联名

Since his debut in 2010, Silence Wang has consistently brought a sense of light, sentimental romance to his music. A prolific songwriter known not only for his own performances but also for bespoke songs penned for other artists, Wang stays behind the boards on 联名 (Crossover), a 2022 concept album released in between two solo efforts. But he remains the architect of this bold and playful experiment with the possibilities of creation—in addition to writing and producing the ten songs, he selected the ten female artists to bring them to life. The result is a dreamy collection of distinct emotions given unique richness and depth by each singer’s personal interpretation. Wang’s collaborators, including Lala Hsu, Naiwen Yang and Joey Yung, were spread across the world during production, meaning much of the collaboration occurred online. In an exclusive interview with Apple Music, Wang gives a behind-the-scenes look at this process, shares his thoughts on producing for Spatial Audio and teases the direction of his next solo album, 21世纪罗曼史 (21st Century Romance). 
Compared to pieces you’ve created for others in the past, were there any differences in producing an album where you invite others to sing your songs? "It’s a little like the chicken or egg question. In previous collaborative projects I’ve worked on, the other party generally gives me a thematic framework—so it’s like writing to an assigned topic. Of course, custom work isn’t necessarily limiting. I even think being able to do your best work within a limited framework is pretty awesome. But custom work originates with a proposal, so someone already has certain ideas about the song. By comparison, 联名 was creatively open-ended. It was the contrast between these two writing styles that inspired me to do the project. I didn’t give myself too many restrictions but just focused on the flexibility and potential of the music—plus the feedback from the singers involved. That whole process was a lot of fun.” 
Did you start by writing the songs or by identifying the singers you wanted to collaborate with? “Actually, both were part of the production process. For some singers, I first sent over a demo of the song. After they confirmed they wanted to take part, I’d make some adjustments to the lyrics or composition, since each artist has their own personal style. For others, I started by identifying the singers I wanted to collaborate with and then thought about the song itself.
 “Most singers have their own understanding of music. For example, after Faith Yang listened to the demo and got on board, she also gave feedback on adjustments she would like to make to the arrangement. In fact, everyone shared their own ideas for the songs once they agreed to take part. Of course, since I also served as producer on the album, after all the back and forth with the artists during recording, I also made a lot of tweaks to arrangements and production in order to realise my musical vision.” Were there any practical challenges in coordinating an album involving singers based across the globe? “It was indeed a little challenging. Most of our communication was online. This included a filmed documentary so we needed to coordinate filming all over the world. Also, because everyone had their own projects, we needed to make adjustments for promotional activities. And so 联名 was completed thanks especially to the trust and cooperation of the artists and the documentary team. I remember during recording, singers were locked in due to the pandemic. And because other singers were in the United States, we had to communicate across time differences. It was a huge workload.” Does working on an album as writer-producer feel different to performing your own pieces? “In aromatherapy, some scents are made into solids and some liquids—the same fragrance becomes different forms. So an album credit is one thing and a performance credit is another. This project was a great way to get my songs performed by outstanding singers. And actually, while you may see me as a lyricist, composer and producer on this album, in my own music I generally follow a similar creative process. So there was no big difference in my experience—except maybe for spending more time than usual collaborating with other singers. In fact, this time I didn’t have to think about which side of myself to show to everyone. The project started because it was interesting, and when people listen to the songs, they’ll be able to sense which side is which.”
 Each song on this album was crafted for Spatial Audio—what aspects did you find worked best? “Many songs on this album have a particular atmosphere—two songs about rain, for example, two about the sea and two about the sky. To convey that atmosphere, a lot of effort went into the arrangement of the instruments and the vocal processing. In the standard audio, a conversion step is still required between the listener’s ears and their brain. But with the blessing of Spatial Audio, the audience can experience the moods that the creators want to express more directly. It’s a fascinating thing. “In addition, some songs on the album used acoustic instruments—symphonic strings like violin and cello, or band instruments like bass and drums. These instruments have clear positional relationships when recorded live, but it’s difficult to capture this in a traditional stereo format. Now, through Spatial Audio, everyone can get a real sense of the positioning of the vocals and instruments in the songs. It really feels like you’re there at the live recording, like you’re immersed in the music rather than just listening to it.” 
How is this project related to your upcoming solo album? “I began writing 21世纪罗曼史 (21st Century Romance) after I released 大娱乐家 (The Greatest Showman), so it’s taken a fairly long time. The birth of 联名 was a bit accidental, but I rode the spark of inspiration. So work on the two albums criss-crossed at times but it wasn’t particularly burdensome. They’re independent projects without much interconnection, apart from one thing: The idea for 联名 came at the beginning of the year and I got straight to work and released it before the end of the year—that’s pretty typical of ‘21st century romance’. The new solo album is different—very different—and is definitely worth looking forward to.