Yan Jun is a ten-year veteran producer of Chinese contemporary music, as well as an electronic music producer with a penchant for vintage synthesizers. For Yan Jun, the synthesizer isn’t a passing trend – it transcends time as well as musical genre. Much like photographic cameras, synthesizers can also come in both analog and digital. While analog synthesizers require more maintenance, they are capable of producing rawer textures of sound that are very difficult to imitate with digital or software synthesizers.
严俊是一位从业十多年的流行音乐制作人，也创作独立电子乐作品，有别于他人的是他始终对于vintage模拟合成器的迷恋。合成器的声音不仅仅是时髦与新奇的代言，它有力、尖锐甚至饱含哲学意味。无论是灼热的solo、饱满的铜管乐还是迷幻的太空之音，那些模拟合成器与数字合成器有着本质的不同，有时好比手动胶片机与数码相机，他们其实很不稳定，甚至会随机器内部与外部温度变化而产生音准上的偏移，但其厚实、温暖、有力量的声音气质是数字技术无法复制和取代的。
“I believe that electronic music is a serious discipline, just like classical music. It’s not just there to be produced and consumed for instant gratification.”
“我觉得电子乐应该纳入严肃音乐的范畴，它和传统古典音乐一样，是严谨的，不是快餐。”
“I’m not a collector of vintage instruments. Whatever I buy, I use for production, and I’ll get rid of instruments that are no longer of use to me. There’s no need for me to keep old junk laying around. Some of these instruments come in handy for producing contemporary music, but there’s a catch. A lot of these old instruments, they’re like senior citizens who are prone to illness at the end of their lives. They need extra care, but in return, they can tell you stories of the past. It’s a rewarding dialogue. When these instruments are completely worn out, I will take apart the components and put them into a box, like a symbolic burial ritual. But these old parts are sometimes given a second life when they’re needed as spare parts.”
“对于老乐器，我没有收藏癖，如果买了就是为了使用它，要根据自己的需要。一般我用不到的乐器也不会留着，摆一件废物在面前，看着也闹心，没有意思。喜欢的乐器有时在做流行乐的时候也一样会用，大量用。但不能避免的是，老乐器经常会出问题，如同疾病或者死亡，它们有时就像老人一样，需要被用心照料。同时，它们也会告诉你很多往事，这种交流挺舒服的，也会很有收获。要是乐器彻底坏了，不能再使用的话，我会将它的核心主板元件拆下来弄干净，放入盒子里，有点像骨灰盒…… 一来可以做个纪念，二来以后如果有相同型号的乐器出问题了，可以作为备用替换零件，也算是一种延续。”
From the end of last year, Yan Jun started looking into modular synthesizers.
“Many of the early synthesizers were modular synthesizers. At the time, they were bulky and could often take up the space of an entire wall. As technology improved and after microcircuits were invented sometime in the 1970s, synthesizers became small enough to carry around to live shows. The modern Eurorack modular synths is much more compact than earlier synths, and is easier to use. In China, not many people know how to use synthesizers. They are also fairly expensive, and there is a lack of information about them. I had to do all of my research on foreign websites and forums – it wasn’t easy.”
到去年底开始，严俊开始研究模块合成器。
“其实最早的合成器就是模块化的，当时体积很大，一个音色得一面墙那么大型的机器，后来科技进步了，70年代初人们发明了微型电路，才让合成器变的小巧，可以携带演出。现在的Eurorack模块比当年的体积小很多，使用起来也更稳定，也便于携带了。这东西国内玩的人不多，价格比较昂贵，可以交流的人就更少了，大多也都是一知半解。我也大多是通过国外网站、论坛获得一些资讯，不太容易。”
“The idea behind modular synthesizers is based on analog synthesizers, but allows for more customization. Individual modules can be connected with patch cords or a matrix patching system to produce some different textures of sound (a bit like electric guitar distortion pedals). The music sequencer also created new methods of making music and eliminated the need to rely on keyboards. It’s a great tool for creating electronic music. Recently these years, the Eurorack modular has become popular all over the world, it’s just that most musicians in China haven’t tried it out yet. I’ve spent a lot of time researching synthesizers, and I plan on completing my own system sometime next year.”
“模块合成器的概念和一般模拟合成器类同，但是它的方式更加自由多变，以一个个独立模块出现，你可以选择不同厂牌不同功能的模块，用跳线自由连接（有点像吉他单块），形成更丰富更复杂的调制方式，让音色多变，生动。然而模块音序器的运用也彻底改变了以往用键盘弹奏音乐的思维模式，特别适合电子音乐的概念。这些年Eurorack modular在全世界悄悄风靡，只是国内很多音乐人还不知道，也没有尝试。我花了很多时间在这个东西的研究上，争取到明年可以组建成一套比较完善的大型系统。”
