Thanks to my student Ben back in Beijing for turning me on to Dou Wei, whose work is inspired by ancient Chinese text as well as New Wave and post-punk music.
China
Tassi 水树 / Kesys – Sky Asset 天道酬勤
From Tassi’s Bandcamp site: “This album was born from a rare collaboration with Jeff Grimal (ex-The Great Old Ones, Prisme, etc.). For me, it is more than a meeting of artists—it is a dialogue between two dreamlike worlds, French and Chinese, a cosmic exchange where music carries mysticism, subtlety, and Continue Reading
underlyn – gwr. 240110
This release comes from the Xian Liam label in China and is described as a mixtape. It features a pleasantly drone-laden and hazy sound.
No Posts Today – Traveling to Tbilisi
The Chinese chapter of my life is now complete. I’m off to Tbilisi to set up shop there!
Li Song / Zhao Cong / Zhu Wenbo – Tangerine and the Invisible
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: Continue Reading
No Post Today – Wrapping Up Business in Beijing
No posts today, folks. I will be leaving China in about two weeks, so I have a large amount of paperwork to review. We’ll see you tomorrow!
努尔·泽赫拉·卡齐姆 Noor Zehra Kazim – 萨迦维纳琴之声 The Sound of Sagar Veena
From the venerable Shenzhen-based Old Heaven Books record label’s Bandcamp site: “About this album: The Sagavena is a stunning string instrument with a unique and beautiful design, reminiscent of the Vichitra Veena and Chitra Veena. This instrument has a wider range of sound than the traditional Indian Veena, and the Continue Reading
凌然LingSun -《黑龙江》
Even though my main focus is to discover something new every day, I still find that luck is on my side. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a Spanish poetry reading at the Beijing Chapter of the Instituto Cervantes. After finishing my workday at the school, I Continue Reading
穆拉特·謝力扎提 Murar Sherizat – Küy Guitar：三粒谷 Three Grains Valley
From the Modern Sky World Music Bandcamp site: “From 2008 to 2015, Murat served as the principal guitarist for the Philharmonic Orchestra in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Following this, he was invited to compose music in Xi’an, China. In October 2019, Murat recorded his classical guitar album titled “Küy Continue Reading
Barbora Xu – Olin Ennen
I regret missing this release from our friends at Nordic Notes! Barbora Xu is a Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist who explores local poetry, string instruments, and vocal techniques in her music. According to her official biography, “Her work is deeply inspired by nature, capturing the calmness, fragility, and softness found Continue Reading