"Hugo, try adjusting your breathing again. Don't enunciate too clearly, and leave about one-eighth of a beat between each word to make the melody flow more smoothly." After twenty minutes of recording, Mark began teaching Hugo some simple vocal techniques.
Hugo wasn't a professional singer. His understanding and interpretation of songs completely relied on his instincts. He had never received any formal training in singing or breathing techniques. Hearing Mark's explanation, Hugo didn't quite understand, but he didn't pretend to know either. He directly asked, "Mark, are you telling me to connect the notes a bit more when I sing?"
Mark nodded affirmatively.
"But how do I make it flow? Could you demonstrate it for me?"
Faced with Hugo's request, Mark suddenly looked troubled. The smile he always wore twisted into an awkward expression. "I'm just a film composer, not a professional singer. I'm only stepping in as a recording engineer today as a substitute. I really can't demonstrate it."
Mark's conflicted expression made Hugo burst into laughter. "I can only tell you what method works best, and how to achieve the best result, but as for demonstrating…"
Hugo's bright laughter came through the microphone. "Well, I'm an amateur too. How about this I'll give it a try, and if it doesn't sound right, I'll adjust it. Sound good?" As long as he could genuinely learn something, Hugo didn't mind putting in extra effort to study and improve. Even geniuses require ninety-nine percent hard work. Hugo had no excuse not to try his best.
"Great," Mark answered cheerfully right away.
Joseph, sitting on the sofa, started to feel sore. Although the couch was soft, sitting there for so long without moving made his muscles stiffen up. But this wasn't his home he couldn't just lie back and relax. Besides, Hugo was still working hard, and Joseph didn't want to appear too relaxed, even though he really couldn't tell the difference between Hugo's various takes.
Inside the recording booth, Hugo kept reinterpreting the song over and over. Occasionally, Joseph could hear a difference for example, Hugo speeding up the tempo or adding a falsetto flourish but most of the time, Joseph was completely lost. Watching Hugo and Mark discussing passionately, he really had no idea what they were getting so excited about it all sounded the same to him!
In fact, Hugo's voice blended into the melody with a very pleasing quality warm and bright, like sunlight spilling through a gap between fingers: clear yet brilliant. Moreover, Hugo's singing style wasn't overdone it was as pure as dewdrops on early morning grass at six o'clock. This refreshing feeling was a breath of fresh air. But it was precisely because of the lack of singing technique that Hugo continuously discussed interpretation details with Mark, refining the delivery of the entire song bit by bit.
The process wasn't fun. On the contrary, it was dull and even boring.
But Joseph could clearly see Hugo's dedication and focus. This wasn't unfamiliar to him. Hugo had shown the same commitment when preparing for the "Scent of a Woman" audition, when reading the script for "A Few Good Men," and when discussing acting with Jack Nicholson. Now, Hugo was pouring himself fully into learning music.
Joseph could feel it maybe Hugo didn't understand much at first, maybe he was just a complete newbie but he didn't mind starting from scratch. And just during this short recording session, one could clearly see Hugo's progress. He was like a dried-up lakebed, rapidly being filled with clear spring water, with sunlight gradually glinting across the calm surface.
Though it was just the recording of one song, Hugo and Mark discussed it for a full forty-five minutes. Hugo sang more than thirty times in total. Forget the singer even the listener, Joseph, was getting dizzy, the song nearly turning into a kind of sonic torture. When the two finally completed the recording of "Next. You. See. Me" together, both of them looked satisfied, while Joseph let out a visible sigh of relief, as if to say, "The torture is finally over."
"Hugo, you really should find a professional vocal coach... no, you're a natural-born singer. Relying on your talent alone, you'll shine in no time. But you really should look for a professional recording engineer. During the recording process, a real expert can offer so much more than just technical support. I'm just a fill-in engineer, and frankly, I'm not qualified enough."
Mark was a very honest guy. He sincerely expressed his thoughts about Hugo, his face full of genuine kindness, making it hard to turn him down.
Looking at Hugo's bright smiling face, Mark could see a hint of youthful shyness. Hugo still wasn't used to praise, but he didn't refuse it or try to be modest, which meant even if only a little Hugo was starting to gain some confidence. At the very least, he wanted to believe in himself deep down. That was a good thing.
"I think Robert will be very pleased," Hugo subtly shifted the topic, still a bit embarrassed. "At least now the movie doesn't have to worry about the theme song anymore. Plus, I get an extra paycheck—definitely a good deal."
Hugo's sincere answer made Mark burst into laughter as well. "No doubt about it."
Seeing Joseph stand up, Mark knew they were getting ready to leave, so he didn't insist on keeping them. "Alright then, I'll get back to working on the score. It's a long road ahead."
Mark's brisk goodbye almost sounded like he was kicking them out, but after their short time together, Hugo already knew that this was just Mark's personality, so he didn't dwell on it. "Good luck!" he said, and then left the studio with Joseph.
Walking on their way out, watching Hugo's light steps, Joseph couldn't help but ask curiously, "Will you become a singer in the future?" This wasn't the first time Hugo had shown his musical talent—from "Second Chance" to "Don't Look Back In Anger." Even though Joseph didn't know much about music, he could still tell Hugo had talent.
The first time he heard Hugo say he had written "Second Chance," Joseph had scoffed, thinking Hugo was just messing around. But now, he couldn't think that way anymore.
"Maybe," Hugo replied casually. If it had been right after he first traveled here, he would've answered "yes" without hesitation. But after months of settling in, after the incident with Allerge on the "A Few Good Men" set, Hugo understood that the world didn't revolve around him even if he was a time traveler. So rather than rush things, it was better to take his time.
Hugo looked at Joseph and shared his thoughts for the first time. "Heh, actually, I'd rather start a band."
"Rock?" That was the first thing that came to Joseph's mind.
"Yes," Hugo answered straightforwardly. "But I should correct you not all bands play rock." These days, the word "band" generally referred to rock bands, which typically included vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass, drums, and so on. Rock music was the most complete form of expression for such a setup. But besides rock, other genres like jazz and pop also made use of bands.
As for Hugo himself,Death Or Glory was definitely a rock band, no doubt about it. Of course, over their ten-year career, they had explored other styles too that was a necessary part of musical evolution.
"That's not so easy," Joseph said. Most bands are formed by a group of like-minded partners, but Hugo is now an actor, and there are no musical friends around him at all. So forming a band is not such a simple matter.
A band is not like making a movie, where you can just hire a group of actors to gather together. A band represents a style it's a fusion and cohesion of the styles of all its members. So, forming a band is indeed not that simple, and this made Hugo miss his teammates from "Death Or Glory" even more.
If he could form a band in Los Angeles a group of friends gathered for the same musical dream, discussing music together, creating music together, touring together how wonderful that would be. Even if the band remained obscure in the underground rock scene just like "Death Or Glory," it wouldn't matter, because the journey shared by bandmates in pursuit of music was the most important thing.
"I know. That's why I say, you can't rush the creative process," Hugo teased with a bright smile. "I don't think I have what it takes to be a singer yet. So when Rob gave me this opportunity, I thought he was joking." Although he had gained some confidence, Hugo still felt somewhat unfit for the role of lead singer at this point. If a band were to be formed now, Hugo would naturally take the guitarist's position.
"Will there still be more work arranged for the next while?" Hugo asked after getting into the car with Joseph and fastening his seatbelt. Now that A Few Good Men had wrapped filming, and with Scent of a Woman done, the anticipated vacation should be arriving, right?
Sure enough, Joseph shook his head. "We'll take a break for now and discuss later. The release date for the movie will probably come out soon, and things will get busy after that, so there's no need to schedule anything now." The reason Joseph had arranged the premiere for Final Analysis earlier was because he didn't know when Scent of a Woman would be released, and Hugo needed continuous exposure. That's why he had gone to great lengths to set it up. Unexpectedly, it had brought Hugo the role in A Few Good Men.
"Promotion?" Hugo let out a long sigh. After finishing the film, he hadn't felt much, but once he heard the movie was going to be released, a sudden wave of anxiety hit him. "It really doesn't let you relax." Hugo sighed, and then suddenly spotted a black shadow in front of the car and shouted, "Joseph, an eagle!"
Joseph was startled by Hugo and slammed on the brakes. He didn't even know what was going on, because he hadn't seen anything. But after stopping the car, he saw a sparrow nimbly perched on the hood. It looked around for a moment, then gave Hugo and Joseph a disdainful look, flapped its wings, and flew away.
Three black lines appeared on Joseph's forehead. "Hugo, are you serious? An eagle? An eagle!"
...
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