Interviews: Tiger Anson Hu promotes new album “大一號 GROW”

November 21, 2012 (Updated: April 2nd, 2013) - It's Anson Hu | Tiger Hu | Hu Yanbin' s new album promotional period. He is currently busy promoting on shows, radios, and much more! What is his motivation and meaning behind 大一號 GROW?

Different interviews cover different information. If he repeats the same information on a second interview, I will skip the topic. I assure that you will not read the same info twice. I have added a topic/summary line to guide you, and I will write in his narration for all interviews. Sentence structure and grammar have been modified from Anson's original tone for easy reading and flow. 

*Note: Anson is actually quite cheerful and is in a happy-go-lucky mood for all his interviews. He loves to make jokes and laugh.  

I personally found Anson to be the same person through these years, even though he makes different statements with every new album, and changed his style and even his English name, but he's still the same old Anson! :D I also found it really hard to hold my tears while listen to him, he doesn't have the same attitude as "Who Cares?" he's much more softer now, just like his older days.

Old interviews towards the bottom, newer on top.

Here are the song titles and translations for easy reference.

愛情是怎麼了| ai qíng shì zěn me le (What's With Love)
我以為 | wǒ yǐ wéi (I Thought That)
卡啦永遠OK | kǎ la yǒng yuǎn ok (Karaoke Forever)
在一起 | zài yī qǐ (Be Together)
江湖再見 | jiāng hú zài jiàn (Farewell)
心的未來 | xīn de wèi lái (Heart Of The Future)
搖滾天生大一號 | yáo gǔn tiān shēng dà yī hào (Rock Born One Size Bigger)
劫後餘生 | jié hòu yú shēng (Surviving The Disaster)
沉默的大多數 | chén mò de dà duō shù (Silence Most Of The Time)
三十而立 | sān shí ér lì (Standing Firm At Thirty)
大夢想家 | dà mèng xiǎng jiā (Big Dreamer)

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SIX. Interview with Shangdu.com

Interview date: March 26, 2013

Anson's outfit and hair makes him look really cute! I enjoyed listening to this interview because he didn't try to put on his Beijing accent! :) The way he talks makes it seem like he is much more mature than his age, he's only 29!


Highlights!

Music has no grading system

Anson: It's really up to the audience to judge what they like. Music cannot be graded. It's not like athletics. Athletics has point system, and can be measured. Everyone can personally like, judge, and select the music that is closest to their heart, and the music that they can make a strong connection with.

This 8th album is Anson's last physical album

Anson: The director of Dangdang.com (online album distributor) said that my album may be the last physical album that their company will promote. I am actually surprisingly happy to hear. I think it will be easier because of the forward moving and changing society. With the physical album, as a musician, I like to produce everything and I find it fun and high, so it's all good. It will be depressing for some people because they feel that they can enjoy the music more by listening to the music in the CD player while reading lyrics at the same time.

Love is hard to set boundaries

Anson: With love, it's very mysterious. It's really hard to pinpoint, like to draw a rectangle, or draw a shape around it. Of course I want get married, but if you keep thinking or dreaming about it, it's not helpful at all. Effort cannot help love at all.

Source: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTMyOTA0MzI4.html


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 FIVE. Interview with NetEase

Interview date: December 4th, 2012 

If you understand Mandarin, with this interview, he used a Beijing accent and I found it really hard to listen to. He looks really exhausted during the whole interview, poor Anson, he's working too hard. :(


Highlights!

No one will ever hear anger or rage from his music.

Anson: I've always felt a different energy about rock music because the lyrics are very important. I've always wanted to do rock music without anger, just like my album. Inside, its all about the chasing ideals and dreams. I also think that rock music best represents me, and the me that is 30 years old. It allows me to energy to represent what's buried inside me.

Anson fell in love with rock music since a teenager.

Anson: I loved rock music since I was a teenager. I used to listen to Navana, U2, and many more. I would always lift my head while listening because I felt a ray of sunlight shining a light at me. Rock music is like love and peace, not rage and anger. I did experiment with rock when I was a teenager, but it's just messing around, it's not professional at all. Now, I have an entire band.



.... more to come......

Source: http://ent.163.com/12/1204/06/8HS3DPTB00031H0O.html

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 FOUR. Interview with Tudou

Interview Date: November 15th, 2012 

Introduction

Anson: "大一號 GROW" is an inspirational album. Dreams need to get bigger, rock volume need to get louder, and confidence needs to increase. This album is split in 2 parts, the first half and the second half. If we were back in the tape era, then it would be like side A and side B. This is because the first half of the album is the me that you're all familar with: the me singing ballads (love songs). The second half of the album is the me that I like: the me singing rock (love, peace, and inspiration). I am still in a state of "GROW" state. We aren't born knowing everything.

"One Size Bigger" suit is like a slogan

This whole album and style fits into one big concept, it's like a slogan. I want everyone to be able to recognize that it's our band, GROW by the clothing that we wear. It's like a symbol. If you see me in one size bigger, then you know that I've become the lead singer for GROW and I will start to sing rock.

Everyone has double personalities

For an example, Hulk. He has a kind side and an angry side. Why did I smash the guitar during my album launch party? I am not happy with the media. If you want to talk to me about music, I am very welcoming, but most people don't talk about music, they criticize my style, and other irrelevant things. Smashing the guitar is like releasing my emotion buried within me, on stage. It's like a stage act.

Anson ends off by singing several lines of 《在一起》

Source: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/NL7ukv9CdQ4/



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THREE. Interview with CITYFM

Interview Date: November 10th, 2012

Anson gets a chance to DJ for 1 hour and he introduces 2 of his songs and he recommends a few other songs to his listeners. 

His introduction to 愛情是怎麼了

See the interview below, I have already covered it.

His words about 在一起 

Anson: I composed this song after my 30th birthday. I took time to reflect the major events in live, and I signed up for online dating. Most people think it's weird, and call me crazy. It's simple to understand my thinking. I've been working and living in a limited circle of friends, so I want to expand my circle. I am lucky enough to survive a car accident, so my family and friends are giving me pressure to form my family. And I think it's time too. A lot of people are waiting, but perhaps they haven't noticed the person beside them. With this song, I'm encouraging people to get together and be together. They should hold onto each other hand and not let go.

cityfm城市巨星- 胡彦斌

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/cKuE8pxiKwo

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TWO. Interview with Beijing Music Radio FM97.4

Interview Date: November 9th, 2012

Anson starts tearing after the radio host briefly reviews his 10 years in musical productions

(The radio host reviewed his 10 years in music. She played one song from each of his 8 albums, and several soundbites of his speeches. He started tapping his feet to his own songs in the beginning, but as he listened he started to soften, and to the point where he couldn't hold his tears. )

Anson: Wow, I'm so touched, my God. I can't suppress it anymore. I'm so happy, I'm so sorry. This is my first time on a live radio show. Too many memories. My happiest thing in my life is music, but sometimes it gives me too much stress. Then this stress is then magnified many many times. I'm someone who can easily be touched. If I hear these things, I will cry.

Half the album is dedicated to fans, the other half is to himself

Anson: I'm not completely changing styles. I play with rock music because there's always different music that can represent our words at a different age. The first half is dedicated to you because it's the me that you're all familiar with, and the second half is dedicated to myself because it's the music I want to make. When I was younger, I had lots of good luck. I'm a very simple minded person. Music was the easiest way to make me happy, and once I make music, I forget about small problems in my life; however, as I grew older, my most loved became the root of my problem and stress. Any composer has problems about balancing between commercialized music and the music they want to make. Until this album, I finally realized that I can split it half, half. 

Conflict always resides in any music composer 

Anson: There are not that many people left in the music industry that still have the power to continue to fight and make the music they like. I'm not saying that commercialization is bad. There always has to be commercialization because we will learn something from each other. I am just really relieved that there's the second part of my album for me to experiment with.

Friends call him "lao hu," but fans and mom still him "bin bin"

Anson: My band is 'GROW,' like growing up. If you add an 'L,' it becomes 'growl,' like the tiger growling. Yes, it is true that my friends call me 'lao hu' (his last name plus the word 'old,' can mean 'Tiger'), but it's not because I'm getting old, they have called me that since I was young. Don't worry, my fans and my mom still call me 'bin bin' so you can continue to call me that, even when I'm old!

《愛情是怎麼了》 was written for his ex-girlfriend a few years ago

Anson: I wrote the lyrics to this song a few years ago after I broke up with my ex-girlfriend. I didn't modify the lyrics, but it was what I felt in a female's perspective during that time. I recorded it as a demo and put it in my demo library. A company worker went through my demos, picked it out, and wanted me to release it for this album. A few years ago, we both liked each other, but we were too young to decide, that's why we broke up.

Other random facts mentioned in interview:

* Anson's first ever single is《瑪麗蓮夢露 (Marilyn Monroe)》released at the age of 16.

* His concerts will take place next year, a country-tour around China. 

* He will only sing his rock songs if he brings along his band GROW, or if the place allows him to bring his 

band. He wants his audience to have a full-on live band experience. 

胡彦斌做客中歌榜

http://v.rbc.cn/play--s-/play_id_99955.html

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ONE. Interview with 911pop.com

Interview Date: November 8th, 2012

This radio interview with Anson allows him to give a brief introduction to his song before it is aired over the radio.

"It's Up To You!"

Anson: "大一號 GROW" extends the idea from previous album: during the age of records, music was highly respected. Now in this decade, one MP3 can hold up to thousands of songs. Honestly, not many people take the time to really pay attention to the details of one song. 

With this album, you can choose whatever you like. The me that you prefer, or the me that I prefer. It's up to you. 

Intro to 三十而立

Anson: This is an electronic-rap-rock song. When a person reaches 30, they will have different thinking, especially for men. It's represents responsibility, and stability. I've reached that stage and I know what I want. I call it 'addition and subtraction.' When we are young in our 20s, we want everything. The truth is, you can't have everything, so when you reach a certain age, you need to learn how to 'subtract' and pick and choose what is best for yourself. 

Intro to 搖滾天生大一號

Anson: Dreams need to get bigger, rock music need to get louder, and teenagers need to have more persistence. This is an inspirational song. When we step into the society, there is always pressure and stress. There are things you want to be persistence with, but many people forget their goal along the way, so it's always best to review. 

ONE song represents ONE type of emotion. 

Anson: My entire album is filled with different types of feelings and emotions, each song represents something different. For an example, if you are getting married soon, or just got together with a boyfriend, then listening to a very sweet song, 《在一起》 works, but if you're currently working towards your dream, then 《搖滾天生大一號》and 《沉默的大多數 》 can be encouraging to you, and if you're heartbroken, you might find some relieve in the song, 《愛情是怎麼了》.

Intro to 《大夢想家》

Anson: You are lucky person to have any type of dream. Most people have to sacrific something in order to achieve their dream. Dream VS. reality always conflicts with each other. It's very rare that people can find their dream and reality to be the same, if do, they must be one lucky man! If anyone has the courage to sacrifice something to find their dreams, they they're good. 

His words about 《江湖再見》

This song and 《我以為》 are two songs that I wrote for my friend. They're the theme and sub song for Mainland ancient-comedy series 龍門鏢局.

A random fact mentioned in interview:

* A total of 7 music videos will be released. Anson will direct his own MVs!

胡彦斌做客青檬流行曲榜 

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/2pWKNULFdQo

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