fourth world
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Once again I’m back in front of the tabula rasa. And once again I’m challenged with where to begin. The choice is now obvious, of course, it’s in the ideas of a “new world music” by Chinese composer Cong Su. And it is his soundtrack to the movie 美夢成真 (aka Dreams Come True) that will…
-
Nothing lasts forever? If there’s any hope in our current situation, is that all things must end (somehow, some way). Just last year I created a mix touching on music that paid a huge respect to its spiritual leanings. “The Coat Of Many Colors” tried to link our connection with the universal hymn one can…
-
It’s not normal for me to phone it in but these aren’t normal times. Yours truly, in case anyone’s wondering, has been under Corona virus quarantine for the past week. In between taking naps, experiencing brain fog, and (in this case) sharing TMI, I’ve taken to going back and listening to my musical “comfort food”…
-
I’ve got a confession to make: I rarely dream. I know that’s an odd thing to state but it’s true. When I sleep I find that it’s rare that I can remember my dreams or even if I dreamt at all. Strangely enough, my latest mix for Digging Deep at LYL Radio seems to be…
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