This collection merges Chinese musical traditions with modern aspects of composition, technology, and storytelling to produce a listening experience that is both timeless and present for you. Spanning several cultures, centuries of sonic evolution, and the wilderness of your own inner landscapes, Yijia’s beautiful new album, TU, is not to be missed.
You can listen to Yijia’s interpretations of traditional folk songs performed by her fusion band project, The Sages, which she founded with Irish musician Pedar Connolly-Davey while they were students at SOAS, University of London. These include ‘Sunrise On The Horizon’ from Mongolia, ‘Red Mountain Flowers’ from China, and ‘Konguroi’ from the Turkic ethnic group Tuvan. Alongside these fresh reimaginings are Yijia’s original compositions ‘Willow Flowers’ (winner of the Oxford University Mapleton-Bree Prize) and ‘The Yi Sun.’
At the heart of it all is the guzheng, an ancient Chinese zither that grounds your listening. One of the most moving moments in the album is the inclusion of ‘Lullaby,’ a song passed down through the generations from Yijia’s great-grandmother. Even as Alzheimer’s claimed her grandmother’s memory, this song remained a shared language between them. “Whenever I sing it, I still feel connected to her,” Yijia says. “It’s like we’re still singing together… somewhere in a space that exists only through music.”
Album tracklist:
- Lullaby
- Willow Flowers 杨花词
- Yi The Sun 彝
- Sunrise On The Horizon 草原上升起不落的太阳
- Konguroi
- Red Mountain Flowers 映山红