Zhaoze – In Snow Storm, Yet Not Back Home | 风雪未归人

Good news from Guangdong, China!  From Zaoze’s Bandcamp site: “Finally, it’s here—a new release from Zhaoze. A small EP featuring just two tracks. One is a brief piece under two minutes, a reimagined version of a previous work; the other, a substantial mid-length track clocking in at six and a Continue Reading

Dou Wei; Chao Jian (竇唯;朝簡) – 安神符

Instrumentalists Dou Wei and Chao Jian are names I came across last year thanks to my former student Ben, who did me the honor of pointing me to their new album. The record features two long instrumental pieces that sound like ethno-ambient music and like what you would have found Continue Reading

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

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

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