Friday, September 30, 2011

The Shanghai Restoration Project - Special Edition


















˙Title:  The Shanghai Restoration Project  Special Edition
˙Artist:  DJ Dave Liang
˙Style: Electronic, Jazz Pop, Experimental, Lounge 
˙Released Date: 2007.03.06
˙Format: CD
˙Producer: Undercover Culture Music

01. Introduction (1936)
02. Nanking Road
03. Shanghai Express
04. Jade Buddha Temple
05. Peace Hotel (What is Love)
06. Miss Shanghai
07. Lu Xun (Watch Me Dance)
08. Babylon of the orient
09. Pearl Tower
10. Avenue Joffre
11. The Bund
12. Old City
13. Pudong
14. Bubbling Well Road
15. Jessfield Park



"Boom! Boom! Boom!" 
What happened when Traditional Chinese instruments meet modern Jazz hip-hop and electronica? The Shanghai Restoration Project could really catch my ear, even my soul.


Can you imagine that? Two different cultures mix together and we will find that Chinese and Western culture blend in harmonic way in the end. The artist attempts to  create new manners of song, so we also could say this is a experimental album. When this project just debuted, they gained  MSN Music's "New Artist of the Week" in Jan. 2006, reaching No.1 on the site's Top 100 Electronic Albums Chart in that month. The Special Edition also gained recognition globally, rising to the top 10 in several electronic charts, such as iTunes, Amazon,  and MSN Music.


  "Old Shanghai" is the foundation of the album.The  major producer of the program is Chinese-American DJ Dave Liang, the album of old Shanghai Orchestra becomes his inspiration and help him to make up his new project. The whole work using traditional Chinese instruments such as erhu, suona, Qudi, then match jazz and electronic elements, soulful sound of men and women to create a extravagant, lazy but beautiful night light of Shanghai City.


There were several songs impressed me,  let me introduce more details to you.
The first track from the  album, "Introduction (1936)" was selected as the theme song for a worldwide TV advertising campaign for Kenzo Perfumes (a division of Louis Vuitton) in early 2007. This song only use the short period of time to embellish the hazy, and starry sky. No wonder this song would win the campaign of advertisement;
"Nanking Road" was led by the erhu, then a deep male voice approach,with Sasha Allen high-pitched and soulful voice. We can see the two vices shine and reflect each other
The Suona created a real atmosphere of the temple in "Jade Buddha Temple", and then Di Johnston's soft whisper coming in, leaving smooth and relax feeling for us
With DEZ's clear voice lines and Lute, "Miss Shanghai" could catch everyone. You seem to see the graceful, and charming woman, walking down the old street of Shanghai;
"Jessfield Park "is an interesting song, a  woman (maybe a spinster..lol) walked alone and kept complaining her mystery life, but she still encouraged herself to cheer up and find the hope again ; also recommend " Lu Xun "," Babylon in the Orient "," Bubbling Well Road ".


3 comments:

  1. haha it's a funny post that I read your content!
    you gave me a lot of chance to listen to new type of music that I had never tried before!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's really special when you combine eastern instruments and western instruments together!
    Love this!!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow is my first feeling when I listen the song! I have to say this type of music surprise my ears. It's pretty cool to mix two different style,and the song is great and amazing!

    ReplyDelete