Chapter 138 – Giving Pointers
Young people nowadays are really amazing!
Looking at the brother and sister in front of him, Lin Zhijie felt that he was really a little old.
His thinking can’t keep up with the pace of young people.
Lu Chen, 22, who has just graduated from college and didn’t major in music, has officially made his debut through a well-rated talent show and has become a rising star in the pop music scene.
And he didn’t follow the path of fame that most of the new comers have followed. He didn’t sign up with any brokerage company, but directly set up his own studio. Now, he was about to release his first album. The speed of his rise is dazzling!
Lu Xi, Lu Chen’s sister, who is also his agent and studio manager, is also young and dazzling.
Although in Lin Zhijie’s view, both Lu Chen and Lu Xi has some aspect that are not mature enough, but the spirit of self-confidence and self-improvement shared by the two people has deeply touched the old veteran in this circle. (TN: Veteran here in the raw is Jianghu which mean someone that have experience a lot of things in life.)
Tan Hong likes to help new people, and Lin Zhijie is not bad, so he helped them.
Nowadays, in the domestic pop music circle, there’s a great need for energetic and capable promising youth!
Lin Zhijie shook his head and said: “You don’t need to thank me. I am also helping the company to pull business. The key lies in you. Whether the CD album can be released successfully or not, the quality is the key…”
Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered that Lu Chen had no problem in this aspect!
From the preliminary competition of “Singing China” to the final, Lu Chen’s works were all original.
“You Who Sat Next To Me”, “Fly Higher”, “The Bright Times Of Early Youth”, “Love In The Wind”… There is also “Chasing Dream With A Childlike Heart” which is popular on the internet at present, all of which come from him. His first capital can be called outstanding, even classic!
After careful calculation, putting together a complete album isn’t a problem at all.
As for the quality of the song…
What else is there to say. When he was a judge, he gave Lu Chen several 10 points!
Lin Zhijie immediately swallowed back the following words and asked, “Where are you producing this album?”
The music director of Flying Stone Records found himself slow enough. Lu Chen’s album can be taken over and put in his own company to promote the release and distribution!
With the quality of these songs, Lu Chen’s talent, coupled with the strong strength of Flying Stone Records, they may be able to create a small miracle and reproduce some of the glory of the record industry back then.
Regarding the decline of the recording industry, Lin Zhijie has always taken it to heart.
The appearance of this opportunity made him suddenly excited!
How could Lu Chen guess what Lin Zhijie was thinking? He replied without hesitation: “At present, in Nirvana Studio, and seven songs have been recorded, and it should be done in a week at most.”
If it wasn’t for the need of delaying it because of “Singing China” national tournament, his debut album would have been completed.
But that was not a big deal. It’s equivalent to publicity in advance.
Lin Zhijie was immediately disappointed – how could you let others carelessly produce your debut album?
Nirvana Studio? Who the heck are they?
He has never heard of them!
He stood up and said, “Let’s go, take me to that studio. I want to listen to it.”
He secretly made a decision, if this Nirvana Studio’s production level is not good, then he will not talk about face. He will make sure to pry Lu Chen’s business over and do it well again.
It’s not about making money or anything. Now making records is a loss. Lin Zhijie doesn’t want to see these good songs ruined by others, otherwise his conscience will feel uneasy!
In the current domestic environment, an excellent original is rare, not to mention a whole album.
Lu Chen and Lu Xi looked at each other, wondering why Lin Zhijie was so excited.
But the music director of Flying Stone Records must be given face. Lu Chen hurriedly said: “OK. I’ll take you there now. Nirvana Studio is also in the park. It’s very close.”
Lin Zhijie waved his hand, “Go!”
He can’t wait to listen to Lu Chen’s album, even if it’s still half-finished.
Lu Xi paid the bills, and they left the Blue Court Cafe and rushed to Nirvana Studio.
On the way, Lu Chen called Wang Jing and told her to get ready.
When they got to Nirvana Studio, all the members came out to welcome them!
Wang Jing, Wang Hui and Wang Changsheng, together with the other three members of the Nirvana band. It looked very grand.
Seeing Lu Chen and the others came, Wang Jing stepped forward and saluted Lin Zhijie: “Hello, Teacher Lin!”
Lin Zhijie was shocked by her and said in a daze, “Good, you are?”
He has worked for more than 20 years and had a lot of apprentices, but he didn’t have such an apprentice. (TN: or student.)
Wang Jing explained: “Three years ago, you once taught an open class at Jingyin. I have listened to it twice and benefited a lot.”
“Oh!”
Lin Zhijie suddenly understood: “So this is the case. I was just thinking, when did I have such a beautiful female student!”
Wang Jing couldn’t help smiling.
She was the kind of girl who is cool, with short hair and she has a bit cold and proud temperament.
But she is also very beautiful. Her eyes, nose and mouth have no obvious flaws. If she dressed up carefully, put on a skirt and go out for a walk, it is unknown how many men’s hearts can be taken away.
Lu Chen has come to Nirvana studio many times, but he hardly seen Wang Jing smile.
And when she smiles, the space around her seemed to brighten up.
Wang Changsheng said respectfully, “Director Lin, it’s our honor to have you come to our studio.”
Lin Zhijie is very famous in the circle, and he has just served as a judge in “Singing China”. Of course, Wang Changsheng knows him, and he was very happy in his heart.
This big shot in the industry has visited Nirvana Studio, and in the future, he will tell others, and this will give him a lot of face. (TN: Original machine translation is “he has a light on his face” (他脸上有光啊) which makes no sense to me. So, I changed it. If anyone knows, please comment)
Lin Zhijie was used to all kinds of scenes and responded appropriately: “You are too kind, let’s talk inside.”
He’s here to listen to the song, not to socialize.
In fact, at this time in Lin Zhijie’s heart, he has been greatly complaining about Lu Chen.
This studio looks like a small workshop at first sight. Both the reception room and the office inside are narrow and cramped. What good works can be made in such poor conditions?
It wasn’t until he came to the recording studio that his impression changed.
From Lin Zhijie’s professional perspective, this small studio layout was very professional, the investment in equipment was not too bad. Nirvana Studio must have spent most of its fund on this, and that’s why the outside was so bad.
Such a business attitude is still worthy of recognition.
However, Lin Zhijie still has doubts about the quality of the album.
After all, with the exception of Wang Changsheng, the other members of the Nirvana Studio are young people of about the same age.
Since there was no special listening room in the studio, Lin Zhijie has to listen to the recorded high-quality audio source directly through the monitor headphones.
The specific operation was completed by Wang Hui.
Lin Zhijie listened for a full half an hour.
Because of his special identity, everyone waited in the studio.
Lu Chen and Lu Xi were okay. Wang Changsheng and Wang Hui, as well as Wang Jing were nervous, but also have some expectations.
Lin Zhijie is a real expert. His professionalism is beyond doubt. He came to Nirvana Studio to listen to Lu Chen’s first album. Its evaluation will undoubtedly affect the studio’s reputation in the industry.
If Lin Zhijie says that it is not good, then even if Nirvana Studio doesn’t close down immediately, its future will be very difficult. Because of the bad reputation, not many customers will be willing to send business over.
And if he can say a few words of praise, the situation will completely be reversed!
In this kind of anxious waiting, Lin Zhijie finally finished listening to all the seven recorded works.
He took off the monitor headphones and looked a little complicated.
As far as the current production of works, Lin Zhijie was not very satisfied, he heard a lot of problems.
For example, the arrangement is not perfect, the instrumental accompaniment lacks sufficient sense of depth and detail performance, and the later processing technique was slightly immature, and does not fully express the artistic conception and emotion of the song…
But there was no denying that Nirvana Studios is very serious and attentive in making this album. As far as the conditions and equipment here are concerned, and only relying on the strength of a few young people, it is already very good to achieve this level. It’s really hard to ask for too much.
Therefore, Lin Zhijie couldn’t help but feel conflicted. On one hand, he hopes Lu Chen’s debut album is perfect. On the other hand, he doesn’t want or can’t bear to fight against these diligent young people.
Attitude is everything!
Most importantly, this is Lu Chen’s own choice.
Lin Zhijie thought about it and said, “There are some problems, but overall, it is good.”
He pointed out the shortcomings directly.
If it were someone else, they might not have taken it so seriously. Others would have just said some nice things, and say that everyone is good. It has nothing to do with them.
But Lin Zhijie is not like that. He doesn’t like that kind of hypocritical way of communication.
He will say what is needed to be said, and speak bluntly!
For Wang Jing, Wang Hui and others, this is undoubtedly an excellent learning opportunity for them. At ordinary times, even if the studio spends money, they will not be able to invite people at Lin Zhijie’s level to personally come and guide them.
Therefore, everyone listened attentively, and the more critical the words, the more they kept it in mind!
Only when they know their shortcomings can they correct them.
When Lin Zhijie talked about the improvements, he also forgot his own principles and made a comprehensive analysis of several songs.
Lu Xi did not understand. The more she listened, the more she loss confidence. She couldn’t help looking at Lu Chen.
There are so many problems with the new album. Is this okay?
Lu Chen gave her a positive look.
Any album, no matter how it is produced by any company, it cannot be really perfect.
It’s true that the strength of Nirvana Studio is not strong enough, but Wang Jing’s and Wang Hui’s working attitude made him speechless. Even if there were certain flaws, it will not have much impact on the overall quality.
The production cost of 100,000 yuan is already worth it!
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