【樂人推介】「疫水」行舟推新專輯 《TELESCOPE》- 海島小輪 Sea Island & Ferry

海島小輪 「疫水」行舟推新專輯
《TELESCOPE》在不安中重新審視真象

Sea Island & Ferry to drop new album over troubled waters

自2018年推出首張專輯《Crossings》以來，新派室樂組合「海島小輪」得到香港獨立音樂界不少的注意。不容易的社會氣氛，無阻他們在錄音室埋頭苦幹。2020年5月，他們會把第二張專輯《Telescope》帶到聽眾耳邊。

Since the release of their debut album Crossings in 2018, Sea Island & Ferry has gathered considerable attention in the Hong Kong independent music scene as a neochamber ensemble. The past year, marked by social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic, did not stop them from working hard in the studio. Despite difficult times, the group decided to roll out their second album Telescope in May 2020.

陣容上，有鋼琴的 Arnold Fang（方欣浩）、大提琴的 Tim Tong（湯正行），洞簫的Kayne Ho（鄧璟浩），再加上2018年加入的色士風手Lawrence Man （文啟聰）首次參與錄音。9首樂曲，繼續由固有的四件樂器作主軸，但也有嘗試加入電子元素及預錄的循環效果 (Loop) 等。另外與上次不同的是，所有成員都有參與樂曲的創作。

This album sees Lawrence Man (saxophone) recording for the first time with Arnold Fang (piano), Tim Tong (cello) and Kayne Ho (xiao Chinese flute), after joining the group in 2018. These four instruments continue to be featured in the 9 songs of the projects, but the quartet also varied their work by adding electronic elements and pre-recorded loops. Also a step up from their debut, all members contributed by writing music for the new album.

成員Arnold指：「這張專輯本來想寫人和自然界之間的一些事情，當中包括我們人類為了自身利益對地球作出不能逆轉的改變。但在創作專輯的過程中，我們卻經歷了香港自2019年6月以來發生的一連串事件。這些事情，同樣令我們居住的地方經歷了不能逆轉的改變。」

"We had wanted to write about the things between human and nature in this album, for we made many irreversible changes to the planet for our own selfish gains. While making the album, we experienced a chain of social upheavals in our city. These too have brought irreversible changes to the place where we live." said Arnold Fang, pianist of the group.

多首作品的靈感都來自自然界的事物。例如《木棉》表述的是氣候暖化，令木棉樹開花出現異常的情況；《不回歸線》則以候鳥南遷後難再回頭比喻香港近年再次出現的移民風氣。《霧》、《幾陣雨》既是香港春天的常見天氣，同時亦描畫出當下社會氣候。過往，「海島小輪」發表的都以7分鐘以上的長篇作品為主，但這次的專輯收錄了《清晨的步行》、《春秋》等數首4分鐘或以下的短篇作品。一方面更簡潔地表達創作意念，亦同時讓聽眾在欣賞較長的作品之餘有喘息的空間。

Many works in the album were inspired by the nature. For example, Cotton Tree is a narrative of climate change, which has prevented normal flowering of these trees. Tropic of No Return uses the metaphor of migratory birds going south to explore the out-migration trend that reappeared recently in Hong Kong. Fog and A Few Showers are precisely the type of weather seen our city during springtime, and describes the current social climate. Much of the previous works from Sea Island & Ferry were long pieces of more than 7 minutes, but this album included several short works of 4 minutes or less, such as Walk at Dawn and Spring & Autumn. On the one hand, this allow ideas to be expressed more succinctly, while allowing listeners to have a breathing space between the longer pieces.

專輯名稱《Telescope》，來自當中收錄的一首作品《天文鏡》。 Arnold 解釋：「在這充斥著荒謬的世界裡，大家對於真實、對於更理想的未來，始終都有一份渴求。選擇這個標題，寓意我們靠著手上所有限而未臻完美的工具，為後世把不完美的現狀作紀錄，並一同勇敢迎接前方的路。」

Telescope, the title of one of the longer pieces, became also the name given to this album. "In this world of absurdity, we still hope for the truth and the way towards a better future to be shown. This title is like a qualifier of our limited and imperfect tools, with which we would make a record of the imperfect present and show it to the next generation, as we brave the journey ahead," explained Arnold.

製作上，這次繼續由 Arnold Fang 與 Jeremy Cheng 聯手監製，所有樂曲的鋼琴和大提琴部分都在香港具代表性的 Avon 錄音室錄製。混音完成後送往德國柏林，由當地的音響工程師 Zino Mikorey 負責母帶製作。他過去曾為 Nils Frahm、Olafur Arnalds 及Penguin Café 等新古典單位的專輯操刀，這次為「海島小輪」的作品鍍上光澤。

Continuing from the last album, Telescope is co-produced by Arnold Fang and Jeremy Cheng. The piano and cello parts were recorded in the Avon Recording Studios, one of the best in Hong Kong. Mixes were sent to Berlin to be mastered by sound engineer Zino Mikorey. With the works of new classical units such as Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Penguin Café among his discography, Mikorey added a definitive finishing touch to this album.

《Telescope》除了數位發行和CD之外，亦會以傳統唱片的形式推出，但材料不是黑膠，而是仿效望遠鏡鏡片的透明膠。CD會收錄9首樂曲，全長51分鐘。傳統唱片和網上串流（包括Apple Music、Spotify、MOOV、KKBox 等平台）的版本則收錄8首作品，全長49分鐘。下載51分鐘版本的密碼將隨傳統唱片附送。

In addition to digital distribution and CDs, Telescope will be released on vinyl, a first for the group. Pressing will be done on clear vinyl, which mimics the lens of a telescope. The CD version has nine songs (total length 51 minutes), while the vinyl and streaming versions will have eight (total length 49 minutes). Downloads of the 51-minute version will be included free with the vinyl record.

這次推出專輯，「海島小輪」並未有一如過往的安排售票的專場演出。反之，他們打算在疫症過後先於香港不同地點作小型演出，近距離接觸觀眾。待飽受困擾的城市慢慢復甦起來之後，才配合樂團成立5週年，在今年底或明年初舉行音樂會。另外，繼之前在澳門、台灣、日本等地演出之後，他們也會繼續探索海外展演的可能性。

海島小輪《Telescope》
Sea Island & Ferry - Telescope

2020.5.19 於各數位音樂平台推出 
Available on digital music platforms 2020.5.19

*高質96kHz/24bit WAV檔案，於 seaislandferry.bandcamp.com 提供。
*Paid downloads of high quality 96kHz/24bit WAV files will be available on seaislandferry.bandcamp.com.

**隨碟附密碼，可往 seaislandferry.bandcamp.com 下載全部9首樂曲。
**Download code to be included in vinyl package.

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