Design — Francine Zhou

Millennium of Love 愛的初世紀
2022
Book Design
Laser Printed Artist Book, CD, plastic case

The advent of the 21st century is fascinating. Bidding farewell to the conservative and turbulent era, people embrace the arrival of the millennium with a sense of anticipation. This album, Millennium of Love, features seven Mandarin and Cantonese songs from the 1990s to the 2010s, performed by seven female singers or groups with strong styles and personalities. They come from different parts of East Asia: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia. This album attempts to interpret the popular music of the late 90s and early 00s to get a glimpse of people’s life and emotion of the time. The female singers on the album express their delicate emotions in unique rhythms and lines. And most importantly, they are singing with a genuine attitude about the future, freedom and love.

I grew up listening to LOVE RADIO FM103.7., a radio station that plays the most classic Mandarin pop songs. Yet as I entered my teenage years, I had little chance to listen to the radio, letting those songs slip away from my mind for a long period of time. Only in recent years did I start to pick up these familiar melodies through music softwares and delve deep into the entire discography of the pop artists. Now with today’s smart devices, I had the exciting opportunity to explore songs on my own whenever and wherever I am, an experience I never had as a child listening to the top hits randomly being played on the radio. This book, in the form of a physical lyrics booklet, intends to freeze and record my current music playlist, constructing visual mise-enscenes and passing on the exciting and intimate musical experience to those who open the CD.

21世紀的到來讓人著迷。告別了保守與動蕩的年代，人們懷著期待的心情擁抱千禧年的來臨。本張精選專輯《愛的初世紀》共收錄了7首1990到2010年代之間發行的華語及粵語歌曲，由7位風格迥異的女歌手或組合演唱，她们来自東亞的不同地區：台灣、香港、新加坡、馬來西亞。通過回顧當年百花齊放的流行音樂作品，試圖探詢那個時代的生活與情感。專輯中的女歌手們用不同的节拍诉说着细腻的情緒，這其中有如夏日般滚烫的热烈、對完美居所的遐想，也有如咖啡苦澀濃厚的滋味、隔著網線的小心試探、隨性恣意地遊蕩。更重要的是，她們用著真实的態度吟唱著對於未來，自由與愛的理解。

聽著103.7最爱调频電台長大的我，当華語音樂在我耳邊淡出許多年後，近幾年又開始通過音樂軟件拾回記憶深處的旋律，補全所有當時感興趣和不感興趣的歌手的作品全集。不同於接收電台固定頻率放送的隨機歌曲，現在的智能設備給予了我們自主點歌和選擇的機會，是小時候未曾有過的體驗。以前那些叫不出名字的動聽樂句，如今也能熟知它們的演唱者與創作背景。雖然少了份偶然聽到自己喜歡的歌時的欣喜，但是幸福地收穫了主打歌以外大批經典卻對我来说新鮮的旋律，更能將它們反覆細細回味，組合搭配，為自己的日常建構不同情緒的氛圍。這本以實體CD 歌詞冊形式設計的書，也正是想將當下我的電子音樂播放列表定格並紀錄，把亲切或未知的体验传递给打開這盒光盤的人。

FRANCINE ZHOU