In "Everyday Scenes," we follow the perspective of an uncle as he interprets the Japanese lyrics sung by Boyuan: "Today, I also saw many cute girls, and the unchanging daily life always feels happy."
However, the climax of this story is an emotional confession: "With your lens, everything is different."
The music of the Chair Band traverses different languages, skillfully blending Japanese, Chinese, English, and even Minnan dialect and the dialect of the Taiwanese indigenous Amis tribe. By combining these diverse languages with elements of 1960s psychedelic rock, the Chair Band excels at presenting cultural diversity within a single movement.
In their first album, they mainly used acoustic guitars, and their style at the time was closer to folk music. However, in the album "Lovely Sunday," the band tried many new playing techniques and even invited the drummer Luo Zunlong from Sunset Rollercoaster and saxophonist Xie Mingyan to assist, which had a significant impact on the formation of their musical style.
How should the style of the Chair Band be defined? Some people emphatically believe it is "ambiguous," while others say they are retro. There are also sarcastic remarks saying they have become romantic, vaporwave, gentle, rock... Rong Yi expressed in an interview that their style is now very diverse and difficult to categorize. If they must be classified, they hope to create a new music category called "Chair Music."
The Chair Band, who grew up in Taiwan, chooses imagery filled with warmth and freshness when writing lyrics, just like most people's intuitive impression of Taiwanese TV dramas. For example, in "If I Can't Sleep Tonight," they sing, "If I'm wrapped in nights of longing, you'll help me light a cigarette, turning into the red snow of twilight." In "Back Mountain Dance Music," they sing, "The sea breeze carries a hint of saltiness"... Their lyrics are filled with beautiful imagery and rich visual experiences. Combined with their unique singing style and arrangement, they are as refreshing as a sea breeze. In their bright and beautiful world, the Chair Band's lovely Taiwanese dialect, candid speech, and smiling faces are as refreshing as honey lemonade on a hot summer day.
They will write songs in a funny "Wangfu" style and dedicate songs to their grandmother's little dog, Archie. They will give you cheerful advice, "You can cry as much as you want! Do you know how luxurious tears are? Dissolve all emotions, I envy your ability to enjoy weakness." They will dedicate their first composition to their father, singing in the soft Minnan dialect, "Dreaming Dreams." They will also write sweet love songs, "I may be a dreamer baby, tonight I'll be dreaming with you"...
I have personally attended a live performance by the Chair Band and unexpectedly found that the audience below did not create chaos, but gently swayed their bodies. When emotions reached their peak, the Chair Band's fans would salute together, "Salute to cuteness and gentleness!" The most memorable moment was during the song "Rollin' On," which sparked a chorus from the entire audience. The warm blue lights swayed on the stage as young people swayed their bodies and sang along with the band, "Rolling on."
You are my galaxy, and I am your singer, chasing your light and warmth is my eternity. Where will we wake up tomorrow? I don't know, but tonight we'll be fine.
This article is synchronized with xLog by Mix Space.
The original link is https://nishikori.tech/posts/essay/2024-03-30