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Sound-Roots Musician Dialogues

 

時間 Time：10/03 (四, Thu) 19:00-21:30

地點 Venue：政大藝文中心水岸實驗劇場

                               Waterfront Experimental Theater of the Art & Culture Center NCCU

音樂家 Musicians：中川敬 Takashi Nakagawa 日本 Japan X

                                 蘇拉猜 Surachai "Nga Caravan" 泰國 Thailand

 

 

中川敬 Takashi Nakagawa |日本

中川敬，1966年生，1993年成立了龐克搖滾樂隊「魂花」(Soul Flower Union)，是擁有相當多支持者的搖滾樂團。1995年1月17日清晨，造成五千多名亡者的阪神大地震，是日本戰後所遭遇到最嚴重的災難。毀壞建築物超過十萬棟、交通運輸全數癱瘓，三十萬名倖存者猶如置身於廢墟中無家可歸…。原本是玩搖滾樂的「魂花」，為了在無電力供應的災區中進行賑災演出，放下了電吉他、電貝斯，開始彈奏不插電的傳統樂器，像是沖繩三弦(Okinawa Sanshin)、日本傳統遊行用的擎咚鼓(Chindon）、韓國的鼓樂(Changgo)以及手風琴，而演唱的內容也從搖滾，轉為一般民眾耳熟能詳的戰後民歌。這樣的演出鼓舞著重建中的民眾，深受喜愛，即使有從前的歌迷批評「魂花」背叛了龐克搖滾，但作曲者中川敬及所有團員們仍堅持著這樣的風格，並樂在其中。在政治立場上，中川敬一直堅持著左翼的精神，一如Woody Guthrie，為社會底層而歌。藉著中川敬的專題，看見在高度資本主義化的日本社會背景下，音樂家以音樂抗爭不懈的精神。

 

蘇拉猜 Surachai "Nga Caravan" |泰國

Caravan（流浪者樂團）是泰國最具代表性的民謠搖滾樂團，也是1973年民主運動的推手，更是泰國生活之歌（Phleng Pheua Chiwit）的先驅，開創了泰國流行樂史上的新樂類。

 

Caravan的靈魂人物Surachai “Nga Caravan” Jantimathawan（“Nga Caravan”是民眾熟知的稱呼，意指小名「芽」）他是樂團的主唱、主奏吉他和創作人。早期的Caravan翻唱了許多60年代的英美民謠，雖然西方的民謠風格，仍是主導他們樂風的重要元素，但他們在編曲中加入了泰國的傳統樂器，融入東北地方音樂風格Mor Lam，並以土地與人民為重要的創作題材，成為農民工底層的發聲筒，已成為樂團重要的本土標籤。

 

Surachai 在大學時期參與了推翻獨裁政權Thanom Kittikachorn的學生運動，1976年10月6日的大屠殺（反對獨裁者Thanom Kittikachorn的學生與示威者，聚集在曼谷法政大學與Sanam Luang廣場，遭遇屠殺）之後，大批參與學生運動者，包括Caravan的成員，逃往泰寮邊界山區，藏身泰國共產黨基地，直至1979年大赦，Caravan成員才結束流亡生涯。Surachai於2011年獲頒泰國國家最高榮譽的桂冠詩人獎。

 

Takashi Nakagawa | Japan

Takashi Nakagawa is something of a rarity in Japan, being a rock musician interested in traditional folk music. His band Soul Flower Union, formed in 1993, started out as a punk rock band but shifted their direction as a response to one the biggest tragedies in recent Japanese history, the Kobe Earthquake of Jan. 17, 1995, which claimed over 5,000 lives and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. With no electricity and a mind to lift the spirits of those rebuilding their lives, Nakagawa and his bandmates morphed into a street band, holding acoustic, open-air shows. They put down their electric guitars and amps, picked up an Okinawan Sanshin, an accordion, and traditional Japanese and Korean drums. Instead of playing  driving rock numbers, the band, recast as "Soul Flower Mononoke Summit," performed old pop songs and traditional folk numbers – music especially familiar to those who came of age around the time of World War II.

 

As an admirer of songwriters such as Billy Bragg and Lou Reed, Nakagawa is also outspoken on social issues, and the band's repertoire includes old Japanese revolutionary songs as well as a lively rendition of the left-wing anthem. "L'Internationale." Nakagawa's songs have included topics such as discrimination against Japan's so-called "Untouchables." Soul Flower's label, Sony, refused to release its first live album, due to controversial lyrics. The activist attitude is part and parcel of the music of Nakagawa and his band, but listeners will likely pay no mind. The essence of Soul Flower's sound is joy, exuberance and a perservering spirit.

 

Surachai "Nga Caravan" | Thailand

Caravan is Thailand's most representative folk rock band. With that country's democracy movement in 1973, the band pioneered  "Phleng Pheua Chiwit," or songs about daily life in Thailand, creating a new category within Thai pop music that was based on folk music.

 

The band's leader Surachai Jantimathawan, known among Thai as "Nga Caravan," is the group's lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. The group started out playing American and British rock from the 1960s. Although they adopt a Western folk style of music, which is the basis of their sound, they also incorporate traditional Thai instruments into their sound. In Caravan's music, Surachai mixes in "Mor Lam" folk music of that country's Northeast region, and songs about land and the people are his creative inspiration. Caravan's music sought to provide a voice for rural workers and the underpriviledged classes of the countryside, and holds an important place in Thai rock.

 

As a university student, Surachai was part of a student movement calling for the military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn to step down as leader of Thailand. During this time, Surachai witnessed and endured one of the most tumultous events in recent Thai history --  on October 6, 1976, authorities massacred students that had gathered at Sanam Luang Square, who were there to protest Kittkachorn's rule. That event sent many protesters and activists into hiding. The members of Caravan were among those that fled and hid at the mountainous Thailand-Laos border, until they were granted amnesty in 1979. When the members of Caravan came out of exile, they returned to find that their music had received a positive response in the mainstream, supported by a legion of fans.