Intertextual Synthesis

I have a weak spot for oxymorons (<- Giant Baby). Upon further reflection, it probably stems from a broader obsession with synthesis (yup. even with Organic Chemistry, synthesis was kinda fun). This explains my obsessions with cross-overs (sure, the Allen Iverson type too, but when there are cameos of TV characters in other shows like Det. Munch from SVU going on Arrested Development, I lose my shit with excitement) and Seinfeld (where the multiple plot arcs in most episodes all come together at the end to create a perfect storm).

Thus, it is no surprise that I find myself obsessed with the intertwining of Asian and Western Music cultures. My obsession is even evident in the naming of my Jeep (is there a more American Car?): The Turtle(named after the Turtleship, the first steel plated ship in naval history... which happens to be from the Land of the Morning Calm). But I know I'm not the only one out there. Fans of Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo can tell you that the soundtrack of Jazz and Hip Hop, two "western" styles of music are ESSENTIAL to setting the tone for the respective animes.

That being the case, Pandora-ing Nujabes (RIP) lead to a pleasant surprise: The Shanghai Restoration Project.

To understand the project, a little history lesson may be in order. What does the Shanghai Restoration Project even mean? The end of the First Opium War was signaled with the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. Amongst other things, one of stipulations of the treaty was that China was to open up five port cities (one of which was, you guessed it, Shanghai) for trade with the United Kingdom. After this, the Treaty of the Bogue in 1843 would supplement this and allow Brits to trade on Chinese soil within these 5 port cities. The following years, and certainly by the early 1900's Shanghai becomes a haven for Westerners looking for trade, and as these things do, becomes a melting pot of culture. One of the things that rises by the 1930's are the Shanghai Jazz Bands, bands that specialize in play of a music which is an amalgamation of Eastern and Western styles. The movement even reaches all the way out West to influence a subgenre called "Orientalized Jazz"

Rising out of the ashes of the Eastern and Western combinatory tradition, The Shanghai Restoration Project hopes to continue the legacy of these bands in utilizing traditionally "Eastern" sounds with Western hip hop and electronic beats. Their latest work is Little Dragon Tales which specifically uses Chinese children's songs and puts a hip hop beat on them. Personally, I dont care much for this, as it seems like the target audience is not specific. However, they've (or he, as David Liang is the mastermind behind the project) been doing this for quite some time, and I'll say I LOVE IT.

Additional Notes (link dump): The first time I was introduced to this kind of musical cross-over was a Korean Cell Phone commercial. Traditional Korean instrumentation of Pachebel's Canon. This was even before Jerry C did Canon Rock (and thus before FunTwo, and his Korea Shaped Guitar). In that light. Jojo's touring Guitar player is a Korean girl named Jinjoo, and I swear the girl has power guitar potential like Orianthi... Plus is mighty cute. And here's Kim Jo Han and Yoon Do Hyun singing "pop ssongs" and reminding you exactly of what Korean people do when they hear english and dont completely follow (say something almost completely out of context... like Yoon Do Hyun saying Hallelujah... while singing Desperado).