No reviews today as I am in Harbin, China for a rest.
China
Embracing the Vibrant Cultural Melodies of China — Harbin Summer Music Concert!
Li Xing – Lost Track
Li Xing is a Shanghai-based psychedelic noise-rock guitarist who produces a sludgy, powerful album which is reminiscent of Keiji Haino’s mid-period guitar noise era.
Daulet Halek (达吾列提·哈勒克) – Daulet Halek: Dombra Solo (达吾列提·哈勒克演奏的冬不拉曲)
This release honors the memory of Chinese Kazakh composer Daulet Halek who passed away in 2008. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Producer’s Note: This album has its genesis in a precious reel-to-reel tape recording which we discovered in a radio station. It is unfortunate that the tape itself does not Continue Reading
Mimik Banka 表情銀行 – 狗日子 (Dog Days)
One of the benefits of being in Beijing at a high-grade academy is that I run into some rather brilliant young minds who are turning me on to great local music, case in point being Mimik Banka, who listeners would compare their music favorably to acts like dream pop and Continue Reading
Hani from Yunnan China – Hani Polyphonic Singing in Yunnan China
From our friends at Sublime Frequencies: “Mystic choral beauty drifting far into the outer cosmos, this other worldly traditional music ensemble creates a contemporary-sounding avant-garde vocal fusion combined with strange instrumental accompaniment. The HANI are linguistically derived from the YI branch of the Tibeto-Burmese and number a million and a Continue Reading
Zhaoze (沼澤) – No Answer Blowin’ in the Wind (没有答案风中飘)
If you can imagine 1969-era King Crimson played on Chinese traditional instruments and a more relaxed feel, you would have this new album by the Guangzho-based band Zhaoze. The music is definitely progressive, touching upon art-rock, but so solidly based in traditional Chinese music that one can call this a Continue Reading
Kink Gong – Abdurehim Heyit Xinjiang China
Kink Gong have done stellar work documenting ethnic music from around China. This release covers the work of dotar player Abdurehim Heyit, an artist mired in controversy whose death was falsely reported several years ago.
tamiX – X NEW YEAR
Out of sheer good luck, I came across a Chinese artist recently called tamiX. She has a large body of work, not only with music but in multimedia, and now, print. She has a Patreon site, so if this work suits you, consider supporting her work. From her bio on Continue Reading
若潭 ruò tán – 石 Stone
ruò tán are China’s more organic answer to old post-Industrial/cassette-culture bands like Germany’s Cranioclast. The music is eerie, yet so utterly engaging. Probably the best reference to this music is for those of you who remember not only the aforementioned band but the early works of projects like O Yuki Continue Reading