Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Hu Guangxin intern Li Jiahui
Figure / Respondent
After a lapse of three years, Hong Kong band Supper Moment once again came to the mainland to perform, holding the “Always Believe” mainland tour, which started in Guangzhou and ended in Jiangmen. This is the third time that Supper Moment has toured in the Mainland, and it is also their longest stay – this time they lived in the Mainland for nearly half a year.
Back before the epidemic, Supper Moment held three concerts in the Red Pavilion in 2018, and the venues were full; in 2019, they held gym-level concerts in Macau and Foshan. It was a milestone for a band that went from underground to mainstream. In this year’s tour, Supper Moment returned to Livehouse, seemingly starting from scratch, but they didn’t care that much. The environment is changing, but their original intention for music has not changed. As the lead singer Sunny said: “There is a stage, sound equipment, and an audience, so we sing and play with our hearts.”
Recently, the four members of Supper Moment – vocalist and guitarist Sunny (Chen Shishen), bassist CK (Zhang Zuguang), guitarist Ah Ji (Liang Yupeng) and drummer Ada (Chen Hongda) accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News. In the past six months of living in the mainland, they have gained many different performance opportunities, a group of like-minded musician friends, and more music fans who love their music. In this interview, they talked about their experience of living and working in the mainland, responding to the controversy over Mandarin-language creation, and the joy of performing on the stage, which makes them enthralled as soon as they chat.
【About the tour】
Will there be a gap when returning from the Red Pavilion to the Livehouse?
“Hey, there is a stage, not bad! Let’s play!”
Yangcheng Evening News: Being able to perform at the gymnasium level actually means that the commercial value and performance strength of the band have reached a certain level. However, due to various reasons such as the epidemic, will it be a pity to return to a small venue again this year?
Ah Ji: Different venues have different ways to play. For example, in the gym, we will play some more atmospheric songs, so that the mood of the audience can be higher. But at Livehouse, because we are closer to the audience, we can have more interaction, and I often hand the guitar to the audience to play. This kind of interesting interaction cannot be achieved in a large venue. So I think every venue has something fun to do.
Yangcheng Evening News: Which is the funniest performance you have ever done?
Sunny: After the album “The World Has Changed” was released, we did our first 3,000-person ticketed concert in Hong Kong. We and the team were naturally very excited, after all, 3,000 people were willing to pay to see us perform. But the day after the show, we were going to another show, at a community center in Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong. We perform in the same venue as the Neighborhood Theater in The King of Comedy. There are many wooden benches in front of the stage, all of them are old people. According to the thinking of the outside world, you may feel that the gap between the 3,000-person concert and the need to go back to open the community center seems to be huge. But the few of us just thought, hey, there is a stage, not bad! Have fun!
Ah Ji: Actually, the community center is difficult to play, even more difficult than the concert the night before. We have to be flexible and make the show happy for both the old man and the old woman.
CK: So we did a free jam later, which meant that the music we performed at the time had nothing to do with the set repertoire. I remember when we played the bottom of “The Last Supper”, Sunny walked off the stage, followed the music and chatted with the elderly, “Grandpa, have you eaten yet?” “Mother-in-law, where is the cheapest place to buy food nearby?” .
Sunny: You can clearly feel that the whole atmosphere is getting warmer. Later, there were still children dancing on the stage. The whole thing was amazing, and it was a very valuable stage experience.
Yangcheng Evening News: Back to this “Always Believe” tour, what impressed you the most?
Sunny: I think it’s the energy that fans bring to us. After two years of the epidemic, our offline performances have decreased a lot. In the past six months, we have traveled to six cities in Guangdong Province plus Changsha, a city in Hunan Province, to re-acquaint us with the feeling of being on the stage. I remember most, every time during the rehearsal, the stage was empty, but when the official performance came, the lights were on, the music was playing, and when we looked down from the stage, we would see that the stage was full of people . This scene will bring us back to our original intention, “Yeah, we have to do a good job in every performance to give back to the fans.”
Yangcheng Evening News: Let me share the touching moments brought to you by music fans during this tour.
Sunny: For the playlist for this tour, we played a lot of songs from the album “Everything is you”. This is an album released in 2020. For the first time, we sang these songs to music fans on the mainland. I didn’t expect them to be able to sing. And we got a message from a fan who said he proposed with one of the songs on the album, “Yes I do.” Later, at a performance, I saw a couple in front of the stage, and they sang along with a long towel around our perimeter. I thought at the time, could it be the music fans who proposed with “Yes I do”? This is my own brain, I did not go to verify. But brain supplements are always the most romantic.
Ah Ji: I don’t know if the couple will see this interview. If you see it, next time you come to the scene of Supper Moment, remember to hold a “It’s us!” sign.
【Mainland Development】
The relationship with the Guangdong band is very deep, and there are more performance opportunities
“Believe in the ability of your music to move your audience”
Yangcheng Evening News: I have lived in the Mainland for almost half a year. How does the pace of life during this period compare to that of Hong Kong?
Sunny: The biggest difference is that I have less time to see my family, and I have to make it up when I return to Hong Kong. In addition, the process of making music is not the same as in Hong Kong. Now the four of us live in the same district, and we often meet at the basketball court and the tea restaurant. If you want to make music, most of them will go to CK or Ah Ji’s house, because they have more equipment there. We have our own studio in Hong Kong, and here we have to do our best with the equipment at hand, which is another experience.
However, there are more and different performance opportunities in the Mainland, and I have also met different friends. These experiences are very precious to us, and we hope that these feelings can be passed on through music in the future. In fact, when we make music, we will be influenced by many people, some from our predecessors, and some from our peers. Influence each other can also be regarded as a fun and fun place to make music.
Yangcheng Evening News: Which musicians have you met?
Sunny: This week, I did a double performance with the Disturbing Band and sang “Song of Happiness” with them. When we see the serious side of musicians in their fields, it is easy to be moved by them. In May, I met Landfill, Moonband and Super Slash in Guangzhou. Everyone gathered around to talk music, exchange albums with each other, and chat about their recent stories. I was very happy. In fact, our relationship with the Guangdong band is quite deep. We’ve known Chuibo Tang for a long time (a local veteran band in Guangzhou), and the male protagonist in their first MV “Alice Sleepwalking” is me, haha. They should be the first band we met in the mainland. Later, in 2014, we came to the mainland for the first time to hold a special show, and we performed with them in Guangzhou Station.
Yangcheng Evening News: The development of Hong Kong bands in the Mainland is not an easy task. In the first and second seasons of the popular music variety show “Summer of the Band” in the past two years, there was no Hong Kong band, which also led to a lack of awareness of Hong Kong bands among mainland audiences. What are your expectations for development in the Mainland?
Sunny: We started to do a special tour in the mainland in 2014. At that time, we were trembling. I don’t know how much mainland music fans know about us. But after doing it slowly, I found that everyone has similar views or tastes. More and more people in the mainland are beginning to know our music, or pay attention to Hong Kong music through us. It has been almost ten years now, and what we most want to do now is to let more non-Cantonese-speaking audiences know us.
Yangcheng Evening News: Which of your performances in the Mainland over the years has given you the most sense of achievement?
Ada: There is a year of Shenzhen Rebo Music Festival. We were originally performing on the secondary stage, but the finale guests on the main stage were unable to arrive on time due to some traffic problems. The organizer arranged for some bands to go to the main stage first, including us. The audience below the stage were all looking forward to the finale guest’s appearance. When we came to the stage to tune the sound, some audience members immediately gave a bad reaction. We all felt to each other, um, this performance is a challenge, we must release the maximum energy from the first song. In the end, we did, and the audience shouted “Encore” at the end. This music festival has prepared some big balls, which can be thrown out for the audience to play when the atmosphere is lively. When we performed, the organizer threw all the balls out, and the audience was even more excited. Later, we were named the “Heat Star” of this festival, which is an affirmation of our live performance. This performance is quite unforgettable, because there are obviously many audience members who do not know us. We believe that our music has the ability to move everyone, and we did it.
Sunny: Of course, it may also be “hit luck” (hit luck). The scene is very difficult to predict, we really don’t know. (laugh)
【Creative attempt】
Mandarin creation “stealing teachers” from Huang Junlang and Ge Dawei
“Plant these songs as seeds in the hearts of listeners”
Yangcheng Evening News: In 2019, you released your first Mandarin album “Endless”. Most of the songs sang Cantonese words in Mandarin, which caused some controversy among music fans. This album is a stepping stone to enter the mainland market, why did you choose this approach?
Sunny: Before making this album, we discussed with the company. The company appreciates our Cantonese lyrics, and feels that the core values in the lyrics should be preserved, and recommend it to some friends in non-Cantonese regions. So we adopted this method, just changed some words slightly, and tried to present it to everyone as authentic as possible. This is one of the experiences we have gained in the process of making Mandarin works. During the half-year tour, sometimes fans will bring some albums to us for autographs. “Endless” is the most signed.
Ada: The purpose of the album “Endless” is mainly to let some friends who have never heard of Supper Moment come into contact with our works. We will take these songs as a seed and plant them in their hearts first, and if they watch our live performance, maybe a little branch will grow and they will go back and taste the Cantonese version. For example, the “Song of Happiness” we sang with the band disturbed earlier, they sang the Mandarin version, and Sunny sang the Cantonese version, which I think is quite interesting.
Yangcheng Evening News: The last album “Everything is you” has dual versions in Mandarin and Cantonese. The songs of the two versions are in the opposite order, forming a loop that connects the beginning and the end. What new experiences have you brought to you making this album?
Sunny: The Mandarin version of the album has two teachers, Huang Junlang and Ge Dawei, to write lyrics. We have been listening to their works. We feel honored to have their thoughts in this album. In this cooperation, they saw the Cantonese version that we filled in, but we did not give them a box, saying that you must fill in this direction. The lyrics of the Mandarin version of this album are more like the result of the collision between us and the two lyricists, so you will find that the words used in those lyrics are very different from before. For me, working with two teachers was a great gift. Because I am mainly responsible for writing lyrics in the band, I can learn from them and absorb their experience of writing lyrics at close range.
Yangcheng Evening News: A new song “Too Science” was released on August 5, which is also a Mandarin song. Have you used the experience of “stealing the teacher” back into this song?
Sunny: I’m definitely more comfortable filling out this song than I used to be. It may also be because I have spoken more Mandarin recently, my thinking has become smoother, and my writing has become faster. In the past six months, we have spent more time to understand the culture of the mainland, and the environment does affect our creation. I hope that in the future, whether it is Cantonese or Mandarin, we can improve.
Yangcheng Evening News: How was the creation and production process of the song “Too Science”?
Sunny: The prototype of this song was created during quarantine. First of all, CK arranged the music. We all felt that the music was very sci-fi. That’s where the lyrics come from. And during the tour, we sculpted the song step by step. So in the whole process, in addition to the ideas of the four of us, the audience also gave us inspirations unintentionally. I think everyone’s life is now less human. This song is a reminder that technology is constantly improving, but how we want to build a better tomorrow is something we need to think about.
【Music Beginning】
Hope to be a band that goes old together
“Always find curiosity and challenge in performance and music”
Yangcheng Evening News: “Young Man”, “Mr. Husband”, “Song of Happiness”, “Endless”… Supper Moment has previously created many songs that focus on the voices of ordinary people, encouraging many people. Will the current creations consciously respond to the expectations of music fans?
Sunny: In the process of making music, at first it was to express ourselves, but gradually we also asked ourselves: what ideas do we want to convey to the audience? I think “love” is the core of our creation. No matter what form it uses, I hope that after listening to our music, everyone can feel the warmth, love and be loved, especially love the world more. This is the original intention of our creation.
Yangcheng Evening News: Supper Moment has been established for 16 years. From working part-time while making music to now becoming a full-time musician, do you feel that music has become a job? Will there be moments of boredom?
Ada: I think by now, none of the four of us would consider performing and making music a job. We really believe in communicating with audiences through music.
Sunny: Some people think that when a band becomes a professional musician, they get bored with performing and making music. It’s just a stereotype. For us, being able to stand on stage and be able to create music is a joy.
CK: You need to get along with us to answer this question. Feelings are complex, and I’m not a saint, and of course I can’t get bored at all; but if I say “tired,” I’m sorry for my lifelong career.
Ah Ji: We will be tired, but in any case, the things we do now can still give us good stimulation. We always find things in performance and music that still pique our curiosity, or that we want to challenge.
Yangcheng Evening News: What kind of band do you want Supper Moment to become?
Sunny: I hope to be a band that goes old together. This is our consensus.
【Quick question and quick answer】
Q: What are your favorite specialties to eat in the mainland for half a year?
Ada: Spicy hot pot.
Sunny: Shunde Yusheng.
Ah Ji: Boiled shrimp.
CK: Anything is fine, it doesn’t matter.
Q: If the band is a family, what role does each person play?
Ada: I’m going to be a cook, the kind that doesn’t wash dishes.
CK: I manage the garage.
Sunny: I’m in charge of the money.
Ah Ji: I am in charge of being a pet and can sleep from morning till night.
Q: Recommend a song or album that you like to listen to recently.
CK: Excuse me for the band’s song. When I did a double show with them, I played it on a loop every day.
Ada: Me too.
Sunny: One is Tanya Tsai’s “DEPART”, especially the song “Let Romance Be the Master”. The other is “Back to the Ocean” of the escape plan. I started listening to it when I came to the mainland in February, and I still listen to it now.
Ah Ji: The latest album of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (an American alternative rock band), but I can’t remember the name, because my cognitive ability of song and album names is very low, I can never remember it, only remember that there are 17 songs. (Note: Ah Ji is referring to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album “Unlimited Love”).
Editor: Zhu Fan