以充满质感的 Synth Pop 、Indie Pop 给乐迷们留下深刻印象的新生代音乐人 Josh Fudge 即将发布新专辑《okay, cool.》并再一次来到中国进行一轮巡演。对于前次中国行印象深刻的他仍然对即将到来的巡演感到非常期待——赶在巡演前，UPEE 有幸与 Josh Fudge 进行一期专访，分享《okay, cool.》的幕后与新巡演的更多细节。
UPEE：在今年发布的两支单曲《home.》与《pretend.》都是与以往偏 Synth Pop 取向有所不同的，更为 EDM 和俱乐部的 Breakbeats 与 Drum n Bass 风格。这样的尝试在去年的《sketchbook》里就有迹可循，可以分享是什么启迪了你进行这些新的尝试的吗？
Josh Fudge：我即将发布的新专辑在声音风格上无疑深受 Drum and Bass 音乐的启发，同时也融入了在 Synth Pop 和 Bedroom Pop 之间我最钟爱的元素。之前在美国演了很多场音乐节后，我被现场通过欢快音乐带动观众氛围的方式所感染，于是也萌生了创作更多节奏明快、能量充沛的音乐的想法，希望能在自己的现场演出中制造更多有激情的时刻。
This upcoming album's new sound is definitely very inspired by drum and bass music, melded with the things I love most about synth pop and bedroom pop. After attending and playing several festivals in the US, I was inspired by the way the upbeat music moved people in the crowd, and I then felt the need to create more upbeat music to be able to have high energy moments during my own live set.
UPEE：《sketchbook》听来似乎是《TECHNICOLOR》至《okay, cool》的一个过渡，《sketchbook》与《okay, cool》这两张作品对你而言各自有何特别的意义吗？
Josh Fudge：我创作的每一部作品都凝固了当时当刻的心境与感受，因此每张专辑或EP对我而言都有其独特的意义。它们各自就像一章故事，将某个特定时期的我以音乐的形式定格。《sketchbook》是一个柔软而私密的项目，诞生于我人生充满漂泊感的阶段——它承载着我对生命中那些稍纵即逝之物的感伤，也通过怀旧主题与对事物终将消逝的恐惧，勾勒出我目睹生活变迁时的内心感受。而《okay, cool.》则是《sketchbook》的延续，它诞生于我跨越过渡期、重新拥抱变化后的新生阶段。这张专辑记录了我对变迁的接纳——即便我们仍会怀念过往，但总要学会与改变共处。
归根结底，这些作品对我的意义，在于它们时刻提醒着我创作时的自己究竟是谁。
Every work that I create captures the feelings that I had in the time of my life when I created it, so each project is significant to me in its own way. Each work feels like a chapter, a period of time frozen still in the form of an EP or album. "sketchbook" was very much a soft and intimate project, it was the result of a time where my life felt very transitory. "sketchbook" was about mourning the impermanence of the things in my life, drawing on themes of nostalgia and the fear of things coming to an end as I watched my life change. "okay, cool." exists in the aftermath of sketchbook, as I leave a period of transition and start to live my life after the changes I experienced. I wrote "okay, cool." about acquiescing into the changes in your life, even though you may miss the way that things were.
All that to say, each work's significance to me lies in the reminder of who I was when I made it.
UPEE：你期待听众从《okay, cool》中接收到什么样的信息，或者说你期待听众在这张作品中感受到一个什么样的 Josh Fudge？
Josh Fudge：创作《okay, cool.》时，我正带以一种自信的姿态进入我生活的新阶段。我正处于接纳改变的状态，哪怕心中仍对过往有所留恋。我希望那些同样站在某个阶段的新起点的听众，也能以这样的信心面对——因为我也曾走过相似的旅程，我的音乐会始终在这里，为他们也带来支撑。
When I made "okay, cool.", I was entering a new season of life with confidence. I was accepting change, even though I missed the way things used to be. I hope my listeners who are entering a new season can do so with confidence too, knowing that I have been through the same thing and that my music is there to support them.
UPEE：Breakbeats 近年在全球各地的音乐场景都掀起了风潮，在你又具有卧室情绪与 Gen Z 质感的写作中也有特别的契合感。可以分享你创作一首歌的过程吗，尝试以前没做过的音乐类型是什么样的感受？
Josh Fudge：我的大部分歌曲要么由我独自制作，要么和好友Logan在我们其中一方的家庭录音室里一起完成。小时候刚接触音乐时，我就被即兴创作的魅力吸引——那时我会坐在钢琴前，由当下的情绪牵引按下琴键。在最佳的状态时甚至无需思考，纯粹于感受。我制作音乐的过程也是这样：无论演奏什么乐器，都由情感与旋律在身体里流动，直到它“对了”为止。
制作这张专辑对我而言是前所未有的挑战，因为这是我第一次尝试到这样的 BPM 范围，不过这样的突破反而让我感觉兴奋。在保持个人音乐特质的同时，创作一张拥有独特声场的专辑，这种在艺术上进行革新的感觉对我来说非常有新鲜感。短暂涉足新领域的尝试对我而言有很多收获，我也很开心我这样做了。不过不用担心，在《okay, cool.》之后，下一张专辑会更贴近我过往的音乐风格。
Most of my songs are produced either by myself or with my friend Logan in either of our home studios. When I began playing music as a child, I fell in love with it because of improvisation. I would sit at my piano, and allow my feelings to tell me which keys to play. When I am at my best, I am not thinking at all, only feeling. My music production process is the exact same way. I just let my feelings and the music move through me, as I improvise my parts on whatever instrument I am playing until I know it's right.
Making this album was definitely a unique challenge, since I was working at BPMs that I haven't recorded at before, but I found the change exciting. It was very artistically refreshing to create an album that was unique for my sound, while still incorporating a lot of the things that make me who I am. Taking a dip into a slightly different genre was very rewarding for me, and I am happy that I did it. Don't worry though, the next album after "okay, cool." is much more like my previous music.
UPEE：制作《okay, cool》这张专辑的过程里有没有发生哪些令你印象深刻的趣事？
Josh Fudge：专辑里有一首名为《over&over》的歌，当时我和Logan一起写这首歌时，第一次写完那个副歌的瞬间，绝对是最为难忘的之一。我记得当时我们俩就只是对视一笑，就已经有”感觉对了”的默契，几乎在最初阶段非常确定。和Logan一起做音乐是我人生中最享受的时刻之一，能和他共同创作，对我来说是件无比幸福的事。
There is a song on the album titled "over&over", and when me and Logan were working on it together, the first time we got the chorus to hit is definitely a memorable moment. I remember us just looking at each other and smiling, it was one of those moments where we knew it was hitting really early on. Working on music with Logan is one of my favorite parts of life, so I am very happy we get to work on it together.
UPEE：你在17岁时就发布了自己的第一首歌，你觉得现在自己的状态与当初相比有哪些不同？
Josh Fudge：无论是对自己还是作为一个音乐人来说，这些年我经历了不少的成长与改变。从现在回望，我几乎在每个维度都有突破——无论是在制作或者舞台上都更加自信，也比 17 岁时的自己有更多的灵感与经验。从那时起，我就在世界各地进行演出，也创造了很多珍贵的回忆。我实现了自己的梦想，也非常感谢自己能拥有的机遇。
I have grown and changed so much as a person, and as an artist. I feel like I have improved in almost every way. I am so much more confident in my production and performing abilities, and am more creative than ever all while having far more experience than I did when I was 17. Since then, I have played shows all around the world and have created so many lovely memories. I have gotten to live out my dreams, and I am so grateful for that opportunity.
UPEE：在互联网上时常看到对你的描述带着”年龄”，”年轻而有才华”的前缀会不会随着年龄增长给你带来压力？对此你是如何对待的呢？
Josh Fudge：还好，幸运的是，我仍拥有不少时间！即便如此，我其实并没有感到什么压力，因为我对自己和自己的能力是自信的。随着年龄增长，我只会变得更加出色，而我最期待的就是推动自己的生涯不停发展！
Well luckily, I still have a good amount of time being young left! Even still, I don't really feel any pressure since I have full trust in myself and my artistic ability. As I continue to get older, I will only get better, and I am more excited than anything for my career to continue to progress!
UPEE：之前我们提到现在很多人都开始加入到 Breakbeats 的潮流中，同时你创作的出发点 Bedroom Pop 也有许多的同类创作者，在此之中你有想要合作的音乐人吗？在这之中有没有哪些亚洲音乐人是你觉得会产生火花的？
Josh Fudge：有很多音乐人我都非常希望能与他们合作。JORDANN 之前和我在中国同期巡演，现在我们成了很好的朋友，我完全可以想象我们俩一起创作一首歌的情景。Tim Atlas 是我刚在美国巡演时结识的伙伴，其实我很久之前就一直盼着能和他合作。另外，像 Dayglow、Clairo、Men I Trust 和 Tame Impala 这些音乐人，也都是我梦寐以求的合作对象。最近因为 JORDANN 的合作项目，我接触到了邹沛沛（Peipei）的音乐，发现自己真的很喜欢她的嗓音和音乐氛围。我特别希望能结识更多亚洲音乐人，也希望自己很快就能多听听其他亚洲艺术家的作品！
There are so many artists I would love to collaborate with. JORDANN, who was on tour at the same time as me in China, has become a good friend of mine and I could totally see us doing a song together. Tim Atlas, who I was just on tour with in the US, is another person I have wanted to collaborate with for a while. Other artists like Dayglow, Clairo, Men I Trust, and Tame Impala have been dream collaborations of mine as well. Because of JORDANN's recent collab, I have been exposed to 邹沛沛 Peipei's music, and have found myself really liking her voice and vibe. I would love to get to know more Asian musicians, and hope to find myself listening to more Asian artists soon!
UPEE：因为《okay, cool》听起来比你以往的作品更加俱乐部，在现场的音乐呈现是否会与以往有所不同呢？
Josh Fudge：在美国巡演期间，我一直都有现场演奏《okay, cool.》中的好几首歌，而且搭配真鼓演奏这些曲目，会特别尽兴。我觉得让真正的鼓手来敲出这些节奏型的鼓点，能营造出一种特别鲜活的现场氛围，所以接下来我现场演出的设备配置大概率还会和上次中国巡演时差不多。在我大多数独立流行风格的歌曲现场，我通常会弹奏真贝斯；但要是遇到 Drum and Bass 风格更浓的曲目，我就会改用合成器贝斯，这应该会是现场演出里最大的不同之处了。
I have been playing several songs from "okay, cool." on my US tour, and have had a ton of fun playing them with live drums. I think having a real drummer play those types of beats creates a very lively environment, so I will likely keep my live music setup pretty similar to how it was on the last China tour. For most of my more indie pop tunes I tend to play real bass, but for the more drum and bass tracks I will play synth bass, and that will be the biggest difference.
UPEE：在去年你曾来到中国进行一轮演出，有留下哪些令你觉得独特的回忆？对于再次来中国有什么期待吗，例如想去到的地方，想吃的食物？
Josh Fudge：去中国巡演是我人生中最神奇、最不可思议的经历之一，这话绝对是诚实的。我真心热爱中国这个国家，特别希望能尽快再回来。之前巡演期间留下了太多回忆，几乎是我职业生涯里最爱的几场演出，演出结束后能给大家签名、和粉丝们见面互动，感觉特别温暖。中国的食物好吃得没话说，城市也美得非常。我特别希望很快能有机会多花些时间，去不同城市尝尝各种特色美食，毕竟比起美式餐食，我更偏爱中国菜！
不过最难忘的肯定是巡演最后一场在广州的演出。我把《home.》这首歌作为安可曲目来唱，到最后一段副歌时，我当时直接跳进观众里，和所有粉丝一起跳舞。那个瞬间非常特别，看到我尚未发布的新歌能让大家如此沉浸其中、随之舞动，我全程都忍不住笑。这也让我对《okay, cool.》的发布更加期待了。我会永远珍藏这段回忆，也迫不及待想再回到中国。
I mean it when I say that my tour to China is one of the most magical and incredible experiences of my life. I genuinely love China as a country, and would absolutely love to come back as soon as I can. There were so many unforgettable memories. All of the shows were some of my favorites I have ever played, and getting to sign things and meet fans after the shows was so sweet. The food is incredible, and the cities are so beautiful. I hope to be able to spend more time trying different foods from different cities very soon, as I prefer Chinese food to American food! My most unforgettable memory in China though has got to be my last show of the tour, in Guangzhou. I played "home." as my encore, and during the last chorus, I jumped into the crowd with all of my fans and danced with them. It was so special, seeing the way that my then unreleased music made people move, and I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear the entire time. It made me so excited for the release of "okay, cool.". I will hold onto that memory forever, and I can't wait to come back to China.