MUSIC

Released by VDE/Gallo, a long-established label based near Lausanne, Switzerland, this two-disc album features performances by Tsar Teh-yun, one of the most prominent guqin players of 20th-century China. Her playing emphasizes spiritual depth and lingering resonance over technical display, presenting masterpieces of classical Chinese music such as “Yang Chun,” “Xiao Xiang Shui Yun,” and “Ping Sha Luo Yan” with the soft timbre of silk strings and a serene sense of space.

Having led the legendary avant-garde ensemble Ché-SHIZU and performed under Takehisa Kosugi with East Bionic Symphonia, Chie Mukai has become a defining figure of Japanese improvisational music. Originally released on cassette in 1989 via Steeple & Globe and reissued the following year on CD by P.S.F. Records, her solo masterpiece Kokyo Solo Improvisation now sees a long-awaited cassette reissue from Beijing’s UFO Creations. The profound resonance of her kokyū (erhu), exhausted and spectral vocalizations, and the use of metal fragments and cymbals create a performance that fuses Chinese musical traditions, rustic incantations, Eastern spirituality, and surrealist visions into a twisted sonic swell. A singular form of otherworldly music where the ferocity of improvisation collides with moments of prayer-like stillness. Hand-numbered edition of 100 copies.

A reissue series of OCORA, a treasure trove of folk music by Radio France. It is a piece that fully enjoys the charm of the Chinese Pipa. Xiao, who can be called the Chinese bamboo flute, also participates in one song.