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It doesn’t escape me that we restart our journey through the world of Chinese “New World” music right where the cradle of its civilization began, along the banks of the Huang He River (known elsewhere as the Yellow River). Spanning over 5,000 kilometers, nine provinces, from Qinghai to Inner Mongolia — all the way to…
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Here’s the space where I place profound thoughts on whatever latest mix I’ve done for you. Normally, that’s the case. However, today (and with this latest mix) I felt I had to create something that felt weightless in a distinct way from a prior mix. On my latest Digging Deep mix for LYL Radio, I…
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Trigger warning: “Good morning. It’s 5 o’clock, from the J-WAVE Singin’ Clock…” J-WAVE 時報コレクション My apologies to all of you who’ve grown up in Tokyo, waking up to their radio alarm blasting out J-WAVE 81.3 FM’s ultra-cozy, “singing” time call signal. However, if it wasn’t for Tokyo’s “classic hits” radio station we wouldn’t have the…
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Don’t you just love albums that immediately hook you in? From the get-go 秋月 (Music From Autumn Moon) by Tats Lau Yee-Tat is music with a palpable “it” feeling you can never quite shake. Ostensibly a soundtrack album for Clara Law’s misunderstood film, Qiu Yue, this release functions more than that, perfectly capturing the worldly…
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It is with great fanfare that I readily admit that much which I don’t know: I admit, that much like you, I’m not entirely sure of all the history or story behind the music I’m sharing today. The title of this mix (my latest for LYL Radio): “Thoughts Of Zen (Ambient, New Age, & Environmental…
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Let’s have a conversation about elegance. What is elegant? The textbook definition of this term seems to strike at two different ideas. One is that something that is elegant is something that is marked by dignity, grace, and simple beauty. The other definition posits that we are elegant (or something is) due to our high…
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This post wouldn’t be possible without the good ear/find of Christopher Morris and the special vision of Yuan Jung-Ping. It seems appropriate this spring (if you’re on my latitude of the world) to keep digging through the annals of forgotten Asian culture looking for more signpoints guiding us towards a new, Chinese-influence or Sinosphere world…
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Trying to find a nexus point for anything can seem like a fool’s errand at times. Usually, the lines of history get blurry and the waters of memory get murkier. However, in the case of Hidetaro Honjoh’s 散華 (Sange), there are two planes that meet. Here his roots in traditional folk music clearly spring something…
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First and foremost, let me start with an apology. It might be that my review of Joseph Chan Wing Leung’s work and his career might span longer (or shorter) than the actual album, Milk Of Love (母愛), you’ll hear today. Though, in around 20 minutes you’ll get a taste on this album of the esoteric…
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Spell-binding. I hate to use that term but what else can you use to describe Nachiko Tateoka’s 1980 debut, 1st – 薬屋の娘 (or The Daughter of a Pharmacist)? An engrossing, hypnotic, melange of vanguard Japanese pop music treating you to ideas gleaned from spiritual jazz, homegrown folk, psychedelia, and next-gen avant prog, seemed the unlikeliest…
ambient art pop art rock balearic brazilian electro-acoustic england environmental music experimental folk-rock fourth world Funk fusion japan jazz minimalist neo-folk neoclassical new age walearic