理查德·休森的RAH乐队：从卧室小样到全球流媒体

我在娱乐行业的工作让我有机会与各种各样的人才合作。

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent.

多年的经验让我意识到两点：无论是台前的明星还是幕后的工作人员，每个人都有精彩的故事。

Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects: industry professionals, whether famous stars or behind the scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell.

其次，观众非常愿意听这些故事，因为它们能让人一窥他们的生活，以及人生轨迹的演变。

Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories.

这个播客就是要分享这些故事，带大家了解他们是如何走上如今的职业道路的。

This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information on how they evolve into their chosen career.

我们会深入探讨他们成名的历程，聊聊他们的挫折与成就，也会采访那些帮助他们实现目标的人。

We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who helped them achieve their goals.

准备好听一些鲜为人知的幕后故事，了解娱乐业这个迷人世界背后的真相吧。

Get ready for intriguing behind the scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment.

你好。

Hi.

我是托尼·曼托。

I'm Tony Mantor.

欢迎收听《几乎现场·纳什维尔》。

Welcome to Almost Live Nashville.

如果你还没关注的话，花一秒钟点一下关注按钮吧。

If you haven't already, take a quick second to tap the follow button.

这能帮节目触达更多热爱音乐和娱乐的听众。

It really helps the show reach more people who love music and entertainment.

感谢你的收听。

Thanks for being here.

今天来到节目的是一位音乐界的真正先驱，一位影响跨越数十年、横跨多种风格的艺术家。

Joining us today is a true pioneer in music, an artist whose influence stretches across decades and genres.

理查德·休森，Ra Band的创意核心，以他不为人知的方式塑造了现代音乐的面貌。

Richard Hewson, the creative force behind the Ra Band, has helped shape the sound of modern music in ways many people don't even realize.

从为业内顶尖艺人制作和编曲，到创作出《云遮月》这样的经典之作，理查德的作品融合了创新、叙事和独树一帜的风格，至今仍打动人心。

From producing and arranging for some of the biggest names in the industry to creating timeless hits like Clouds Across The Moon, Richard's work blends innovation, storytelling, and a signature sound that still resonates today.

Ra Band不仅仅是一个项目，更是一种充满创意、远见与音乐卓越精神的传承，持续激励着全球的音乐人。

The Ra Band isn't just a project, it's a legacy of creativity, vision, and musical excellence that continues to inspire artists around the world.

今天我们要深入聊聊他的音乐旅程、作品背后的故事，以及这么多年过去，是什么依然驱动着他的热情。

Today we're diving into his journey, the stories behind the music, and what continues to drive his passion after all these years.

感谢你今天来到这里。

Thanks for joining us today.

好的。

Okay.

太棒了。

Amazing.

在你音乐生涯的早期，你是一名制作人和编曲人。

In the early years of your music career, you was a producer and an arranger.

后来你创立了Ra Band。

Then you created the Ra Band.

你能跟我们讲讲，这一切是怎么开始的吗？

Can you give us a little bit of a background on how that all came together?

其实我不确定你知不知道，我之前做了整整十年的编曲工作，各种各样的项目都涉猎过。

Well, I don't know whether you know, but I did about ten years of arranging or All and Sundry.

那时候，就像现在一样，编曲人拿不到版税，一点都没有。

And back in those days, as it is even today, arrangers don't get royalties, music royalties.

你只能拿一笔固定的酬劳，那会儿钱也不多，我做了那么多唱片，却只挣二十五英镑，眼看着别人赚几百万，心里真不是滋味。

You just get a fee which wasn't very big in those days and I did so many records and I thought oh look at the millions they're making and I'm making £25.

所以我决定，得自己写歌了，不然光靠编曲，我根本撑不下去。

So I thought I've got to write my own tunes because I'm never gonna last unless I turn to writing my own songs.

我最早做的那首歌，大概是最早的‘卧室乐队’作品之一吧——全在自己卧室里，用一台特别小的多轨录音机录的。我会弹吉他、贝斯，也会弹键盘和合成器。

So the very first one I did, probably was one of the very first bedroom bands you know recording everything in his bedroom on a very small multi track machine and I could play the guitar, could play the bass, I could play the keyboard and synth synthesize.

其实那时候我根本不知道什么叫合成器，但我会弹键盘，就想试试看能不能自己做出一张唱片。

Well I didn't know synthesize in those days actually but I could play the keyboard and so I decided I'll have a go at making a record.

我以前其实是个爵士乐迷，完全不是流行音乐出身，对流行乐一窍不通，除了那些我帮别人编过的曲子。我就想，不如试试看，按我理解的流行乐做一首，结果全录在多轨磁带上，听起来居然还不错，后来又加了铜管乐，拿去大录音棚录了进去。

Actually I was a jazz head really not you know in my previous life not really a pop musician at all so I knew nothing about pop music except the tracks I'd worked on so I thought well I'll have a go at making a pop record what I thought was a pop record and I just put it all down on the multi track tape and it sounded pretty good and then I put some brass on I took it then to a big studio and put brass on it.

听起来挺棒的，但就是卖不出去，整整两年都没人要。

It sounded pretty good but I couldn't sell it, I could not sell it for about two years.

最后，有家俱乐部的老板听到了，一下子火了，我这才拿到唱片合约，没想到真搞出个项目来。

Eventually somebody in the clubs picked it up and it blew up big time and I got a deal for it and lo and behold I've got a project.

我当时在想，这个乐队该取个什么名字呢？

I was thinking what am I going to call this band?

水重水？

The water heavy water.

不行不行不行不行。

No no no no.

有人问我：你的名字首字母是什么？

Somebody said, what are your initials?

我说：R A H。

I said, R A H.

他说：就是它了。

He said, that's it.

就这么定了。

You got it.

Ra Band。

The Ra Band.

这个名字就一直沿用下来了。

And it stuck.

哇，这真是个很棒的故事。

Wow, that's such a great story.

我喜欢你没有去追逐流行趋势。

I love you weren't chasing pop trends.

咱们先回溯一下。

So take us back for a second.

谁或者什么影响了你的音乐风格？

Who or what influenced your sound?

其实是爵士乐。

Well really jazz.

我上音乐学院的时候完全是个爵士乐迷，毕业后也一直如此。

I was a complete jazz head when I did music college and then came out.

那时候，爵士乐就是我生活的全部。

But jazz was all that was my life.

比尔·埃文斯、迈尔斯·戴维斯、约翰·科尔特兰，那些人人都知道的大师们。

Bill Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, all the great guys that everybody knew about.

那时候我就只玩爵士，是个爵士吉他手。

That was me, just jazz and I was jazz guitarist.

当时大家都叫我‘爵士吉他好手’。

Was called Good on the jazz guitar at the time.

我认识了一个叫彼得·阿舍的朋友，你可能听说过他——他妹妹当时正和保罗·麦卡特尼交往，就是通过他，我有机会去彼得家玩，那天我们正在弹琴。

I met a friend called Peter Asher who you probably know about Peter Asher whose sister was going out with Paul McCartney and that's how I got to meet Paul McCartney and round up Peter's house one day we were playing.

保罗刚发现了一位威尔士女歌手，民谣风格的，想给她录张专辑，但他不想用那些常规的编曲人，他说想找个有点不一样的人。

Paul wanted, he discovered a new Welsh singer, a girl Welsh singer, folk singer, and wanted to make a record with her but he said I don't want to use the usual arranger guys because you know you wanted to use somebody a bit in left field.

彼得就说：‘为什么不试试理查德？他上过音乐学院，有功底，又是搞爵士的，肯定能带来点新东西。’

And Peter said well why don't you try Richard because he'd been to college, got some knowledge, and he's a jazz musician so you're coming in with something different.

结果真就这么成了，我人生第一个编曲工作，歌直接冲上了榜首，从此打开了无数编曲的机会。

Which is what happened and lo and behold my first arranging job which went to number one which opened a lot of doors for arranging.

哇，这太了不起了。

Wow, that's amazing.

然后《Clouds Across The Moon》出来了，一下子在全球火了。

And then Clouds Across The Moon happens, and it just takes off worldwide.

在录音室里，或者第一次听回放的时候，你有没有觉得：嗯，这次有点不一样？

Was there a moment in the studio or hearing it back where you thought, okay, this one's different.

这次特别不一样。

This is special.

其实我写这首歌的时候，是因为我一直在洛杉矶和美国的艺人合作做编曲。

Well, when I wrote it, it was because I've been coming backwards and forwards to Los Angeles doing arranging for American artists, actually.

我记得那时候还没有手机，也没有互联网这些东西。

And I remember we didn't have cell phones or Internet or any of that stuff.

所以想给家里打电话，只能用老式的电话。

So to call back home, I used to have to go by the old fashioned telephone.

每次打国际长途，你拿起电话，那边就会有人说：您好，这里是国际接线员。

When you wanted to make an international call you'd pick up the phone and the guy would say hello this is the international operator here.

这句话一直留在我的脑海里，等我回到家，我已经写好了一段旋律，虽然主题不是这个，但调子有点不一样。

That stuck in my head and when I came home I had a track written not with that theme just with a different lurie.

我当时在想这个国际接线员，就琢磨要是放在未来，干脆叫他‘星际接线员’好了。

I was thinking about this international operator and I thought what if we said it in the future and call him the intergalactic operator?

于是这首歌就变成了一首太空主题的曲子。

So that became a space song.

明白了。

Okay.

后来这首歌火了，就是因为它是太空主题的。

And it got picked up because it was the space song.

要不是改了歌词，我真不确定它会不会红。但正好赶上了太空探索新闻满天飞的时候，加上这股太空风，一下子就火了。

If I hadn't changed the lyric I don't know whether it would have been a hit actually But because it was a spacey thing and it was about the time of the space was all in the news, new space exploration, it took off and away she went.

你们很多歌都有很扎实的故事背景，特别有感染力。

It seemed like a lot of your songs had a good story base to them and they were very inspirational.

听上去就像在看一部电影的原声配乐。

It was almost like listening to the soundtrack of a movie.

写歌的时候，故事性对你来说有多重要？

How important was the storytelling to you in writing all your songs?

我想是因为我本来就不算个写歌词的人。

Well, I suppose because I wasn't really a lyric writer.

我是个音乐人，吉他手，玩爵士的。

I was a musician, guitarist, jazz player.

我以前从来没写过流行歌，说实话，写一首流行歌对我来说挺费劲的。

I'd never written pop songs before as I said so it was really an effort for me to write a pop song.

所以我最早写的一首其实是《Not Clouds Across The Moon》。

So the first one I did really was Not Clouds Across The Moon.

还有一首叫《Perfume Garden》。

It was one called Perfume Garden.

那时候我写了个爵士风格的伴奏，心想，奇怪的是，我居然不认识谁写歌词，尽管我天天听歌。

Now that was when I'd written a jazz type backing and I thought well I don't know anybody who writes lyrics strangely enough even though I was listening to music.

我身边真没一个认识的歌词作者。

I didn't actually know personally a lyric writer.

有一天在酒吧，我带着笔和纸，想着：要不我自己试试写一首。

So one day in the bars I went with my pencil paper and I think well I'll try and write one myself.

我当时就想，这句‘跟我来’挺合适，这可是我写的第一句歌词。从那以后，我就试着把它扩展成一个完整的故事，这也就是我一直以来写歌词的方式——总想让每首歌都有个故事。

I thought well that sounds like come with me and that was the first lyric I ever wrote come with me and I took it on from there trying to make a story of it really and that's basically the way I've always tried to write lyrics, to try and have a a story attached to it.

事情就是这样。

And that's how it goes.

没想到四十年、五十年过去了，你的音乐居然通过流媒体和各种现代平台，吸引了一代全新的听众。

So here we are forty or fifty years later, and your music is finding a whole new audience through streaming and all these modern platforms.

看到新一代人发现你多年前创作的作品，对你来说意味着什么？

What does that mean to you, to see a new generation discovering what you created all those years ago?

确实如此。

Yes, indeed.

其实你可能不知道，大概两三年前，一首叫《来自星辰的讯息》的老歌，是1983年在洛杉矶写的，突然在Spotify、TikTok这些平台爆红，到现在还在持续走红，真是让人意外。

In fact, I don't know whether you are aware of it, but about two or three years ago, an old tune called Messages from the Stars which was written in 1983 in Los Angeles of all places and it blew up big time, went viral on Spotify, TikTok, all the platforms and still is still bowling along there which is amazing.

这股热潮重新点燃了大家对我的旧作品的兴趣，毕竟我积累的作品可不少。

It sort of reignited interest in the back catalogue of which we've got quite a large one.

算起来，我在这一行已经混了五十多年了。

Think I've gained fifty odd years in the business.

你做了这么多，现在一切又重新火起来，是不是有越来越多的人来问你是怎么做到的？

With everything you've done and everything coming back around, do you find more people are reaching out to find out how you did all this?

这种感觉怎么样？

How does that feel?

是的，确实如此。

Yeah, it does.

这感觉挺奇怪的，因为我一开始只是个幕后工作者，编曲人嘛，从来都上不了台前。

It feels strange because as I say starting off as a backroom boy, arrangers of course are backroom boys, they never get to see the front of the stage.

对。

Yeah.

后来我在卧室里录唱片，就像我说的，虽然叫‘Ra Band’，但其实根本不是乐队，我也没怎么接触过外面的人。

And then making records in my bedroom as I said I was a bedroom but I didn't really get to meet people outside because it wasn't a band even though it's called the Ra Band.

所有乐器都是我一个人弹的，要是需要弦乐或铜管，才送去录音棚。

It was me really playing all the instruments and then if I needed strings or brass taking them to a studio.

所以我一直都没真正站在聚光灯下。

So still I wasn't really in the public eye.

我那时候就只是一个名字，这挺好的。

I was just a name which was great.

我在YouTube上收到很多暖心的评价，这很棒，但我从来没怎么见过真人。

I've got a lot of lovely compliments on YouTube and things like that which was great but I never actually met a lot of people.

说实话，我得一直提这一点：五十年来，我从来没参加过任何音乐圈的聚会。

Fact, keep quoting this but I've never actually been to a music business party in fifty years.

一次都没去过。

Never.

别人还说，你真幸运啊，没去那些场合。

And people say you're lucky mate, you didn't go.

所以，我和公众之间一直没什么交集。

But so that's how me and the public never really met.

你之前说过一句话，让我印象特别深。

You said something earlier that really stood out.

你从来不是那个圈子里的人。

You weren't part of the click.

说实话，我觉得这正是你独特的地方。

And honestly, I think that's what made you special.

你没有去模仿别人的风格，而是根据自己的感受和影响，一步步打造出属于自己的声音。

You weren't chasing other people's sound, you were building your own based on what moved you and your influences.

没错，你说得太准了。当年我就一直是个爵士乐迷，到现在还是。其实我对弦乐合奏特别着迷，那股热情是从大学时候开始的。

Exactly so, actually, you're dead on, because I was still a jazz head even back in the day and still am actually but I'm wild about string orchestras from my college days that's where that started.

那些东西大概就是我音乐里最主要的灵感来源，所以那时候我根本没怎么听流行音乐。

And that was really the influences in my music probably And so I didn't listen to a lot of pop music at the time.

说真的，我可能连当时排行榜上有什么歌都不知道。

In fact, I probably didn't know what was in the chart.

我就按自己的路子走，音乐自然就变成了那个样子，没怎么受同期其他人的影响。

I just sort of went my own course and out came the music the way it did, know, not influenced by a lot of other contemporaries.

很多人都说，你在音乐上从不害怕尝试新东西、大胆突破。

Many different people have said that you were not afraid to try new and different things with your music.

你进录音棚、用当时那些设备的时候，有没有哪一件器材是你特别喜欢的？它帮你塑造了后来大家熟知的那套声音？

When you went in the studio and when you worked with a gear that was prevalent at that time, what was one of your favorite pieces of gear to work with that helped give you the sound that you became well known for?

我不知道你知不知道，或者有多少人知道，我最早提到的那张《Crunch》专辑，是我刚在家里的卧室里自己鼓捣出来的，大家都问我用了什么合成器。

Well, I don't know whether you know or many people know that the Crunch, which was the first record I mentioned when I started to get into my bedroom and made it all myself, It sounds, everybody says which synthesizers did you use?

我当时根本就没有合成器。

I said I haven't got a synthesizer at that time.

我那时候真没有合成器。

I didn't have a synthesizer.

那会儿合成器刚要开始流行起来。

It was just about the time they were coming in.

当

When

那首歌火了之后，罗兰公司给我打了电话，说他们想送我一台合成器。

that was a hit I got a call from Roland, the company Roland, said the company and they said we'd like to give you a synthesizer.

是一台SH-5，到现在我还留着，音色依然很棒。

It's an SH-five synthesizer which I still have today and still sounds great.

那台机器是我人生中第一台合成器。

And that was my very first synth.

其实我直到有了第一首热门歌之后才真正接触电子音乐，那首歌可不是用合成器做的，不过听起来还不错。

So I hadn't actually got into electronic music until after I had the first hit, which wasn't synth record, although it sounds good.

所以现在又有人开始关注你了。

So people are starting to find you again.

而且自然而然地，他们也开始听你的音乐。

And of course, with that, they're listening to your music.

你希望听众从你的音乐里得到什么？有没有哪几首歌特别想推荐他们先听？

What do you hope that they get out of your music and which songs would you like to have them listen to first?

这问题真不好回答。

Oh, that's a difficult one.

这种说法我听过太多次了。

I've heard the quote many, many times.

就像自己的孩子一样，对吧？

It's like your babies aren't they?

真的很难挑出一首最该优先推荐的。

Very hard to choose which one you would put first.

是的，确实如此。

Yes, very true.

但我最钟爱的是一些管弦乐风格的作品。

But I've got my favorite orchestral type ones.

我也特别喜欢那些舞曲风格的。

I've got my favorite dance ones.

但如果非要我挑一首自认写得最好的歌——不是别人觉得好，而是我自己的看法——那就是我写的《Across The Bay》。

But if you want to pin me down to the best song I wrote probably, in my opinion not in anybody else's in my opinion, is one I called Across The Bay.

我喜欢它的歌词，也喜欢它的演绎方式。

I like the lyric, I like the performative.

早期这首歌的演唱是我前妻唱的，我特别喜欢里面的弦乐编排。

That was my ex wife that did the singing in the early days, and I loved the string arrangement of it.

所以，我觉得这可能是我最满意的作品。

So I could say that probably is my favorite piece of work.

当然，它未必是我最偏爱的‘孩子’。

Not necessarily my favorite baby, as it were.

那你现在还在录音室工作吗？

So are you still working in the studio?

如果在的话，最近在忙什么项目？

And if you are, what are you working on?

我们刚推出了一张新专辑，就在这个时候。

We've got a new album out right now as we speak, yeah.

专辑已经发布了，几周前就上架了。

It's released, it was released a couple of weeks ago.

我状态很好，说实话特别满意。

I'm doing very well, I'm really pleased to say.

这张专辑汇集了这些年的一些老歌，重新混音、重新制作，但保留了原来的人声。

What it is, is a compilation of some of the old tracks from across the years, remixed, remade, all with the same, the original vocals.

我保留了所有原唱歌手，把曲子完全重做了，还加了两三首全新的曲子。

I've kept all the vocalists and rebuilt the tracks and we've got two or three new tracks, brand new.

销量表现非常不错。

And it's doing very well.

而且我得说，这张专辑叫《爱后余生》。

And I have to say it's called Life After Love Songs.

是的，这名字真不错。

Yeah, that's great.

接下来咱们聊聊你的混音吧。

Now, let's get into your remixing.

我记得当年你总是按自己的方式来，就为了做出想要的那种音效，结果确实成功了，听众特别有共鸣。

I know back then you were doing things your own way to get that exact sound you wanted and it clearly worked because people connected with it.

现在重新混音的时候，你用的设备跟以前不一样了吗？

Are you using different studio gear to remix?

你现在的做法是怎样的？

What's your approach to this?

我的设备还是停留在石器时代呢。

I'm still back in dark ages with my equipment.

大部分还是七八九十年代的老设备。

It's still a lot of it, 80s, 70s, 90s equipment.

不错。

Nice.

到现在听起来还是很棒，不过很多设备都坏掉了。

Still sounds great today so a lot of it's broken down.

坏掉的那些已经没法用了，所以我能用的乐器少了很多。

The ones that are broken are not used anymore so it reduces my choice of instrument considerably.

但这样也好，每天早上我下来的时候，都会想：今天用哪台施鲁姆机器呢？

But that's good because when I come down in the morning I think which Schrum machine shall I use today?

哦，还有另一台能用的，今天就用它了！

Oh, there's another one that's working that's the one we'll use today!

所以我的音色范围其实变窄了。

And so my sound has sort of shrunk a bit.

某种程度上，这对你提出了更高的要求。

In a way, makes more demands on you.

你得更富有创意地去使用这些音色，从中挖掘出比以前更多的可能性。

You've got to be more creative to use those sounds and get something more out of them than you perhaps did before.

我很喜欢，虽然用起来有点费劲，但技术上来说，我儿子是个很棒的音乐人，顺便提一下，他现在带着Ra乐队到处巡演，做现场演出。

I love it, it's just glumsy to go on but technically my son who is a brilliant musician and incidentally now takes the Ra Band out on the road doing gigs and the Ra Band live.

总之，他来到我的工作室，跟我说：爸，你那些旧设备，该换点新的了。

Anyway he comes around to my studio and said Dad, that old gear there you've got, you should get some new stuff.

我说：不，我不想换。

I said No, I don't want to.

我就喜欢用这些设备发出的声音，我会一直用下去，直到我不再演奏为止。

I'd like the sound I make with this and I'll stick with it till I've gone.

对，我自己也很喜欢模拟设备。

Yeah, I'm a big analog guy myself.

我记得以前用两英寸的磁带，都是按老派的方式操作的。

I remember working with two inch tape and doing it the old school way.

现在好像很多人都在尝试用数字技术去重现我们当年用模拟设备做出来的效果。

It seems like a lot of people are trying to recreate digitally what we created back then with analog.

老设备就是有种独特的魅力，声音温暖，层次感也很足。

There's just something about the old gear, the warm sound, the depth of it.

真的很难复刻出来。

It's just hard to replicate.

用那些老设备能录出特别棒的声音质感。

It's just a great quality sound that we can get with that gear.

我也这么觉得。

I think so.

我平时不怎么听流行音乐，但偶尔在车里听收音机时，发现所有歌听起来都差不多。

Also I think listening to, as I do, said I don't normally listen to pop music, but when I do to the radio in the car or whenever I find they all sound very very similar.

所有曲子都千篇一律，估计都是用同样的设备做的。但以前就不一样了，比如我当年拿作品去混音的那家录音室，工程师们特别有创意，总在想‘怎么才能让这声音更好’？那时候没有现在这种电子采样技术，我们得把两台磁带机连起来，用一大段磁带绕着转，才能做出长循环效果。

All the tracks are very similar to each other because they're probably using the same gear but it does sound like Whereas back in our day, I mean back in the day and in the Scooby that I used to take my stuff sometimes to be mixed to, the engineers were so creative you know we thought how can we make this sound better?' didn't have the electronic sampling stuff that we've got now so we'd have to put two tape machines together with a big long loop of tape around it or something like that to get a long lockup.

就是这类办法。

Things like that.

我觉得那时候我们更靠灵感和即兴发挥，你知道的。

I think we were more creative fly by the seat of your pants type work, you know?

没错，完全同意。

Yeah, absolutely.

我还记得那些日子。

I remember those days.

两英寸磁带和数字录音之间的音色确实不一样。

There's just something about the tone you get from the two inch tape versus digital.

背景里那一点点沙沙声。

That slight hiss in the background.

正是这种氛围，让声音听起来经久不衰。

It has that ambience that gives it that timeless sound.

是啊。

Yeah.

这真的很神奇，对吧？

Well, it's amazing, isn't it?

现在你甚至能买到专门加在磁带上的白噪音采样，没错。

You'll find that you can now get a sample of hiss put on your tape Yes.

就是为了弥补那种太数字化的冰冷感。

To make it because it's so digital.

一点背景噪音都没有。

There's no background noise at all.

但你现在又要把嘶嘶声加回去，这简直有点疯狂。

But now put your hiss back on, which is kinda crazy.

是的，用模拟设备和磁带的时候，我们本来就是这么做的。

Yeah, with analog machines and tape, that was just the way we did it.

那种声音是自然而然就有的。

That sound came naturally.

现在很多人小时候都没接触过那种声音。

Now a lot of people didn't grow up with that.

所以他们用这些插件，想还原我们当年实时录出来的效果。

So they're using these plugins to try and recreate what we were getting in real time.

对，没错。

Yes, yes.

我是说，现在在Facebook上能买到的各种多轨弦乐、多轨合唱效果，全都用上了。

I mean, the stuff now that's on Facebook that you can get to do your multi strings, your multi choirs, all that stuff.

是的。

Yeah.

有点让人担心，但我认为它们永远替代不了真实的弦乐、合唱、吉他这些声音。

A little bit worrying, but I don't think they'll ever compete with the actual real sound of strings and choirs and guitars and what.

是的，我完全同意。

Yes, I 100% agree.

那你最喜欢哪个年代的音乐？

Now, what was your favorite decade for music?

哦，再说回爵士乐的年代，我接触音乐其实很晚，因为一毕业我就跑去做海员了，去了商船队。

Oh, well, again, going back to the jazz days, I started life very late in music because I didn't know I ran away to sea when I left school and went to the merchant navy.

但恰恰是这段经历造就了我的音乐生涯——有一次我当见习生的时候，大概十六七岁，坐那种老货船，前一个船员留下了一把吉他，我之前根本没碰过任何乐器。

But that in fact produced my musical career because one of the trips when I was a cadet, the guy before me, I'd have been about 16 or 17 years old going on these old tramp ships, he left his guitar behind and I hadn't played a note of music until then.

于是我上岸后买了一本《如何弹吉他》。

So I went to shore and bought a copy of How Playing the Guitar.

在那段漫长的航程里，我通过收听美国之音的短波广播，慢慢弹得越来越好了。

And on that long trip I got quite good listening to Voice of America on short wave.

我以前常听威利斯·康诺弗的爵士时光节目，那是个特别棒的节目，海上漫长的夜晚里，我就靠着收音机学爵士，然后试着用吉他模仿，这就算正式踏入音乐行当了。

I used to listen to Willis Conover's Jazz Hour and that was a great show and I could get all the jazz and try and emulate it on the guitar on those long nights at sea and that's how I actually started in the business.

所以其实我有很多钟爱的时期。

So really I've got various favorites.

在商船队学吉他的那段少年时光，对我来说特别难忘。

That Merchant Navy learning the guitar time was an amazing time for me as a teenager.

上大学的日子也特别棒。

Going to college was great.

二十岁出头去的，学了很多关于配器和古典音乐的知识。

Did that in my early 20s and learned all about orchestration, classical music, etc.

我一直没放下爵士乐，这么多年下来，对爵士的热爱始终没变，偶尔去罗尼·斯科特俱乐部演出，那种感觉真的特别棒。

Still playing jazz and I think I still kept my love for jazz all these years and playing in Ronnie Scott's occasionally and things like that was a great thrill.

是的。

Yeah.

到现在我还会去罗尼·斯科特俱乐部。

I still see go to Ronnie Scott's now.

你可能听说过罗尼·斯科特爵士俱乐部。

You've probably heard of it Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.

所以我也说不上哪个时期是我最偏爱的。

Anyway so I wouldn't say I've got one favorite era.

我觉得每个时期都有它独特的韵味和魅力。

Think I each era has its own flavor and delights.

是的，完全没错。

Yeah, absolutely.

你刚才提到，你一个人在卧室里组了乐队。

Now you mentioned you went into your own bedroom and created the band.

那你最喜欢演奏哪种乐器？

So what's your favorite instrument to play?

说来有趣，我来这儿接受采访之前，刚在录音室里拿起了我的吉他。

Well, funnily enough, just before I came in to do this interview, I was in the studio and I picked up my guitar.

我刚完成了一首曲子，就收在这张专辑里。

I've just finished a track, which is on this album.

我突然想到，哎，这首曲子我根本没弹吉他。

And I thought, oh, I didn't play the guitar on this track.

我得弹一弹了，现在我很少玩爵士乐了。

I must play it because I don't play so much jazz now.

手生得可真快。

And you soon lose your chops.

手指头一僵，我立马醒悟：天哪，我得加紧练习了，年纪大了有点偷懒，练得没以前多了，但我真的超爱吉他。

The old fingers get stiff and I suddenly thought oh my gosh I must practice more because I got a bit lazy in the old age and don't practice as much as I should but I love the guitar.

吉他排第一。

That is my first thing.

它是我接触的第一个乐器，估计也会是我最后的一个。不过键盘和合成器这些，我当然也得玩。

It was the first instrument and probably will be my last But I still have to play the keyboard, obviously, and the synthesizers and such.

但说到底，还是吉他最对我的胃口。

But so I think the guitar probably is it.

我啊，就是个调皮鬼。

I'm a naughty boy.

我最近练得没那么勤快。

I'm not practicing hard a lot.

你之前提到，组建Ra乐队之前，你做过制作人和编曲。

You mentioned before you started the Ra Band that you was a producer and arranger.

你制作或编曲过的作品里，哪一段最让你印象深刻？

What's one of the more interesting pieces of work you produced or arranged?

嗯，我说过，我特别喜欢弦乐编曲，比其他类型的编曲都更喜欢。

Well, there are two, as I said before, I love string arranging, probably about any other kind of arranging.

这真是我最爱的。

It's my favorite.

当然。

Sure.

我有两首编曲特别引以为豪，得说说。

And I've done two arrangements that I'm really proud of, I have to say.

其中一个是一位叫Clifford T.的音乐人。

And one is a guy called Clifford T.

沃德是个才华横溢的年轻词曲作者。

Ward, was a brilliant young songwriter.

可惜他英年早逝。

He died very young unfortunately.

我为他早期的作品做了编曲，还给克里夫·理查德也写过一个同样的编曲，叫《Up in the World》，纯用人声和弦乐，没有任何其他乐器，那对我来说特别棒。另外一首是我为一位叫托娅·威尔科克斯的女歌手做的《Sympathy》。

But I did his early arrangements and I wrote an arrangement for him and a guy called Cliff Richard also, with the same arrangement called Up in the World and it was purely them with the voice and strings and that was just that was wonderful for me because no other instruments just the string orchestra and that was one and then another one I did with a girl called Toya Wilcox called Sympathy the track's called Sympathy.

那首也是只有我和她，加上一支庞大的弦乐队，特别美，还有托娅。

And that again was just me and her, a big string orchestra, lovely, and Toya.

我觉得这两首是我最钟爱的编曲。

Those are my two favorite arrangements, I think.

我还有很多其他满意的作品，但这两首对我来说是最特别的。

So I've got a lot of other ones I'm happy with, but those are the those are the str that one for me.

你合作过这么多传奇艺人，披头士、比吉斯、詹姆斯·泰勒，数不胜数。

You've worked with so many iconic artists, the Beatles, the Bee Gees, James Taylor, so many.

回头看看这些合作，你觉得他们为什么特别欣赏你带来的创意？

When you look back at those collaborations, what do you think they connected with when you brought your ideas to the table?

有时候去录音棚特别棒，我记得有一次去给《Breakaway》专辑做编曲，是和阿特·加芬克尔一起，我负责了那张专辑的弦乐部分，他人非常好。

Well sometimes you'd go to the studio and it'd be wonderful but I remember going in with Art Garfunkel once to do some arrangements for Breakaway album, there's an album called Breakaway Me and I did string arrangements on that and Art was great.

他对我说：‘嘿，理查德，我超喜欢你这些弦乐编排，但你为啥非得让弦乐来回变动呢？’

He said hey Richard, I love all this string arranging right but why do you have to move the strings around a lot?

你干脆就保持一个音不就好了？

So why don't you just hold one note?

我回他：‘要是只用一个音，那效果就太单薄了，根本撑不起整个氛围。’

Said well it wouldn't be much point it'd be big here if I just put it on one note.

这话挺逗的，我到现在还记得。

That was a funny comment I got.

还有个特别有名的故事：我为《漫长而曲折的路》做了大型管弦乐编排，但当时保罗·麦卡特尼根本不知道我们合作过这么多回。

Another famous story actually is I did the big orchestra for Long and Winding Road and Paul McCartney didn't know that he and I worked together a lot back in those days.

那是1970年左右吧，我们之前早就一起做过不少作品了，他认识我，但不知道是菲尔·斯佩克特找我来为这条曲子重新编个大编制的弦乐，因为我拿到的原始录音只有他一个人弹钢琴。

Was 1970 I think and he and I had already done stuff together you know so he knew me but he didn't know that I'd been asked by Phil Spector to do a big arrangement along the winding road because the tape that I got was just him and a piano.

是的。

Yeah.

他本来就想这样。

That's how he wanted it to be.

没人告诉他我们会给这首曲子配上庞大的管弦乐编排。

Nobody told him that we were going to put a big arrangement of it.

我特别喜欢这个，因为当初我见菲尔的时候，他对我说：道格，我要你给这段曲子搞个大乐队编曲。

And I loved it because you know when I met Phil he said, Doug, I want you to do a big orchestra, big orchestra on this run.

我说：哦？你指的是八把小提琴、四把大提琴那种标准的大乐队配置吗？

I said oh what do mean sort of eight violins, four cellos that's my sort of standard big orchestra for recording.

不不不，我要二十二把小提琴，还要三架竖琴。

No no no I want 22 violins and I want about three harps.

于是我就这么安排了。

So I did put this up.

其实我玩得特别开心，那是在EMI的艾比路录音室，动用了庞大的管弦乐团，我们录了下来。

I had a ball actually but it was a massive orchestra in EMI's Abbey Road Studios and we took it.

我觉得效果棒极了，录音棚里所有人都觉得好听。

It sounded great to me, sounded great to everybody in the studio.

但保罗还没听过。

But Paul hadn't heard it.

他根本不知道我们干了这事儿，后来知道了，直接炸了。

He didn't even know we were doing it and when he did he went bananas.

他给艾伦·克莱因写了封信，说永远别碰我的音乐！

He wrote a letter to Alan Klein, Never ever touch my music!

伊莎后来给了我一个机会，因为那之后我们又继续合作了。

Isha gave me an end because we went on and worked together after that lately.

但那个编曲真是我特别喜欢的一个。

But that was one big arrangement that I really loved.

他真的完全不认同。

He really didn't.

在录音棚里干活，通常一切都会提前安排好。

Now in any situation when you're working in the studio, you've got everything worked out.

你有没有遇到过一些特别不一样的情况？比如在哪个地方制作、编曲，或者跟乐手合作时，事情跟平常不太一样？

Have you got any interesting stories of places you've produced, arranged, or worked with session players where things were a little bit more different than normal?

我在EMI艾比路二号录音室做了很多工作，就是那个往下走的那间。

Well, I did a lot in EMI Abbey Road Number 2, the one that goes downstairs.

我很多重要的编曲都是在那儿完成的。

A lot of my big arrangements were done down there.

伦敦郊区有个叫克拉珀姆的地方，那儿有一间特别小的录音室，特别有意思。

There's one little studio, a silly little place, in a place called Clapham which is in a suburb of London.

那间录音室正好在一家宾果游戏厅楼上，底下还有宾果叫号的人。

It was actually the studio was over a bingo hall where they have a bingo caller.

有时候我们正在录音，声音就会从地板下传上来，因为他们那儿还放着一株塑料棕榈树。

Sometimes you had to stop a take because your sound came up through the floor and they had a plastic palm tree in there.

那真是经典到不行。

Oh it was really classic.

我在那儿为一支叫Jigsaw的乐队做过编曲，他们不算大牌，但铜管部分特别棒，演奏得非常出色，录音师也抓得特别好。

So I did an arrangement there for a band called Jigsaw which wasn't a huge band but there was a really great brass section and they really played so well and the sound engineer really captured it.

太精彩了！

Brilliant!

一个挺有意思的小录音室，跟艾比路完全不一样，就个不起眼的小角落而已。

A funny little studio, nothing like Abbey Road, just a little hole in the wall, more or less.

但那个地方的铜管乐手，我觉得是我这辈子遇过最棒的。

But that one had the greatest brass section I think I've ever had.

你现在影响了这么多人，这么多艺术家。

Now you've influenced so many people, so many artists.

你开创了自己的风格。

You created your own style.

当人们回顾你的职业生涯时，你希望他们从中得到什么？

When people look back at your career, what would you like them to take away from it?

整个职业生涯吗？

From the whole career?

天哪，就是整个职业生涯啊，理查德。

Oh gosh, well, just the whole career, Richard.

这段经历真是丰富多彩。

It has been so varied.

直到今天，我依然觉得这一点最让我惊讶。

I think that's probably the one thing that I am amazed even to this day.

你看，现在都2026年了，算下来我在这行已经干了五十四年。

Know, here we are in 2026 and now being going on well, counted it up fifty four years in this business.

我见证了从原始的录音方式，到早期的电子设备，再到更复杂的电子技术，一直到如今的人工智能。

So I've seen no acoustic recording, early electronics, more sophisticated electronics, now AI.

这些年来，所有的变化我都看在眼里。

I've seen all the changes over the years.

每一种技术都有它独特的味道。

So each one has a flavor of its own.

但我特别怀念过去的日子，尤其是我录弦乐合奏的时候。一进录音棚，就知道里面全是弦乐，那些乐手都是老资历的，大多来自顶级乐团。

But I do hanker for the old days when particularly when I was doing a string orchestra session I would go into a studio and knowing there's nothing but strings in there and these guys came in and most of them most of the string players the professional string boys and girls they're my older people because they'd been in the major orchestras probably.

他们一进来，我早就把乐谱都摆好了，等着他们。他们一进门就跟我打招呼：‘嗨，理查德，最近怎么样？’然后坐下就开始聊：‘嘿，加里，家里人都还好吧？’这类话。

They'd come into the studio, I'd have got all my music set up on the music stands and waiting for them to come in and they'd say 'Hi Richard, how you doing, how you doing?' and then they'd sit down and start talking to each other 'Hey Gary, how is the family?' is the kind of John?

真让人感到温暖啊！

Lovely to see you!

我等着指挥，一、二、三、四，他们立刻就演奏起来，那声音简直让人想哭。

And I'd be waiting to conduct to bring the orchestra in and I'd go one two three four and they'd immediately just play and the sound would make you cry.

那声音真的让人动容，因为你花了好几个星期写出来的曲子，终于在那一刻活了过来——那时候可没有Sibelius，也没有Pro Tools，连乐谱软件都没有。

It made you cry and it was that exciting realization of what you spent the last couple of weeks writing a piece because in those days we didn't have Sibelius or any Pro Tools or any notation.

我们全靠铅笔在纸上写，一个一个音符，一点一点地画出来。

We had to do pencil on paper and it literally was writing notes on paper, little dots on paper.

那时候大家都说，你写在纸上的东西，他们都能演奏得完美无缺。

They used to say those guys will play anything you write on that paper.

他们真的能做到。

And they would.

如果有错，那一定是我的错，不是他们的，他们从来不出错。

And if there was any mistakes it would have been my mistake, not theirs, because they never made mistakes.

他们演奏起来，就像天籁之音。

They just played like heaven.

真的，就像天堂里的声音。

It was like heaven.

你有没有过那种一切都很顺的时候？

Have you ever been in a situation where everything was just going really fine?

一切都安排好了，一切都准备妥当，结果突然有人出错了。

It was all planned, it was all worked out, and then all of a sudden someone makes a mistake.

是的。

Yeah.

本来不是这么写的，但其他人跟着他继续往下演奏。

It wasn't written this way, but the rest of the group follows them and keeps playing.

结果反而特别好，根本没法改回来。

And it turned out so good you couldn't change it.

你遇到过这种情况吗？

Did that ever happen to you?

对，经常发生。

Yeah, quite often.

经常出错的时候，你会觉得，哎，这比我自己写的还好。

Quite often you make a mistake and you think, oh, that's better than I wrote myself.

确实偶尔会遇到这种奇妙的时刻，但我一直特别佩服音乐圈里的录音乐手，他们真的太厉害了。

Yeah you do get funny moments like that occasionally but no I was just always amazed and I think my heroes of the music business are the session musicians.

他们太出色了，不管什么曲子，第一次就能演奏得完美无缺。

They are so great and they will play anything perfectly first time.

真希望我也能做到这样。

I wish I could do it.

说实话，我演奏得特别差。

I'm a terrible player really.

我儿子就是这样的。

My son's like that.

他是个长号手。

He's a trombonist.

他经常跟着Live Ra Band演出。

He takes out the live Ra Band.

不管什么曲子，他都能弹。

But he can play anything.

他能坐在交响乐团里，吹奏长号部分。

He can sit in a symphony orchestra and play the trombone part.

我可做不到。

I couldn't be.

根本不可能。

No way.

现在你的儿子正带着Ra乐队继续前行，把他们的音乐带给新听众，让更多人重新发现它。

Now your son is out there carrying the Ra Band forward, bringing it to new audiences, and people are discovering it all over again.

这对你来说一定是一种特别的感受。

That has to be a special feeling for you.

看到你创造的东西通过他重新活过来，是什么感觉？

What's it like seeing something you created live through him?

我特别喜欢这样。

Oh, I love it.

他最早在伦敦爵士咖啡馆那几场演出，我都去看了。你可能不知道，我为Ra乐队写的大部分曲子，开头通常都是电子音效。

The first two or three gigs he did in the Jazz Cafe in places in London, I sat in and I don't know whether you know, but most of the music tracks I write for the Ra Band usually start with an electronic intro.