Oscar Anton Exclusive Interview / 法國獨立歌手 Oscar Anton 獨家專訪
法國獨立音樂人 Oscar Anton 因一首疫情期間和家人自家製的法文歌爆紅。我們趁他路過香港，聽他聊聊音樂路上的心路歷程，還有他對音樂創作的看法。
一切要從 2011 年說起—— Oscar 在 SoundCloud 上發佈了一首只有九個人按讚的翻唱。然後隔了好多年，某一天妹妹在 WhatsApp 隨口哼出了旋律，然後他把這段旋律做成了歌，再由媽媽在海邊用 iPhone 幫他們拍了段音樂影片。沒有唱片公司的預算，Oscar Anton 在封城期間做出了《nuits d'été》（夏夜）。這首無心插柳之作在 Spotify 累積了近三千萬次播放，迷倒了無數根本連法文都聽不懂的海外樂迷。
對 Oscar 來說，這次意外爆紅證明了他一直以來相信的事：器材從來不是重點，真誠的直覺才能打動人。
他也曾在主流唱片公司的體制裡熬過兩年——發片時間表被公司死死掌控，電腦裡積壓的十幾首歌不見天日。後來他離開了，把省下來的 MV 製作費換成飛往世界各地的機票。現在他有個習慣：每到一個國家，就透過 Instagram 邀當地歌迷帶他逛城市，甚至在街頭來一場沒有腳本的 Live Session。
在香港短暫停留的期間，Oscar 接受了我們的專訪。他不僅回憶了兒時看演唱會的震撼，也暢談了遠離大型廠牌後的得與失、對 AI 音樂崛起的看法，以及為何在這個時代，任何人都可以成為一個藝術家。
French independent musician Oscar Anton went viral with a French song he made on a whim during lockdown. These days he’s travelling the world, meeting fans city by city. We caught him during a stop in Hong Kong to talk about his musical journey and what he believes music is really about.
It all started in 2011: a SoundCloud cover that got nine likes. Then, years later, a voice note his sister hummed into WhatsApp, a melody he turned into a song, and a music video his mum shot on an iPhone by the beach. No label budget, no crew. That was how Oscar Anton made “nuits d'été” (Summer Nights) during Covid lockdown. The song has since racked up nearly 30 million plays on Spotify, winning over listeners around the world who don't speak a word of French.
For Oscar, the unexpected breakthrough only confirmed what he’d always believed: gear doesn’t matter, and honest instinct is what moves people.
He spent two years trying to make it work inside a major label: his release schedule controlled, a growing backlog of songs sitting untouched on his computer. Eventually he walked away, and turned the money he would have spent on an MV into plane tickets. Now, wherever he goes, he puts out an Instagram story inviting local fans to show him around, and sometimes ends up doing an unscripted Live Session on the street.
We sat down with him during his time in Hong Kong.
你曾提過小時候想當衝浪選手。後來是怎麼走上音樂這條路的？
大概十三、四歲時，我跟爸爸一起去看 Coldplay 的演唱會，那對我來說是個極具魔力的時刻。我印象最深的是 《Viva la Vida》，因為那是在一個巨大的體育館裡，整個場館的觀眾一起合唱。親眼見證那麼龐大的群眾力量，真的非常震撼。那一刻我感覺自己必須朝那個方向走，或許有一天能開自己的演唱會，讓觀眾一起唱我的歌。
You’ve mentioned wanting to be a professional surfer when you were young. How did you end up choosing music?
When I was about thirteen or fourteen, my dad took me to see Coldplay. It was such a magical moment for me. The one song I remember was Viva la Vida. This enormous stadium, and the entire crowd singing along together. Witnessing that kind of big crowd moment was incredible. I remember thinking I had to go in that direction, that maybe someday I could have my own show and have people singing my songs.
不少獨立歌手都夢想簽進大廠牌。你做到了，但兩年後卻選擇離開。你覺得自己犧牲了什麼？
情況恰好相反，我沒有犧牲任何東西，反而贏回了自己的自由。那兩年我一直很難有機會發歌，電腦裡存了大概十首歌，但公司總是說：「不行，我們要好好安排你的檔期，還要配合其他歌手，也得顧慮電台。」他們的邏輯是，要不發一首歌然後一炮而紅，要不就什麼都不發。但我只想把音樂做得更好，而要進步，你就得不斷推出作品、犯錯，然後繼續走下去。
很多人可能覺得我犧牲了金錢，因為唱片公司原本會為你投入預算、付錄音室和拍 MV 的費用。但這筆錢最終都會從你的分成裡扣回來，在回本之前你一分錢都賺不到。說真的，如果你剛起步，你只需要一部 iPhone，就能在 YouTube 發 MV，就能吸引到聽眾。預算有限、資源有限，反而會逼你用手上有的東西去創作，讓你更有創意。
Many prospective indie singers dream to sign with a major label. You did that, but left two years later to go fully independent. Did you feel like you gave anything up?
It was actually the opposite. I didn’t sacrifice anything, I got my freedom back. Those two years I could barely get music out. I had maybe ten songs sitting on my computer and the label kept saying, “No, we need to plan your schedule, coordinate with other artists, think about radio.” Their logic was either you put out a song and you go big, or you put out nothing. But I just wanted to get better at music, and to get better you have to keep putting things out, making mistakes, and moving forward.
People might think I gave up money, because the label would have covered studio costs and MV budgets. But all of that gets recouped from your earnings; you don’t see a cent until the budget is paid back. Honestly, if you’re just starting out, all you need is an iPhone. You can put an MV on YouTube and find an audience. Limited budget, limited resources — it actually forces you to create with what you have, and that makes you more creative.
最近有不少 KOL 或素人跨界出歌，總有人說「不懂音樂就別當歌手」。你怎麼看這種批評？
老兄，這很蠢。只要你樂在其中，做任何事都不需要學位或門檻。他們憑什麼制止你？如果我明天想當畫家，想開始畫畫，我他媽就會開始畫畫。
大家之所以批評，是因為社交媒體讓平庸的作品確實也能獲得回報。有些人會忿忿不平地拿自己去比較：「他們沒料，憑什麼有那種成績？」可是，這個世界沒有好人有好報這回事，有時純粹是靠運氣。我們活在一個自由的世界，可以做任何想做的事，我覺得這一點很棒。我們不該太在意別人在做什麼，這裡有每個人的位置，別人成功不代表你就不行。
A lot of influencers have been putting out songs lately, and there’s always someone saying “if you don’t know music, you shouldn’t be a singer.” What is your take on that kind of criticism?
Man, that’s stupid. You don’t need a degree or any kind of qualification to do something. As long as you enjoy it, who are they to stop you? If I decide tomorrow I want to be a painter, I’ll fucking start painting.
People criticise because social media means even mediocre work can get traction. Some people get annoyed and start comparing themselves: “They don’t know anything about music, how do they have those numbers?” But that’s just how it is. The world doesn’t reward good people; Sometimes it’s just luck. We live in a free world where anyone can do what they want, and I think that’s a great thing. We shouldn’t worry so much about what everyone else is doing. There’s room for everyone, and someone else’s success doesn’t mean there’s no room for you.
「如果明天我想當畫家，我就他媽的馬上開始畫畫。只要你樂在其中，做任何事都不需要學位或門檻。」
“If tomorrow I want to be a painter, I’ll fucking start painting. You don’t need any degree, any kind of level to do something.”
《夏夜》（nuits d'été）的 MV 是你媽媽用 iPhone 拍的，鏡頭裡只有你和妹妹 Clementine，沒有劇組、完全沒有計劃。器材對你來說真的不重要？
老實說，一點都不重要。器材只是工具。我記得封城期間，政府每天只准許我們外出一小時。我們去了海灘，我把手機交給媽媽，一路上邊走邊跳舞，沒有任何事是事先計劃好的。她在電視台工作，懂得怎樣拿捏鏡頭，因此所有拍攝和構圖都是她自己完成的，她才是這條片的幕後功臣。
頭一週觀看數達到兩萬次時，我們已經開始慶祝，還開了一瓶香檳！因為那對我們來說已經是從未達到過的數字。後來它變成十萬、一百萬、二百萬⋯⋯
The “nuits d'été” music video was shot by your mum on an iPhone, and there were only you and your sister Clementine in the frame. No crew, no plan at all. Does gear really not matter to you?
Honestly, not at all. Gear is just a tool. I’d rather spend 10,000 euros on travelling and meeting people who listen to my music than blow it on an MV.
I remember during the lockdown, the government only let us go outside for one hour a day. We went to the beach, I handed my phone to my mum, and we just walked and danced. Nothing was planned. She works in television, so she knows how to handle a camera. She did all the framing and composition herself. She was the mastermind behind that video.
When we hit 20,000 views in the first week, we were already celebrating! We opened a bottle of champagne. That was a number I’ve never attained before. Then it became a hundred thousand, a million, two million…
這首歌裡也有你妹妹 Clementine 的獻聲。她有音樂背景嗎？你們平時怎麼在音樂上合作？
她完全沒有音樂背景！一開始是她在 WhatsApp 傳了段語音給我，自己寫了詞、哼了旋律。我當時在鋼琴旁，就順著她的人聲配上和弦，封城期間我們就把它錄下來了，就只是這樣。
說實話，她現在是我最親近的人，不論私底下還是音樂上，我在所有事上都超信任她。做 Archwood 這張專輯時，我們去了南法一間屋住了大概十天，我把手上所有的歌都播給她聽。她就坐在我身後的沙發說：「這首留下，這首不要，這首可以，加點結他。」她真的就像製作人 Rick Rubin，一直告訴我該怎麼做。她音樂品味真的很棒。
她現在在電影界工作，她從來沒把這（音樂）當一回事。我們只是做了那首歌，然後碰巧成功了。但我們也做了別的歌，今年可能會發行一些。
Clementine also sang on the track. Does she have a musical background? And how do you two usually work together on music?
It was really never a thing for her. We just made that song and it happened to work out. It started with a voice note she sent me on WhatsApp, she’d written some lyrics and hummed out a melody. I was at the piano, so I just followed her voice and put chords underneath it. We recorded it properly during lockdown. That was it, really.
Honestly, she’s the person I’m closest to right now, personally and musically: I trust her completely with everything. When I was making the Archwood album, we went to a house in the south of France for about ten days and I played her every song I had. She sat on the couch behind me with her dog, and just told me: “Keep this one. Not that one. This one yes — add some guitar there.” She was basically like the great American producer Rick Rubin, telling me what to do. She has genuinely great taste.
She now works in film, but we’ve made other songs together, and we might put some of them out this year.
在你的創作中，有很多法文和英文交錯的段落，而你的法文歌似乎比英文歌更受歡迎，你自己有想過原因嗎？
我真的毫無頭緒。我剛開始時以為唱英文歌能接觸到更多人，但實際上反而是法文歌能觸及更多人。
我一直是從旋律開始創作的，旋律是第一層，歌詞絕對是第二層。如果旋律不好，我就不會喜歡那首歌。但只要旋律的條件滿足了，歌詞對我來說就變得很重要。現在用法文填詞讓我感覺非常自由，順著情緒走，大概十分鐘就能寫好一首歌的詞。以前我會花上好幾個小時雕琢歌詞，現在更多是靠感覺。
Your French songs seem to connect with people more than your English ones. Do you have any idea why? Do you start with lyrics or melodies first?
Man, I really don’t. When I started out I thought singing in English would reach more people, but it’s actually the French songs that reach more people. No idea why.
I always start with melody: melody is the first layer, lyrics are definitely the second. If the melody isn’t good, I won’t like the song. But once the melody is there, lyrics become very important to me. Writing in French feels incredibly free right now. I follow the emotion and I can finish a set of lyrics in about ten minutes. Before, I’d spend hours trying to get the words right. Now it’s much more instinctive.
串流平台上越來越多 AI 生成的音樂，你覺得人的創作有什麼是 AI 永遠追不上的？
最大的分別在於，AI 永遠只是在複製並混合世上已有的東西。我們做事時有一種難以解釋的直覺，它不來自經驗，它就是直覺本身。而我覺得 AI 永遠都不會有這種直覺。
話雖如此，我覺得 AI 是很棒的東西，應該把它當工具用，就像器材一樣。人類應該善用它去創造更好的藝術。
There’s more and more AI-generated music on streaming platforms. Is there something about human-made music that AI can never replicate?
The biggest difference is that AI is always copying and remixing things that already exist. When we do things, there’s this instinct that’s hard to explain: it doesn’t come from experience, it just is instinct. And I don’t think AI will ever have that.
That said, I do think AI is a great thing. You should use it as a tool, the same way you’d use any piece of gear. We should be using it to make better art.
「我們做事時有一種難以解釋的直覺，它不來自經驗，而是來自直覺，而我覺得 AI 永遠都不會有這種直覺。」
“There’s some unexplanatory thing that happens... It doesn’t come from experience, it just comes from instinct. And this instinct will always be lacking in AI.”
這次你來到香港，這座城市給你的真實印象是什麼？
剛到時，高樓大廈的密度讓我很驚訝，而且看上去超髒。但太陽一下山，街燈和霓虹燈亮起來，空氣裡有些東西變了，整個城市瞬間有了生氣，氛圍變得無比浪漫。從那一刻起我就徹底迷上了香港。
大自然也讓我驚嘆。我前幾天自己去西貢露營，有海、有沙灘，我獨自在那裡吃了一小時午餐，太棒了。這裡的人也很好。友善，但歡迎你的方式不一樣——他們不太在意你在不在這裡，只是過自己的生活。很奇妙，你反而更快覺得自己是他們一份子。
You have been in Hong Kong for a week. What is your honest impression of Hong Kong?
When I first arrived, I was struck by how tall and dense the buildings were, and how dirty they looked. But then the sun went down, the street lights and neon signs came on, and something in the air changed. The whole city came alive and the atmosphere became incredibly romantic. I fell in love with it from that moment.
The nature also blew me away. I went camping in Sai Kung a few days ago by myself. There was the sea, the beaches, and I sat there eating lunch alone for an hour. It was amazing. The people here are great too. Friendly, but in a different way: they’re not particularly fussed about whether you’re there or not, they just live their lives. Strangely, that makes you feel like you belong much faster.
選一句你寫過最喜歡的歌詞。
我想引用一首兩個月前出的歌《La vie avec toi》：「與你共度的時光勝過當下；有時像一場美夢，有時卻像一團糟。」（La vie avec toi c'était mieux que ça. Un peu le rêve parfois, un peu la merde je crois.）這句話概括了每段感情大概都會走過的路。它算不上特別優美的歌詞，但非常真實，對我來說很有畫面感——我能看見那個人，也能看見當時的自己。
If you had to pick one favourite lyric line you've written, what would it be?
I’d quote a song I put out a couple of months ago, La vie avec toi: “La vie avec toi c’était mieux que ça. Un peu le rêve parfois, un peu la merde je crois.” (“Life with you was better than this—it was amazing sometimes, and really shitty some other times.”) That line captures something about every relationship most of us go through. It’s not a particularly beautiful lyric, but it’s very real, and for me it’s very vivid. I can see that person, and I can see who I was then.
你會用哪三個法文字形容香港？
Inspirant（啟發）、Accueillant（好客）、Romantique（浪漫）。
Three words in French to describe Hong Kong?
Inspirant (inspiring), Accueillant (welcoming), Romantique (romantic).
你最喜歡的香港食物是什麼？
絕對是早餐的煉奶多士。
Favourite Hong Kong food so far?
Definitely the breakfast. The condensed milk toast.
在香港拍過最喜歡的照片？
應該是這張我在西貢東郊野公園露營時拍的照片。那裡非常寧靜，剛才我們還在說香港很繁忙，但那裡一個人都沒有，我獨自在那裡吃了一個小時的午餐。
Favourite photo taken in Hong Kong?
Probably this. I was camping in Sai Kung Park, and it was such a nice moment. Very quiet. We talked about Hong Kong being busy, but there was no one here. I was just having my lunch by myself for an hour. Amazing.
你最近無限循環播放的是哪首歌？
你認識 Manu Chao 嗎？我聽了很多他的《A Cosa》跟《Je ne t'aime plus》。
What’s been on repeat lately?
Do you know Manu Chao? I’ve been listening to a lot of his “A Cosa” and “Je ne t’aime plus.”
最尊敬的音樂人是誰？
Coldplay 的 Chris Martin。他一直是我的啟蒙者。他非常旋律主導，這跟我很像，所以我總被他吸引。
Who’s the musician you respect most?
Chris Martin from Coldplay. He’s always been a huge inspiration to me. He’s very melody-driven, which is how I work too, so I’ve always been drawn to him.
有沒有亞洲巡演的計劃？
有有有有。日期我現在還沒辦法說，因為還沒定好。但是能在亞洲演出、有人來看，那會是夢想成真。所以我得先好好做功課——把歌分享出去，讓大家認識它們，然後也許有一天就能成真。我很期待。
Any plans for an Asian tour?
Yes, yes, yes, yes. I can’t give you any dates right now because nothing’s set yet. But yes, absolutely. Being able to play in Asia and have people come out, that would be a dream come true. So I need to do my homework first: get my songs out there, make sure people know them, and then maybe someday we’ll see. I’d love that.