Didn't you say that we would lose money after filming?

At the same time, another music review also came out of nowhere.

This music review is not written by any international music critic, nor is it written by any online music critic.

But
Today’s number one figure in the Hanxia music scene is Zhou Dong!

A music review was directly posted on Zhou Dong’s Weibo homepage.

[I would like to recommend a song to you, "Dead Man". At the same time, I would also like to introduce you to the most underestimated Chinese musician, Xia Yuan. People who don't understand him may never understand why Xia Yuan is so scary.]

[First of all, Xia Yuan's "Deadman" is a work that combines Neo-Soul, R&B, Retro Soul, and jazz, and demonstrates high musical literacy and international production standards on the technical level.

I will conduct an in-depth analysis from four dimensions: music theory, singing, rhythm and arrangement, and combine it with specific music theory, production techniques and industry comparisons for a detailed analysis. After reading it, you will know why I say that Xia Yuan is the most underestimated musician today.

Music theory and harmony design: modulation, mode conversion and advanced chord progression, a treatment method rarely seen in China.

In terms of main key, the song is in B Minor. The overall atmosphere is melancholy and dramatic, which fits the absurd aesthetic theme of "Deadman".

In terms of chord progression, the main song adopts the classic soul music progression of I-III-IV-V (Bm-D-Em-F#), but adds color through extended notes (Extensions such as Dmaj7 and Em9).

In the chorus part "id give you my soul", the modulation of VI7 (G#7) → III7 (D#7) → VI (G#m) is used to create strong emotional tension.

The bridge briefly shifts into D Major, creating a modal contrast (minor → major → minor), which enhances the narrative sense of the music and lengthens the audience's hearing distance.

In addition, there are 1.2 Modulation and Modal Interchange.

The chorus is off-key in the "I'm a deadman" part, briefly borrowing the chords of the parallel major (B Major) (such as B→G#m→F#), creating an auditory contrast from crescendo to tension.

In the section "When the Rules Tried to Kill Me", the Dorian mode (B Dorian) is used, which is B minor but with the sixth tone raised (G→G#), giving the melody a more modern and complex feel, similar to D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)".

The combination of steps and leaps is eye-catching and amazingly ingenious. The verse is mainly based on stepwise motion (such as B→C#→D) to enhance fluency, while the chorus uses large leaps (such as B→F# in "I'd give you my soul") to create drama.

At the same time, Xia Yuan also used the blues scale within the general framework of soul music. At the end of "I'm a deadman", he added a flat fifth (F natural note) to create the "bittersweet" feeling unique to blues. This design prevents the whole song from sounding abrupt, handles the abrupt points very well, and at the same time brings out the relaxing feeling of soul music.

There's actually not much to say about the singing technique. You can hear the obvious falsetto, breathy voice, dynamic control and sense of language. The difficulty lies in how to sing it.

In terms of falsetto & mixed voice, in the chorus, in the part of "I'd give you my soul", Xia Yuan uses pure falsetto with an ethereal tone, which is a typical basic falsetto processing method.

The real voice bursts out in the second section "I'm a deadman", suddenly switching to a strong mixed voice (Belt), the instantaneous increase in sound pressure creates a sharp contrast, giving the audience a wake-up call.

Then there is the breathy voice. Xia Yuan's head voice is very, very, very beautiful. The main part of the song is sung in a half-breathy and half-real voice style, such as "When the rules try to kill me", creating a sense of privacy, which fits the theme of the whole song, mixed with some elements of betrayal.

In terms of production and arrangement, the biggest feature of this song is the fusion of retro and modern. For the piano, Xia Yuan chose a Rhodes electric piano, which has a warm and retro sound. It was the most commonly used sound in the soul music of the time, and it is very characteristic of the times. From this point of view, Xia Yuan really understands these old-school music, and he probably listened to them a lot in private. But this is nonsense, after all, Xia Yuan was able to write a song like "The Sun Also Rises" 12 years ago.

No, he is not a street dancer. There is no need to talk about bass. Just ignore it.

The horn instrument adds improvisations of trumpet and saxophone after the chorus, paying tribute to the soul music of the 70s. Yes, the horn instrument in this song actually uses improvisation mode!

The synthesizer adds Moog Bass to the low-frequency part and uses Pad to lay the foundation for the high-frequency part, forming a collision between the high and low octaves of the two tones, but the overall tone is stable on one main tonality and does not deviate.

In terms of vocal processing, tape saturation is added to the verse part, and double-track recording is used to enhance the thickness of the chorus. These are the points that are currently known and can be heard.

The addition of Plate Reverb makes the vocals more "floating", while the drum kit uses Room Reverb to enhance the realism.

Xia Yuan has actually put a lot of effort into the dynamic range. The overall dynamic compression is moderate, retaining the breathing sense of the performance.

In summary, it is better to say that this is a unity of technological breakthrough and artistic expression, or rather, it is an exploration and bold attempt by Xia Yuan, as a representative of Chinese musicians at this stage, to make more diverse Hanxia music, trying something that has never been done before in China.

Deadman has the following technical highlights:

Advanced harmony: The use of modulation, mode interchange and extended notes far exceeds that of mainstream Chinese works. In this respect, Xia Yuan wins.

Singing skills: switching between true and false voice, dynamic control, and language processing are close to the international R&B level. Xia Yuan still wins in this respect.

Rhythm: 6/8 beats + compound rhythm + Ghost Note, the rhythm is delicate and layered, Xia Yuan still wins.

Production level: Whether it is the instruments + modern synthesizers + high-precision mixing, or Xia Yuan's personal performance, this song is undoubtedly qualified to reach the Grammy-level industrial standards.

Yes, that's right, this song is undoubtedly at the Grammy level. Believe me, if you listen to this song, you will know how great Xia Yuan is. The emergence of this kind of music is undoubtedly a blessing for the entire Chinese music scene. There is no doubt about this and there is no need to have any doubt about it.

The only thing that surprised me was that Xia Yuan's singing skills had improved so quickly. It seemed that he had actually been improving over the years, but he had always chosen songs that were not difficult and did not require much skill, so he had no chance to show it. This caused the public's evaluation of him to remain at the level of many years ago. 】

A long and eloquent music review gave the whole incident a big boost.

It just confused everyone.

At the same time, another piece of news broke out, making many leaders of the "Han Xia New Voice" program team feel dizzy.

They shouted in their hearts.

Their show is over! (End of this chapter)