在為sci-fi Arrival 配樂之前，作曲家Johann Johannsson 已經(jīng)憑借《萬物理論》和《邊境殺手》兩度獲得奧斯卡最佳配樂的提名，他也與中國導(dǎo)演婁燁合作過電影《推拿》以及《浮城謎事》。這個有著大胡子和實驗精神的冰島音樂家終于在今年因科幻電影《降臨》而悄然進入大眾的視野，而“實驗音樂”和“極簡音樂”這些微微超前的音樂流派也以鮮明的形式出現(xiàn)在大家眼前。這篇樂評將會淺談Johann Johannsson在電影《降臨》里的音樂以及相關(guān)流派，希望能讓大家對這部電影以及配樂有更好的理解。
1. 定義實驗音樂和極簡音樂
何為實驗音樂？何為極簡音樂？
實驗音樂（Experimental Music) 是一種“大體上來說由完全反對且質(zhì)疑機構(gòu)化音樂創(chuàng)作表演和傳統(tǒng)美學(xué)的、具有探究性的鑒賞力和運動所定義的創(chuàng)作方式” （a compositional practice defined broadly by exploratory sensibilites and movement radically opposed to and questioning of institutionalized musical compositional, performing, and aesthetic conventions），意在追求一種高度純粹的、不負載任何意義的聆聽。實驗音樂的先鋒人物John Cage說到“任何實驗的行為都具有不可預(yù)測的結(jié)果”（"an experimental action is one the outcome of which is not foreseen"），所以大多數(shù)實驗音樂也帶有即興（Improvisation）的色彩，即未經(jīng)編排的音樂。用人話來講，實驗音樂就是一幫音樂人打破傳統(tǒng)，用各種奇奇怪怪的工具和聲音制作出來的音樂。它們也許不會悅耳，但會讓人產(chǎn)生”啊，原來還可以這樣搞“的感慨。
極簡音樂（Minimalist Music）是一種興起于20世紀60年代美國東北部的音樂形式。極簡音樂的主要特點是運用盡可能少的動機（motif）或主題（subject）并不斷重復(fù)（repetitive melody），強調(diào)和諧的和弦（consonant harmony），和肌肉運動般有規(guī)律的節(jié)奏（motoric rhythms）。用人話來講，如果古典音樂（classical／art music）是一本跌宕起伏、詳略得當、有情節(jié)有人物的書，那極簡音樂就是一首只重復(fù)一個字的詩。示例如下：
我
我我
我 我 我 我
我我
我我我我我我我我我
我
我我
2. “實驗音樂”與“極簡音樂”在《降臨》中的應(yīng)用
《降臨》作為一部科幻電影，突出了兩個主題：一是未知，二是語言和溝通。極簡音樂和實驗音樂的應(yīng)用剛好很成功地分別對應(yīng)了這兩個主題。
極簡音樂：科幻電影通常通過描繪未知的事物而達到讓人思考的目的，《降臨》也不例外。所以本片的配樂會趨向于簡潔，以達到不濃墨重彩而分散了觀眾的注意力，卻又不悄無聲息而沒了存在感。我問了和我一起觀影的同學(xué)，也看了一些影評，絕大多數(shù)觀眾對那些“幾乎像音效一樣，很突然，很厚重，很驚悚”的配樂印象深刻?？梢哉f，Johann Johannsson對于配樂的應(yīng)用在這部電影中是很成功的。? 以電影中的原聲舉例：在電影前半段女主初見“shells”以及七肢桶的時候，Johann Johannsson運用了大量的持續(xù)低音（drone），由鋼琴或銅管樂器發(fā)出的低音持續(xù)地向觀眾輸出隱隱的緊張感。這樣似乎沒有聲音卻又在耳邊小聲嗡嗡的表現(xiàn)手法從聽覺預(yù)示著未知事物的降臨（具體曲目：《Shells landing》、《Approaching the shell》等）。Johann Johannsson解釋說：“在這部電影里，停頓和留白極其重要。在需要音樂的時候，它自然會出現(xiàn)，并且有著目的。(In Arrival, the use of space and silence is extremely important. When music is needed, it’s really there and it serves a purpose.)”。同樣是在這幾首里，由處理過的人聲發(fā)出的巨大聲響被隨機地穿插在寂靜而緊張的氛圍中，似乎像是有某種巨型的生物在移動?！禜eptapod B》則運用了一個短小的motif“我的腦袋呢”（沒錯這非常中文）。這句中文空耳被反復(fù)地重復(fù)，幾乎貫穿了整首樂曲，就著背景里節(jié)奏性極強、仿若心跳聲的打擊樂（percussion），制造出首次和未知生物溝通的緊張感。
實驗音樂： Johann Johannsson在訪談中談到他對于此片配樂的嘗試時說：“我知道我會用人聲去詮釋一部主要關(guān)于語言和溝通的電影。但我想要用一種不同的方式去運用它，所以我與“Theatre of Voices”這個樂團有了合作。他們在古代音樂（early music）和當代音樂（contemporary music）上有著很深的造詣，因此他們精通異國的發(fā)聲技巧。我還與Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe合作；他沒有經(jīng)歷過學(xué)術(shù)上的訓(xùn)練，卻有著驚人的聲音，是強有力而柔韌的樂器 (I knew that I wanted to use voices as one of the prime instruments in the score of a film that is primarily about language and communication. But I wanted to use the voice in a different way, so I worked with an ensemble called Theatre Of Voices. They’re masters of both early music and contemporary music, so have a very good command of exotic vocal techniques. I worked with Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe; he is not academically trained, but his voice is an amazing, powerful and flexible instrument.)”?！禜eptapod B》則是在聽過美國人聲實驗音樂家Joan Le Barbara的專輯《Sound Paintings》里一首"Erin"后受到啟發(fā)而作。（可以聽聽這首Erin，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)它的主題和Heptapod B幾乎一樣。鏈接：http://www.kugou.com/song/）
3. 《降臨》配樂制作過程
在整個配樂的制作過程中，導(dǎo)演給了Johann Johannsson音樂上的全權(quán)，讓他大膽去做。他們總會在還未開拍之前就討論劇情，讀劇本并探討其中的情感和音樂的運用。Johann Johannsson總會很早就開始工作，因為“需要時間去找到帶有角色色彩和獨立性的、但卻不因為怪異而怪異的情感 (It takes time to find a mood and feel that has some character and individuality, and is not weird for weirdness’s sake.) ”。關(guān)于新穎的音樂制作方式，這位作曲家在采訪中給出了詳細的介紹：“在柏林的工作室，我們把用16軌的帶子做成了環(huán)形，即把2英尺的16軌帶子連接在一起從而讓它待在一個永恒的環(huán)狀里。這意味著我們可以把聲音不斷疊加，在原有聲音的基礎(chǔ)上錄制并保留原有聲音。所以我們一遍一遍地用這個方法錄制，最后得到了一整帶非常厚重有力的鋼琴連續(xù)低音(I did a session here in Berlin in a studio with 16 track tape loop, which basically means that you take 2 inch 16 track tape and you glue it together so it runs in a circle forever, which means that you can record loops on it, and you can also record over the original sounds while keeping the original sounds. So we did that over and over and over and over and over, until we had a whole tape full of this very strong, thick piano drone.)”。而那些穿插的巨大聲響則是由Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe的人聲經(jīng)過處理得來的。Johann Johannsson說，這是他讓Robert嘗試唱了幾個音后得到的”神奇的東西(something magical happening)”。
4. 電影原聲現(xiàn)狀
隨著當代電影業(yè)和娛樂業(yè)的迅速發(fā)展，電影原聲音樂正在逐漸變得獨立并逐步自成一體。人們也不僅僅滿足于悅耳但稍顯乏味的通俗歌曲，轉(zhuǎn)而尋找更加新穎刺激的新式音樂。Johann Johannsson本人則在采訪中稱這是因為“人們不僅渴望新的聲音，還渴望聽到與平日在廣告與電視節(jié)目中的音樂不一樣的音樂 (people are hungry for new sounds, and for the experience of listening to unfamiliar music that you don’t hear on commercials and in every TV show)”。對于我個人而言，電影原聲可以很好地作為一種代入情境或情感的媒介，例如想戀愛的時候可以聽聽Juno，
學(xué)習(xí)不下去了則可以聽聽Fletcher的怒吼，
生活有了電影和音樂多么美好，是吧。
6. Johann Johannsson配樂制作過程采訪原文?
The film Arrival starts with the landing of 12 spaceships on earth. The movie is directed by Denis Villeneuve, and the main protagonist which is played by Amy Adams is a linguist, and she is hired by the government, by the armed forces, to communicate with the occupants of the spaceships.
I felt that since this is a film that is largely about language and communication, one of the main instruments should be the voice. So I collaborated with several vocalists, on the score, mainly the vocal ensembles Theater Voices which was conducted by Paul Hiller. We decided not to use words; it’s more sounds, like the vowels, and nothing that can be tied to any meaning. So the voice is an important initial element, but there’s also a lot of percussion, there are some orchestra, and there is also more intimate pieces. There are a lot of other elements, a lot of processed sounds.
When I work with Denis, I usually start very early on in the process before they start shooting, as soon as I’ve read the script, I start writing. Denis was generous enough to give me quite a lot of freedom in terms of the sound. I did a session here in Berlin in a studio with 16 track tape loop, which basically means that you take 2 inch 16 track tape and you glue it together so it runs in a circle forever, which means that you can record loops on it, and you can also record over the original sounds while keeping the original sounds. So we did that over and over and over and over and over, until we had a whole tape full of this very strong, thick piano drone. And then I asked Robert, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, a frequent collaborator of mine, I asked him to sing a series of notes over this drone. When Rob was singing those, at first idea, those first few notes, I really felt that there was something magical happening, so I took out my iPhone and recorded it and I sent it to Denis. It was only like ten seconds, and Denis responded almost immediately, saying: “This is fantastic. You have to send me a 5 minute version of this.” And he listened to this music throughout the process of filming.
I tried to send things very early on, and I do this partly to have enough material for the editor to work with. This is to avoid any use of tap tracks. So everything is specially made for that particular film. When I create the soundtrack album, for me it’s always a very special thing. I always try to make the album work as a listening experience on its own. I very often make special versions of the cues, extend them, change, you know, some arrangements. They are all sorts of things that you can do with a soundtrack album which are very creative and very interesting and I like to spend time on them.
5. 參考資料
-wikipedia
-http://www.joanlabarbara.com/bio.html
-www.bing.com
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