Zenegeist專訪：The Bilinda Butchers

Z: Zenegeist識你佳
M: Michal
A: Adam
R: Ryan

1.
The Bilinda Butchers’ first EP was released in 2011. When and how did you first meet each other? What made you guys decide to make music together?
(Z: The Bilinda Butchers在2011年推出首張EP(更正，是2008年才對),你們最初是怎樣認識的? 甚麼原因驅使你們一起創作?)

M: Adam and I met in middle school which was in about 2006 or maybe earlier and we found a mutual love for music really quickly. Adam was always looking for new stuff on the internet and he got into Swedish and Japanese bands. After middle school Adam moved out of state and we both got into My Bloody Valentine and then a couple of years later he came back and we decided to start making music. 
M: 大約在2006年, 我在中學裡認識了Adam。很快, 我們發現彼此喜愛著類似的音樂。Adam那時常在網上找新音樂，當時瑞典及日本的樂隊深深吸引了他。中學過後, Adam離開舊金山，數年後他回來時, 我們倆都迷上了My Bloody Valentine，於是決定一起創作。

R: I actually met Michal and Adam through a mutual friend a few years ago. Back then, i was just leaving a band that i had a falling out with and decided to focus more on my own music, which was heavily influenced by American techno and house. I had a history of playing in bands that were shoegaze based and had no idea that these two cats were not only deep into the genre, but that they wrote music. A while later, the name The Bilinda Butchers was dropping all around San Francisco so i decided to give them a listen and i was blown away. It sounded like everything i loved about shoe gaze, electronica and pop while maintaining a certain cinematic seriousness. I looked them up and was pleasantly amazed that it was fuckin Adam and Michal making these jams. So, i courted them. Joined the band as a touring drummer. And now, almost two years later “I’m Official”.
R: 數年前, 朋友介紹我認識Michal和Adam。當時我剛離開舊樂隊，專注創作有濃厚美國的House和Techno底蘊的音樂。
話然如此, 我之前卻也曾是一些Shoegaze樂隊的鼓手。當時我只知他們倆熱愛Shoegaze，卻不知他們的創作。直至The Bilinda Butchers名聲響徹三藩市二一聽就立刻迷倒於他們的音樂中。他們的音樂取向和我極投契，包含Shoegaze，Electronica和Pop元素之餘，更有著電影般的美感。
當我搜尋樂隊資料時，驚覺The Bilinda Butchers就是由Adam和Michal組成，我二話不說立馬加入, 成為他們Touring的鼓手。約兩年之後，我更進一步, 成為The Bilinda Butchers的正式成員。

2.
Of all band names, you chose to use the name of My Bloody Valentine’s vocalist Bilinda Butcher. My Bloody Valentine is evidently a big influence – how would you say they’ve affected your musical style?(Z: 你們選擇My Bloody Valentine女結他手跟主唱Bilinda Butcher來做隊名，看來MBV對你們十分重要，他們影響你們的音樂多深呢？)

M: I’ve been noticing more and more that My Bloody Valentine has had a much wider influence over their fans. When I started listening to My Bloody Valentine I heard them as  a really sympathetic and shy sound. Like a shy girl who had a crush on you that would write you love letters. Very calm and relaxing. But Im seeing people like Deafheaven and bands like that that may have had a slightly different impression of the sounds as well as being from a different background musically. My Bloody Valentine conjoined with The Radio Dept. are the biggest influences to what molded our sound back then and Bilinda Butcher was the center piece to what we were all about. Bilinda Butcher was the manifestation of the shy effeminate kids Adam and I were in middle school. 
M: 我愈加發覺My Bloody Valentine對他們樂迷的影響, 比我想像更深。初接觸My Bloody Valentine時，我覺得這種音樂內歛之餘, 同時又令人悉懷，感覺如得知一個害羞女孩心儀著你，為你寫信一般。可是其他有shoegaze因子的樂隊如Deafheaven，也許他們同時受其他音樂洗禮，在詮釋My Bloody Valentine的音樂時, 和我的感覺不盡相同。是My Bloody Valentine和The Radio Dept. 啟發我們的音樂，而Bilinda Butcher更是這一切的重心，事關她完美演繹我和Michal中學時那羞澀而柔弱的個性。

A: I don’t consider MBV as much of a reference point musically, but there’s no overstating just how astonishing their records were when we first heard them. I think as once-inventive approaches to songwriting become familiar to later generations, it’s really difficult to imagine them in their own era, but MBV sounds perpetually fresh and unique — no one sounds quite like them. Those records were so incredibly exciting to us that I think both of us just immediately thought: “let’s make music,” and we did. 
A: 我們並沒緊緊跟隨My Bloody Valentine的軌跡創作音樂，但我們永難忘懷初聽他們專輯的無邊震撼。一些MBV當時「天馬行空」的創作手法, 技巧, 雖現今已常見, 可他們的音樂總是獨樹一格和歷久常新。他們的專輯實在驚豔非常，激發我們創作音樂的意欲，而我們的確做到了。

3.
You once posted the album art of “Lesser Matters” by The Radio Dept on your Facebook page and have included their songs in mixtapes. Would you cite The Radio Dept as another influence? Can you name some other musical influences?
(Z: 你們曾在Facebook上貼過一張The Radio Dept. 的”Lesser Matter”專輯相片，The Radio Dept. 影響你們音樂風格有多深? 有沒有其他音樂單位同樣深刻影響你們？)

M: I remember when Adam found The Radio Dept.’s  Pulling Our Weight video on youtube. That was the moment I realized there was a band already making the exact music I wanted to make. After that The Radio Dept. became my favorite band and still is to this day. These days our influences have varied a bit. And with the addition of Ryan on drums the mix of sounds has evolved even further. Lately I’ve been listening and admiring beat makers like Nujabes and Thomas Prime. Bob42jh’s compilations are a huge influence too. 
M: 我記得當Adam在Youtube上看到The Radio Dept. 的”Pulling Our Weight” 的MV時，我赫然發覺他們的樂曲, 和我嚮往譜寫的音樂相吻合。那時開始，The Radio Dept. 一直是我最喜歡的樂隊。
最近我們亦受到更多不同種類的樂隊影響，加上Ryan加盟, 昇華我們的音樂到更高層次。近期我很欣賞Nujabes和Thomas Prime，而Bob42jh的合輯亦啟發我們良多。

A: The Radio Dept. are great at creating a really compelling, nostalgic atmosphere. When I first came in contact with Lesser Matters, it was just sort of like the pop album I’d always wanted. Their melodies are fantastic, and some of those lyrics are so personal and yet so brilliantly universal. I think Pet Grief is probably a more solid record, but Lesser Matters will always be my favorite.
Lately my listening habits have been all over the place. Lots of Charles Mingus and Bill Evans, some Madlib, Sea Pinks from the UK, The Nerves… I started listening to My Little Airport again — they’re great. My boss gave me a James record that I’ve been really into. I also can’t stop listening to Amerie’s “One Thing”!
A: The Radio Dept. 擅長譜寫引力萬分的淒美氛圍。我初次接觸”Lesser Matter”時，就便認定這是我心中所想的Pop album。他們的創作, 旋律優美, 歌詞引人共嗚，更善於敘事。 ”Pet Grief” 也許會比較成熟，可 ”Lesser Matter” 永遠是我的最愛。
現在我留意世界各地, 各式各樣的音樂，如Charles Mingus, Bill Evans, Madlib, Sea Pink，The Never……還有我再次聽My Little Airport，他們很棒。老闆贈我一張James的專輯，一聽立即著迷; 我最近還有不斷聽Amerie那首”One Thing” !

R: Eric Serra soundtracks. David Sylvian. The Blue Nile. Clams Casino.
R: Eric Serra 的Soundtracks, David Sylvian, The Blue Nile 和 Clams Casino。

4.
Your current musical style is mostly dream-pop. Have you ever considered incorporating elements of other genres into your songs or changing your direction in music entirely?
(Z: 你們現在的音樂取向主要是Dream-pop，你們有否考慮在未來加上其他音樂元素, 或是開拓新風格？)

M: We made it a point to move forward and try new things on this new record that we are working on. From my perspective I wanted to incorporate more beats and breakbeats into the rhythms of the songs to show a sort of tougher side. When we started out we were really attached to our personas of being a shy and hesitant band but we’ve grown up a lot since then and now we are really proud of what we do and we are ready to show people with this new record. 
M: 構思中的新專輯會加入新元素. 新專輯我希望編寫更多更複雜的節拍。我們最初的音樂, 反映著我們害羞內向的性格; 現在長大了，可為自己的成就而自豪，這就是新專輯中, 我們的新姿態。

A: I think the reason we clung to the dream pop classification is because it’s so vague — even now, I’m not really sure what exactly the term denotes. It’s the same as people calling us “chill-wave” — I guess people take comfort in assigning a generic description to what their listening to, and that’s fine. I don’t think either of us has ever thought, “is this dream pop enough?” when we’re writing a song, and I think the upcoming full-length will demonstrate our interests in other genres and styles. 
A: 也許是Dream-pop的界線濛糊不清, 人們才分類我們仨是Dream-pop樂隊，他人歸類我們為”Chill-wave”亦同出一徹。老實說，到現在我也不能界定Dream-pop。聽眾慣於將音樂分類，我覺得亦無不可，可是我們創作時, 腦海中卻從不會生「這樣夠不夠Dream-pop?」這種疑慮。無論如何, 我們的新大碟，風格跟過往一定有所不同。

5.
You say that you’re multi-instrumentalists on your Last.fm. So what instruments exactly do you guys play?
(Z: Last.fm簡介指你們仨都懂多種樂器，那你們分別擅長什麼樂器, 司職又是如何呢？)

M: I mainly play and write on guitar but I also play bass, program all of our synthesizers and play keyboard. I also sing. 
M：我是樂隊主唱，主要用結他寫歌，還懂彈貝斯及鍵盤, 合成器部分亦是由我譜寫。

A: I just play guitar and bass. 
A：我只會結他跟低音結他。

6.
“Secrets” ends with a snippet of film dialogue with Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi speaking; “Half Open” similarly finishes with someone speaking Cantonese. Are you especially fond of Hong Kong films, Wong Kar-wai’s films in particular?
(Z: 在”Secrets”一曲未尾, 你們加插梁朝偉跟章子怡的一段對話; 同樣地”half open” 末端也有一段廣東話讀白。你們是否鐘情於香港電影，特別是王家衛的作品呢？)

M: Wong Kar-Wai is a huge influence for me. Sound has always been a very visual thing for me, I see music in colors and like scenes in movies. Every time we write a song I use my visual interpretations of the melody to move forward and to sculpt what I think the song should look like. That being said Wong Kar-Wai’s films and aesthetics are very familiar to me. I see a lot of our musical ideas in his films. 
M: 王家衛電影, 我可一一如數家珍, 可見他對我的影響。我腦海裡的音樂, 立體非常，滿佈色彩，好比電影情節。每次寫歌，我也會先幻化旋律為具體的畫面或情節，方便找出更恰切的主題, 寫出更完整的樂曲。我們大部份的音樂意念, 王家衛的作品皆有呈現。

A: Good ear! I watch a lot of foreign films but I don’t think I could make a list of the Hong Kong movies I’ve seen. I do love Wong-kar Wai, though. Especially In the Mood for Love and Fallen Angels. 
A: 聽力真出眾！我看很多外國電影，要盡錄我看過的香港電影實在困難。王家衛作品當然是我所愛，特別是《花樣年華》及《墮落天使》！

7.
Japanese songs in your mixtapes and the album art for “The Lovers’ Suicide” are indications of your love for Japanese music, and you frequently share Japanese anime and games on your Tumblr. In what ways does Japanese culture affect your music? Can you name a few of your favorite Japanese bands?
(Z: 你們Mixtapes中有不少日本歌; 而 “The Lovers’ Suicide” 的封面似乎反映你們熱愛日本音樂，加上你們時常在Tumblr分享日本動漫或遊戲的消息，日本文化如何改變你們音樂思路？可列出一些你們喜歡的日本樂隊嗎？)

M: Japanse culture has always been a center point to a lot of my influences. My parents immigrated to the US shortly before I was born. I was raised in the US but in a Polish household which was almost a little conflicting. It was hard for me to find something to really attach to culturally. So when I began to submerge myself in my hobbies like video games and cartoons I started to develop a fascination with Japanese culture. I began doing research and dreaming of being there and living there. I felt safe and comfortable when I was immersed in all of the photos, video games, anime and information that it became a part of myself. A lot of that influence manifested into my songwriting and aesthetic. Later on when Adam and I met we got into Japanese music and my love went farther. Back then we were really into bands like The Pillows, Number Girl, Sparta Locals and such. Now I think my favorite Japanese band is Zazen Boys. 
M: 眾多音樂文化中, 影響我最深的可謂是日本文化。父母在我出生前不久, 才剛由波蘭移民至美國，所以我是在美國的一個波蘭家庭成長。那文化差異, 令我當時有點不知所措，惟有沉醉於日本遊戲及卡通之中，亦由那時起, 我開始憧憬日本文化，更時常考慮定居日本。
生活在日本動漫和遊戲之中，十分寧靜與舒服，平伏了那文化差異, 更漸成了我的一部份。所以，日本文化在我的作品上隨處可見。而當我認識Adam後，發現彼此都喜愛日本音樂，那份愛至此仍有增無減。我們很喜歡The Pillows, Number Girl, Sparta Locals等等的日本樂隊，而現在我的最愛會是Zazen Boys。

A: I’ve been an big fan of the Japanese indie and pop scenes since I was in middle school, and I studied Japanese in university for a few years. I’m studying literature now, and some of my favorite authors are Japanese — Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburo Oe, Natsume Souseki, etc. 
In terms of music, I love Number Girl, toddle, Luminous Orange, Sparta Locals, Lamp, advantage Lucy, and Shiina Ringo, among many others. 
I don’t watch much anime (though I really like Satoshi Kon’s movies), but I still play video games. The Mother/Earthbound series is my favorite.  
A: 由中學開始, 我便是日本獨立和流行音樂的粉絲，大學時更修讀過數年日語。我現正修讀文學，不少日本作家為我所欣賞，例三島由紀夫，大江健三郎和夏目 漱石等。
而在云云日本音樂當中，我最喜歡Number Girl, toddle, Luminous Orange, Sparta Locals, Lamp, Advantage Lucy和Shiina Ringo。我不多看動漫（但我十分喜歡今敏的作品！），卻會打電玩，Mother/Earthbound 系列是我的心頭所好。

8.
The Bilinda Butchers have released 2 EPs and one single to date. Are you planning on releasing your debut album anytime soon?
(Z: The Bilinda Butchers 至今已發行兩張EP（第三張剛出版）和一張單曲，你們有否計劃推出大碟呢？)

M: The record will be here in 2014, probably some time in the summer. 
M: 我們會於2014夏天推出首張大碟。

9.
What is your opinion on sites like Bandcamp and Spotify? Has their popularity had any impact on the way you make music?
(Z: 你們對音樂平台如Bandcamp和Spotify等有沒有甚麼意見？它們有否影響你們的創作？)

M: I’ve always enjoyed using bandcamp to host our music. Although they take a percentage of your digital sales they make up for it with the ease and versatility of their website. I don’t know too much about Spotify and how it works. 
M: 我一直都很享受使用Bandcamp去發佈作品。縱使Bandcamp會從我們網上的收入中, 抽取一些作營運開支，惟這也無可厚非。至於Spotify, 我便不太清楚了。

A: Bandcamp is fantastic, but I really don’t like Spotify’s model, and I don’t like using it. 
A: Bandcamp很棒; 至於Spotify的介面我就不太喜歡了，總之不太愛用Spotify。

10.
Our page is named “Zenegeist” – “Zene” is Hungarian for “music” while “Geist” is German for “spirit”. Can you describe your musical spirit (attitudes, beliefs etc) to us?
(Z: 我們的名字是“Zenegeist”,而“Zene”是匈牙利文，代表著音樂；”Geist”則是德文，代表著音樂。那麼你們的音樂精神會是甚麼呢？)

M: Minimalism rules my way of life
M：Minimalism是我生活的座右銘。

A: Melody, not malaise. 

A: 是旋律，不是鬱躁。

R: Human emotion in machined music.

R：由硬件製造出的音樂表達著人的情感。

The Bilinda Butchers EP “regret, love, guilt, dreams”

歌曲:the bilinda butchers - secrets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9k5yeRCqkA

The Bilinda Butchers live at SFPOPFEST 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9axuouJTlWw

連結:
Official Site: http://thebilindabutchers.com/Records: http://thebilindabutchers.bandcamp.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/BILINDABUTCHERSFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebilindabutchersmusicTumblr: http://thebilindabutchers.tumblr.com/