──浪花在一個既如畫又骯髒的海岸上飛濺;一輛古董雪佛蘭的引擎靜靜地以慢動作風馳電掣地飄過你的耳邊。稀薄,但又集中、不斷地向前推進:Dirty Beaches是為汽車旅程而設的音樂;它能陪伴你疲憊的摩托車在霓虹公路上奔馳,一路走進迷糊的隧道裡。
Dirty Beaches是張洪泰的化身──他是一單人樂隊、聲音工匠、一位跨太平洋的遊民。出生在台灣的他曾經居住過檀香山、多倫多、蒙特利爾,還有溫哥華。
跟大衛林奇派音樂家Angelo Badalamenti或簡約合成器破壞份子Suicide一樣,Dirty Beaches的音樂不只是一種單純的簡化,而是一種精華的提煉。循環鼓聲和翩翩的情歌哼調讓人著迷,而彌漫在音樂裡的那些懷著盼望的旋律背後,也隱藏著某種神秘的、同時又浪漫又冰冷的幽默感覺。
Dirty Beaches is the sound of waves against a picturesque and putrid shore, the silent rumble of a Chevy as it speeds by in slow motion. Sparse but condensed, relentlessly edging forward: this is music for locomotive travel, for racing your weary motorcycle through neon archways and into dusky tunnels.
The man behind Dirty Beaches is Alex Zhang Hungtai; solo performer, sound-smith, and trans-Pacific nomad. Born in Taiwan, Hungtai has made Hawaii, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver his homes.
Like Lynchian composer Angelo Badalamenti or minimalist synth provocateurs Suicide, Dirty Beaches’ compositions are not so much stripped down as refined to their essence. Drum loops entrance, Hungtai’s croon enchants, and the yearning melodies draped overtop belie as much a sense of haunting mystery as they do romanticism and wry humour.