林宇中 淋雨中 Rynn in the Rain

I am writing this piece on Rynn Lim Yee Chung, after I tagged Weiquan (he was the one who introduced me to Zettai Kareshi), and he tagged me back.

What happened was that he wrote about the pun in Rynn’s March 2007 album Rynn’s in the Rain (Chinese album title淋雨中).

Rynn started out as a music producer with OB, and then later signed a recording contract to become a singer. His first album 1st was released December 2005 in Taiwan, and hit Singapore stores in January 2006. I had seen his name in A-do's 2002 debut album Tian Hei as composer of 你很好Ni Hen Hao (that was the first song he managed to sell) and thought when I heard he was going to release an album, "Oh, I am going to buy it then."

I remember when Rynn came to Singapore in 2006 to promote his first album and was being interviewed on Y.E.S. 93.3. He introduced himself as Lin Yu Zhong (He started using the English name Rynn in between his first and second albums, I remember he posted on OBMspace, the OB official website from July 2006 to July 2007, asking for suggestions from fans.) and the DJ commented, “That sounds like 淋雨中(lin yu zhong, Chinese for “being drenched in the rain”). And it’s raining now!” Rynn said, “Yes, that’s what everyone says.”

From young, every time it rained his friends would mention his Chinese name.
http://www.obmspace.com/board/archiver/?tid-10005.html

This was one of the times it didn’t rain on Rynn.
sohu.com report on 14 April 2007 Taiwan autograph session: http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070415/n249443917.shtml

Last October, I saw one of Rynn’s Taiwanese fans say mention him on either the OB forum or in our chat room and then add: Yes, I am calling him淋雨中because he brought that typhoon back with him when he returned to Taiwan (for work). So now it’s extended to his fans and even his friends’ fans (or is it just me? *looks around* :P).

Even as recently as 17 July 2008, when we were running around playing Treasure Hunt, it started raining halfway… and Rynn was due in Singapore to promote his new album, Homely Life (Chinese album title 干物世界Gan Wu Shi Jie) the next day.

Well... I think I have said quite enough about this pun already, so I will go on to his music next.

My personal favourites from 1st were 不打烊的店(Bu Da Yang De Dian/Store Forever) and 落脚(Lao Jiao/Station).

This is what I wrote in my private blog for my favourite songs in Rynn's in the Rain:

猫头鹰The Owl: The music arrangement has a strong Chinese influence which is pleasing on the ear. Owls are Rynn’s favourite animal, and that’s how he got the idea of writing this song.

复活Reborn: A duet between Rynn and Kym Jin Sha, also from Ocean Butterflies. This is the theme song of the popular Korean computer game Granado Espada, and I do get an “across the ages “ feeling when listening to this song.

对调Switch: Theme song of the movie Just Follow Law. I like the lively music accompaniment.

空秋千Abandoned: I became familiar with this theme song while following the drama The Beginning, in which Rynn had a lead role. It reminds me of my childhood, and the lyrics are closely related to the storyline. (Another song in Rynn’s in the Rain, Hide and Seek, has a similar effect on me.

Melodi (one of the bonus songs in the Singapore edition): A duet between Rynn and veteran Malay singer Sheila Majid, with some Malay interspersed in the lyrics. I knew why Shelia Majid is respected in the Malay music scene when I heard her voice, it’s really great! Combined with Rynn’s talent, it’s another good song!

As for Homely Life, the title track is rather catchy. 远嫁Yuan Jia with Chinese instruments in its music arrangement is pretty nice too.

I have come to the end of my piece, but I hope this is not the end of Rynn's musical story. I am looking forward to hearing more great songs from him in the future!