Gwei-Lo

“Gwei-lo/鬼佬”，由四個(gè)小伙子組成，并于2000年在Simon Raymonde的Bella Union廠牌下發(fā)行了他們的首張同名大碟。吉他手Al Brooker和鼓手Jez Spencer是整個(gè)樂隊(duì)的靈魂所在，初聽他們的作品，你就會(huì)立刻想起“Mogwai”或“Explosions in the Sky”
不過和“Mogwai”或“Explosions in the Sky”不同的是，Gwei-lo的作品在高潮中經(jīng)常選擇“驟然疾停”的手法，這使得作品變得更有回味了。唱片的開篇曲“U.R.R"上來就是暴風(fēng)驟雨的吉他浪潮，然后驟然疾停，再是清新吉他的過渡，如此反復(fù)三遍，立刻就把聽者情緒吊了上來。而且這種高潮倒置的手法也頗為新穎，出彩的地方還在于1分22秒時(shí)一段轉(zhuǎn)折，這把吉他給彈得要多黃昏就多黃昏，要多悠長就多悠長。留意一下3分24秒到3分29秒的一段往上不斷拔高的雙吉他表演，穿插在錯(cuò)落有致的鼓擊中很有韻味。用到“驟然疾停”手法的還有"Cellsong”這首作品，不過和“U.R.R"不同的是，在這里的中段高潮里是由一段快速和相對慢些的兩波吉他銜接而成，并且不斷重復(fù)構(gòu)成。仔細(xì)聆聽的話，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)慢些的那波吉他彈奏酷似之前一直貫穿著的作品剛開始的一段旋律。
Gwei-lo作品另外一個(gè)特色就是對吉他音色的調(diào)配非常到位，并且總是在作品的開始就給聽者以強(qiáng)烈的情感沖擊。“Annoy”作品就是最好的例子。在作品的開頭，寥落的鼓聲映襯著兩把孤寂的吉他，瞬間就打造出茫茫大漠的空無感。中段的爆發(fā)過程中，鼓聲的間隙也正是吉他的轉(zhuǎn)折，配合的非常默契，把這種寂寥的情緒推向了高潮，一發(fā)不可收拾。同樣的還有第二首作品“12”，開始的一段吉他彈奏雖然簡單但卻很容易在初次聆聽的時(shí)候就留下鮮明的印象，隨后則是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的“Explosions in the Sky”式爆發(fā)。不過相對Eits而言，這個(gè)作品中的后段爆發(fā)顯得有些凌亂缺乏層次感。個(gè)人還是更喜歡在“Homework”里的高潮：吉他旋律不斷變化富有層次感。
Gwei-lo的第三個(gè)特色，前面其實(shí)也已經(jīng)提過，就是常常有一小段吉他的旋律貫穿著整個(gè)作品，代表作品有"Cellsong”、“Homework”。
稍稍怪異的是“Corona”中的吉他音色，但相信只需聽過一次，就會(huì)留下非常深刻的印象。作品兩段的高潮銜接過渡自然流暢，尤其后段每每突然降落的一兩下鼓擊讓人心也為之一顫。這也是碟內(nèi)篇幅僅次于“Don't try (Hank)”的一首作品：7分38秒。
從“Mogwai”或“Explosions in the Sky”之后，涌現(xiàn)出不少只做純器樂作品的樂隊(duì)，但總覺得加了電子樂器或弦樂或爵士后，味道就變得不純正了。個(gè)人還是喜歡這種氣勢磅礴爽快淋漓的純粹器樂作品。Gwei-lo嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)爻幸u了“Mogwai”和“Explosions in the Sky”的衣缽，雖然沒有長達(dá)十多分鐘的長篇巨作，但卻在有限的篇幅內(nèi)將感傷悠長的情緒演繹得大起大落，豐富的吉他音色常常給人以難以磨滅的印象。這里不得不再次提一下樂隊(duì)的靈魂人物----吉他手“Al Brooker”，雖然已經(jīng)逝世，但其鋒芒早已經(jīng)表露無疑，2002年的個(gè)人專輯《Quixotic》更是給予Post Rock后續(xù)發(fā)展提供了許多思路。正如那位臺(tái)灣樂迷所言，如果Al Brooker在
世，Gwei-lo也許會(huì)是今天其中一隊(duì)最好的Post Rock樂隊(duì)，這話一點(diǎn)都不夸張。
Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese pronounced [kw??? l???]; sometimes also spelt Gwailo) is a Cantonese term for Caucasians, and has a long history of racially deprecatory use.[1] It has since become a socially accepted, if somewhat familiar, term for Caucasian men.[citation needed] This view is taken by most of the local population in Hong Kong, but many Caucasians residing in Hong Kong remain uncomfortable with the term.[citation needed] That being said, some "gweilos" take to the term kindly as they understand it is used affectionately at the appropriate occasions.[citation needed]
Etymology and history
Gwai Lo (鬼佬) literally means "ghost man"[2]. The term is often translated into English as foreign devil. The term arose when the first group of Europeans appeared in China as they were associated with barbarians due to their behavior.[3] For more than 4000 years, Chinese people had the image of its borders continuously breached by uncivilized tribes given to mayhem and destruction. Hence foreigners were referred to as foreign devils.[3] Historically in Southern parts of China, the term ghost fellow (鬼佬) was used. In Northern parts of China, the term (Western) ocean ghost ((西)洋鬼子) was used, Europe being West of China.[3]
Usage
Nowadays, some Hong Kong residents often refer to Caucasians and other people by their race. This is in sharp contrast to the remainder of the People's Republic of China, including the Cantonese-speaking south, where foreigners are most commonly referred to as "foreign friends" (waiguo pengyou 外國朋友) or "good old foreigner" (lao wai 老外). The character "lao" (老) is the same character use in "good old friend" (老友).
The term gwei (鬼) in gweilo (鬼佬) is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the local's expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in WWII with the same gwei (鬼). It conveys a general bad and negative feeling and is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced gwei (鬼) for similarly negative meanings.
The pejorative sense of gweilo (鬼佬) can be specified when the term is prefaced by the adjective sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning dead or damned); sei gweilo (死鬼佬), literally means "dead ghost man," thus means a bad "gweilo," or a bad Caucasian. "Sei" (死) is also commonly added to other terms in order to describe the person or people being referred to as "bad", such as "sei lo" (死佬), meaning literally "dead man" or "bad guy" and "sei chai lo" (死差佬), literally "dead policeman" or "bad policeman". Chinese people also can call each other "Sei gwei" (死鬼), literally meaning "dead ghost", but refers to a bad person also. Though it should be noted more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to "Hey bitch!" in English when used affectionately. The character gwei (鬼) itself can have negative connotations, even without the word sei (死), for example when it was attached to the Japanese military in the term "Guizi Bing" (鬼子兵) during their massacre of what some have estimated to be upwards to 30 million Chinese during World War II. However, the same term can also be applied derogatorily to any foreign military which was an enemy to China.
While "gwailo" is commonly used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, the more polite alternative sai yan (西人; jyutping: sai1 jan4, literally: "western person") is now used.[4]
The term is often considered racist by non-Cantonese people.[5] Many Cantonese speakers, however, frequently use the term to refer to white people and westerners in general and they consider the term non-derogatory, which some members of the Caucasian community resent.[6]. On the other hand, some Caucasian members of the Hong Kong community embrace the term, treating it as an affectionate designation and a colloquial slang with nuances understood after prolong exposure to the local culture, which can be deemed offensive at face value. The term lo (佬) when used in other situations are generally quaint as it is a term mostly fallen out of use and the intentional use of it carries a certain comical sense.