Liang YiYuan, Li Daiguo

Tip! *100 copies limited edition* Both prominent figures in China’s experimental, world, and new music communities whose respective works focus largely on bridging the divide between traditional aesthetics and the possibilities presented by electronic music, free improvisation, and the avant garde, their collaboration was born in 2010 via a shared preoccupation with manifesting the sounds of the dark forest spirits who creep around the periphery of Chinese folklore. 

Having released a smattering of material through independent Chinese labels, ‘Sonic Talismans’ is now their first LP that is widely available outside of their home country.

Recorded in Dali, Yunnan province throughout 2021, ‘Sonic Talismans’ explores the power of intention through a variety of musical instruments that are perhaps unique to casual Western listeners. YiYuan’s yangqin – a Chinese variant of the hammered dulcimer – provides the ongoing narrative voice, while Daiguo conjures a shadowy kaleidoscope of splintered melodic phrases, lithe rhythms, and weighty thrums thanks to an assortment of both Eastern and Western instrumentation, including guzheng, pipa, bawu, double bass, and piano.

The end result is a heady musical trip that is inherently narrative in form, yet that framework provides a mere jumping off point for deeply untethered performances from both players. Indeed, the hallmarks of western “free music” are on full display here, but refracted and reassessed through a cultural lens that demands its own aesthetic vocabulary and refreshed perspective.

Come for a walk in the woods with us, won’t you? Just be watchful of the shadows.