Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Song: 黃昏都市人



Now I've come to bearing the brunt of Sydney's shortened daylight hours as winter arrives. During summer, the sun doesn't set until half past 8, but now after 5 the sky's pitch black. On the way back from uni or work, I feel more tired when the sun sets so early, exacerbated by quite cool evening winds and the hustle of commuters. How I wish I could live in a tropical place where it's summer all year around, as I dread cold weather more than anyone else on Earth!

The song "黃昏都市人" ("Evening City-Siders") sung by the pop trio Grasshoppers (草蜢) is the perfect song for this time of year. The trio is comprised of Edmond So (蘇志威), Calvin Choi (蔡一智), Remus Choi (蔡一傑) and was founded in 1985. They won the appreciation of Anita Mui (梅艷芳), whereupon they appeared as dancers and background chorus for several of Anita's songs. They released their first album under Polygram Records in 1988 and have enjoyed wide popularity in HK and SE Asia ever since. Grasshoppers is one of HK's most long-lasting pop music groups, and more importantly, the members can all compose music as well as writing lyrics.

"黃昏都市人" was composed by Calvin Choi (蔡一智), lyrics by famous HK lyricist Jolland Chan (向雪懷), music arranged by Andrew Tuason (杜自持). The song is light jazz, mellow and romantic like a city at night. Melody is very well written, arrangement by Mr. Tuason is simply divine....especially the sax solo, jazzy keyboards and drums! It's a song which you will love after listening once.


黃昏都市人Citizen of the Evening - Grasshopper


Lyrics/Music/Arrangement:

Lyrics: 9/10
Music: 9.5/10
Arrangement: 10/10

鬧市中 如同森林
街頭人潮如湧去來
總欠些開心 寫照一日人生

像吊燈 無言一個人
依然獨個地去等愛人
他會無聲走近 跟我歡渡黃昏

慢慢地妳漸行近 讓熱力暖在我心
撥弄亂髮極迷人 令視線拉近
落日像一顆愛心 讓魅力散落我身
恨路上寸步難行 望著如木偶

形麻木都市人
熱情熱誠未許過份
戀愛都要造作 熱愛急降低溫
冷淡冷落過份冷感

無情是都市人
未明白傳話的眼神
只要朝晚共處消耗光陰
卻未發現美麗黃昏

一些關心增添生活美感
一點真愛終於都有回音
情人陪同無論以後挽著兩手
這是最美麗時候

Monday, May 4, 2009

Profile: Alan Yat Kan Tsui

Uni's been so extremely busy that I haven't updated here for AGES....well, some of the work's out of the way now, thank goodness!! First topic for May, I've decided to talk about one of Cantopop's most important musicians, one of my favourites. His name is Alan Tsui (徐日勤), and this was what he looked like in the 80's (when producing the song "未唱的歌" which was mentioned earlier).


(Special Thanks to Annie Jin for providing this photo)

Alan, along with Dominic Chow (introduced earlier) and Andrew Tuason (杜自持), were three most outstanding students of Cantopop godfather Joseph Koo. He was an excellent composer, arranger, conductor, and producer who played a very significant role in the 80-90's HK music scene. While Dominic specialised in techno-music, and Andrew in R&B and jazz, Alan focused himself more on general pop, mainly heart-warming (at times heart-breaking) ballads.

Alan was best known for his perfect collaboration with Danny Chan (陳百強), but with other artists he produced many many great songs too. His father was also a renowned jazz pianist who was friends with Joseph Koo. Personal life wise, like most musicians he likes to keep a very low profile, but it is known that he had been involved in relationships with: Dorothy Yu (余綺霞) and Fennie Yuen (袁潔瑩).... thanks again to Annie for providing this information =)

Back to music-related stuff, here are some great songs Alan wrote (apart from "未唱的歌"). There are heaps more, but we do have limited space here.....

"Break-dancer" ("電光霹靂舞士"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Richard Lam, Sung by Kitman Mak (麥潔文)




"From Now On" ("從今以後"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Albert Leung, Sung by Danny Chan (陳百強)


從今以後- 陳百強 From Now On - Danny Chan


"Cuddle With Tears" ("與淚抱擁"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Calvin Poon, Sung by Priscilla Chan (陳慧嫻)


與淚抱擁Cuddle with Tears - priscilla Chan


"Only You Understand How To Love Me" ("還是妳懂得愛我"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Gene Lau (劉卓輝), Sung by Alan Tam (譚詠麟)





"Idol" ("偶像"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Calvin Poon, Sung by Danny Chan (陳百強)




"Mornings And Evenings" ("朝朝暮暮"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Albert Leung, Sung by Anita Mui (梅艷芳)


Mornings Opaque - Anita Mui


"Love Amidst Wind And Rain" ("相思風雨中"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Kan Ning (簡寧), Sung by Jacky Cheung (張學友) and Karen Tong (湯寶如)





"Behind the Bridal Veil" ("婚紗背後"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Calvin Poon, Sung by Paula Tsui (徐小鳳)


婚紗背後 (Backside Of The Bridal Veil) - 徐小鳳 Paula Tsui


"The Express of Forgotten Love" ("忘情號"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Albert Leung, Sung by Alex To (杜德偉)


忘情號 The Express of Forgotten Love - 杜德偉 Alex To


"Because of Loving You" ("只因愛妳"), Music/Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Lyrics by Albert Leung, Sung by Danny Chan (陳百強)


只因愛你 - 陳百強 Because Of Loving You - Danny Chan


"The Wind Still Blows" ("風繼續吹"), Music by Ryudo Uzaki, Lyrics by Cheng Kwok Kong, Arrangement by Alan Tsui, Sung by Leslie Cheung (張國榮)