Pace Playlists

I’m profoundly influenced and inspired by the music I have chosen in this playlist. To me, they are insane, spiritual, and shamanic, full of psychedelic colors. There are Western modern and contemporary musicians such as Schoenberg, Messiaen, or Xenakis, as well as my favorite poet Allen Ginsberg and director Derek Jarman. There are also musicians from Asia such as Takemitsu Tōru, Ichiyanagi Toshi and Akio Suzuki from Japan, as well as Nikhil Banerjee in India.

I would like to especially introduce a musician named Lao Dan from China. Our life experience is quite similar – Lao Dan was also born in Northeast China. Studied bamboo flute from a young age, he made significant achievements in the field of international avant-garde music after graduating from music school. In the introduction of his album, it says: “Lao Dan is a monster improviser of saxophone. Informed by many western masters, he has found a fresh and unrestrained sound of his own. Unlike his fierce saxophone, his bamboo flute skills escaped the shackles of historical schools and institutional training and internalized the poetic realm of ancient China. Three types of dizi C qudi, Bb qudi and G diyindi were used in this album. Lao Dan created a subtle and meditational atmosphere by removing the dimo, a special membrane used on Chinese bamboo flutes to produce a brighter, louder and sweeter sound. Since it was recorded in a bomb shelter built in the time of Korean War, this album needed very little mastering. The location provided a unique sound field with the right reverberation and a steady stream of illusions.”

I placed his works at the beginning and the end of this playlist, as if after traveling the world, everything returned to where the dream began.

New curated playlists from Pace artists are released every Friday through the summer on our Spotify.