Jer Lau / A Magical World in Reality

Wherever Jer is, there is bound to be emotional flow in the air. When Jer speaks, it is Emotion, and even when he is silent, it is still Emotion. When asked if Jer has any catchphrases, he pondered for a long time before answering that he doesn’t, even going so far as to ask the staff around him, “Do I have any catchphrases?” It seems like he didn’t get any clues.

Interestingly, during the short interview process, the word “Emotion” was mentioned by Jer a total of 15 times. He openly stated that he doesn’t care about singing skills and that all his live performances are solely driven by emotions. “Emotion” is a concept that encompasses love, sadness, anger, hatred, and various other elements, and it holds a superior position in Jer’s singing career, to the point where it can even surpass Flower Sister.

Noisy audience

Mirror has been in the industry for 4 years, and member Liu Yingting will have his first solo concert in July, titled “Across The Universe”. As the name suggests, Jer will lead the audience on a journey through space, crossing different planets and different time periods, with the goal of bringing out the connection between love and people. “The theme of the concert was actually planned since the beginning of my career, and I have been gradually conceptualizing it, even the song list has been planned for 6-7 years. My phone broke earlier, and the song list that I have been saving for many years almost disappeared. Fortunately, Uncle Carl (Wang Shuangjun) had a backup, so it didn’t collapse.” Jer said that he can switch his personal emotions quickly, singing fast songs and slow songs in the concert, showing a versatile range of emotions. However, he honestly admitted that it would be difficult to ask the audience to follow the same pace of emotional transitions.

“I really hope to be able to achieve the kind of highly impactful concerts that Coldplay, ONE OK ROCK, and Supper Moment have, with the promotion of broad love as the foundation. To achieve a high level of impact, first you have to ‘believe’. When you can truly believe in something, it naturally allows the audience to immerse themselves in the situation.” It cannot be denied that a concert without audience interaction is just singing in the shower. Only with a passionate and enthusiastic audience can it be called a concert. “I love lively audiences. However, if there were no boundaries for me to try, I might want to perform a silent play on stage during a concert, challenging the audience’s reactions.”

Rebellion below the frame

Times have changed, and the artists under the company’s umbrella are slightly more flexible with their stance. Not everyone may cool down the heated situation by “freezing” someone, and there are more than just a few examples of rebellious band members like Jer, who stick to their own beliefs. When Mirror was formed, Flower Sister invited Jer to join the boy band, but he politely declined multiple times. It wasn’t until Flower Sister extended her invitation for the fourth time, with a slightly sour mood, that Jer happily agreed to join. Although Mirror is already a popular idol group, they have only been in the industry for 4 years and are still considered newcomers. They should be more obedient and aware of the current situation. “I don’t like doing what others would do. I advocate for non-mainstream music. Although the company is open-minded and willing to let me try different genres of music, they still expect me to release at least one successful (market-oriented) song per year. So I always find ways to persuade them. For example, I would first agree with them to make them believe, and once they let me do the music I want, I would prove my ideas through my performance and the final product.”

To persuade others, it is most effective not to argue loudly or forcefully, but to compete with emotional intelligence. Having big emotional ups and downs is generally not a good thing, but for Jer, the key to resolving performance issues lies in Emotion. “When singing, I don’t pay much attention to technique, flaws are not a problem, and even when I sing to the point of losing myself, each time I sing the same song it will have countless variations. During the recording of “The First Take” earlier, I started preparing my voice at 6 in the morning and could only reach 70% by 11 o’clock. Of course, I felt anxious, but as long as I poured my emotions into it and immersed myself in the world of music, the problem could be solved.”

The joy of being single

I once heard a friend who teaches music say that they can’t wear clothing with vulgar slogans when teaching because kids will get excited when they see them, and once they get excited, the whole class will be excited. Jer recently released a new song, which is the long-awaited rock style that he has been lacking. The song “JM Single 9” was composed by Chen Lei and lyrics by Huang Weiwen. After the post was published, 90% of the comments couldn’t escape the response of “JM9”. It seems that the public’s excitement for puns and wordplay is universal. “What does ‘JM’ in the song title represent? Wyman and I choose to leave the answer blank and let the public define it. Maybe it’s ‘Jeremy Single Dog’, maybe it’s ‘Just Meet Single Dog’.” Let’s have a riddle and enjoy it together, but being single can’t be overcome just by laughing.

“The inspiration for this song comes from the movie ‘Lobster.’ I want to convey a message to society that even if you are single, there is still a joyful way of life. Saying that a woman who is still single at 30 is destined to live in a small apartment or something like that, is not true. Everyone has the right to enjoy the happiness of the present moment. Being single is not miserable, at least you don’t have to cater to others. For Jer, the most miserable thing in a romantic relationship is losing oneself. “In the past, I used to think that as long as love is intense enough, there is no need to give personal space. But in reality, if you want to live and work, without personal space, how can it not have an impact?”

Gallop through the imaginary magical realistic kingdom.

Jer jokingly said, “Singing is all about fantasy. There’s no template. Do you expect there to be a ’embryo’ (referring to the lyrics of ‘Vessel of Sand’) character prototype to teach me how to interpret it? That’s impossible, haha.” From discussing life to entering a magical world, the vast lyrical imagery in Jer’s music allows listeners to have a deeper understanding of reality.

From an artistic perspective, Magic Realism was proposed by art critic Franz Roh in 1925. It uses “magical” techniques to depict “reality” in paintings or literature, without considering realism or logical consistency. In the context of film, examples include “Life of Pi”. In simple terms, Magic Realism is utopian. “I enjoy watching movies and getting lost in the crazy fantasy worlds like in ‘Charlie and The Chocolate Factory’. Maybe it’s because my life is mundane? I want to understand other people’s worlds through different mediums. In ‘A New World from Scratch’, I referenced the atmosphere of ‘Avatar’ and choreographed a tense dance inspired by modern dancer Shahar Binyamini for the music video.”

Jiang Tao came out with a tender and affectionate manner, making him a handsome man; Liu Yingting strikes a stylish pose for photos, earning him the nickname “crazy person” from fans. Just like “magical reality” doesn’t need to follow logical formats, he would rather you call him crazy or wild, as his intense and fluctuating nerves make it clear that no one dares to demand him to conform to rules and regulations. Instead, it has made Jer the freest person in transcending reality.

^{Photographer: Olivia Tsang
Art Direction: Olivia Tsang & Mimi Kong
Styling: Mimi Kong assisted by Yoanah Chan
Videographer: Kason Tam & Wong Hing Hang
Video Edit: Kason Tam & Alvin Kong
Makeup: Rainbow Chung & Mayling Suen @Annie G. Chan Makeup Centre
Hair: Man Chan @CHIC Private I Salon
Interview: Ms. A
Jewelry: EMPHASIS
Wardrobe: Junya Watanebe @Joyce, Sandro, Wilsonkaki, JW Anderson @Mr. Porter, Dolce & Gabbana, Harvey Nichols}