Shortly after the release of ‘BuDeBuAi’, the first track off Shelhiel’s upcoming SuperKiss EP, the Malaysian producer joined forces with FiFi Zhang to churn out a new musical piece.
On Shelhiel’s decision to work together with the singer-songwriter based in New York City, he shared: “[I] saw FiFi’s ‘So Beautiful So Lonely’ video, [and] knew that her voice would sound great on this. At the time we just followed each other, so I just shot her a DM and the rest is history.”
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Today (28/1), the pair unveiled a romantic track that taps into the emotions of love and growth, infused with garage and Mandopop styles. Titled ‘Love, Repeat’, the song explores a modern interpretation of the traditional Mandopop duet where the artists bounce romantic verses in both Mandarin and English.
With a mutual goal in mind to revive the early 2000s Mandopop scene amidst the modern age, the pair – who shared a love for musical creations by Jay Chou, Wilber Pan, Zhang Xianyi, and more – broke new ground. The track is sprinkled with a dash of UK garage and energetic dance soundtrips.
Following the release of ‘Love, Repeat’ Bandwagon caught up with Shelhiel and FiFi Zhang on the inspiration behind the track, how it breaks away from the classic mandopop duet format, and memorable moments when working together.
Hi, Shelhiel and FiFi Zhang! Can you tell us about your inspiration behind ‘Love, Repeat’?
Shelhiel: One of the songs that I always wanted to write is a classic boy-girl love duet. I don’t know, but I’ve always had this melody in my head: “baby 1,2,3 baby 我爱你”. It’s the cheesiest melody and lyrics but I just knew that it’s going to work. [I] wrote the song in half an hour.
FiFi Zhang: I think Shelhiel is a very talented and underrated singer/producer. I really resonate with his idea of reviving the early 2000s mandopop. We both love songs like ‘简单爱’ by Jay Chou, ‘不得不爱’ by Wilber Pan and Zhang Xianzi, so here is a modern UK garage/dance version of it.
‘Love, Repeat’ is described as a contemporary re-imagination of the classic Mandopop duet that explores the core human experiences of love and growth. In what ways does the song break out from the classic format?
Shelhiel: Mandopop are famous for their classic love duets, and their love for the ‘90s R&B & slow ballads. Writing in UK garage is just one of the ways to reinterpret the classic structure, but still retain its essence.
FiFi Zhang: ‘Love, Repeat’ has a minimal (but fun) arrangement in comparison with early 2000s traditional arrangements. And the way it turns from UK garage into dance in the end, [it] sounds very refreshing to me.
Garage is not a commonly explored genre in the Mandopop landscape. What drew you both to take on this genre and how does it enhance the lyrics in the track?
Shelhiel: I think a good song is a good song no matter what genre/production style it is in. It’s like if you’re good-looking, you’ll be good-looking no matter what style of clothing you’re wearing. So for me, garage is just a medium of expressing the song, and I like the grooviness of it. It’s like an upbeat ‘简单爱’ by Jay Chou. Also, there was a garage song back in 2003 by Taiwanese boyband Energy called ‘Ra-men Song’.
FiFi Zhang: ‘今天不回家’ by David Tao and ‘节奏与布鲁斯’ by Elva Hsiao are great UK garage songs that I loved when I was a kid. Now since I live in New York City, I'm influenced by the NYC underground electronic music scene where artists like Swami Sound have been innovating UK garage as well.
Shelhiel, you’ve mentioned that your music explored the realities of pain. How does this theme take form in ‘Love, Repeat’ and what reflections do you hope the listeners will take away from the track?
Shelhiel: To be honest, ‘Love, Repeat’ would be the opposite of that. It’s the nostalgia and emotion of going back to the purest feeling of falling in love, just simple and sweet.
FiFi Zhang, as a collaborator on this project, what aspects of ‘Love, Repeat’ resonated with you personally, and how did you channel your own experiences in the song?
FiFi Zhang: The song brings back lots of sweet memories of mandopop love songs that I was crazy about. It inspires me to write more songs in Chinese - the most intimate language to me.
Could you share any memorable moments while working together on ‘Love, Repeat’?
Shelhiel: I think her liking the song a lot, and we wanted to quickly finish the song to write more.
FiFi Zhang: I've sent so many annoying detailed notes on production changes etc., and Shelhiel took them very well. He's a very talented producer with great patience.
Finally, how do you hope ‘Love, Repeat’ contributes to the evolution of the Mandopop landscape in terms of experimentation and innovation?
Shelhiel: I hope that there will be more collaborations & experiments of different genres in Mandopop & Chinese pop. But I think we are in the golden era of doing that, right now it’s really about celebrating it more.
FiFi Zhang: I think this song will introduce UK garage once more to the Chinese audience in a fun way. And I hope there will be more new genres of music in Mandopop.
Check out Shelhiel and FiFi Zhang’s ‘Love, Repeat’ here.
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