足夠的氧氣。

After a while Lucas realised that he was probably having his first panic attack. He had no plans to tell anyone. He was a man, strong and capable. Anxiety was for weaklings, for wusses, for pussies. He would bear his own burden, bite down, and work harder.

過了一會(huì)兒，Lucas意識(shí)到自己可能正在經(jīng)歷他的第一次驚恐發(fā)作。他沒有打算告訴任何人。他是個(gè)男人，強(qiáng)壯而有能力。焦慮是準(zhǔn)備給懦弱的人、膽小鬼和懦夫的。他將承擔(dān)自己的重?fù)?dān)，咬緊牙關(guān)，更加努力工作。

Twelve years later at the sushi restaurant Lucas just tried to look as calm as possible, to instil a little courage in his Swedish guest.

十二年后，在壽司餐廳里，Lucas盡力保持冷靜，試圖給他的瑞典客人一些勇氣。

‘Just try and relax and feel the vibe of the room,’ he said to Tim Bergling. ‘If you can just sense what the crowd wants you’ll be fine.’

“放松下來，感受現(xiàn)場(chǎng)氛圍就好了，”他對(duì)Tim Bergling說，“只要你能感受到觀眾的需求，你就會(huì)做得很好?！?/span>

When the evening came, Tim played so early that the event was quite relaxed. Very few in the United States even knew who he was, no one came to just listen to him. They stood in the bar having a few drinks while Tim could calmly hone his beat mixing skills.

夜晚來臨時(shí)，Tim的演出非常早，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)非常輕松。在美國，很少有人知道他是誰，也沒有人特地來聽他的演出。他們站在酒吧里喝酒，而Tim則可以安靜地磨練他的打碟技巧。

Soon the whole week in Miami had passed and Filip ?kesson thought it was time to relax. Tim and Arash had been nagging about how important it was that they focused: they were here to make contacts and learn, it was no damn vacation. But now they had done all that important stuff and ?kesson had two acquaintances from Stockholm who said that they had got hold of some blow. Filip had never tried cocaine and felt the tingle of anticipation grow in his stomach.

很快，在邁阿密的整個(gè)星期過去了，F(xiàn)ilip ?kesson認(rèn)為是時(shí)候放松一下了。Tim和Arash一直在嘮叨著專注的重要性：他們來這里是為了結(jié)交人脈和學(xué)習(xí)，而不是度假。但現(xiàn)在他們已經(jīng)完成了所有重要的事情，?kesson有兩個(gè)來自斯德哥爾摩的熟人說他們弄到了一些可卡因。Filip從未嘗試過可卡因，感到期待的刺痛在他的胃中增長。

‘Don’t do it. It’s totally not worth it.’

“不要這樣做，完全不值得?！?/span>

Tim was sitting next to him on the hotel bed. Calmly and sternly, he once again went on about his shitty trip in France. He did not give up until he had made his friend promise not to take anything during the evening.

Tim坐在旅館的床上，旁邊是他的朋友。他冷靜而嚴(yán)厲地再次談?wù)撝诜▏脑愀庵谩Ｋ麍?jiān)持到底，直到他讓他的朋友承諾晚上不再服用任何東西。

‘Don’t do anything stupid, Filip, you’ll only regret it.’

“不要做傻事，F(xiàn)ilip，你會(huì)后悔的?！?/span>

When they met again a few hours later, it was at a club down on the beach. ?kesson felt so alert that he wondered if it was even noticeable that he was high. He went into the club’s bathroom to do another line. Three seconds later the door was kicked in.

幾個(gè)小時(shí)后，當(dāng)他們?cè)俅蜗嘤鰰r(shí)，是在海灘邊上的一個(gè)俱樂部里。 ?kesson覺得自己非常警覺，他不知道自己是否已經(jīng)顯露出自己吸毒的跡象。他走進(jìn)俱樂部的衛(wèi)生間再吸一點(diǎn)。三秒鐘后，門被踢開了。

The guards wrestled Filip down, forced his hands up behind his back and led him to a secluded room where they pushed him down on the floor.

警衛(wèi)將Filip摔倒，強(qiáng)迫他把手放在背后，然后把他帶到一個(gè)偏僻的房間，將他推倒在地。

‘Where’s your ID card?’

“你的身份證在哪？”

‘It’s in my back pocket,’ Filip answered, with a knee on his back and adrenalin pumping to his temples.

“在我的后口袋里，”Filip回答道，他的膝蓋頂在背上，腎上腺素沖到了太陽穴。

Pretty fucking cool scene he had made here anyway. It was just as good to continue.

他創(chuàng)造的場(chǎng)景真是太酷了。繼續(xù)下去也同樣棒。

‘There is some money in my pocket too,’ he said, taking a chance.

“我口袋里也有一些錢?！彼半U(xiǎn)說。

The guard dug out the bills, counting them silently.

警衛(wèi)掏出鈔票，默默地?cái)?shù)著它們。

‘One hundred and seventy dollars. I guess that’d be enough.’

“一百七十美元。我猜那應(yīng)該夠了。”

Dazed, ?kesson stumbled out of the small room. What the hell had really happened? Did he just manage to bribe an American nightclub guard? What a fucking king he was.

茫然不知所措，?kesson搖搖晃晃地走出小房間。到底發(fā)生了什么事？他剛剛成功賄賂了一名美國夜店保安嗎？他太牛逼了。

The next day, the feeling had turned into anxiety.

第二天，那種感覺變成了焦慮。

On the flight home, Tim sat isolated, with his headphones on and his nose in the screen. When they had found each other in the club crowd again and Filip had boasted about what had happened with the guards, Tim had only been disappointed. They had been arguing all morning. Tim thought Filip had broken his promise. Besides, he missed out on his chances – think of everything Arash had done for them!

在回家的飛機(jī)上，Tim獨(dú)自一人，戴著耳機(jī)，專注于屏幕。在俱樂部人群中他們?cè)俅蜗嘤龊?，F(xiàn)ilip吹噓自己與保安發(fā)生的事情，但Tim只感到失望。他們整個(gè)早上都在爭吵。Tim認(rèn)為Filip違背了他的承諾。此外，他錯(cuò)過了機(jī)會(huì)——想想Arash為他們所做的一切！

Demonstrably uninterested, Tim was now sitting in his seat and working on a beat.

顯然不感興趣的Tim現(xiàn)在坐在座位上，專注地做著節(jié)奏。

There was only one way to handle the tense situation, Filip thought, and asked the flight attendant for another whiskey.

Filip認(rèn)為，處理這種緊張局勢(shì)只有一種方法，他向空乘人員要了一杯威士忌。

Arash commented on the situation by quoting a hip-hop track by Xzibit, where the rapper and his companions bragged about their excessive drinking habits.

Arash引用了Xzibit的一首嘻哈歌曲來評(píng)論這種情況，這位說唱歌手和他的伙伴們吹噓他們過度的飲酒習(xí)慣。

Now Tim lit up. Suddenly he knew what the song he was working on would be called – ‘Alcoholic’.

現(xiàn)在Tim燃起了靈感。突然間，他知道他正在創(chuàng)作的歌曲將被稱為Alcoholic（酗酒者）。