Departing from Sunset Square and heading all the way north for about half an hour, one could find a sacred land for musicians on the west side of Universal Studios: Sound City.
Sound City is the name of a recording studio. This studio, located on Cabrito Road, symbolizes Los Angeles' most glorious musical dreams since the 1970s. Established in 1969, Sound City was born amidst the smoke and flames of the Vietnam War. Its humble origins were quite at odds with the hippie movement at the time, which admired the beauty of flowers and freedom. Even little-known singers were reluctant to have their voices recorded in that "dirty and terrifying" place.
But with the sudden success of Spirit's 1970 album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus and Neil Young's After the Gold Rush, Sound City began to attract increasing attention. In this studio, countless legendary names could be found Metallica, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Santana, Nirvana albums that cemented their supreme status were all born here.
This made Sound City instantly become the most renowned recording studio in Los Angeles, with countless people flocking to this place to pay homage.
Entering the 1990s, music formats rapidly evolved from vinyl to cassette tapes to CDs—and naturally, the status of recording studios also underwent dramatic changes. For a studio to remain excellent, its equipment needed to be top-notch. The development of technology forced recording studios to continuously upgrade in order to keep up with the times and retain the favor of singers.
In this regard, Sound City had always maintained a good rate of synchronization. Nirvana's breakout album Nevermind in 1991 was recorded here. So, when Hugo was informed that he would come to Sound City to record, the surge of excitement in his heart almost made him lose control. To come so close to a sacred land for countless rock fans and even record in this very studio—Hugo felt like he was about to suffocate from happiness.
The filming of A Few Good Men had continued into late May. Over two months of shooting had greatly benefited Hugo. Compared to other gains, his acting breakthrough was undoubtedly the most satisfying. But getting the opportunity to engage with music also made Hugo ecstatic. It was hard to say which piece of news made him happier. All he could say was that life after transmigration was simply too wonderful!
During the shoot, Hugo used his spare time to truly settle down and work on the arrangement for Next Time You See Me. He later used a recorder to do a simple recording and handed it to Robert. Robert gave it to film composer Marc Shaiman to listen to. After discussion, they finally decided to use Hugo's reinterpreted version as the movie's theme song, to be played during the ending credits.
Though the ending credits usually played when most of the audience had already left, and few people would stay until the end meaning not many would hear Hugo's performance Hugo was still overjoyed. This was more than just gaining a musical opportunity; it also indicated that his musical talent had been recognized to some extent.
Joseph looked at Hugo, who was sitting in the passenger seat and couldn't contain his excitement. He felt both amused and helpless. Even when Hugo had gotten the good news from auditions for Scent of a Woman or A Few Good Men, he hadn't been this emotional. That made Joseph feel rather amazed. "I never knew you were so passionate about recording music and becoming a singer."
Hearing this, Hugo realized he was indeed a bit too excited. A decade of chasing musical dreams had been deeply etched into his bones. Within Death Or Glory, they even used to joke, "Will we end up dying unknown on some nameless stage?" So yes, he was genuinely excited today, in a state he couldn't control.
But Hugo had become increasingly familiar with Joseph and wasn't flustered. "It's precisely because I've never tried it before that everything feels so fresh, right?" Hugo said calmly. "If I were offered a brand-new breakthrough role, I'd be just as happy."
Joseph couldn't help but nod slightly, showing he agreed with Hugo's view. "That's true. But aren't you nervous? A recording studio it's an entirely different world."
Hugo took a deep breath. "Nervous? Of course, I'm nervous." Then he let the breath out slowly.
Before transmigrating, Death Or Glory had entered recording studios many times some professional, some makeshift home studios but most of the time, they had no professional sound engineers to help. They had to start from scratch and figure things out on their own. But today, Hugo was facing professional sound engineers and one of the top recording studios in the industry. How could he not be nervous? The only thing that slightly comforted Hugo was that Marc had also just started his career a year ago and was only thirty-three years old. Compared to veteran sound engineers, he should be easier to communicate with.
Upon arriving at the parking lot behind the recording studio, each parking spot already had a name tag, clearly arranged to regulate parking in the most efficient way. Joseph found the spot marked "International Creative Management Gibbs," parked the car, and walked with Hugo into the exquisite building ahead.
Upon entering the front door, they saw a reception desk made of three old oil barrels put together dilapidated but full of personality, a striking sight. Joseph stepped up and gave Marc Shaiman's name, then confirmed Hugo Lancaster's identity. A staff member then led the two of them toward the designated recording room.
Sound City was very large, with numerous recording studios of various sizes. The largest could accommodate a full symphony orchestra, while the smallest were naturally meant for solo singers. But at this point, the recording studio wasn't advanced enough yet. All the walls were made of wooden soundproofing materials. Hugo had been to a studio in 2011 where every room had walls of different materials metal, fabric, wood and could flip like book pages to adapt the acoustics to recording needs. But since this was the early 1990s, it wasn't surprising that things weren't so complex yet.
Outside the recording rooms was a communal lounge area equipped with coffee machines, microwaves, refrigerators, and other facilities. This was a space specially designed for people to rest and eat. Many people, once entering work mode, would live in the studio for a week or even longer it wasn't uncommon. So the presence of a lounge area was particularly important.
However, professional recording studios required appointments in advance. Especially for a popular place like Sound City, once an appointment was scheduled, one had to arrive on time. If you were late, the studio wouldn't extend your time, because the next appointment would come right after.
Walking all the way in, regardless of whether they knew him or not, every staff member greeted Hugo warmly. It wasn't because Hugo was a somewhat well-known actor, but because he was about to begin work here who knows, perhaps a classic would be born in one of these studio rooms at just such a moment?
After arriving at their destination, Hugo and Joseph rang the doorbell at the entrance. The soundproof door of the recording studio quickly opened, and a sincere, honest smile appeared in front of them. "Hey, you're here, come on in." This was Mark Shaiman.
Hugo didn't know much about film scorers, and Mark wasn't one of those household names like Hans Zimmer, John Williams, or James Horner, so Hugo knew very little about him. However, the soon-to-be-released "Sister Act" was Mark's work, and that was a movie Hugo was very familiar with.
"Sorry, I still need a bit more time to wrap up my work. You two can have a seat here and wait a bit. Hugo, you can get comfortable with the guitar. I'll be done soon." Mark's face always wore a smile, warm and polite. Before either side could even introduce themselves, he'd already spoken a whole bunch, and even took the initiative to introduce the nearby musical instruments piled up on the side to Hugo, showing genuine enthusiasm without the slightest air of superiority one might expect from a film scorer.
"You go ahead! We'll talk in a bit!" Hugo responded crisply, signaling for Mark to continue his work. Then Hugo stood in place and began surveying the room's décor and equipment.
The simple and unpretentious decoration was tasteful and generous, quite similar to the recording studio style from the black-and-white film era that Hugo remembered. The interior wasn't luxuries actually, it even felt somewhat dilapidated. One could easily imagine how musicians and singers initially resisted coming here when Sound City was first established. But it was precisely this simplicity that highlighted the unbelievable fact that so many classic pieces of music were birthed here. Compared to exquisite and luxurious decoration, music was the true soul of this studio.
This made Hugo's blood start to boil with excitement.
"Hey, sorry, I got so busy I lost track of time." Mark's voice interrupted Hugo's thoughts. He had finally finished his work, stood up again, and proactively reached out to shake hands with Joseph and Hugo. "I'm Mark Shaiman. I'm really glad we get to work together."
After Joseph and Hugo introduced themselves, Mark gave Hugo a brilliant smile. "Your voice tells more of a story than your appearance does. That's a rare quality in the eyes of a recording engineer. You might make a great singer."
Hearing this, Hugo couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't because his ten years in underground rock had given his voice a story to tell, but because Mark's comment reminded him of the music talent show "American Idol" that would go on to sweep the world. He couldn't help but feel like Mark was one of the judges, praising him during auditions.
Hugo's laughter made Mark a bit awkward. "Sorry, that was my professional habit talking. I didn't mean your appearance was bad…" Mark's earlier words were indeed ambiguous and could be taken to mean that Hugo was just a pretty face, while his voice sounded far more impressive. So he hurried to explain.
"No, no," Hugo waved his hands repeatedly, smiling brightly. "I understand what you meant. If my expression didn't make that clear, let me explain: I was just secretly pleased. I was surprised by your compliment because you're the first person who didn't praise my appearance." Hugo's half-serious explanation left Mark stunned, unsure whether Hugo was joking or not.
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