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| "the edge of heaven": gary lucas plays mid-century chinese pop |
 Gary and Sally Kwok perform Bai Kwong's "I Wait for Your Return" onstage at Gary's mainland China performing debut, Chinatown Shanghai Club 8/5/10  Gary's mainland China debut in Shanghai, with vocalist Sally Kwok, Chinatown Shanghai club 8/5/10  Gary's performing debut in Shanghai w/Sally Kwok 8/5/10 |
Flash!! Gary made his mainland China performing debut during Shanghai World Expo 2010 at the Chinatown Shanghai Club in Shanghai, China on Thursday August 5th, playing a solo concert concert featuring songs from his "Edge of Heaven" album with special guest vocalist Sally Kwok. Check out the press release and the poster! Recent links of Gary's recent mainland China debut, from Shanghai Today.com: An interview with Dr. Robert Lai about Gary's " Edge of Heaven" project, plus performance clips from the show with vocalist Sally Kwok at Chinatown Shanghai club 8/5/2010 here, and also photos from the night here. A highlight of Gary's performing debut in mainland China—Bai Kwong's "If I'm Without You", sung by Sally Kwok at the Chinatown Shanghai Club 8/5/10 Listen to Jing Li's recent "Sounds of China" radio show devoted to Gary's 30's Chinese pop project "The Edge of Heaven"—2 full hours featuring songs from the album and an interview and live performance by Gary, broadcast 5/22/10 on WKCR (Columbia University). STOP PRESS!! "THE EDGE OF HEAVEN" just re-released with additional bonus tracks on Knitting Factory Records, distributed by Sony/Red!! Released originally in 2001, a tribute to the lush melodic sound of 30's Chinese pop, The Edge of Heaven: Gary Lucas Plays Mid-Century Chinese Pop features songs originally sung by two legendary Chinese film divas, Chow Hsuan and Bai Kwong. Coming out of Shanghai originally between the wars, this fascinating (and little known in the West) musical genre combined elements of Western swing and jazz and Tin Pan Alley pop styles with Chinese influences, and was extremely popular in 1930s and 40s China. And it lives again in China today, where it is undergoing a resurgence of interest—featured on the soundtrack to films like Zhang Yimou's "Shanghai Triad" and Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love"...rearranged and remixed for clubs with dance beats...and rediscovered and re-recorded by current popular Chinese singers. Guitarist extraordinaire/composer/songwriter Gary Lucas, recently called "The Thinking Man's Guitar Hero" in The New Yorker, arranged many of these classic songs for his album as solo acoustic instrumentals. Check out a YouTube clip of Gary performing "The Mad World"...and check out Gods and Monsters with Gisburg live performing "Please Allow Me to Look at You Again"...and Gary performing "Where is My Home" solo...all featured on "The Edge of Heaven".Gary also recorded many of these songs with various female vocalists, singing in the original Mandarin. listen to mp3s of:All taken from The Edge of Heaven, which to date has sold over 10,000 copies internationally and was profiled in the Wall Street Journal. The album also received rave reviews around the world—topping the World Music Charts in Canada, and making many Best of the Year lists (including the French newspaper Liberation)...received 4 star reviews in Rolling Stone, fRoots, Vibrations, and Global Rhythms...was extensively praised in the Chinese press in Taiwan, Hong Kong (including the Hong Kong Music Bi-Weekly) and Macau....and was profiled in the International Herald Tribune and on NPR: listen to the NPR feature here, and check out the Press Raves here. You can order this stunning album here. |
