Though I will be leaving China in a week from yesterday, I will not stop exploring what the country has to offer musically. From traditional and pop music to jazz, classical and avant-garde, there’s something for every taste here, and it’s generally done quite well. From the Ftarri Bandcamp site:
“Three Chinese musicians performed at Ftarri, Tokyo, on January 2, 2024. Li Song is a computer programmer and musician who lives in London. Zhao Cong and Zhu Wenbo are experimental/improvisational musicians based in Beijing. This album is made up of two performances (each over 30 minutes): “The Invisible Tangerine,” a duo by Zhao Cong and Li Song, and “Three Lines,” a trio by Li Song, Zhao Cong and Zhu Wenbo.
The compelling feature of “The Invisible Tangerine” is the organic transformation of sound with the passage of time. Zhao Cong and Li Song’s rustling, crackling, swarming noises/sounds progress with occasional moments of fierce intensity. “Three Lines” is an ambitious work incorporating the “transducer elastic rope feedback system” invented by Zhu Wenbo in the summer of 2023. After carrying out several performances with this feedback system in China in 2023 (as a duo with Zhao Cong, and as a trio with Zhao Cong and Li Song), Zhu Wenbo presented a repeat performance of the work at Ftarri. English liner notes about “Three Lines,” written by Zhu Wenbo, are included in this album.”
