[Interview] Two and a half works created by karaoke halls

The Cabaret-style works jointly created by Wu Yulie, Lu Yijun and Liu Rongfeng in recent years have been released one after another, from 2019's "Tri Family", this year's "Laosong" to the upcoming "Da Country Dialect". Language and dialect explore Hong Kong's culture and identity, isn't it a trilogy? Lu Yijun, who is in charge of original music, music director and special guest performance, said: "The Country Dialect is only '2.5' at best." The implication is that there is probably a new chapter in this series!

Seeking roots through dialect

In pursuit of the origins of the creation of "Tri Family Boys", "Laosong" and "A Countryside Dialogue", Wu Yulie, Lu Yijun and Liu Rongfeng all had the experience of living in other places. Although they grew up in different years and backgrounds, "we all I speak Cantonese, but I was taught to learn English well when I was a child,” said Lu Yijun. Biliterate and trilingual, isn't it also very Hong Kong? "From the perspective of language, I can bring out Hong Kong people of different ages, and Hong Kong people of different ages speak English differently. Whether they speak well or not, they all burst into laughter, which is very interesting." It will say 'Let's go to Lunch', but not 'Let's go to lunch'." Hence the birth of "Tri Family Boy", "'Tri' is 'Trilingual'."

Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city with diverse ethnicities and mixed languages. The stories about languages are endless. The sequel "Laosong" also takes language as the theme, but this time it expands to dialects, "Of course, Hong Kong is not only biliterate and trilingual, but also country dialect. Some of the previous generation may only be able to speak country dialect. Speaking, through the country dialect, we are more or less connected to our hometown.”

Lu Yijun's grandfather and grandmother are from Ningbo. Although she has never set foot there, "As soon as I hear Shanghai dialect, I feel very intimate and feel that it is part of my 'root'." Of course, it is about identity, "We think Explore the roots of everyone through language. How many generations can you call yourself a complete Hong Konger? Or how many generations can you not call yourself a Ningbo person?”

wider time span

The opening program of "Urban Contemporary Dance Festival" and "Da Country Dialect", which is part of "Freedom: Urban Contemporary Dance Company 2021", have a wider time span and talk about the past, the present and the future. The concept comes from the hot talk of Hong Kong people in recent years. --migrant. "Many of the people who leave Hong Kong are young families with very young children. Thirty years later, will they know Cantonese the same way I know Shanghainese?"

"Laosong" has more than ten original songs in different styles, including R&B, Soul, Rock, Swing, etc., accompanied by lyrics such as Shum Weizong, Leung Pakjian, Gao Shizhang, Lu Yijun, etc., and sang live. "Da Country Dialect" will follow the music of "Laosong" and make adjustments from it to match the dance scenes. Lu Yijun plays the piano and sings, interacting with the band on the spot, while Liu Rongfeng sings and dances, and he even handed over the Chaozhou dialect lyrics .

The music of "Laosong" and "Daxiangxia Dialect" are a group. If "Tri Family" and "Laosong" are the first and second parts of the series, "Da Xiangxia Dialogue" is only "two and a half parts". ”, “Of course I hope there will be a third volume. The Hong Kong language theme, there are still many stories to tell.” She also looks forward to the continuation of this “karaoke” form of performance, “more like a concert with dramatic elements.” Atmosphere. Light-hearted, cutting into heavy topics with humor, "I like this format very much."

The theater environment is more suitable

Lu Yijun graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008, majoring in linguistics and music, and then went to Berklee College of Music to study modern music writing and production. He graduated in 2011. After returning to Hong Kong, he joined a number of theater, music, and art units by chance. She cooperated and started her journey of theatre music creation. She is very happy in the theatre world. It seems that she has participated in the Ronin Theater, Yipu acapella, etc. for many times. She and Wu Yulie facilitate Yipu acapella. Units are looking for her to cooperate again.

"The theater environment is more suitable for my creative mode." She admits that the theater audience is more receptive, and she can try different styles of music without worrying about whether the stream is not popular. "On the contrary, if the theater needs it, I can make the music specially Old-fashioned." Not only the music, "With the dancers, it feels very good, and it improves each other."

After stepping into the theater, she met many great artists and dancers. "But why don't many people know about it?" She felt that one of the reasons was that the art troupe did not record and release the works. "Hong Kong does not allow a single performance. After working for three years, it’s hard for people who don’t pay attention to the theater to notice.” She felt that after the musical performance, at least an original soundtrack should be recorded, “but the art group may have no money, or even think about it.” She then She tries to record her works in different forms, such as Ronin Theater's "Naked "Words and Swimming" Innocent, she recorded the music for albums, and music streaming platforms can listen to it. At the moment of the epidemic, art troupes are also forced to film their works and put them online. "This is a good thing."

In addition to the theater, she also participated in the a cappella group VSing. "A cappella is another main line of my music work." Lu Yijun, who has often appeared in theaters in recent years, after "Da Country Dialect", I believe that he will soon return to see her again.

(Original published in the supplement of Hong Kong's "Sing Tao Daily" on November 4, 2021)