The following is from Paul Fisher, one of the most respected English speaking authorities on Asian music. He describes this release on his U.K. based web site/music company, Far Side Music.
Based in Taipei, Taiwan, A Moving Sound, are a multinational group made up of Taiwanese singer Mia Hsieh, American Scott Prairie on French horn, bass, drums and vocals together with a Chinese erhu (vertically held bowed violin) player, a Belgian guitarist and a Brazilian percussionist. Their music is clearly rooted in Chinese tradition, but what sets this CD apart from the usual East / West collaboration, are the African and Middle Eastern influences. True to the group's name, the music is constantly surprising and moving in different directions, cleverly avoiding new age cliches. Instead, A Moving Sound have an experimental edge that keeps the listener engaged and leaves you feeling you've been on a magical mystery tour. Compelling stuff.
Here is one of our favorite reviews from our last tour through the U.S. Please visit our website (www.amovingsound.com) to read our fascinating story and see the rest of our reviews!
Willis Johnson, art director of Galapagos Art Space describes a performance at his New York City Venue that was part of A Moving Sound's tour through the U.S during February of 2004.
A Moving Sound was one of the most joyous musical experiences at Galapagos Art Space that I have had the pleasure to program. The ensemble infused the space with a heart-warming, love-filled vibe that truly rocked our souls. The music was a salve to jangled spirits. The harmonies and tempos touched forgotten primal places and made the audience one. I look forward to working with "A Moving Sound" when they return to New York City.
A Moving Sound is making big waves as an emerging group in the world music scene for their artistic and engaging music and performance. Continue reading for a description of what we will do in our upcoming tour to the U.S. this fall 2005 and a description of the ideas and philosophy behind A Moving Sound. It seems there are not many groups performing Contemporary Asian Fusion with the soul and creative spirit of A Moving Sound. Make sure you check out the Fall issue of Global Rhythm Magazine to see our review article.
A Moving Sound in Concert!
A Moving Sound, a highly innovative and artistic musical ensemble, based in Taipei Taiwan, will be traveling on their second international tour beginning in mid-September 2005. The tour starts with the Chicago World Music festival, where they will perform two shows. Other highlights include the Small World Music festival in Toronto and "Joe's Pub" at the New York Public Theater
For this tour, A Moving Sound will perform as a group of four with main vocalist Mia Hsieh, co-founder, ex-New Yorker, Scott Prairie on eastern and western stringed instruments, Alex Wu playing assorted Chinese instruments and percussion and Lo Tan Shen on erhu (a vertically held, bowed string instrument). A Moving Sound will perform one or two sets of original song compositions depending on the venue with several pieces including dance created by Mia. A Moving Sound is quite theatrical and visual in their presentation, with dance incorporating Asian elements such as Tai Chi, traditional Taiwanese folk dance, mask dancing and influences from the dance of Indonesia, and India. A Moving Sound has been recognized as having a quite unique combination of eastern and western ideas and instruments and naturally weaves together these influences in a way that is attractive and engaging for a wide range of audiences. Vocalist, Mia Hsieh was featured last year in a performance at New York's "Bowery Poetry Club" entitled "Voices from Out There", presenting unique vocal talents from around the world. Hsieh posses an amazing range and rare honest quality, sounding one-part aboriginal and one-part Meredith Monk as she performs songs in English, Mandarin Chinese, Aboriginal dialects and her own made up languages.
A Moving Sound is quite audience friendly and very much enjoys connecting with people through performance, workshops and collaboration with local artists. The creative energy of A Moving Sound opens people magically, in a way that is beyond the labels of east, west or any style of music. Their intention is to make a space where the creative spirit of the audience and performers can meet and celebrate!
a moving sound
Committed to Cultural, Personal and Artistic Creative Development
â— Cultural Exchange
A Moving Sound is a unique performance group based in Taipei Taiwan. It was founded by Mia Hsieh and Scott Prairie in New York City and soon moved to Taiwan in 2002.
Integrating Chinese Music with the Music of other Cultures
The music and artistic vision of A Moving Sound does something not often done and that is to integrate Chinese music, instruments and ideas with the music of other cultures. Though the music of the Far East is incredibly rich, Chinese instruments and traditions are recognized to be among the least represented and least integrated musical traditions in the "World Music" genre. One sees that African, Latin and Middle-Eastern music has a large audience world-wide and their idioms are often incorporated in Western music, but this is not yet the case with East Asian music.
Chinese Instruments and Vocals Bring Asian Colors into New Contexts
A Moving Sound unselfconsciously integrates the music and instruments of several cultures including China, Taiwan, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Chinese instruments, particularly the Erhu (a two-stringed instrument played with a bow and held vertically on the lap) are used in ways seldom heard. The Erhu in the music of a Moving Sound may in one song play a variation from a traditional Taiwanese folk tune, in another it might sound like a downtown New York City experimentalist and in another song like a classical violin. The singing style of main vocalist Mia Hsieh is another exciting example. Mia, a native to Taiwan, is a one-person crosscultural mix and has been immersed in Asian sounds her entire life. Her original vocal style transports listeners from traditional Taiwanese NanGwan sounds to western style ballads to totally new territory with lyrics in English, Mandarin Chinese and the playful and beautiful sounds of her own made-up languages. The music of A Moving Sound blends all these elements together with African drumming, evocative Middle-Eastern melodies and Western song styles to make a truly creative and artistic mix.
Touring as an Opportunity to Connect with Local Artists and Local Resources for Deeper Exchange and Creativity
A Moving Sounds integrative open attitude towards composition extends into their approach to touring. A Moving Sound is particularly good at connecting with resources within the environment they are creating in. This has taken the shape of collaborating with local artists, radio stations and art support systems in New York City where they are working to make their second home base, integrating tribal drummers into their performances in an arts festival in the Phillipine Islands, and sitting in with a group of traditional Taiwanese Bei-Guan musicians at a celebration of Taiwan's Hakka culture. For A Moving Sound, making good use of the resources at hand is the best way to integrate cultures and music. They have taken a leading role in this kind of arts exchange in Taiwan and often collaborate with Taipei City's international artist residency program.
A Moving Sound's most recent tour in the United States was sponsored in part by a grant from the Taiwan Culture Foundation who has seen their innovative approach and their commitment to "go in" to local cultures for exchange and creativity. A Moving Sound chose Taiwan as its home base for Taiwan's progressive and ever increasing commitment to arts and culture as well its rich creative traditions. This choice has proven to be quite successful and has led to their rapid development.
â— A Commitment to Personal Development and Awareness
A Moving Sound has a progressive and global creative vision for reaching out to the world we live in. However, to reach out with strength one must have something to sustain one's work and something really worth giving. There is a deeper side to A Moving Sound that forms their creative foundation and this is their strong commitment to personal development and awareness.
Work in Healing and Development with Individuals and Communities
. The statements above hint at the intangible element that is core to the creative process of A Moving Sound. The presence of spirituality is not so mysterious when one considers that both Scott and Mia have been using creativity not only in making music, art and dance but in working with individuals and community's for healing and empowerment throughout their careers.
Scott's education includes course work towards a Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and he developed a creative arts therapy program for an adolescent treatment center in his hometown. He is also quite devoted to the practice of yoga and meditation. Mia published a beautiful book describing the special quality of a small fishing village near her birthplace. She also does creativity workshops for families suffering from domestic abuse and maintains her own practice of Tai-chi. This commitment to self-development and working to share light with others brings a richness to life and to the work of any artist.
In Taiwan, A Moving Sound is working to develop a sort of "Urban Tribe" community of artists and individuals who are open to creative energy and can come together for performances, workshops and sharing. A Moving Sound intends to develop an Arts center where creative arts happenings can take place on a regular basis.
A Quality of Realness and Immediacy in Performance and Recording
Audience's respond that there is a feeling that "anything is possible" at a performance of A Moving Sound. Taking the risk to show real feelings gives the work of A Moving Sound a quality of "aliveness" that encourages audiences to find their own creative expression, in life or art. Crying and dancing at A Moving Sounds' shows are two common ways to celebrate!
One listen to A Moving Sound's new CD release "Pacu's Trip" quickly tells that this is not New Age music, nor is it based in the ritualistic tradition of some indigenous ethnic music - yet a sense of spirituality can be felt. The open, live production style of their CD and performance conveys a sense of immediacy and realness that is often missing in today's more commercially produced "entertainment". This approach to making art, supported by quality musicianship and inspired composition results in music that is full of the joy and the freedom of true creation.
A Moving Sound has some wonderful friends including EMI artist Pieter Thys, an extremely gifted guitarist from Belgium and respected percussionist Eduardo Campos from Brazil who have helped to give their new CD the vitality of spirit that it has.
â— Artistic Integrity and Exploration
In this modern world of labels and genres it's easy to miss out on the nuances that make things special. The music of A Moving Sound is not easy to classify. Is it "world music" is it "cross-over", "avant-garde" or all of the above? It is certainly eclectic. As described in the previous section their music is full of the diverse sounds of many cultures. Yet there is another interesting aspect to A Moving Sound that comes from its particular form of experimentation.
Experimental and Ethnic
For quite some time contemporary artists have asked the question "what makes art experimental ?" At times art that is experimental bears a striking resemblance to art that has been made in the distant past or is made in cultures that know nothing of our modern art. Picasso's more experimental work has often been compared to tribal African art. Also many composers who seek new directions turn to the music of other cultures. Phillip Glass found his inspiration in India.
A Moving Sound crosses the line between "experimental" music and the more basic or "expressive" music style of many non-western cultures. Most people associate the term "experimental" with more intellectual or academic approaches to music making. However, it is interesting to notice that "experimental" can mean breaking free of conventional structures and accepted styles and techniques. Sometimes this creates the freedom to make music in a way that is more expressive than our typical modern or "pop" music.
One could say that the music of A Moving Sound is experimental in so far as it is willing to break out of conventional western song structures and singing techniques in the service of emotional expression. However A Moving Sound does not share one trait of some experimental music, this being less emphasis on melody or beat in the composition process. Their songs are often quite melodic and use many traditional ethnic rhythms that help them to create compositions that are very engaging and attractive to a wide range of audiences, from young to old and "low" to "high" art.
New Ideas and Techniques
A Moving Sound employs some very unique techniques and ideas. Pre-dating his New York City years, composer, Scott Prairie constructed a new system for his bass guitar using three strings and an alternate tuning. Interestingly enough, this experimental approach makes the instrument, using open tuning and "drone" strings, more similar to the way guitars are used in many Asian cultures.
Noted New York City experimental and session guitarist Mark Ribot remarked that Scott Prairie's bass technique is very unique and effective for the compositions he has created. Mark, the founder of Atlantic Record's well respected ensemble "Los Cubanos Positizos" worked with Scott on one of Scott's CD recordings with the innovative music producer Wharton Tiers. Scott is a conservatory trained musician on the French Horn and uses this instrument in improvisation and arrangements for recording in the music of A Moving Sound.
A portion of vocalist Mia Hsieh's vocal style comes from the world of experimental voice through the influence of Meredith Monk and Iva Bitova. It's intriguing though that this musical tradition with it's emphasis on broadening the technical and expressive range of the voice has traits in common with many Asian theatrical vocal styles which Mia has studied and lived with. Both traditions encourage a wide variety of vocal textures and sounds far beyond the melodic expression that is typical for Western music.
The music of A Moving Sound also has experimental elements in its song structures and in its' use of improvisation, both of these ideas are very present in ethnic music.
New Combinations in Music, Dance, Theatre and Video
A Moving Sound reaches out in all directions whenever there is a chance to tap into creative energy. Their performances often include special guests who collaborate with them as musicians, dancers or with video, they are always looking for new combinations that might enhance their expression. Mia's rich history as a dancer plays an important role in this. Mia has studied classical Indian dance, Taiwanese and Balinese dance, Tai-Chi and modern dance, all of which give her a wonderful palette to choose from for improvised and set movement in A Moving Sound's performance. Ethnic dance and modern theatre concepts blend together to create a charged environment full of creative energy and expression.
A Moving Sound is comfortable playing in a wide variety of venues, in addition to traditional concert settings, from museums to street festivals. This is another way of reaching out to share their work with a larger range of audiences.
What's Most Important
What makes A Moving Sound special occurs on all the levels of an artist's life; cultural, personal and creative. Attention to this is what gives their music and art the depth and energy that it has. Underneath all of this though, is their basic belief that creating is a way of life and art has a purpose beyond the songs or paintings that an artist makes. A Moving Sound believes that creative work is intended to lift the souls of the artist and everyone their art is shared with and is interested in the radical notions of joy and real expression. They believe that,
"Creative energy is the truth and if one respects this, good things come!"
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.amovingsound.comTrack List:
1. Rain Forest
2. Mongani
3. Crossing Usuli
4. Tiny Island
5. Water Of Life
6. Vocal Duet 1
7. Cabaret
8. Happy Rainy Day
9. Vocal Duet 2
10. The Crying Song
11. Vocal Duet 3
12. City Adventure
13. Farewell
14. Sunset Glow
Suggested CDs:
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