Музыкальный порталMUSIC FOR MODERN MINDS

Label: Lemongrass
Catalog#: LGM 068-4
Country: -
Genre, Style: Downtempo, Lounge
Release Date: 26 Nov 2010
Format: MP3, 320 kbps
Size: 108 mb

MoShang's latest full-length release finds the Taiwan-based producer back in the sonic terrain he first explored on “Made In Taiwan” (2004), and delved deeper into on “Chill Dynasty” (2006), the free “Asian Variations” (2007) remix album, and the “Stone Bell” EP (2008). He has since perfected his unique marriage of laid-back beats and cutting edge electronica with traditional Chinese instruments and found-sounds gathered in his Oriental environment. “Further East” provides abundant evidence that the South African expatriate sound jeweler is now completely at home both in Asia and in his distinct sound, by turn hypnotic and dreamy, whimsical with a touch of melancholy, playful and uplifting, and always harmonious.

Still, discerning listeners may be be wondering what it is that makes this album unique, what sets this offering apart from what's come before – in short, what's new? In the case of “Further East”, the opposite question gets one far closer to a satisfactory answer.

What's old? For starters, there's the gem of a recording that forms the backbone of “Weeping Willow” (track 9) captured on an Edison cylinder in 1902. Though the recording medium shows its age, the singer's voice still rings true over the 108 years that separate us from her, filling us with an inexplicable longing undiminished by time. And that's barely scratching the surface in terms of age, for the true crown jewels of “Further East” are far older still.

Much of the lyrical content found on the album are public domain recordings of poetry from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD). Speaking to us as they have done to countless scholars over the course of more than a millennium are the voices of the masters Li Bai, Du Fu, Li Qi and Chang Jian. First, discard any notion you may have of medieval poetry in the European tradition. These are not heroic epic poems or tragic legends declaimed pompously to a crowd. The truth is noting short of revelation, for here we have one soul speaking to another, describing the minutiae of everyday life, making small observations that are dropped like stones in the lake of time with the ripples reaching us on the far shore. And so they have become immortal in their clarity and beauty.

Tracklist:

01. Ego & I
02. Pagoda
03. Recurring Dream
04. Inbetween
05. A Chance Meeting
06. Inscribed In Jade
07. Stone Bell
08. To A Friend Bound West
09. Weeping Willow
10. Pure Amber
11. At The Sky's End
12. A Farewell In The Evening Rain