The 13th Heron
What’s the secret of herons?
- They always come back.
This album is a metaphorical journey set off from home, in search of the place to be. From boat on the sea to land, crossing the atmosphere; to the moon, the sun, and then further into space. Will herons come back this time?
- Bandcamp－購買數位專輯 released October 2, 2020
- 博客來－購買實體專輯 released June 18, 2021
What’s the secret of the 13th?
- That was a lunar mission that didn’t land on the moon as planned, it looped around and returned home instead.
The music on “13th Heron” is as eclectic as the story behind and the lyrics are sprawling. The main attitude behind the compositions and performance of YenTing and Mateusz is jazz, but the mood and style of the tunes goes from hip-hop and neo soul, through folk, rock, modern brazilian and world music, all the way to classical, serialism and, to top it all off, fusion of all the abovementioned genres.
《蒼鷺十三號》
在疫情肆虐的2020年，尚旅居在荷蘭的羅妍婷邀請一樣對科幻主題有興趣、也畢業於阿姆斯特丹音樂院的波蘭吉他手 Mateusz Pulawski，一同創作了這張融合了爵士、新靈魂、搖滾、古典、序列、拉丁等多元風格的作品《蒼鷺十三號》。從詞曲、編曲、錄音、混音及所有的後製，皆僅僅由妍婷及 Mateusz 兩人完成，甚至因疫情封城而導致全程製作皆在自家進行，資源及團隊極為單純，完成後的作品卻仍呈現創新的野心、音樂性及專業完整度。
這趟33分鐘長、零間隔的宇宙之旅，從〈Another Voyage〉出發於海港，描述故事主人翁鼓起勇氣啟程的那一刻；於〈If There’s A Land Called Home〉抵達了另一片大陸，摸索著目標，定義心之所向；〈Number 13〉暗指登月失敗卻出名的阿波羅十三號，一躍離開地球，往月球方向前進；〈Engraved In The Moon〉將旅程推向高潮，突破重圍抵達月球，並在月球背面刻下生存過的痕跡，曲中也唸了所有阿波羅任務的登月座標，代表著鍥而不捨的嘗試；〈About 150 Million Kilometers〉是前往太陽的距離，溫暖又振奮人心的〈The Sun Song〉，為疲憊的身心補給能量；〈Odyssey〉和〈Space Colonization Fantasia〉越行越遠，已經來到無際的宇宙，甚至立志殖民太空，成為小時候仰望的一顆星；然而，旅程以合唱曲〈The Secret Of Herons〉作結，故事主角像十三號登月任務一樣，壯遊了一大圈，卻回到原點。
就像候鳥蒼鷺，想遠飛，卻總是折返。
Engraved In The Moon - Music Video
Animation video by Children Chiu
— CREDITS —
Mateusz Pulawski
Producer, composer, arranger, mixing & mastering, recording, guitars, bass, percussion, voice
YenTing Lo
Co-producer, composer, lyrics, voice, flute, art design