covert art by A.L. from a Baishui drawing
OAS006 : Baishui/ Diary of Broken Sounds
Third release on Off from Sichuan born Baishui (who lives now in the US) after the post rockish No Intrinsic, No Independent (see OAS003) and the intriguing contemporary post folk Sound In Motion (see OUC003), Diary of Broken Sounds (originally released in December 2013, without the bonus suite ' Night Songs for the Half Moon), follows quickly on the release of his first full-length soundtrack album, Einstein and Einstein and is actually Baishui’s ninth album. Both albums, though quite distinct, remain important signposts on the road to understanding the artist’s perpetual search for the optimal form of artistic expression.
If Einstein’s overall feel is a heavy yang, Diary goes yin with a lighter, yet still full, sound. Though electronics are an essential part of Diary, the feeling is distinctly unplugged, in stark contrast to recent forrays into post-rock and experimental music. Diary, in short, takes a minimalist approach to the artist’s very maximalist goal: the pursuit of a new music—“Baishui Music”—with an Eastern core.
Chimes and flutes float playfully across wide-open expanses; static-like sounds pierce the bed created by carefully-plucked strings evoking both old-time blues and new-age soundscape with an overall ambient-world-music vibe that is equal parts meditative and playful. For brief moments, the listener is rewarded with the haunting vocals of long-time collaborator Yuan Tian, transporting both music and audience to points far above ground and back in time.
Diary is the artist’s journey—and, as listeners, we are along for the ride—through a freshly-carved yet still-to-be-fully-mapped-out terrain: “Baishui Music.”
All music, instruments,sounds,produced and mixed by Baishui.
Mastered by luo keju.
Vocal & original art work by Yuan Tian.
Original cover artwork
Digital release on the 29th of September 2017.
Track listing:
1: Lost Impression, Pt. 1
2: Lost Impression, Pt. 2
3: Children’s Dreams, Pt. 1
4: Children’s Dreams, Pt. 2
5: Reverse Memories, Pt. 1
6: Reverse Memories, Pt. 2
7: Geometry, Pt. 1
8: Geometry, Pt. 2
9: Geometry, Pt. 3
10: Ballad, Pt. 1
11: Night Songs for the Half Moon, Pt. 1 - Pt. 5 -Whisper, Reverse, Drunk Leaves, Branches, Ritual - Bonus track
And in Bandcamp:
