Nothing beats the intimacy of a house show – especially when said house is an art piece in itself. That’s the case for Ming Room明室 – an amazing library，space，store，and/or archive stationed by the ever-wonderful Xie Wang 谢旺. There’s a piece of history embedded in every piece of furniture, book, and instrument that covers the walls, and I spent as much time taking in my surroundings as I did soaking in the music. And what a treat – with a diverse collection of experimental, fingerstyle, electronica and ambient music against the plum season rain on a Sunday afternoon.
The afternoon kicked off with a guitar improvisational set Zhu Songjie 朱松杰 – finding solace in keeping listeners on their toes whilst keeping the over-all tone tender.
The warm vibes continued into Toni’s bonafide fingerstyle chops – playing a collection of tunes of lo-fi folk legend John Fahey – he did not so much play the guitar as bend it to his will.
As the rain continued to patter the streets outside, Yukes玉刻 took audiences through a mesmerizing set of R&B-infused indietronica that utilized an array of traditional Chinese instrumentals, mainly the guzheng to stirring effect.
Finally, Second River 二次河流, a duo made up of Da Bai (of Mirrors) and Zhu Songjie, returned to the fray delivering a drone-filled ambient set that felt like the perfect palate cleanser to a long weekend – as walls of sound and looping drones merged and engulf the senses.
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