专访 山形瑞秋｜把人生历练出星光

暌违九年，治愈系唱作人山形瑞秋携全新专辑《Starlit Alchemy》温柔回归，历经世事变迁与岁月沉淀，将失去与成长、沉思与释怀、宇宙哲思与人间温情尽数融入旋律，很快她也将再次来到中国进行一轮巡演。UPEE 有幸邀请 山形瑞秋 进行一期专访，走进这张沉淀九年的诚意之作，聆听她的创作和初心。

UPEE：你时隔九年发布了新作《Starlit Alchemy》，你觉得这张作品的创作过程与以往相比有什么不同的感受吗，可以分享一些与这张作品相关的故事吗？

山形瑞秋：这张专辑更像是一场梦境、一股意识流，而非一首首独立的歌曲——歌曲之间彼此交融，这是我最初未曾预料到的。大部分曲目我在2020年之前就已经写完，原本计划在当年录制，但世事随之发生巨变。那段时间，我失去了几位挚友，也开始去思考人类生存背后更宏大的宇宙叙事。我又补写了《Galaxy》《Jesse》和《Blue Jay》几首作品，尝试设计歌曲之间的过渡，让曲目能够自然地交织衔接。这是一段和过往截然不同的创作历程，但一切都恰到好处。

This record felt like it came about as a dream or stream of consciousness rather than individual songs – they blend together in a way that I wasn’t expecting at first. I had written most of them before 2020 and had planned to record that year, but then of course the world changed. During that time I lost some dear friends and started opening to the ideas of a more cosmic story to our existence. I wrote a few more songs like ‘Galaxy’, ‘Jesse’ and ‘Blue Jay’ to add into the mix and started experimenting with transitions between the songs so that they would naturally bleed into one another. It was a very different process than I had experienced before, but it felt right.

UPEE：作为一位唱作人，你在出道二十年的时间里有非常多的创作，你觉得你现在写歌的方式与视角与以往相比有什么成长，你又会如何形容音乐现在在你生活里的位置？

山形瑞秋：说实话，我想要写作的初心和最初别无二致。我依靠写歌梳理人生际遇、情绪与感悟。对我来说，旋律、和弦走向与文字交织在一起，能够淋漓尽致地传递我灵魂想要诉说的一切，这是其他创作形式难以企及的。不过我现在也开始写散文，写一些关于生活的短篇小故事，探索这件事令我十分兴奋，我也想看看这条路会通向何方。

随着年岁增长，最显而易见的变化应该是我的创作主题。从前多是关于情爱与心碎，如今更多转向更普世的命题：保持内心敞开、继续去爱、坚持前行，以及看见人与人之间紧密相连的羁绊。

My need to write remains the same as when I began really – I process life experience, emotions and discoveries through songwriting. There is something about the blend of melody, chord progressions and lyric that delivers all the meaning my soul wants to convey so richly beyond any other creative format for me. I will say, I’ve started to write prose now and that feels exciting to explore – short vignettes on life – I’m seeing where that goes. I think as time goes by, my subject matter is the most change one could note. It’s evolved over time from romantic love heartbreak to more universal themes of staying open, continuing to love and persevere and recognizing how connected we all are.

UPEE：是什么让你想到以“Starlit Alchemy”来命名这张作品，你期待听众在这张作品中接收到什么样的信息？

山形瑞秋：其实我为这张专辑斟酌过好几个名字，《The Archivist》差一点就成为最终定名。我认为我们正站在巨大变革的关口：我们选择怎样生活、将目光投向何处，或许也会意识到，人类的过往藏着远比我们所知更宏大的宇宙故事。

这张专辑某种意义上讲述的就是蜕变，身处变革的临界点：无论是告别失去亲友的伤痛，或是重新找寻自我，不惧展露真实的自己，不去顾虑外界如何看待。它讲述的是接纳独属于你的本真，知道浩瀚星辰之上，有一个精神共同体在为你喝彩。

“炼金”这个词用来诠释这份蜕变再合适不过：把痛苦与人生阅历淬炼为“星光”，淬炼出忠于灵魂的自我，这也是对我们本真模样的一次回望。我希望听众会去追问：自己热爱什么、什么能让自己真正快乐；自己是否行走在忠于本心的道路上，也希望大家能够知晓，自己本就被深深爱着。

I played with a few titles for this record actually. ‘The Archivist’ was almost the winner. I feel like we are on the cusp of big changes in how we choose to live, what we focus on and perhaps realizing that there is a bigger cosmic story to our history than we realize. This record is about evolution of sorts and being on that cusp of change – whether through moving on after losing someone or rediscovering yourself and not being afraid to show yourself however it may be received by others. It’s about stepping into what makes you uniquely you and knowing that you are being cheered on by a cosmic family in the stars. Alchemy was such a perfect word to denote this transformation – turning your pain and experience to into something ‘Starlit’ – something more true to your soul. It is a remembrance of who we are. I’m hoping listeners will start asking questions about what they love and what makes them happy – are they on a path that feels true to them and do they know that they are so loved…

UPEE：有许多音乐人在创作时，对于书写一些与自己关联非常深刻的生活经历和情感时会感到难以启齿，你有经历过这种因为题材私密而感到踌躇的时刻吗，又会如何对待它？

山形瑞秋：那些过往是我创作的养分。我从来不会因为一件事太过私密就回避书写，我会把它们全部袒露在作品之中。

That’s been my fuel – the hard stuff. I’ve never not written about something too private – it’s all out there.

UPEE：对于你而言，把这些属于你的经历和故事在现场以音乐的形式呈现给乐迷是什么体验？

山形瑞秋：于我而言这是一场情绪的宣泄释放，同时也是我和台下观众在能量层面的共同创造。仿佛我们在当下的时刻，一同完成一件作品，这种感觉无比美妙。

It’s a cathartic release for me and a co-creation in terms of energy with an audience. It feels like we are making something together in real time and that’s wonderful.

UPEE：你在 2024 年来到中国开展过一轮巡演，对于那次巡演还有什么印象深刻的回忆吗？

山形瑞秋：老实说，如果不翻看照片，很多细节记忆会变得模糊。乐队成员总能记住比我更多的细节。但那份感受我始终记得：热烈、节奏紧凑、满是爱意，现场氛围鲜活，观众也格外真诚慷慨。是台下的听众，是现场涌动的能量，那些拥抱和坦诚。我非常期待能够再次回到中国。

Honestly, it’s always a blur until I look at pictures. The band always remembers more details than I do. I remember the feeling – exciting, fast paced, loving, electric, generous. The audience. The energy of the audience – the hugs, the vulnerability. I’m excited to return. xox

编辑/整理：石田吉藏

图片：山形瑞秋