America's Top Player

Chapter 8 First Recording

Unlike the successful entertainment industry tycoon that Li Ang imagined, Phil had no fancy jewelry or high-end suits, and his messy hair made him look no different from the lower-class white men here.

But from the temperament he exudes, it can be seen that this person has indeed seen the world.

"Phil and I have known each other since the '90s, when we played every late-night club in Brooklyn."

"You have to seize the opportunity, kid. Phil once single-handedly brought out a superstar like Avril Lavigne!"

Li Ang nodded repeatedly. This pop queen from Canada once rivaled Britney Spears in her popularity after the millennium.

She has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards but unfortunately missed the trophy every time, becoming the biggest missed award in the history of the award.

T-ray led Leon to the mixing console. "I've already made the accompaniment. I'm not very good at pop music, but I'm grateful for Phil's help these days."

It turned out that the reason he chose to start recording three days later was to complete the accompaniment work within this period of time.

The lyrics of a song determine its lower limit. As long as it is touching enough, it will always attract a wave of audiences. This is the case with the cheesy sad songs that are all over the streets.

However, what really determines the upper limit of a song is the arrangement. A good arrangement can lead the audience into the mood as soon as the prelude sounds.

"It's been a while since I've seen you working so hard. You're not even interested in women these days." The Blood Gang boss joked.

Hard?

Li Ang scoffed at this.

In T-ray's eyes, he is a goose that lays golden eggs.

Of course, no effort will be spared to ensure that the golden egg falls to the ground as quickly as possible.

"Listen to the instrumental first. After all, you're the original song author and no one knows the song better than you."

T-ray turned on the player, and beautiful melodies swirled in the recording studio.

The first half is extremely restrained, but the emotions suddenly rise in the chorus.

Li Ang had to sigh that he was indeed a professional, as he was able to produce the accompaniment so close to the original version just by relying on his ear memory and his own description.

"I'm very satisfied. I believe the final result will be great!"

After receiving the compliment, T-ray smiled proudly, "That's just the beginning! Arranging music is much more complicated than you think. There are still many things to adjust during the later editing."

"The final effect depends on how well you perform."

"Okay, let's get to work, Street Coconut Crisp!"

It was Li Ang's first time walking into the recording studio, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

He took three deep breaths to adjust his mood, put on his headphones and prepared to start singing.

Behind the glass of the recording studio, George, T-ray and Phil held their breath and concentrated. They would soon find out whether Leon was the gold mine they had been searching for in the slums!
The release of an album is not a flash of inspiration, but a manifestation of a fully industrialized level of production.

Arrangement, sound editing, MV shooting, and the singer's own performance
These are all key factors that ultimately affect the performance of the record.

Being able to become popular on the Internet and succeed in street performances does not mean that you can become a good studio singer, let alone a star singer who can perform in front of tens of thousands of people.

Having been in the record industry for more than 20 years, T-ray and Phil have seen too many newcomers whose street performances are amazing but whose studio works are forgotten in the crowd.

My lover's got humor
My lover is very humorous

She's the giggle at a funeral
She would laugh at the funeral.
At the beginning of the song, Li Ang tried his best to suppress his emotions. It was not easy to control the pitch while suppressing emotions.

Fortunately, thanks to his mastery of the bass, the first half of the song was performed at a high level. After a prayer of "Amen Amen", it finally entered the high-pitched and crazy chorus.

Take me to church
Take me to church

I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I will worship your lies like a loyal dog
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Confess all my sins, you can sharpen your knife
The chorus is full of provocations to traditional Christian doctrines, revealing a sense of madness at the end of the road.

And this part is the core of why this song can touch the grassroots people.

Life is already in poverty, and the evil capital is making everyone breathless.
The result of repression is rebellion, and the extreme of rebellion is madness.

While Li Ang was immersed in the chorus, T-ray's expression was not very good.

"Stop it first!"

"what happened?"

"Fuck, your high notes aren't even as good as some of the rappers I've coached!" He frowned and smoked non-stop, his cigar quickly deflated from the overheating. "You even broke your voice just now, Bro. Even the best post-production sound editing can't make it perfect."

"do it again!"

Li Ang nodded and immediately began to sing for the second time. The quality of the final album was directly related to his interests, so he had no complaints about T-ray's training.

He sang it more than ten times in a row, and was stopped by T-ray every time during the chorus.

I never thought that recording was actually a physical job, and the physical exhaustion was no less than facing the lioness-like Bonnie in bed.

Even though the air conditioner in the recording studio was running at full capacity, beads of sweat still covered his forehead.

"Looks like you need some vocal training."

"Shxt, this is going to take up a lot of our time!"

T-ray was extremely anxious at this point. The money for vocal training was nothing at this point, but it would take a lot of time.

He glanced at the big boss George next to him, and from the expression on his face he could tell that the big boss didn't have that much patience.

"Maybe if we put a gun to this kid's head he'll sing better?" George, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said half-jokingly.

"Don't be ridiculous, boss! I'm afraid that white guy will be so scared that he will cry the whole time."

George tilted his neck and spread his hands. "I'm not kidding. People can do anything when a gun is pointed at their head."

"Have you forgotten the jerk who caused trouble in my club last month and tried to rape my cousin?"

"After having a Glock pressed against his head, I made him run for an hour in front of everyone on the DJ booth. If he stopped, he would be shot."

These words made T-ray stand there in a daze, not knowing what to say. He knew that George, whose mind was full of violence, was not just joking.

"I don't think singing technique is a big problem," Phil said as he fiddled with his wine glass.

"Of course I know that, man! Even Beyoncé has to use tuning, but this guy's high notes are ridiculously bad."

Phil stood up and waved his hand. "I've seen so many young people with excellent singing skills. Some of them are even as good as Whitney Houston."

“But ultimately, only a few people can achieve success in this cruel circle.”

"What do you mean?" T-ray scratched his head with a confused expression.

(End of this chapter)