// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Di-Dar say to his date? You're a directory to my heart.
| Di-Dar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 22 December 1995 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 42:50 | |||
| Language | Cantonese | |||
| Label | Cinepoly | |||
| Producer | Alvin Leong | |||
| Faye Wong chronology | ||||
| ||||
Di-Dar is the ninth Cantonese studio album by Chinese musician Faye Wong, released on 22 December, 1995, by Cinepoly Records. An eclectic mix of dream pop, psychedelia, and trip hop,[1] the album was a continuation of Wong's experimental efforts, a departure from her previous work under Cantopop and R&B influences. Wong's next record, the dream pop Fuzao (1996), was a culmination of her artistic vision. Di-Dar was Wong's final Cantonese album until Be Perfunctory (2015), a re-release of two extended plays; all of Wong's later albums were recorded in Mandarin with a limited number of Cantonese tracks, primarily alternative versions aimed at the Hong Kong market.
Most of Wong's collaborators on Di-Dar had been involved in her earlier work. Lyricist Lin Xi (Albert Leung) penned nine tracks on the album; songwriter C.Y. Kong, Wong's then-husband Dou Wei, and producer Zhang Yadong made notable contributions. In particular, Wong's work with Lin Xi and Zhang set a precedent for later albums such as Lovers & Strangers (1999).
The album was a commercial success and sold 1.5 millions copies across Asia, with title track "Di-Dar" and "曖昧", both composed by Wong herself, becoming well-known songs.[2] Di-Dar peaked at number one in Hong Kong according to the IFPI and Billboard magazine.[3]
In a retrospective Pitchfork review, Di-Dar is described as "sketch[sic] a deteriorating relationship," with Lin Xi's lyrics "suffusing the album's romanticism with a sense of anxiety and the burning desire to disappear."[1] The album provokes themes of decadence and agitation, with a psychedelic atmosphere presented in uncanny melodies such as that in "迷路."
Deemed one of Wong's most coherent artistic efforts, the dream pop and trip hop elements of Di-Dar would influence her later work such as Fuzao — on which Wong collaborated with her long time influence, the Cocteau Twins — and Fable (2000), the latter of which includes a five-track Buddhist-themed song cycle composed by Wong in the trip hop genre.
Composition
[edit]Following Random Thoughts and Please Myself (1994), Wong steered away from the mainstream and instead explored contemporary alternative influences. Di-Dar marked Wong's first attempt in the trip hop scene, then popularized by acts such as Björk and Massive Attack. Including "Di-Dar" and the untitled "(無題)", all tracks are named with two Chinese characters or syllables, an aesthetic preference in several of Wong's albums including Sky (1994). Of the ten tracks on Di-Dar, three are covers, notably with "曖昧" being Wong's second cover of Taiwanese songwriter Salsa Chen's compositions.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10[4] |
Di-Dar ranked at number 27 in Ming Pao Weekly's list of "40 Classic Cantopop Albums of the Last 40 Years" published in October 2008. Music journalist Fung Lai-Chee described it as "the best psychedelic and best-selling avant-garde work in Cantonese pop, with songs that are self-centred, ignoring market and others' work. Abstruse, obscure and mysterious."
In a 2023 review of four reissued Wong albums (Please Myself to Fuzao) by Pitchfork, Michael Hong called it Wong's "finest Cantonese album" and "more atmospheric, almost psychedelic" than her previous work.[1]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Lin Xi unless otherwise stated.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Di-Dar" | Faye Wong | Dou Wei | 2:21 | |
| 2. | "假期" | Faye Wong | Zhang Yadong | 3:55 | |
| 3. | "迷路" | C.Y. Kong | C.Y. Kong | 5:06 | |
| 4. | "曖昧" (Cover of《情雪》by Tracy Huang) | Salsa Chen | Adrian Chan | 4:43 | |
| 5. | "或者" | Alex San | Alex San | 4:29 | |
| 6. | "我想" | Zhang Yadong | Zhang Yadong | 3:38 | |
| 7. | "享受" (Cover of《あの空に帰ろう》by Shoko Suzuki) | Shoko Suzuki, Masami Tozawa | Adrian Chan | 5:10 | |
| 8. | "一半" (Cover of "Narito Ako" by Viktoria) | Viktoria | Adrian Chan | 4:27 | |
| 9. | "(無題)" | C.Y. Kong | C.Y. Kong | 4:21 | |
| 10. | "流星" | Chow Yiu-fai | Tats Lau | Adrian Chan | 4:40 |
| Total length: | 42:50 | ||||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "One Person Playing Two Roles" (一人分飾兩角; Yat Yun Fun Sik Leung Gok) | 4:45 |
| Total length: | 4:45 | |
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong Albums (IFPI)[5] | 1 |
Sales and certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[6] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| Summaries | ||
| Asia | — | 1,500,000[7] |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
[edit]| Region | Release date | Label | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 22 December 1995 | Cinepoly Records | |
| Taiwan | 1996 | Linfair Records | CD |
| China | 1996 | Jindian Audio and Video |
|
| Japan | 25 February 1996 | Polydor | CD |
| 26 September 1997 | CD (reissue) | ||
| Hong Kong | 7 May 2003 | Cinepoly Records | DSD |
| 9 September 2004 | SACD | ||
| 26 October 2010 | Universal Music Hong Kong | CD (Golden Disc Anniversary Series) | |
| 12 November 2020 | CD (24K Gold series) | ||
| 15 December 2021 | LP (ARS series) | ||
| Japan | 27 September 2023 | Universal Music Japan | LP |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Hong, Michael. "Faye Wong: Faye Wong: 讨好自己 Please Myself / 菲靡靡之音 Decadent Sound of Faye / Di-Dar / 浮躁 Fuzao". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ↑ Zhu, Yaowei (January 2017). Hong Kong cantopop : a concise history. Hong Kong. ISBN 978-9888390588. OCLC 962015863.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ "Billboard Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 108. New York, N.Y.: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 20 January 1996. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ "Faye Wong: Faye Wong: 讨好自己 Please Myself / 菲靡靡之音 Decadent Sound of Faye / Di-Dar / 浮躁 Fuzao". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ↑ "Hits of the World Charts". Billboard. 3 February 1996. Retrieved 5 April 2024 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "历史上的今天1969年8月8日中国流行音乐天后王菲出生" [Today in History August 8, 1969 Chinese pop music queen Faye Wong was born]. Sina (in Chinese). 21 September 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ↑ Lee, Alan (20 February 2016). "What's really killing Cantopop". EJ Insight. Hong Kong Economic Journal. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
External links
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