Summer 2021 playlist w/ comments
by Laurent Fairon
It turns out I've been immersing myself in little known Far Eastern musics as of late, so I thought I'd come up with this list of electro, ambient, noise, experimental, ethnic, traditional and folk music albums from China, South Korea and Japan ca 1975–2021. I plan to revisit these recent personal discoveries regularly during Summer, some as lovely background music, and some as highly idiosyncratic, exotic jewels. I'm indebted to YouTube channel Crate (possibly from China) who posted half of these albums, allowing the plublic at large a glimpse at musics with often no streaming option and no distribution outside their country of origin.
Howie Lee – Birdy Island (2021)
Deng Boyu 邓博宇 – Tractor Academy 拖拉机学院 (2021)
雲土境樂隊 - 雲土境 Pasteland Beyond The Clouds – self titled (2019)
VA – Secret Sound: Mouth-harp in Southwest China 秘密之音:中國西南民族口簧琴 (2018)
Umeko Ando 安東ウメ子 – Ihunke イフンケ (2018)
Guzz – An Elephant in the Jungle 林中之象 (2016)
Ahkok Wong 黃津珏 – Wuji 物極 (2014)
Kim Doo Soo 김두수 – Free Spirit 자유혼 (2002)
Zhou Zhi-yong 周志勇 – The Great Yellow River 大黄河 (2000)
Quasimode – Jeux De Vertige 真昼 (1986)
Dou Wun 杜煥 – Rare Recordings of Melodies from a Bygone Age 絕世遺音:板眼、龍舟、粵謳 (1975)
Dou Wun 杜煥 – Jade Palm-Leaf Fan 玉葵寶扇 (1975)
Howie Lee – Birdy Island (2021)
https://howielee.bandcamp.com/album/birdy-island
The last album by Bejing electronic music producer Howie Lee– real name Li Huadi–, co-founder of well noted experimental music label Do Hits who published Guzz's 2016 album An Elephant in the Jungle, featured elsewhere in this list. Birdy Island is a collection of colorful electronic vignettes evoking an idyllic island with traditional Chinese music instruments, sampled choirs and contemporary experimental synth sounds. With its top notch production value, the music has an ambitious, grand scale dimension, if a bit emotionless and standard sounding to these ears.
Deng Boyu (邓博宇) – Tractor Academy 拖拉机学院 (2021)
https://dustyballz.bandcamp.com/album/tractor-academy
Fine and quite varied noise music album by Deng Boyu, a musician from Northern China, better known as a drummer apparently. Tractor Academy features electronic assaults, distorted percussion, post industrial music and occasional manipulated musique concrète, like in the title track. The album is saved from monotony by a certain variety in the music. To be honest, I think I falled for the cover artwork, though.
雲土境樂隊 - 雲土境 Pasteland Beyond The Clouds – self titled (2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CRTn0_zTbs
90 minutes of lush atmospheres, smooth sounds and relaxing music, Pasteland Beyond The Clouds is the project of Chinese musicians Huan Qing and Liao Kai, from Dali, Yunan. In fact the album is split between the two—the first half consist of 5 tracks by Liao Kai solo, followed by 5 tracks by Huan Qing solo after the 43:00 mark. Liao Kai produces lush, ambient electronic music with reverbed digital piano, while Huan Qing has a less polished style with ambient techno and ambient dub echoes and more percussion than his colleague. Also interested in Chinese ethinc music, Huan Qing produced the 'Secret Sound: Mouth-harp in Southwest China' compilation in 2018, featured elsewhere in this list.
VA – Secret Sound: Mouth-harp in Southwest China 秘密之音:中國西南民族口簧琴 (2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAcdbE1ybGY
Incredible compilation of endengered traditional Chinese folk musics produced by Huan Qing, also known as ambient music producer under the Pasteland Beyond The Clouds alias, see elsewhere in this list. The Secret Sound compilation is a survey of a variety of mouth-harps from the Yi, Nakhi, Pumi, Lahu, Wa and Qiang folk music traditions of Southwest China. Amazing musics based on the instrument's weird sounds, sometimes with spoken word in local dialects, male and female singing or group choir, occasionally with string accompaniment, handbells or percussion. The range of the instrument is striking, from shrieking metallic sounds to low register mouth-harp playing bass sounds(!) ; from virtuoso solo performances to long-held droning sounds. The album starts with the more traditional material and progressively explores more unusual territories, even including drum machine in the last track, a kind of remix, I assume. Truly unique album.
Umeko Ando 安東ウメ子 – Ihunke イフンケ (2018)
https://umekoando.bandcamp.com/album/ihunke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDwvp66ChaM&t=901s
Recorded in 2000, this is an extraordinary collection of songs from the endengered Ainu folk music tradition of the Hokkaido island, in Northern Japan. The singer is Umeko Ando (1932–2004), one of the last Ainu folk singers to know the local dialect, poetry and songs from a now disappearing, ancestral culture. She also occasionally plays a mouth-harp called a mukkuri and is accompanied by Ainu musician Oki Kano on the tonkori—the Ainu traditional 5-string harp. Oki also produced the album in a contemporary way, bringing new life to the traditonal repertoire with subtle use of background synthesizer and discreet sound effects like multi-tracking, handclaps, percussion or field recordings. These enchanting songs vary from touching lullabies to shamanic, repetitive chanting, to joyous animist and hunting hymns. Most of it is semi-improvised on a simple, pre-determined basis. Lovely album. Umeko Ando's 2003 Upopo Sanke album is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYqp2llzBis
Guzz – An Elephant in the Jungle 林中之象 (2016)
https://dohits.bandcamp.com/album/an-elephant-in-the-jungle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH713aPxDZI
Electronic music producer from Hainan, Southern China. The album is a collection of exotic miniatures with South Asian traditional music samples (Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, China). Charming, well written and executed music playing like an Asian travelogue. Fourth World music in the middle ground between ambient and electro. Nice album.
Ahkok Wong 黃津珏 – Wuji 物極 (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHnJjhMc0JI
Hong Kong musician, lecturer and social activist Wong Chun-kwok working under the Ahkok Wong alias. Wong studied music in the U.K. and pursued his scholarship in Hong Kong. 4 tracks of slow guitar drones and sparse tabletop guitar a la Bruce Russel or The Dead C.
Kim Doo Soo 김두수 – Free Spirit 자유혼 (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OqImq3tXI0
Said to be the best album by legendary South Korean psych-folk singer Kim Doo Soo, Free Spirit, published by Korean label Riverman Music in 2002, is a collection of 14 desolate or nostalgic songs with interesting arrangements for a variety of guest musicians on acoustic or electric guitars, accordion, cello or percussion, among others. Besides acoustic guitar, Kim himself occasionally plays synthesizer and harmonica. The presence of accordion, cello and harmonica only reinforces the sad, nostalgic atmosphere of these lovely, intense songs. A splendid album if one can adjust to the depressing mood. Exceptionally uplifting song #5 보헤미안 Bohemian, at 17:34, is a must hear if you only have the patience for a small sample.
Zhou Zhi-yong 周志勇 – The Great Yellow River 大黄河 (2000)
https://www.fondsound.com/zhou-zhi-yong-%e5%91%a8%e5%bf%97%e5%8b%87-the-great-yellow-river-%e5%a4%a7%e9%bb%84%e6%b2%b3-2000/#more-9702
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-QpvpPPm-o
A grand scale evocation of the Yellow River, or Huang He, by Chinese composer ZHOU Zhi-yong successively conducting three different vocal ensembles—the classically-trained Beijing Chamber Choral Group, the traditional, folk-oriented Charm Choral Group and the ethnic heritage Indigenous Choral Group. Most tracks feature male and female group singing with only occasional solo vocals, in line with the project of portraying a national, collective vision of the river. The music is composed and played on MIDI synthesizer instruments and MIDI percussion, with occasional use of live erhu players—the traditional 2-stringed violin—, as well as other Chinese harp, flute and string instruments. A two-pronged fusion is at work here: Chinese folk music with synthesizer sounds, on the one hand, and Chinese classical music with Western symphony and choral traditions, on the other hand. The result is a collection of 9 very pleasant melodies with well executed arrangements. Cheesy as hell, maybe, but one I keep returning to.
Quasimode – Jeux De Vertige 真昼 (1986)
http://onlyforphones.blogspot.com/2012/04/quasimode-jeux-de-vertige-lp-japan.html?m=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e3tmQU8Wyo
Atonal piano playing, out of tune violin bowing and susurating female vocals in all kinds of combinations and with various sound effects. As weird as it comes from any Japanese post-new wave production ca mid-1980s.
Dou Wun 杜煥 – Rare Recordings of Melodies from a Bygone Age 絕世遺音:板眼、龍舟、粵謳 (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTe3MpBVCUc
Legendary Cantonese blind singer 杜焕 Dou Wun (1910–1979) made a carreer in Hong Kong after the Japanese occupation ended in 1945. In Hong Kong tea rooms, opium dens and brothels, Dou Wun performed the old traditional Naamyam style repertoire from Canton (Guangzhou, in Southern China). Meaning 'Southern song', Naamyam is a unique vernacular singing style mixing singing and recitation in Cantonese dialect in a kind of Chinese 'sprechgesang' called 'shuoshang', or narrative song. In the 1950s, Dou Wun became famous improvising during monthly broadcasts on Hong Kong radio RTHK. But Naamyam's popularity declined in the following decades, with fewer and fewer appropriate venues to perform for Dou Wun. When he passed away, he was the last professional Naamyam singer.
In 1975, Hong Kong musicologist Bell Yung decided to record Dou Wun's old Naamyam repertoire in situ in Hong Kong's historical Fu Long Teahouse on Possession Street. These historical recordings were eventually issued as 7 CDs by the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011. The link above is one of these CDs, comprising three 20+mn songs, each in a variety of Namyaam styles: Banngaan, or 'vulgar comedy', on the 1st song ; 'Longzhou', or Dragonboat, sung by Cantonese street buskers, on the 2nd track ; and finally 'Yuet Au', a kind of ballad sung by whores and blind women, on the last track. Dou Wun accompanies himself on the Guzheng, percussion or erhu, a 2-stringed instrument. The singing of birds is heard in the background as Fu Long Teahouse's customers used to bring the wooden cages of their beloved songsters and suspend them in the tea room, as per the 19th century tradition. Birds are heard constantly in song #2 武松祭靈 Wu Song, starting at 20:53. The singer was known for chattering at length with audience members during performances, sending best wishes to all and their families. The songs on this album are totally unique, unexpected and unbelievable.
Dou Wun 杜煥 – Jade Palm-Leaf Fan 玉葵寶扇 (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSxXAhk93Nw
A 2-hour family saga accompanied on Chinese cymbals and sung in the Longzhou style, or Dragonboat, typical from old Cantonese street buskers.