“纽约城最酷的年轻乐队”是怎样炼成的? Why You Should Come See Sunflower Bean!

在接下来的5分钟、300秒时间里，你将爱上一支乐队。

事实上，他们在成军的三年里已经俘获了整个纽约，成为这个宇宙中心城市最酷的年轻乐队。Sunflower Bean，即将在明晚登陆中国（17日（周三）上海育音堂，18日（周四）北京Modernsky Lab），开启亚洲巡演的第一站！想知道最酷的乐队是怎样炼成的？来看看他们的四把杀手锏?

Set your timers: 5 minutes.

We’re going to try and convince you in 300 seconds to come see Sunflower Bean live this week. They are ‘New York City’s coolest young band’, and this is their first China tour. They play Wednesday the 17th in Shanghai (Yuyintang) and Thursday the 18th in Beijing (Modernsky Lab).

Ready? Okay, hit play on this song and let’s go!

#1 ?

音乐

Their Sound

“现在的《Rolling Stone》让我觉得很无聊，封面不是Jack White就是Dave Grohl，就不能让新生代乐队有个出头的机会吗？” 

“I wanna throw out Rolling Stone everytime I see it because it’s always someone stupid like Jack White or Dave Grohl on the cover! Let the next generation have a hero, you know what I mean? I can’t stand it anymore!” 

——Nick Kivlen, Sunflower Bean

以前人们常说摇滚已死，的确Sunflower Bean所在的美国独立乐场景已经晦暗不堪。“我五岁的时候The Strokes发了第一张专辑，那时的音乐听起来跟现在完全不一样。”在慵懒迷幻和轻快电子大行其道的时代，Sunflower Bean想要推翻这其中所有装腔作势的无病呻吟，重建黄金时代的摇滚风骨。从最早自己玩乐队巡演开始，Nick Julia和Jacob一直都有这个信念，他们要把音乐与时代紧密相连，在弱肉强食的音乐圈存活下来，在一个梦想向死而生的冷酷城市维持初心。三年过去，他们成为这个领域最年轻的乐队，创作着数字时代难得一见的纯正摇滚乐。

Rock N’ Roll was dead.

Or, it was dying a slow death in the alternative US scene that Sunflower Bean grew up in. “I was five years old when the first Strokes album came out,” says guitarist Nick Kivlen. “It feels like a different generation.” 

Instead, there was the rise of woozier, softer, more hypnotic sounds – more electronic, more laid-back, more…posturing. This was the scene Sunflower Bean wanted to shake up.

Starting as a DIY band gigging shows throughout Brooklyn, Nick Julia and Jacob were determined to bring rock ‘n roll back to life, making it relevant to their contempories and their audience. They forced themselves into a scene that chews bands up and spits them out, in a city where dreams often come to die; And here they are: one of the youngest bands kickin’ it right now, writing kickass rock’n’roll for the digital age.

#2 ?

现场

Their Live Shows

Jacob Hader（鼓手）和Nick Kivlen（主唱／吉他）高中开始就在地下室玩音乐，那时还是高中生的Julia Cumming（主唱／贝斯）不久后加入，Sunflower Bean的故事就从这里开始。因为年轻，想要进入正规场地演出几乎不可能（必须年满21岁），他们就在小场地一年演了100多场，将“现场演出”作为乐队的身份之一来苦心经营，甚至被评选为2014年最勤奋的乐队（在纽约一个城市演出了50场）。“Never not on tour（巡演不停）”，他们的Instagram简介栏这样写着。

不断巡演，不断创作，这是一个缓慢发酵和成长的过程。2016年2月，当Sunflower Bean拿出第一份正式作品——全长录音室专辑《Human Ceremony》的时候，他们的名字在圈中已经无人不晓了。这三个21岁的布鲁克林年轻人，无休无眠地在美国、欧洲巡演，现在来到了中国。

Sunflower Bean started when Jacob Hader (drums) and Nick Kivlen (Vocals/guitar) started jamming in Jacob’s basement while still in high school. Julia Cumming (vocals/bass) joined while she was still a high school senior; and the band started picking up speed from there.

Their young age made it difficult for the band to play at venues, which are usually only 21 and above. They made do, often playing non-traditional venues, clocking up over a 100 shows annually. Gigging became such an integral part of the band’s identity that they were considered the city’s hardest working band by 2014. “Never not on tour,” reads their Instagram bio to this day.

The intense buzz around the band was a slow, gradual process – and by the time their debut album Human Ceremony was released in February 2015, they were already an institution unto themselves in the city.

In a city that never sleeps, neither did Sunflower Bean. Just shy of 21 years old, and they’ve already toured all over America, Europe and now, China.

#3 ?

诱惑力

Their Glamour

Sunflower Bean还将触手伸向了时尚领域。不管你觉得他们世俗、头脑灵活还是有谋有略，对一支乐队来说，不单单做乐队或许是更明智的做法：作为女主唱兼贝斯手的Julia Cumming，已经四次为奢侈品牌Yves Saint Laurent走秀。

2014年，YSL的星探通过MV认识了这个年轻女孩，不久后她即成为Hedi Slimane最新的灵感谬斯（标志表情是“迷茫脸的摇滚明星”）。“不过这不是我的梦想”，Julia说：“我很小的时候爸爸常给我放glam-rock。从那时起我就想要做音乐。”

Sunflower Bean have crafted an image for themselves well beyond the songs they write. Call it cynical, or smart, or strategic – but it’s often necessary for bands to..well, be more than just bands. Singer/bassist Julia Cumming has now walked four times for the brand Yves Saint Laurent.

Discovered by the brand’s casting agent when he came across Sunflower Bean’s music videos back in 2014, she instantly became Hedi Slimane’s fashion muse. She has been the image of the “dazed and confused” rock star. “But ultimately,” she says. “That isn't my dream. I've wanted to be a musician ever since I saw the glam-rock VHS tape my dad put in for me when I was a baby."

#4 ??

摇滚精神

Their Rock’n’Roll Attitude

“我们的音乐就是对当下布鲁克林反摇滚风潮的回应。”乐队在曾经接受采访时这么说道，“现在布鲁克林流行的shoegaze和dream-pop实在有点无聊。我宁愿多做一点带劲的摇滚乐。”让人欣慰的是，Sunflower Bean在坚持风格的同时仍然保留了自己的特色。他们自称为“夜间音乐”的Grunge和Psychedelic元素的结合，构成了他们作品中最美妙的梦幻部分，而在此之上叠加粗粝躁动的摇滚更是使人沉醉其中。

“Our music is a reaction to what's happening in the Brooklyn music scene right now where everyone wants to be the anti-rock-'n'-roll,” the band said once in an interview.  

“The whole shoegaze dream-pop thing going on in Brooklyn is kind of boring. I'd rather have the scene lean towards a more balls-out rock-'n'-roll scene.”

To their credit, Sunflower Bean didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Their fusion of quirky, grunge-psychedelia rock, which they called “night music” – actually takes the best parts of the dream pop sound, mixing it up with some raucous rock’n’roll to create a heady brew.

比如在“I Was Home”中，他们将生活化的dream pop和适量的grunge元素完美结合，在此之上还叠加了一段惊天地泣鬼神的吉他solo。Sunflower Bean用充满情感的表达让他们的音乐变得更加完整。他们狂野而活泼的演出便是最好的证明——他们的音乐发自内心，而不是为了将听感简单地最大化。“一般来说，我认为摇滚乐是可以挽救生命的，”Julia这么说道，“它能给你无穷力量。它是让你定位自己最纯粹本真的办法。”

Take the song I Was Home, which perfectly combines the arms-length aggression of grunge with the slice-of-life relevance of dream pop, and throws in a guitar solo for the heck of it.

Sunflower Bean have taken something they felt their particular scene had forgotten, and made it seem integral. Their wild, vivid, riveting live shows are proof that this comes from the heart, and not from a desire to “maximize engagement”. “I think rock-'n'-roll in general saves lives,” that’s Julia. “It gives you strength. It gives you a place to be who you are in the least cheesy way possible.”

乐队在ins上庆祝了生日，对中国之行期待满满！

这个急速成长的年轻乐队，终于要将巡演的脚步跨向亚洲了！明晚8月17日在上海育音堂，8月18日北京Modernsky Lab，等待Sunflower Bean点燃燥热的夏夜！

Sunflower Bean are a band on a roll. And they’re coming to China for the first time ever.  Wednesday August 17 that YYT in Shanghai, and Thursday August 18th at Modernsky Lab in Beijing.

Don’t miss this chance to see them live.

上海场预售将于8月17日中午12点关闭，北京场18日中午12点。现场将提供门票。点击“阅读原文”登陆Split Works官网可直接购票。

Click 'Read More' to buy tickets directly from the Split Works website. Presales for Shanghai close 12 noon on Aug 17, for Beijing 12 noon on Aug 18!

---

Concrete & Grass Presents

纽约独立浪潮Sunflower Bean中国巡演

上海 Shanghai

 

2016年8月17日 | Aug. 17th

星期三 WED | 20:30

场地 Venue：育音堂 Yuyintang

地址：凯旋路851号, 近延安西路口

Address: 851 Kaixuan Road near West Yan'an Road

票价 Tickets：120 RMB (presale) / 160 RMB (door)

嘉宾 Support：谷水车间 Dream Can

https://yoopay.cn/event/SunflowerBeanSH

 

北京 Beijing

 

2016年8月18日 | Aug. 18th

星期四 THU | 20:30

场地 Venue：Modernsky Lab

地址：东城区朝阳门银河SOHO D座B1层5-108

Address: Galaxy SOHO, Chaoyangmen, B1/F, Bldg. D, Rm. 5-108, Dongcheng District 

 票价 Tickets：120 RMB (presale) / 160 RMB (door)

 嘉宾 Support：对角巷 The Diagon Alley

https://yoopay.cn/event/SunflowerBeanBJ