Birdy Island

This is a strange, somewhat haunting album that may be classified as ‘ambient’ music by some, but it is attempting something deeper than releases in that oft en monotonous genre. Almost entirely a one-man show by Beijing-based producer/musician Howie Lee, who plays not only the rhythm instruments and keyboards but also the Chinese yangqin (hammered dulcimer), Birdy Island puts electronics within a broader context of Chinese music past and present. Traditional folk melodies pop up at times, with some chorus ty pe vocals apparently telling the story of a theme park inhabited by birds and spirits. The music reaches dystopian levels at times, with unease building in tracks like ‘Foreign Flowers’, where something threatening seems just round the corner but is not quite yet apparent. I admit this album took me several listens before I could think about this review, but that is indeed a recommendation. A track like ‘Dawn of the Idols’ stuck in my head for days aft erwards, what sounds like a more organic, but still slightly ominous Aphex Twin composition by way of Beijing. Howie Lee and the electronic scene in China certainly merit more exposure based on this unique and fascinating album.