dkrc Chapter 002 1 Flammable and Explosive
Chapter 002 1 Flammable and Explosive
The next morning, Yang Du, who had slept for less than five hours, woke up with a head of messy hair.
Refreshed.
He picked up his phone and saw several unread messages on the screen.
Three of them came from Tao Cheng.
It consists of three long audio messages.
"What did you want to see me about, senior? Is there some new opinion from the company?"
Yang Du quickly clicked on the first message and held it to his ear.
"Junior, are you... under a lot of pressure lately?"
Tao Cheng's voice was filled with deep worry, and even a hint of caution.
"I saw your Weibo post from late last night. It was about a love triangle where he loved her, she loved him, but he didn't love her."
"The story is short, but I can feel the suppressed emotions of unrequited love behind the words. Junior, you are still young, and matters of the heart can never be forced..."
"Don't let today's meeting weigh on your mind. You've already done an amazing job writing 'Flammable and Explosive,' really!"
"Even if you don't get the producer position today, you can definitely do it next time. Don't push yourself too hard. Being young is a disadvantage, but it's also an advantage. I believe in you!"
After the three voice messages finished playing, Yang Du sat stiffly on the bed.
At this moment, his mind was perfectly clear, but his desire to die was also real.
"I was so stupid, really. I only knew that I had many senior and junior students from Beijing Conservatory of Music as my Weibo followers, but I didn't know that Senior Tao Cheng had also secretly opened a secondary account to follow me."
"You're awake, Commander?"
Zhou Feng, who slept in the bed opposite, had just finished washing up and was walking out, wiping his face.
He glanced at Yang Du, who looked utterly hopeless, stopped in his tracks, and fell into a long silence.
An ominous premonition rose in Yang Du's heart.
Zhou Feng sighed, looked at him with a "brother, I have nothing to say, I support you" look, and patted Yang Du's shoulder hard.
"No, I didn't..."
"Stop talking, I understand!"
"roll!"
"Okay."
……
10:00 AM, Jinshi Music Headquarters Building.
As one of the three major music giants in China, Jinshi Music's headquarters building is not only impressive, but also exudes the aura of a wealthy and powerful company.
Yang Du stood in the elevator, watching the floor numbers climb higher and higher, feeling a little depressed.
In Conference Room 1 of Area A, he met Tao Cheng, who had been waiting for a long time.
Tao Cheng has a striking and recognizable face with deep and striking features and long, slightly wavy hair.
Beside her was her manager, Sister Hong, who was plump and had long, wavy hair.
Upon meeting, Tao Cheng opened her mouth, intending to ask, "How's the arrangement coming along?"
But as the words were about to come out, yesterday's Weibo post involuntarily surfaced in my mind.
Would it seem too cold-hearted to urge someone to work as soon as we meet?
So, Tao Cheng took a deep breath and swallowed the topic of music arrangement back, instead giving Yang Du a hug: "Junior, it's okay, just do your best today."
About fifteen minutes later, the meeting room door was pushed open amidst laughter and conversation, and a group of people walked in.
"Teacher Wang, this is Yang Du, the lyricist and composer of 'Flammable and Explosive'."
Fang Lei, the director of the artist and production department, introduced Yang Du to a man who was nearly sixty years old with a smile.
The other person had medium-length hair typical of artists, wore black-rimmed glasses, and was holding a thermos.
This person is Wang Shihui, a senior producer at Kingstone Music.
"Wow, so young." Teacher Wang took the initiative to walk over and shake hands with Yang Du.
"Young man, you're quite the catch. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a newly launched actor from some company. I read your lyrics and music, and honestly, that kind of sharp, brilliant talent is something we old folks could never write."
"Teacher Wang, you flatter me. I still have much to learn from you." Yang Du gave a standard, sunny smile that met societal expectations.
The group sat down.
Teacher Wang then asked, "Is Xiao Yang still a junior in college?"
"Yes."
"You're so young and promising! Being young is great, being young is the best asset. Songwriting relies on flashes of inspiration, unlike arranging and production, which is hard work."
Then, he changed the subject: "However, the recording schedule for the single is tight and the workload is heavy. It wouldn't be good if the mundane and tiring work in the studio ruined my inspiration. What do you think?"
Yang Du realized that the old man was subtly hinting at something, hoping that he would back down.
He smiled without saying a word.
Seeing that Yang Du didn't answer, Wang Shihui, having been given a cold shoulder, wasn't annoyed. He unscrewed his thermos and took a sip of water.
"Let's listen to the demo first," Fang Lei said, trying to smooth things over.
Wang Shihui said, "Alright, let's release my version of the arrangement first, as a starting point."
Fang Lei nodded, signaling his assistant to play the recording.
The arrangement by Teacher Wang emanated from the top-of-the-line speakers.
To be fair, this is a very mature pop-rock arrangement. The guitar, bass, and drums are well-mixed and clean, making it a fairly standard chart-topping track.
When the song ended, applause rang out in the conference room.
"As expected of Teacher Wang, the arrangement and packaging immediately give it that quality."
"The pop + rock style will have a good market; this year, the market response to this style has been very good."
Amidst the compliments from the crowd, Fang Lei glanced at Yang Du, who had remained silent.
He actually felt that Teacher Wang's arrangement was very reliable, but with the lyricist and composer present, it wouldn't be right to ignore Yang Du's attitude.
"Yang Du, what do you think of Teacher Wang's arrangement? If you think it's good, then let's stick with this direction."
This is a common hint in the workplace.
Yang Du smiled slightly, took out a USB drive, and placed it on the table: "How about listening to my version as well?"
These words immediately created a subtle atmosphere in the conference room.
Several senior executives exchanged glances, their brows furrowing slightly, and secretly labeled Yang Du as impetuous and hot-blooded.
The director has already given you a way out. Just nod your head and everyone will pretend there's no other version. You're happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy, and the songwriters won't lose out on their share of the profits.
Why make things so awkward?
Tao Cheng glanced at Yang Du, then nervously clenched the hem of her clothes.
"Okay, let's listen to it first."
The assistant took the USB drive.
File loading.
Double-click to play.
The first sound coming from the speaker was an extremely low, deep, and even somewhat eerie low-frequency synthesizer sound.
Repressed.
dark.
Immediately afterwards, a guitar tremolo sequence cut straight in.
"This starting gesture..." Teacher Wang's eyelids twitched, and he looked at Yang Du in surprise. The arrangement was so bold!
Soon, the chorus begins, with drums, violin, and piano joining in one after another, all exploding at the same time.
What does "flammable" mean?
This is flammable!
What is an explosion?
This is an explosion!
The song ended.
The entire conference room was deathly silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Fang Lei opened his mouth, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Hongjie was very surprised. Although she was not a professional, she could still distinguish between simple things like whether something sounded good or bad.
Yang Du's music is great!
It sounds wonderful!
Tao Cheng covered her mouth, looking at Yang Du with a mixture of surprise and joy, her breath trembling with excitement.
Compared to Yang Du's arrangement, Teacher Wang's previous arrangement seemed too conservative and predictable.
Her junior really gave her a big surprise!