The young Zurich-based producer presents “Liàng”, a collection of four intimately intertwined works reflecting on a profoundly inspiring work trip to China in 2011. Thanks to her classical piano background, Shayu crafts beautiful melodies loaded with emotion and supported by homemade modular synthesizer samples, bold drum patterns and field recordings.
The EP opens with “Loom”, a pulsating introduction to her realm of brightness and darkness (“Liàng” can be translated as bright/light). The arpeggiated theme responds to vocal samples in a dance of timid fury only interrupted by violent incursions of saturated drums. “Int. Carma”a reverie tainted with rhythmic patterns, feels like a natural follow-up to the first piece, playing on similar arpeggios and sampling the dancing part of a movie she watched over and over back in China (russian ballet Nijinsky). “Arly” toys with found sounds and complex synthesizers to produce a dizzying effect of calm before the storm, like a strange sunrise announcing the final piece: “Mxone”. This last work combines powerful and intricatedrum patterns with fantastically eerie melodies, and leaves the listener wanting for more. Overall, the sound of Shayu is very compact and cohesive resulting in a much appreciated feeling of unison across the whole release.
Text by Valentin Bersier
buy EP here
https://shayu.bandcamp.com/album/liang
Shayu‘s Liàng EP was released on Lausanne’s Files Rec. label on December 7, with a music video collaboration with Anschlusskabelkollektiv for ‘Int. Carma’ premiering on AQNB today. The Zurich-based producer and classically trained pianist reflects on a profoundly affecting trip to China, with an intricate composition of modular synthesizer samples and field recordings.
‘Int. Carma’ is inspired by the Russian ballet of 20th century Polish ballet dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky, which Shayu watched repeatedly while in China. The music features echoed and indecipherable vocals that surface from beneath an ornate weave of syncopated drum machines and layers of sweeping synth melodies. The visuals are similarly dense and amorphous, where flashing and moving images of stratified shapes and surfaces flow in and out of view.**
Tracks:
1. Loom, 3.50 min
2. Int. Carma, 4.57 min
3. Arly, 4.07 min
4. Mxone, 3.41 min
Words by Aqnb December 2018
The young Zurich-based producer presents “Liàng”, a collection of four intimately intertwined works reflecting on a profoundly inspiring work trip to China in 2011. Thanks to her classical piano background, Shayu crafts beautiful melodies loaded with emotion and supported by homemade modular synthesizer samples, bold drum patterns and field recordings.
The EP opens with “Loom”, a pulsating introduction to her realm of brightness and darkness (“Liàng” can be translated as bright/light). The arpeggiated theme responds to vocal samples in a dance of timid fury only interrupted by violent incursions of saturated drums. “Int. Carma”a reverie tainted with rhythmic patterns, feels like a natural follow-up to the first piece, playing on similar arpeggios and sampling the dancing part of a movie she watched over and over back in China (russian ballet Nijinsky). “Arly” toys with found sounds and complex synthesizers to produce a dizzying effect of calm before the storm, like a strange sunrise announcing the final piece: “Mxone”. This last work combines powerful and intricatedrum patterns with fantastically eerie melodies, and leaves the listener wanting for more. Overall, the sound of Shayu is very compact and cohesive resulting in a much appreciated feeling of unison across the whole release.
Text by Valentin Bersier
buy EP here
https://shayu.bandcamp.com/album/liang
Shayu‘s Liàng EP was released on Lausanne’s Files Rec. label on December 7, with a music video collaboration with Anschlusskabelkollektiv for ‘Int. Carma’ premiering on AQNB today. The Zurich-based producer and classically trained pianist reflects on a profoundly affecting trip to China, with an intricate composition of modular synthesizer samples and field recordings.
‘Int. Carma’ is inspired by the Russian ballet of 20th century Polish ballet dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky, which Shayu watched repeatedly while in China. The music features echoed and indecipherable vocals that surface from beneath an ornate weave of syncopated drum machines and layers of sweeping synth melodies. The visuals are similarly dense and amorphous, where flashing and moving images of stratified shapes and surfaces flow in and out of view.**
Tracks:
1. Loom, 3.50 min
2. Int. Carma, 4.57 min
3. Arly, 4.07 min
4. Mxone, 3.41 min
Words by Aqnb December 2018