How record collectors find lost music and preserve our cultural heritage | Alexis Charpentier

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Yanyan Hong

I became obsessed with records when I was about 12 years old.

我大約在十二歲時迷上了唱片。

My parents used to give me money to eat

我父母以前會給我吃飯錢，

and on most days, instead of eating,

大部分的日子，我沒去吃飯，

I would save it and buy myself a record at the end of the week.

而是把錢存下來， 在一週結束時為自己買張唱片。

Here I am with a gigantic Walkman that's about half my leg --

這是我，帶著有我腿 一半大的巨大型隨身聽——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It actually looks more like a VCR.

它看起來其實更像錄放影機。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So when I was a teenager,

我到了青少年時期，

the obsession of buying cassettes, vinyls and CDs just kept growing.

對於購買錄音帶、黑膠唱片、 CD 的迷戀仍然持續上長。

I was even working in a record store for many years

我甚至在一個唱片店裡工作了許多年，

and only ever got paid in records.

且我得到的只有唱片，沒有薪水。

One day I realized that I had thousands of records more

有天，我發現我有數千張的唱片，

than I could even listen to in my life.

這樣的數量，我一輩子都聽不完。

I became what many of us are:

我變成和許多人一樣的：

record junkies --

唱片成癮者——

or record diggers, as we like to call ourselves.

或者說是唱片挖掘者， 我們喜歡以此自稱。

Record digging, as the name suggests,

唱片挖掘，正如其名，

means getting your hands dirty.

就是要讓你親手下去挖。

It means spending hours rummaging through warehouses,

這表示你要花數小時翻找唱片， 搜索地點包括倉庫、

church basements,

教堂地下室、

yard sales, record stores --

庭院拍賣、唱片行——

all to find records that have been forgotten for decades.

目的就是要找到 被遺忘了數十年的唱片。

Records that have become cultural waste.

已變成文化廢棄物的唱片。

The earliest record collectors from about the '30s to the 1960s

最早期大約三十年代 到六十年代的唱片收藏家

found and preserved so many important records

發現並保存了好多重要的唱片，

that would have been lost forever.

若不是他們，就會永久失傳。

In those days, most cultural and public institutions

在那時候，大部分的 文化和公共機構團體

didn't really care to preserve these treasures.

並不在乎這些寶藏的保存。

In many cases, they were just throwing them into the garbage.

在許多情況中， 他們就把唱片丟進垃圾堆去了。

Record digging is a lifestyle.

唱片挖掘是一種生活方式。

We're absolutely obsessed with obscure records,

我們完完全全迷上鮮為人知的唱片、

昂貴的唱片、dollar-bin （二手唱片店）的唱片、

expensive records, dollar-bin records,

crazy artwork,

瘋狂的藝術作品、

sub-subgenres.

子類別。

And all of the tiniest details that go with each release.

以及每張發行專輯的 所有最細微之細節。

When the media talks about the vinyl revival

當媒體談到這些年重新流行起來的

that's been happening these last few years,

黑膠唱片時，

they often forget to mention this community

他們通常都會忘記提到這個社群，

that's been keeping the vinyl and the tradition and the culture alive

過去三十年間，是這個社群 讓黑膠唱片以及傳統和文化

for these last 30 years.

能持續存活著。

It's a very close-knit but competitive society, a little bit,

它是個結合非常緊密， 但有點競爭性的族群，

because when you're hunting for extremely rare records,

因為我們是在獵尋極度稀有的唱片，

if you miss your opportunity,

如果你錯失你的機會，

you might not see that record ever in your life.

你可能一生都不會看到那張唱片了。

But I guess the only person in here truly impressed by record collectors

但我猜想，這裡唯一會真正 對唱片收藏家感到佩服的人，

is another record collector.

是本身也收集唱片的人。

To the outside world,

對於外面的世界，

we seem like a very weird, oddball group of individuals.

我們似乎是非常奇異古怪的一群人。

And --

而且——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And they're mostly right.

且他們通常是對的。

All the record collectors I know are obsessive maniacs.

我認識的所有唱片收藏家 都是執著的狂人。

We know we're all crazy in some way.

我們都知道我們在 某種層面上是很瘋狂的。

But I think we should be viewed a little bit more like this.

但我認為我們更應該 被看作是這樣:

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We're music archaeologists.

我們是音樂考古學家。

We're hunting down the lost artifact.

我們在獵尋失落的工藝品。

We all have a list of records that we would do anything to get our hands on,

我們都有張清單，

上面的唱片是我們願不計代價取得的，

that we've been chasing for years,

是我們尋找多年的，

and we actually call this list our "holy grails."

我們把這清單稱為我們的「聖杯」。

When you're digging for records,

當你在挖掘唱片時，

you're surrounded by music you don't know.

你被你不認識的音樂圍繞著。

You're surrounded by mystery and by all these dreams --

你被神秘感以及所有 這些夢想給圍繞著——

records that people once believed in.

這些是人們曾經相信的唱片。

Imagine the thousands of artists who were destined to be legends

想像一下，數千名注定 成為傳奇的藝術家，

but for various reasons, were just overlooked.

卻因為各種理由而被忽略了。

Many of these records only exist in a handful of copies,

裏頭有許多現在只剩下幾張唱片了，

and some have never even been found,

有些從來沒有被找到，

never been heard.

從來沒有被聽過。

They're literally endangered species.

它們真可說是瀕臨絕種。

I'll tell you a story

讓我說個故事，

that for me sort of sums up the value of the work of record diggers.

對我而言，這個故事總結出了 唱片挖掘者所做的事的價值。

The story of a brilliant Montreal musician and composer.

故事主角是一位聰明的 蒙特婁音樂家兼作曲家。

Henri-Pierre Noël was born and raised in Haiti,

亨利皮耶諾爾在海地出生和長大，

but he lived briefly in the US and in Belgium.

但他在美國及比利時 住過短暫的時間。

He passed through Montreal what was supposed to be for two weeks,

他經過蒙特婁， 本來應該只要停留兩週，

but he ended up staying for the next 40 years.

但結果，他一待就待了四十年。

When he was young, he learned to play piano

他年輕時學過鋼琴，

and developed a very particular way of playing his instrument:

並自己開發出了一種 很特別的樂器彈奏方式：

very fast and almost like a percussion.

非常快速，幾乎就像打擊樂器。

His style was a mix of his Haitian influences and folklore

他的風格混合了海地的影響和民俗，

mixed with the American influences that he grew up hearing.

加上他成長過程聽到的美國影響。

So he created a mix of compas mixed with funk and jazz.

所以他創造了一種 基本律動與放克和爵士的混合。

As a young man,

年輕時，

he played and toured with live bands in the US and in Europe,

他和現場樂團一同 在美國及歐洲巡迴表演，

but had never recorded an album or a song before moving to Canada.

但在搬到加拿大之前 從未錄製過一張專輯或一首歌。

It was in Montreal in 1979

1979 年，在蒙特婁，

that he released his first album called, "Piano."

他發行了他的首張專輯《鋼琴》。

Completely on his own, on Henri-Pierre Noël Records.

完全靠自己，以亨利皮耶諾爾 唱片公司的名字獨立發行。

He only made what he could afford: 2,000 copies of the record.

他只能負擔得起發行兩千張。

The record received a little bit of airplay,

那張唱片有少數被電台播放的機會，

a little bit of support in Canada and in Haiti,

在加拿大和海地得到一點點的支持，

but without a big label behind it,

但背後沒有大唱片公司，

it was very, very difficult.

是非常非常艱困的。

Back then,

那時，

if your record wasn't getting played on mainstream radio,

若你的唱片沒有在主流電台播放，

if you weren't in jukeboxes or if you weren't invited to play on TV,

若沒有在自動點唱機中， 若沒有人邀請你去電視上演出，

the odds were completely against you.

你成功的可能性就很低。

Releasing an album as an independent artist

以獨立藝術家的身份來發行專輯

was so much more difficult than it is today,

在那時比現在困難很多很多，

both in terms of being heard and just distributing the thing.

在被大眾聽到方面， 以及單純發行方面都是如此。

So, soon after, he released a second album,

所以，在他發行了 第二張專輯之後沒多久，

kept a busy schedule playing piano in various clubs in the city,

忙碌地在城市內的 各個俱樂部演奏鋼琴，

but his records started to accumulate dust slowly.

但他的唱片開始慢慢地累積灰塵。

And those 2,000 copies in the span of 30 years

在三十年間，那兩千張專輯

easily started to get lost

很容易就開始被遺失，

until only a few copies in the world remained.

直到全世界僅剩下幾張還存在。

Then in the mid-2000s,

在 21 世紀頭十年中期，

a Montreal record digger that goes by the name Kobal

在蒙特婁，一位名叫 柯白爾的唱片挖掘者

was doing his weekly rounds of just hunting for records.

在進行他每週例行的唱片獵尋。

He was in a flea market

他到了一個跳蚤市場，

surrounded by thousands of other dirty, dusty, moldy records.

被一大堆骯髒、滿佈灰塵、 發霉的唱片所包圍。

That's where he found the "Piano" album.

在那裡，他找到了《鋼琴》專輯。

He wasn't specifically looking for it.

他的本意並非去找那張專輯。

Actually, you could say it sort of found him.

事實上，你可以說 是那張專輯找到他的。

You could also say that after 20 years of record digging every single week,

也可以說，在持續二十年 每週都去挖掘唱片之後，

he had developed a sixth sense for finding the gold.

他已經發展出了找到金礦的第六感。

He took the record and inspected it:

他拿著唱片並檢查它：

the front, the artwork, the back, the liner notes,

正面、藝術設計、 背面、封套說明文字，

and he was intrigued by the fact that this Haitian musician made a record

他感到很好奇， 這位海地音樂家在七十年代末

in Quebec in the late '70s,

在魁北克製作了一張唱片，

so he was intrigued.

他的好奇心被激起了。

He took out his little, plastic, portable turntable

他拿出了他只要去挖寶時

that he brought with him whenever he was on these digging quests

都會隨身攜帶的可攜式 小型塑膠唱機轉盤，

and put the record on.

並把唱片放上去。

So why don't we do the same thing?

我們也來做相同的事吧。

(Music)

（音樂）

He fell in love with the music instantly,

他馬上愛上了這音樂，

but he had to know the backstory behind it.

但他得要知道它背後的故事。

He didn't know where it came from.

它不知道它是打哪兒來的。

He knew the artist,

他知道這位藝術家

at the time of the recording,

在錄音的時候

was living in Montreal,

是住在蒙特婁的，

so for months, he tried to track him down.

所以他花了數個月的時間去追蹤他。

He even found Noël's business card inside the record sleeve.

他甚至在唱片套內 找到了諾爾的名片。

That's how DIY Henri-Pierre Noël was.

亨利皮耶諾爾就是 這麼「自己動手做」。

So he found the card inside the record sleeve --

他在唱片套內找到了名片——

of course he did try to call,

當然，他試著打電話去，

but after 30 years, the number didn't work anymore.

但過了三十年，那個號碼已失效。

So it was only in Belgium,

只有在比利時， 那位藝術家曾經住過的地方，

where the artist had once lived,

that Kobal managed to find someone that knew the artist personally

柯白爾才找到了認識 那位藝術家本人的人，

and gave him the contact.

並給了他聯絡方式。

So when he finally sat down with the artist,

所以，當他終於與 那位藝術家見面坐下談，

he made him a promise to someday find a way to get the album rereleased.

他向他做了一個保證：有一天， 會找到方法來發行這張專輯。

He then arranged for a British label called Wah Wah 45s

他接著安排了一家英國唱片公司， 叫 Wah Wah 45s，

to get the two albums reissued.

將兩張專輯重新發行。

And what happens very often is,

在這類重新發行的計畫中

in these reissue projects,

很常見的狀況是，

that it becomes very difficult to find the master tapes --

非常難找到母帶——

the original recording of the sessions.

用來做拷貝的原始錄音。

Art can be destroyed by fires, floods, earthquakes,

藝術有可能會被火災、 水災、地震給摧毀，

thrown in the garbage,

或是丟到垃圾筒，

or just lost forever.

因而永遠遺失。

But thankfully,

但，謝天謝地，

the Henri-Pierre Noël tapes were safe

亨利皮耶諾爾的母帶很安全，

and they were ready for remastering.

它們都可以拿來重新灌製了。

The record was finally rereleased

唱片終於被發行，

and received praise from music critics, DJs and listeners worldwide --

得到了全世界音樂評論家、 DJ、聽眾的讚賞——

the praise that it should have received in 1979.

它早在 1979 年就該得到這些讚賞的。

The artist was so inspired that he decided to revive his music career,

這位藝術家受到很大的鼓舞， 決定重新開始他的音樂職涯、

get back on a stage, and play for new audiences.

回到舞台上，為新觀眾演出。

The artist, now in his 60s,

這位藝術家現在已經六十幾歲了，

told me, "This changed everything for me.

他告訴我：「這改變了我的一切。

I went from planning my retirement

我從規劃退休轉變成

to playing on the BBC Radio in London, and on Radio Canada and more."

在倫敦 BBC 電台、加拿大廣播公司， 及許多其他廣播電台演出。」

But also it gave him a chance to play

他也因此有機會可以初次

in front of his three sons for the first time.

在他的三個兒子面前演出。

To me, this story shows perfectly the work of record diggers at its best.

對我而言，這個故事完美呈現出了 唱片挖掘者的工作的理想狀況。

Beyond the rarity and the dollar value --

在稀有度和金錢價值之外——

and I'll be honest, we're totally obsessed by that --

老實說，我們非常重視那些——

the true beauty is to give art a second chance;

真正美麗之處在於 給予藝術第二次機會；

to save art from oblivion.

拯救藝術，讓它不被遺忘。

The work of a good record digger is a constant loop of three phases.

好的唱片挖掘者，工作的方式 是採用三步驟的迴圈。

The first thing we do is hunt.

我們做的第一件事是獵尋。

We spend hours, days, years of our lives

我們花費人生中幾小時、 幾天、幾年的時間，

rummaging through dirty and dusty record bins.

在骯髒滿佈灰塵的唱片倉中翻找。

Everything that we can do to find our hands on the gold.

我們會盡一切可能， 希望能親手找到金礦。

Yes, you can find good records online,

是的，你可以上網找到好唱片，

but for the deepest treasures,

但要找到最深的寶藏，

you need to get off the couch and into the wild.

你得要離開沙發， 進入未開發的荒野。

That's why we call it record digging and not record clicking.

那就是為什麼我們稱之為 唱片挖掘，而不是唱片點選。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So what we are is music archaeologists.

所以，我們是音樂的考古學家。

But then the next thing we do is we gather.

但我們接下來做的事情，是採集。

Based on our taste, expertise, personal agenda,

依據我們的口味、專長、個人目的，

we choose carefully which records to save,

我們會小心挑選要保留哪些唱片，

which records mean something to us.

哪些唱片對我們有意義。

We then try and find out every little thing we can about that record --

接著，我們試著找出關於 那張唱片的所有瑣碎資訊——

the artist, the label

藝術家、唱片公司，

and supervital information

以及超重要的資訊，

like "Who's that playing trumpet on track three?"

像是「第三曲的喇叭是誰演奏的？」

Then we file them, we contextualize them,

接著我們會把它們建檔、脈絡化，

and we keep them safe.

並確保它們的安全。

We are music archivists.

我們是音樂檔案保管員。

And the last thing we do to close the loop is we share.

完成迴圈的最後一件事，就是分享。

Most record diggers that I know have some sort of a way

我所知道的大部分 唱片挖掘者都有某種方式

to share their discovery and elevate the artist

來分享他們的發現，並透過

專輯重新發行、網路文章、

through an album reissue,

a web article, a radio show.

廣播節目，來宣傳該藝術家。

We give records back their rightful place in music history.

我們幫唱片找回它們 在音樂史上應有的地位。

We are tastemakers and curators.

我們是時髦風尚之開創者及策展人。

We are musicologists.

我們是音樂學家。

So for myself

對我自己以及這二十年間

and most of the record collectors I've encountered in 20 years,

我所遇到的大部分唱片收藏家而言，

I think that we all have some sort of an outlet

我想，針對我們的發現，我們都有

for these discoveries.

某種銷路管道。

I think it's our way to keep our sanity and sort of sense of purpose

我想，在我們這麼狂的迷戀當中，

in this very maddening obsession,

那是種保持理智和使命感的方式，

because it can be sort of a lonely one.

因為它其實還蠻孤獨的。

But I think we also do it because it serves the human need

但我認為，我們去做的理由 也是因為它能滿足人類

to pass along cultural knowledge.

需要把文化知識傳下去的需求。

Speaking of the need for curation,

說到對策展的需求，

in an era of overwhelming choice,

在一個選擇太多的時代中，

it's been demonstrated

我們已經知道

that too much choice actually hinders discovery.

太多的選擇其實對於發掘是個阻礙。

For example,

比如，

if you're trying to watch something on Netflix,

如果你想在 Netflix 上找影片看，

you're actually only browsing through a catalog of 6,000 titles.

你只是快速掃視過了 六千個片名的目錄。

Now, compare that with Spotify;

把它和 Spotify 做個比較，

if you want to pick something to listen to,

如果你想要找音樂來聽，

you're browsing through a catalog of 30 million songs.

你要看過三千萬條歌的目錄。

So I think as you can see,

不難理解，

this notion of paralysis by choice

選擇造成癱瘓的這個概念

affects music more than movies,

對音樂的影響高於電影，

for example.

舉例而言。

And there's a few studies

有幾篇研究

that are starting to show the effects of this.

談及這狀況造成的效應。

A recent look at the UK music market

近期有篇關於英國音樂市場的探討，

shows that the top one percent of artists in the UK are actually earning 77 percent

指出在英國音樂產業中， 前 1% 的藝術家所賺的錢

就佔了產業總利潤的 77%。

of the total revenues inside the music industry.

That's 2013,

那是 2013 年的資料，

and that's progressively getting worse,

且這個利潤百分比在日漸變糟，

or progressing.

或說在上升。

Anyway, if you're in the one percent, I'm sure you're happy.

至少，如果你屬於那 1% 的人， 我相信你很開心。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So the takeaway for me is

所以，我學到的是，

it's easier for people to listen to music than ever before.

現在要聽音樂，比以前容易多了。

People have more music at their disposal than ever before,

比起以前， 現代人有更多音樂可任意使用，

yet people choose to listen to more of the same music than ever before.

但比起以前， 人們卻更會選擇聽同樣的音樂。

And that's a sad thing.

那很可惜。

Inspired by my love for music research, record digging and curation,

受到我對於音樂研究、唱片挖掘， 以及策展的熱愛所鼓舞，

I started a website called "Music Is My Sanctuary" in 2007.

2007 年，我創立了一個網站， 叫「音樂是我的聖所」。

Our slogan has always been "Future Classics and Forgotten Treasures."

我們的標語一直都是 「未來經典及被遺忘的寶藏」。

And it shows our love for discovering music

它展現了我對於發掘音樂

and introducing music both old and new.

和推行新音樂及舊音樂的熱愛。

From humble beginnings,

一開始很簡陋，

we've built a worldwide platform with a massive audience

現已建立全球平台，有大量的聽眾，

with over 100 collaborators.

合作夥伴有超過一百個。

We've created over 10,000 pieces of content,

我們創作出了超過一萬件的內容，

over 500 hours of audio content.

超過五百小時的音樂內容。

Our audience consists of people

我們的聽眾族群是

who just want more than what's being offered to them

對現有主流音樂頻道 提供的內容不滿足，

by mainstream music channels.

還想要更多的人。

They want to do --

他們想要——

they want to dig deeper,

他們想要挖更深，

but they don't necessarily have 20 hours a week like us nerds,

但他們不見得像我們這些 痴迷者一週有二十小時，

so they trust us to do that for them.

所以他們信任我們來為他們做挖掘。

Curation is at the heart of everything we do.

策展是我們所做的一切的核心。

We believe in human recommendations over algorithms.

我們相信人類的推薦，而非演算法。

I could talk about the passion of record digging for days,

我可以花上數天的時間 來談對挖掘唱片的熱情，

but let me conclude this way.

但讓我這麼作結。

After many years of doing it,

在做了許多年之後，

a record collector's collection becomes sort of his autobiography.

唱片收藏家的收藏可以說 就變成了他的自傳。

Last year, I was DJ-ing in Poland,

去年，我在波蘭當 DJ，

and the people that were hosting me,

接待我的那些人，

they had this amazing record collection,

他們有很了不起的唱片收藏，

and of course I was intrigued

當然，我深深著迷，

and I said, "Are you selling these?"

我說：「你們會出售這些嗎？」

They then explained to me that it was the collection

他們向我解釋，這收藏的主人

that belonged to their dear friend Maceo who passed away a few months earlier.

是他們親愛的朋友梅西歐， 而梅西歐在幾個月前過世了。

And they were doing a project of inviting different people

他們在進行一項計畫，邀請不同的人

to take the collection and to create something new from it,

用這些收藏品來創作出新東西，

whether it's sampling or DJ mixes,

不論是取樣或是 DJ 混音，

you know, just to give it a second life.

就是要賦予這些收藏另一個生命。

And so after a few hours of going through the collection myself

我自己花了幾個小時 檢視所有的收藏品，

and creating a DJ mix from it,

用它們創作出了 DJ 混音，

even though I never got the chance to meet him,

雖然我沒有機會見到他本人，

it felt like in a special way,

感覺卻像是，以某種特別的方式，

me and him,

我和他，我們得以 談論唱片談了幾個小時。

we got to talk about records for a few hours.

So, as record diggers,

所以，身為唱片挖掘者，

our work and our record collections are there

我們的作品和唱片收藏

to be passed on to the next generation.

是等著要被傳到下一個世代的。

Beautiful art deserves to be cherished, shared and rediscovered.

美麗的藝術應該要被 珍惜、分享，和再次發掘。

Embrace curators;

擁抱策展人；

we are alternative voices to the mainstream music channels,

我們是主流音樂頻道——

不論數位或其他方式——的替代聲音。

digital or otherwise.

Go beyond the algorithm.

超越演算法。

Whatever kind of music you like,

不論你喜歡哪種音樂，

there are so many websites, radio shows, DJs, record stores out there

市面上有那麼多網站、 廣播節目、DJ、唱片行，

that are just waiting to share their discoveries with you.

都等待著要與你分享它們的發現。

We do this work for you.

我們為你們代勞。

All you have to do is open your ears and take risks.

你們只需用耳去聼、去嘗試冒險。

This music will change your life.

這些音樂會改變你們的人生。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）