"No thanks needed, damn it. It was nothing."
After receiving several more awards, Enfants Terribles didn't return to the artist seating area but vanished backstage instead.
— Wooooooaaahhh!!
That move meant only one thing: a performance by Enfants Terribles was imminent. The massive crowd gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center felt their hearts hammering against their ribs in anticipation.
Shortly after, the lights began to dim, ratcheting up the audience's excitement. While the stage was shrouded in darkness and Enfants Terribles set up their gear, Michael Jackson took the mic to buy some time.
"The next performance is by the group that just swept the awards earlier. Please welcome... Enfants Terribles!"
The darkness dissipated as the stage was unveiled.
The audience burned with curiosity about their opening track. Would it be an acoustic live set like last year? Or would they bring out a full orchestra to showcase the grandiosity of their sound?
Even Michael Jackson watched with narrowed eyes, wondering what kind of stage his juniors would deliver.
Sure enough, a djembe and a massive drum were visible on stage. Since Enfants Terribles had recently been drifting away from public-friendly tunes to test more experimental music, this much was within the realm of expectation.
However, there were notable differences: there were four members on stage this time, and they had brought out a keyboard instrument that looked distinct from a standard piano—one many had never seen before.
Is that... a Mellotron?
The instrument Enfants Terribles had brought out was something you couldn't possibly recognize unless you possessed an obsession and passion for music on the level of Michael Jackson.
The Mellotron—a keyboard instrument that mimics the sounds of woodwinds or strings. It produced an alien, idiosyncratic sound that had caused it to be buried by the mainstream industry, eventually leading to the bankruptcy of the company that manufactured it. Yet, Enfants Terribles had brought it back into the spotlight.
"Our third album will feel something like this."
The crowd went wild at Hide's bombshell announcement regarding their third album. Hide stood with a resolute expression beside Sakamoto Ryuichi, who was seated at the Mellotron.
— Too-roo-too-roo, too-too...
The song began as the Mellotron's flute-like tones, played by Sakamoto Ryuichi, echoed through the venue. To that, Yokishi added an air of mystery to the intro of 'Strawberry Fields Forever' by beating the djembe positioned next to his drum kit.
Though only the intro had played, the crowd could feel the band's sheer spirit—a declaration that their third album would be a legendary masterpiece—through a psychedelic rock sound that had never been showcased to the world quite like this before.
This style has a distinct, fresh flavor to it.
Paul McCartney breathed out a low exclamation of admiration at the sound of 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' which was a total departure from Enfants Terribles' previous sonic identity.
'Strawberry Fields Forever' was saturated with Enfants Terribles' profound understanding of sound. Paul McCartney had always thought that while the kids in Enfants Terribles certainly had incredible instincts, their technical grasp of sound was still lacking. Now, he felt that these rascals had matured to a point where they could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Michael Jackson.
A dreamlike yet beautiful melody, lyrics drenched in nostalgia, and a dramatic arrangement that heightened the song's ethereal atmosphere. Paul McCartney couldn't help but be struck by Enfants Terribles' daring attempt.
Passion.
Contrasting with the song's hazy mood, Paul McCartney felt a burning passion for music radiating from 'Strawberry Fields Forever.'
The fact that a Japanese artist, who didn't even belong to the Anglosphere, had written lyrics of this caliber was worth a standing ovation in itself. Riddled with ambiguity and British slang, the lyrics of 'Strawberry Fields Forever' left vast room for interpretation.
To some, it would feel like a yearning for one's hometown; to others, it would feel like a manifesto of Enfants Terribles' philosophy.
The leader often calls himself a slow-witted man... but as expected, he is truly a magnificent genius.
As the song moved toward its climax, Tanaka Shuji, the perfectionist bassist of the band, felt his chest tighten with emotion.
Hide often humbled himself as someone without natural talent, but in Shuji's eyes, he was the kind of genius that only graced the world once in a lifetime. Even if his theoretical knowledge was somewhat lacking, there was no one who surpassed Hide when it came to the raw mastery of music.
Allowing himself to be swept away by that train of thought, Shuji led the track with his bass, pouring his respect for Hide into every note. Enfants Terribles. Shuji felt a searing sense of pride in belonging to a band led by such a great man.
Watch closely, everyone. See exactly who I am.
Shuji wanted to show the public the quality of his performance and the weight of his existence as the bassist of Enfants Terribles. To be the right hand of the man who would become the greatest giant in the industry—for a musician, there could be no more honorable position than that.
Finishing his thought, Shuji added his own variation during the final instrumental bridge of the song. For a split second, Hide and Yokishi glanced at him, but they seamlessly adjusted to Shuji's improvisation.
Watching Hide and Yokishi adapt to a variation that others would have required countless rehearsals to follow, Shuji felt a surge of pride.
.
.
.
.
Once the performance ended, Hide approached Shuji.
"Shuji, tell us in advance if you're going to pull something like that."
"But Leader, it sounded good, didn't it?"
"Well, that's true."
Agreeing with Shuji, Hide gave him a pat on the back.
"Are we done with everything now?"
"Leader! We still have the General Field awards left!"
With the stage finished, only the final awards remained.
Enfants Terribles stood ready, waiting for the most prestigious categories of the Grammy Awards.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 137
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T