搬運(yùn)自：微信公眾號(hào)【評(píng)論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文與排版調(diào)整）?

翻譯：Lynn Liu

校對(duì)：Joonly EC

排版：Peter D

After a run of dates playing “obtuse, strange” music as a warm-up act for the xx, Sam Shepherd translates that experimental energy to an album of mischievous, melodic, stripped-down electronic music.

Sam Shepherd為The XX巡演的暖場演奏了一系列“遲緩、奇怪”的音樂，在這之后，Sam Shepherd把這種實(shí)驗(yàn)性的能量注入到一張活潑、動(dòng)聽且簡約的電子音樂專輯之中。

Sam Shepherd is a meticulous fellow. Whether he’s tracking down a rare piece of vinyl for his voluminous record collection, wiring up an arcane modular synthesizer, or putting together the latest iteration of his audiovisual live show, there’s an attention to detail at work that’s practically unrivaled in electronic music. (Shepherd also managed to complete a PhD in neuroscience a few years back, so he’s clearly no slouch in his other endeavors, either.) The London producer exudes a nerdy yet winning enthusiasm, and each step in his decade-long career has felt carefully considered. Even his impeccable 2015 debut album,?Elaenia, which surprised many people by skirting the dancefloor almost entirely, turned out to be a natural evolution of his sound and craft.

Sam Shepherd非常嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)——他無論是為自己龐大的唱片收藏尋找一張罕見的黑膠唱片，還是為神秘的化合成器布線，或是為自己的現(xiàn)場表演制作最新版本的音樂，他對(duì)細(xì)節(jié)的把控在電子音樂領(lǐng)域幾乎是無與倫比的。(Shepherd在前幾年還取得了神經(jīng)科學(xué)博士學(xué)位，所以他在其他方面自然也不賴。)這位倫敦的制作人散發(fā)著一股書呆子氣息，可他卻能贏得觀眾的熱情，在他長達(dá)十年的音樂生涯中，每一步都是經(jīng)過深思熟慮的。即便是他2015年完美的首張專輯《Elaenia》(它幾乎完全避開了舞曲風(fēng)格，讓很多人感到意外)，也被證明是他聲音和技藝的自然演變。

Knowing this, it’s genuinely surprising that he created the latest?Floating Points?full-length,?Crush, in only five weeks. The album was born in the aftermath of a 2017 tour opening for?the xx. After touring?Elaenia?for a couple of years with a full live ensemble, Shepherd suddenly found himself alone onstage—in 20,000-capacity venues, no less—improvising with just a Roland drum machine and a Buchla synth. While he initially planned to keep things mellow, he quickly threw that plan out the window, choosing instead to embrace a more “chaotic” vibe and warm the crowd up with what he?describes?as “some of the most obtuse, strange, difficult music of my life.” It was a risky choice, but the shows left Shepherd feeling invigorated, and he was determined to continue these focused machine experiments once he returned to the studio.

了解這些后，他在短短五周內(nèi)就創(chuàng)作出Floating Points最新專輯《Crush》，這著實(shí)令人驚訝。這張專輯誕生于2017年為The XX巡演做開場之后。Shepherd帶著一個(gè)完整的現(xiàn)場樂隊(duì)為《Elaenia》巡演了幾年之后，突然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己成了舞臺(tái)上的一個(gè)獨(dú)行客——在能容納2萬人的場地里，他只用一臺(tái)羅蘭鼓和一臺(tái)Buchla合成器在即興表演。雖然他最初打算讓音樂變得柔和，但他很快就放棄了這個(gè)想法，而是選擇了一種更“混沌”的音樂氛圍，就像他說的那樣，他將用“一生中最遲緩、最奇怪、最復(fù)雜的音樂”來打動(dòng)聽眾。這個(gè)選擇雖然有些冒險(xiǎn)，但這些表演讓Shepherd感到精力充沛，他決心回到演播室后繼續(xù)這些重點(diǎn)的音樂實(shí)驗(yàn)。

Knowing that, you might expect?Crush?to be an intense, frenzied effort, but in Shepherd’s case, economy doesn’t preclude elegance. While certain elements—a distorted rhythm here, a shuddering synth there—can be traced back to those rough-and-tumble live shows with the xx, the LP as a whole is strikingly melodic and often beautiful, even in its most frantic moments. Take “Bias,” one of the LP’s strongest offerings: The track opens with subdued, almost pensive synth tendrils and brooding baritone, which intermingle and creep slowly skyward before a vibrant breakbeat sneaks in and eventually erupts, yanking the entire production onto the dancefloor.

知道了這一點(diǎn)，你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為《Crush》是一張緊張、狂亂的專輯，但對(duì)Shepherd來說，簡約并不妨礙優(yōu)雅。雖然某些元素——扭曲的節(jié)奏，顫動(dòng)的合成器，這些可以追溯到The XX混亂的現(xiàn)場表演，但整體上，專輯的旋律出奇的優(yōu)美，即使在最瘋狂的時(shí)刻也是如此。以這張專輯最有力的作品之一 “Bias”為例:這首歌的開頭非常柔和、近乎憂郁的合成器音色以及低沉的號(hào)聲，它們混合在一起，緩慢地向上延伸，直到充滿活力的碎拍悄然而至，最終爆發(fā)，把整首歌拉進(jìn)舞池。

Crush?is not hurting for club-ready material. “Last Bloom” is another dancefloor cut with a cinematic streak, with a swinging, slightly off-kilter drum pattern nodding to UK garage as the song’s jaunty melodies bubble along. You could be forgiven for mistaking it for the work of?Four Tet?or?Caribou, two of Shepherd’s closest friends. There’s also no missing “LesAlpx,” the album’s soaring, proggy first single. The track has a lot in common with 2014’s “Nuits Sonores,” arguably Floating Points’ most forceful tune to date, although “LesAlpx” actually goes much harder, veering into proper techno territory as Shepherd layers an array of crunchy modular melodies and technicolor synth blooms atop its sturdily galloping rhythm.

《Crush》與俱樂部已經(jīng)有的音樂并不沖突。“Last Bloom”是另一首帶有電影風(fēng)格的舞曲，伴著搖擺、略不平衡的鼓聲，它向英國車庫舞曲致敬。你可能會(huì)把它誤認(rèn)為是Four 或TetCaribou的作品，他們兩位是Shepherd的好友，所以這樣的誤認(rèn)是可以理解的。專輯中也沒有漏掉“LesAlpx”，這是專輯中激烈的首支單曲。這首歌與2014年的“Nuits Sonores”有很多相似之處，可以說這是Floating Points迄今為止最有力的曲調(diào)，不過 “LesAlpx”實(shí)際上行進(jìn)得要艱難得多，它進(jìn)入到科技舞曲后，Shepherd把一組嘎吱作響的模塊旋律劃分出層次，在其強(qiáng)勁的節(jié)奏上釋放出繽紛的合成器音色。

Shepherd has spoken often about his early clubbing experiences and their profound impact on his musical outlook, and?Crush?shows just how much his work carries on the legacy of London’s fertile club scene during the latter half of the 2000s. Those years saw early dubstep dancing alongside underground house, techno, garage, and a variety of leftfield rhythms, most notably in venues like Plastic People, which played host to all-night sessions from artists like Four Tet and?Theo Parrish, along with groundbreaking dubstep nights like FWD>>. Experimentation and cross-pollination were paramount, and although this genre-melding moment was ultimately fleeting, it revitalized the UK scene and introduced a new generation of young producers, including Shepherd, whose initial flurry of releases began in 2009.

Shepherd經(jīng)常談到他早期的泡吧經(jīng)歷，以及這些經(jīng)歷對(duì)他的音樂觀產(chǎn)生的深遠(yuǎn)影響?！禖rush》向我們展示了他的作品是如何繼承了00年代末倫敦豐厚的俱樂部文化遺產(chǎn)的。那些年見證了早期的達(dá)布舞曲與地下音樂、電子音樂、車庫舞曲，leftfield各種各樣的旋律一起跳舞，最引人注目的是像Plastic People這樣的俱樂部，他們主辦了Four Tet和Theo Parrish等藝術(shù)家的通宵演出，以及像FWD>>這樣開創(chuàng)性的達(dá)布舞曲之夜。實(shí)驗(yàn)和交流是至關(guān)重要的，盡管這一類型融合的時(shí)刻最終是短暫的，但它重振了英國的舞臺(tái)，并引入了新一代的年輕制片人，包括了Shepherd，他的最早的歌曲發(fā)行始于2009年。

While?Crush?isn’t an explicit?homage to Plastic People?(which sadly closed in early 2015), the album does embody the club’s open-minded, music-first spirit. Although the scene that birthed him has long since devolved, Shepherd—a jazz-loving, vinyl-hunting, ensemble-building, classically trained outsider who only occasionally makes what could be described as proper dance music—has nevertheless become a prominent torchbearer for the ideals of that crucial era in UK electronic music.?Crush?is something of a return to Floating Points’ more dancefloor-oriented material from the first half of this decade, particularly in comparison to?Elaenia?and 2017’s jammy, rock-influenced?Reflections - Mojave Desert, but the LP is also a sonically diverse effort with extended forays into modular synthesis, baroque new age, hyperactive IDM, and more.

雖然《Crush》并不有明確地向Plastic People致敬(很遺憾，Plastic People在2015年初就關(guān)閉了)，但這張專輯確實(shí)體現(xiàn)了該俱樂部思想開放、音樂至上的精神。盡管那個(gè)孕育了他的場景已經(jīng)被遺忘很久了，但Shepherd—— 這個(gè)爵士樂迷、黑膠唱片買手、劇院迷、受過古典訓(xùn)練的局外人，只會(huì)偶爾創(chuàng)作出一些可以被描述為舞蹈音樂的歌曲，他仍然成為英國電子音樂關(guān)鍵時(shí)期理想的杰出的火種手。與Floating Points《Elaenia》以及17年推出的舒適、帶搖滾風(fēng)格的《Reflections - Mojave Desert》相比，《Crush》這張專輯，反而回歸到了10年代前期的舞曲風(fēng)格，但這張專輯也是多元化努力的結(jié)果，它擴(kuò)展了模塊化的合成器，巴洛克式的新世紀(jì)音樂，極度活躍的智能舞曲等等。

The quieter passages are some of the album’s best. The stunning “Falaise” opens the record with a simmering cauldron of trembling synths and strings, the sense of drama building as the music gradually swells into an orchestral crescendo. More delicate is “Sea-Watch,” a gentle sketch that sounds like a melancholy lullaby constructed with a lightly buzzing modular set-up. “Requiem for CS70 and Strings” is another symphonic gem, its combination of classical sensibilities and Buchla-generated new-age wanderlust recalling the magic of?Suzanne Ciani’s first solo albums.

專輯中安靜的曲目反而是最好的。眩暈的“Falaise”的開端就像一口文火慢燉的鍋，鍋中的合成音色和弦樂都在翻滾著，隨著音樂逐漸膨脹轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楣芟覙返臐u強(qiáng)音，戲劇感也隨之產(chǎn)生。更精致的一首歌是“Sea-Watch”，這像是一幅溫和的素描，聽起來就像一首憂郁的搖籃曲，由一個(gè)微微嗡嗡作響的模塊組成?！癛equiem for CS70 and Strings”是另一首交響樂的精華，它將古典情感和Buchla創(chuàng)造的新時(shí)代漫游癖融合在一起，讓人回想起Suzanne Ciani第一張個(gè)人專輯的魔力。

Crush?has its more experimental flourishes too, and it’s in these moments that you can best imagine Floating Points holed up in his studio, tinkering with his machines. The closing couplet of “Apoptose Pt. 1” and “Apoptose Pt. 2” is built atop a foundation of burbling Buchla rhythms, although Shepherd infuses both tracks with a twitchy energy that channels the percussive ping-pong of 1990s IDM. He takes things even further on “Anasickmodular,” where ethereal melodies and a sturdy garage beat are suddenly swept aside as the track disintegrates into a flurry of whirring synths and gnarled drum sounds. The element of chaos is something new for Floating Points, and while disorder may seem antithetical to his generally thoughtful approach,?Crush?offers proof that Shepherd has quickly learned to harness its noise and power. In a live setting, this material might have the potential to blossom into something unruly, but on the LP it comes across as more mischievous than deranged.

《Crush》也有著更多實(shí)驗(yàn)性的花樣，在這些歌曲中，你可以想象Floating Points在他工作室里的樣子，在擺弄他的機(jī)器。“Apoptose Pt. 1”和“Apoptose Pt. 2”的結(jié)尾處是在Buchla節(jié)奏的基礎(chǔ)上創(chuàng)作的，盡管Shepherd給這兩首歌注入了一種焦慮，就像上世紀(jì)90年代IDM樂隊(duì)會(huì)加入的那種乒乓作響的音效一樣。他在“Anasickmodular”中加入了更多的元素，輕靈的旋律和強(qiáng)勁的車庫節(jié)拍突然被拋到一邊，音軌分解成一連串旋轉(zhuǎn)的合成成音色和粗糙的鼓聲。對(duì)于Floating Points來說，這些混亂的元素是一個(gè)全新的概念，雖然混亂似乎與Shepherd一貫深思熟慮背道而馳，但《Crush》證明了Shepherd很快就學(xué)會(huì)利用噪音和力量。在現(xiàn)場表演中，這些素材可能會(huì)變成某種難以駕馭的東西，但在專輯中，它給人的感覺更像是某種惡作劇，而不是精神錯(cuò)亂。

Perhaps a little bit of mischief is exactly what Shepherd needed. An album like?Elaenia?may have impressively distilled Shepherd’s influences into a single, long-form statement, but it also took him five years to finish and largely sidelined his dancefloor impulses.?Crush, on the other hand, provides a more complete picture of his artistic outlook, bringing his club sensibilities back into the mix while also feeling like the most relaxed and confident Floating Points effort to date. Shepherd will likely always be someone who dotes on the details, but this time around, he was smart enough to realize that the five weeks he’d spent on?Crush?were enough. He’d done all he needed to do, and more importantly, he was happy with the result. Sometimes, the most important decision is knowing when to stop.

也許Shepherd需要的正是一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)惡作劇。像《Elaenia》這樣的專輯可能已經(jīng)將Shepherd影響濃縮成一份單獨(dú)、長期的聲明，但這也花了他五年的時(shí)間去完成這張專輯，并在很大程度上減少了他創(chuàng)作舞曲的沖動(dòng)。另一方面，《Crush》則更全面地展現(xiàn)了他的藝術(shù)視野，將他俱樂部敏感加入到這種混搭中，同時(shí)也讓人感覺到了Floating Points迄今為止最放松、最自信的努力。Shepherd可能是一個(gè)非常注重細(xì)節(jié)的人，但這一次，他聰明地意識(shí)到自己在《Crush》上花五周時(shí)間就已經(jīng)足夠了。他已經(jīng)做了他需要做的，更重要的是，他對(duì)這個(gè)結(jié)果很滿意。有時(shí)候，最重要的決定就是知道何時(shí)停止。