The Beyond the Wall festival that is currently running at the Barbican and LSO St. Luke's boasts an impressive array of Chinese talent; Lang Lang, Wu Man, Liu Sola, and Tan Dun have all been or will be involved.
The focus is clearly on classical and contemporary notated work. But the festival is nothing if not multi-faceted, and the decision to put on a night focusing on music from the burgeoning Beijing underground must be welcomed, and admired. China's musical culture has in the last two decades seen an unprecedented explosion of young musicians schooled in Western classical music. Unlike in neighbouring Japan, apparently 'lower' forms of Western culture have not thrived in the way classical music has.
Yet as this concert demonstrated, many Chinese musicians are now doing interesting things broadly under the auspices of Western experimental music. The first act, FM3, have already gained much exposure on these shores as a result of the popularity of their Buddha Box, a portable music player on which the listener can hop between different ambient-dronescapes, altering the speed and pitch (and volume) of each as they wish. There has been much chatter about how musicians can explore new media in getting their music to the public, and the Buddha Box has been one of the few unadulterated success stories in this respect, both commercially and artistically (it is a particularly well-realised concept, and product).
For the concert, the two members engaged in what they term 'Buddha Boxing'. This involves a mike and a camera being placed over a table, at which the two musicians sit with a glass of wine each, and a little selection of multi-coloured Buddha Boxes to hand. They playfully manipulate the different settings, placing boxes on top of each other, moving them around the table and into different relations to the others (thereby altering the clashing sounds), all the while staying alive to both the deliberate and the fortuitous sounds and events that result. The theatrical nature of the performance (a large screen overhead captured the events on the little table), and the restrained and then more voluble and maculate sounds, worked well.
Next up was Xiao He, an inimitable young freak folk musician. Appearing shy and yet presenting quite a charming stage presence, Xiao's musical talents are exceptional. His method is essentially fixed; he uses a sampler to layer guitar or vocal gestures (which he performs live) to form circling, busy backgrounds, over which he performs bewildering vocalisations. His range and dexterity is astonishing- his singing recalled at times the depth and timbre of Tuvan throat performers, Chinese opera singers' phrasing, enunciation and pitching, and Western rock musicians' irreverence and lazy way with line. The pieces he performed were united by their eclecticism; constant changes of texture and style can be infuriating, but here Xiao maintained his charm right up until the end, mainly by being so resolutely odd and energetic throughout.
Yan Jun could be described as the figurehead of the Beijing experimental scene- the free improv nights he organised under the title of Kwan Yin Waterland have become stuff of (almost) legend. It was fitting that he should be involved this evening, a night on which the Chinese underground was recommending itself to London. Yan Jun performed on this occasion with the qin virtuoso Wu Na, and the British multi-instrumentalist Dave Coulter. The improvisation they gave was concentrated and spare in the early stages, with Wu Na's qin playing remaining largely speculative and fragmented as it grappled with the high sine tones and pitch bending slivers of tone coming from Yan Jun's no-input mixing board. As Coulter joined, however, the texture became somewhat more firm. Coulter's own contributions on a range of small instruments (from jew's harp, to bowed and hammered musical saw, to small electric fan, to mouth organ), were highly responsive to those of the other musicians. Yan Jun drew back from the sound somewhat towards the end in order to allow Wu Na and Coulter's increasingly expressive, even poignant, duet some space to breath.
The young noise-pop duo White closed the concert with a set which began somewhat disjointedly and perhaps a little incongruously after the graceful lower case improvisation that preceded it, but which built into a convincing, exciting display of loose-limbed and fun distortion. White's two members-Shen Jing on synth, sampler, vocals and drums, and Jeff Zhang on guitar-strayed a little too often into generic gesturing derived from various sources; My Bloody Valentine, Deerhoof, and Fuck Buttons all came to mind at various points. Yet when it mattered there was enough tension in the sound, whether it be in the asymmetry of the rhythms or in the kaleidoscopic textures, to hold the interest. By the time of the thumping Einstürzende Neubaten-inspired (that band's Blixa Bargeld produced their forthcoming debut album) closer, White had clearly grown comfortable in the comparative luxury and splendour of LSO St. Luke's.
Related articles:
Concert review: Lang Lang's recent concert in Baden-Baden
Concert review: Lang Lang and Tan Dun perform as part of Beyond the Wall
CD review: Wu MAN and the Moscow Soloists play Tan Dun's Pipa Concerto (ONYX4027)
News: A preview of the Beyond the Wall festival