LAURE SHANG: GRACELAND
Critically acclaimed Chinese artist and fashionista Laure Shang clearly spent the last few years going through a dark and melancholic phase. At least in terms of what she expressed artistically. With such albums as Nightmare 魔, IN and Ode To The Doom, she seemed to grow more and more morose with each release.
In my very positive review of Ode To The Doom last year, I wrote that Laure was like a cross between the controversial French pop icon Mylène Farmer and Marilyn Manson at his creepiest.
Well, it would seem that Laure has now emerged through the light at the end of the tunnel, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, with her new release Graceland. In fact, the album is said to be a fairy tale-like concept album exploring things like innocence, hope, simplicity and desire. But, fear not, Laure is still Laure and it's not overly uppity or sickeningly sweet. It's just not super morbid or depressing.
Graceland is spread over two CDs. (FYI, I don't believe the title has anything to do with Elvis, though that's surely what it'll make American readers think of.) The first CD features an instrumental intro and three songs primarily in Mandarin. The second CD features English versions of these songs. Only she didn't simply take the insrumentals from the Mandarin versions and sing English translations of the vocals on top of them. While the themes are still the same, it would seem that she wrote different, original lyrics for the English versions of the songs, rather than just translating the Mandarin. In fact, even the titles differ. For example, the song "小星星" is given the English translation "The Star" on Yes Asia and in the credits for the music video. But the English version of the song is *not* called "The Star." Instead, it's called "Little Star." A slight difference, but a difference nevertheless. And the English version of the next song is even more different. In Mandarin, the title is "太阳从西边升起," with the official translation being "Another Sunshine." But the English title is "Life's Alright." The final song is called "越爱越明白" in Mandarin with the translation "Love Changes Love," but the English title is "When Lovers Find Their Lovers." Suffice to say the two versions of the songs are quite different and I find it admirable that she made them that way. If you listen to both versions, like myself, it makes things more interesting. And I would think that people who actually speak both Mandarin and English would especially find it fascinating. If nothing else, it just goes to show you what a true artist Laure is, that she'd rather use her creativity and write new lyrics for the English versions of the songs instead of just translating the Mandarin (or vice versa).
Furthermore, the music for the Mandarin and English versions isn't quite the same. (More on this below.) To my ears, it sounds like parts were re-recorded and others remixed. To that end, "小星星" was produced by Jean-Francois Maljean, but the English version of the song, “Little Star,” was produced by David Kosten, who produced all of the other tracks (both languages) as well.
Both of the CDs open with an instrumental, the titles of each both being in English. On the Mandarin CD, it's called "Twinkle," but on the English CD it's called "Sparkling." To my ears, both tracks sound exactly the same, but a friend knows someone who apparently has a better ear than mine and this person said they're not. But, since I can't tell the difference, let's just talk about "Twinkle." Basically, it's a piano version of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," but Laure has clearly made little changes to it, giving it a classical music vibe, and it's a lovely little intro to the fairy tale-like world these songs inhabit.
The second track on the Mandarin disc, "小星星" ("The Star") is a beautiful ballad that begins with gentle piano that sounds like a continuation of the intro track. Soon, Laure begins singing. She starts off doing so very softly, in an almost hypnotic manner, but as the song progresses the sound of the piano grows louder and intensifies, as does Laure's voice. Eventually, around three minutes into the song, haunting strings join the picture, calling to mind Kronos Quartet's otherworldly score for Requiem for a Dream. But first there's a benevolent and poetic spoken word part in English. The first half: "When we were young / We Lived in ourselves / Chasing dreams / Hiding in our universe."
Rather than reviewing one CD and then the other, I thought it would be more interesting to compare the Mandarin and English versions of the songs. To that end, the English version of "小星星" ("The Star") is called "Little Star" and it's a full minute longer than the Mandarin version. Immediately, it's quite different, as it begins with faint, ambient noise -- almost like a cool breeze -- in the background behind the piano. Other differences quickly emerge as well, as Laure starts off singing the song more resonantly and lots of little electro-embellishments and tender strings help paint an especially colorful picture. Around a minute and a half into the song, thundering beats kick in and proceed to bang along almost abrasively, completely changing the tone of the song, rendering it rather uncanny. I would say that it's just as beautiful as the Mandarin version, but it's almost like its opposite in many ways, harsh where the Mandarin version is soft and loud where it's quiet. Even before the beats start hammering away insistently, it almost sounds menacing when Laure starts off singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little star / How I wonder who you are / Light the night sky in the dark / With your bright and tiny spark." Fans of Laure's darker material will especially appreciate this version of the song.
The Mandarin version of "太阳从西边升起" begins with little electro beats and synthy orchestration before a boisterous beat drops and Laure simultaneously starts singing. Although it's a mid-tempo song, it's got such vigor that it feels just as energetic as any up-tempo song, particularly during the chorus, which has gorgeous background harmonies and potent strings. While the music has a gloomy air about it, Laure's vocals would seem to radiate hope. At the end, we hear what's apparently supposed to be a radio broadcast, or some sort of transmission, and a man says, "It's all ended happily."
The English version of "太阳从西边升起" is called "Life's Allright" and I must say that the music to these two tracks sounds almost exactly the same. I think the mix is a little different, but the beats and synth and so forth sound very, very similar. "This morning sunshine / Said some pretty words of mine / I kissed her forehead and said goodbye / On her lips I caught a glimpse of smile," Laure sings as it begins, her lyrics as poetic as ever. "Love is a prize / But just a little bit / Don't take too much / Just a little bit," goes the first part of the chorus, if I understand correctly. (The music is so sonorous that sometimes it's difficult to decipher the lyrics.) Like the Mandarin version, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it sounds rather dreary, but one still detects a ray of hope in there and I believe it's intended to be at least somewhat uplifting.
The final track on the Mandarin version, "越爱越明白," begins with Laure singing along tenderly to strings and new age-ish humming. An up-tempo drum beat quickly joins the picture and it proves to be something of a rock song with a rather inspiring if not entirely uplifting vibe. The English version, "When Lovers Find Their Lovers," reveals itself to be an uber-romantic love song. "I gave you all my love / I gave you all my power / I loved you with my heart," Laure sings. "You gave me all your love / You gave me the power to understand / And everything we used to say / And everything we shared."
Even after listening to the English version several times, and knowing what the themes are, it's hard to say what the story of this concept album is supposed to be exactly. But I think Laure is more concerned with conveying emotions and ideas than a concise narrative. If I had to speculate, to me, it sounds like it's about how we all start off innocent as a little star, though ultimately alone, but if we have hope and try then we can find eventually find our soulmates. Of course, I could be completely wrong, so don't let my interpretation be the deciding factor in whether or not you check this out.
I think this is a release that will be most appreciated by romantics and dreamers, especially those who like fairy tales, and people who are quite fond of pop that is truly artistic and not formulaic. If Lady Gaga's ARTPOP isn't artsy enough for you, then you should definitely visit Graceland. -Michael McCarthy
Critically acclaimed Chinese artist and fashionista Laure Shang clearly spent the last few years going through a dark and melancholic phase. At least in terms of what she expressed artistically. With such albums as Nightmare 魔, IN and Ode To The Doom, she seemed to grow more and more morose with each release.
In my very positive review of Ode To The Doom last year, I wrote that Laure was like a cross between the controversial French pop icon Mylène Farmer and Marilyn Manson at his creepiest.
Well, it would seem that Laure has now emerged through the light at the end of the tunnel, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, with her new release Graceland. In fact, the album is said to be a fairy tale-like concept album exploring things like innocence, hope, simplicity and desire. But, fear not, Laure is still Laure and it's not overly uppity or sickeningly sweet. It's just not super morbid or depressing.
Graceland is spread over two CDs. (FYI, I don't believe the title has anything to do with Elvis, though that's surely what it'll make American readers think of.) The first CD features an instrumental intro and three songs primarily in Mandarin. The second CD features English versions of these songs. Only she didn't simply take the insrumentals from the Mandarin versions and sing English translations of the vocals on top of them. While the themes are still the same, it would seem that she wrote different, original lyrics for the English versions of the songs, rather than just translating the Mandarin. In fact, even the titles differ. For example, the song "小星星" is given the English translation "The Star" on Yes Asia and in the credits for the music video. But the English version of the song is *not* called "The Star." Instead, it's called "Little Star." A slight difference, but a difference nevertheless. And the English version of the next song is even more different. In Mandarin, the title is "太阳从西边升起," with the official translation being "Another Sunshine." But the English title is "Life's Alright." The final song is called "越爱越明白" in Mandarin with the translation "Love Changes Love," but the English title is "When Lovers Find Their Lovers." Suffice to say the two versions of the songs are quite different and I find it admirable that she made them that way. If you listen to both versions, like myself, it makes things more interesting. And I would think that people who actually speak both Mandarin and English would especially find it fascinating. If nothing else, it just goes to show you what a true artist Laure is, that she'd rather use her creativity and write new lyrics for the English versions of the songs instead of just translating the Mandarin (or vice versa).
Furthermore, the music for the Mandarin and English versions isn't quite the same. (More on this below.) To my ears, it sounds like parts were re-recorded and others remixed. To that end, "小星星" was produced by Jean-Francois Maljean, but the English version of the song, “Little Star,” was produced by David Kosten, who produced all of the other tracks (both languages) as well.
Both of the CDs open with an instrumental, the titles of each both being in English. On the Mandarin CD, it's called "Twinkle," but on the English CD it's called "Sparkling." To my ears, both tracks sound exactly the same, but a friend knows someone who apparently has a better ear than mine and this person said they're not. But, since I can't tell the difference, let's just talk about "Twinkle." Basically, it's a piano version of the nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," but Laure has clearly made little changes to it, giving it a classical music vibe, and it's a lovely little intro to the fairy tale-like world these songs inhabit.
The second track on the Mandarin disc, "小星星" ("The Star") is a beautiful ballad that begins with gentle piano that sounds like a continuation of the intro track. Soon, Laure begins singing. She starts off doing so very softly, in an almost hypnotic manner, but as the song progresses the sound of the piano grows louder and intensifies, as does Laure's voice. Eventually, around three minutes into the song, haunting strings join the picture, calling to mind Kronos Quartet's otherworldly score for Requiem for a Dream. But first there's a benevolent and poetic spoken word part in English. The first half: "When we were young / We Lived in ourselves / Chasing dreams / Hiding in our universe."
Rather than reviewing one CD and then the other, I thought it would be more interesting to compare the Mandarin and English versions of the songs. To that end, the English version of "小星星" ("The Star") is called "Little Star" and it's a full minute longer than the Mandarin version. Immediately, it's quite different, as it begins with faint, ambient noise -- almost like a cool breeze -- in the background behind the piano. Other differences quickly emerge as well, as Laure starts off singing the song more resonantly and lots of little electro-embellishments and tender strings help paint an especially colorful picture. Around a minute and a half into the song, thundering beats kick in and proceed to bang along almost abrasively, completely changing the tone of the song, rendering it rather uncanny. I would say that it's just as beautiful as the Mandarin version, but it's almost like its opposite in many ways, harsh where the Mandarin version is soft and loud where it's quiet. Even before the beats start hammering away insistently, it almost sounds menacing when Laure starts off singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little star / How I wonder who you are / Light the night sky in the dark / With your bright and tiny spark." Fans of Laure's darker material will especially appreciate this version of the song.
The Mandarin version of "太阳从西边升起" begins with little electro beats and synthy orchestration before a boisterous beat drops and Laure simultaneously starts singing. Although it's a mid-tempo song, it's got such vigor that it feels just as energetic as any up-tempo song, particularly during the chorus, which has gorgeous background harmonies and potent strings. While the music has a gloomy air about it, Laure's vocals would seem to radiate hope. At the end, we hear what's apparently supposed to be a radio broadcast, or some sort of transmission, and a man says, "It's all ended happily."
The English version of "太阳从西边升起" is called "Life's Allright" and I must say that the music to these two tracks sounds almost exactly the same. I think the mix is a little different, but the beats and synth and so forth sound very, very similar. "This morning sunshine / Said some pretty words of mine / I kissed her forehead and said goodbye / On her lips I caught a glimpse of smile," Laure sings as it begins, her lyrics as poetic as ever. "Love is a prize / But just a little bit / Don't take too much / Just a little bit," goes the first part of the chorus, if I understand correctly. (The music is so sonorous that sometimes it's difficult to decipher the lyrics.) Like the Mandarin version, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it sounds rather dreary, but one still detects a ray of hope in there and I believe it's intended to be at least somewhat uplifting.
The final track on the Mandarin version, "越爱越明白," begins with Laure singing along tenderly to strings and new age-ish humming. An up-tempo drum beat quickly joins the picture and it proves to be something of a rock song with a rather inspiring if not entirely uplifting vibe. The English version, "When Lovers Find Their Lovers," reveals itself to be an uber-romantic love song. "I gave you all my love / I gave you all my power / I loved you with my heart," Laure sings. "You gave me all your love / You gave me the power to understand / And everything we used to say / And everything we shared."
Even after listening to the English version several times, and knowing what the themes are, it's hard to say what the story of this concept album is supposed to be exactly. But I think Laure is more concerned with conveying emotions and ideas than a concise narrative. If I had to speculate, to me, it sounds like it's about how we all start off innocent as a little star, though ultimately alone, but if we have hope and try then we can find eventually find our soulmates. Of course, I could be completely wrong, so don't let my interpretation be the deciding factor in whether or not you check this out.
I think this is a release that will be most appreciated by romantics and dreamers, especially those who like fairy tales, and people who are quite fond of pop that is truly artistic and not formulaic. If Lady Gaga's ARTPOP isn't artsy enough for you, then you should definitely visit Graceland. -Michael McCarthy
