Even though she now works mostly in Germany, the guzheng player Xu Feng Xia maintains deep-running roots in Chinese tradition. Her instrument of choice, the guzheng, is often described as a smaller version of the Japanese koto. It shares its heavy microtonal pitch bend but has a tone closer to the dulcimer. Feng Xia can make it sound like a harp, a banjo, a twangy violin (when she bows it to create full-bodied drones) and, believe it or not, like a guzheng -- which in itself is highly unusual in improvised music. Her partner for this studio session is German avant-garde pianist Uwe Oberg, a man who allies the lightning-fast technique of Borah Bergman with Sophie Agnel or Sylvie Courvoisier's highly developed inner-piano playing. So Oberg shifts between prepared and unprepared piano, Feng Xia alternates between straight guzheng, prepared/bowed guzheng, and voice (she possesses an enrapturing voice), and the many combinations provide a variety of colors and dynamics. Some of these short improvisations (all between one and six minutes), like the two "Beautiful Mountain" pieces and "Five and Some More," have a very traditional Chinese ring (yes, the metallic gamelan-sounding piano in "Beautiful Mountain, Touched" plays a geographical hoax), while a track like "Same Source" (where the guzheng is played like a tabla) and "Inside" (bowed guzheng) seem to originate from another world. Beautiful sonorities and acute listening have turned this album into one of 2003's best improv records. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
Tracks
Track Title
Composers
Performers
Time
Looking at Does
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(1:59)
Beautiful Mountain, Touched
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(1:40)
Volume, Two
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(2:18)
Nearly Merely Five
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(5:46)
One of the Elements
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(1:13)
Tricky
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(2:05)
Same Source
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(3:01)
From the Center
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(5:00)
Kun Fo
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(6:02)
Inside
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(5:44)
Sandal Wood
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(3:21)
Beautiful Mountain, Calm
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(1:18)
Volume, One
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(2:18)
Stretched Stroke
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(6:01)
Five and Some More
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(2:34)
Looking On
Uwe Oberg
Uwe Oberg
(2:32)
Credits
Peter Fey (Mastering), Xu Fengxia (Guzheng), Uwe Oberg (Piano), Stefan Blum (Photography), Stefan Blum (Art Direction), Xu Feng Xia (Guzheng), Peter Fey (Engineer), Uwe Oberg (Producer), Xu Fengxia (Vocals), Xu Feng Xia (Vocals)
