NEW ALBUM RELEASE – Nabihah Iqbal ‘DREAMER’
28 April 2023
In the realm of music, few endeavours are as deeply personal and evocative as exploring the corridors of one’s own childhood. London-based Chinese composer and multi-instrumentalist Li Yilei returns to Métron Records with their latest album, “NONAGE,” a poignant reflection on their youth. With a blend of introspective compositions and innovative soundscapes, Li Yilei invites listeners on a nostalgic voyage through the realms of memory and emotion.
“I remember pressing piano keys like touching flowers, reading scores like looking at paintings, writing like how I would talk to myself, greeting death like how I would greet life.”
Through a masterful combination of samples from old Chinese TV shows, mechanical toys, bird whistles, broken accordions and an array of acoustic and electronic instruments – some of which were personally designed and built by Li – “NONAGE” emerges as a testament to the power of music to capture the essence of childhood,
offering moments of contemplative transmigration where past and present intersect. The Album artwork created by Li even includes photographs of the ‘Umbrella Wind-chime’ – one of the custom instruments built by the artist and used on the project.
“This album can be viewed as an extended form of poetry and sonic landscape, an extensive dream.”
The first part of the album explores the carefree and playful instances of early life, which is contrasted by the exploration of “Trauma” – the keyword that the second half of the album examines, seeking reconciliation, mending, and growth. Listeners are encouraged to engage with this album as if it were a dream, in the form of non-linear poetry.
At the heart of the album lies the Chinese title “垂髫,” which translates to “childhood” or “dishevelled hair.” This evocative phrase encapsulates the carefree phase of life when children let their hair down, both figuratively and literally. For Li Yilei, “NONAGE” serves as a doorway to revisit this cherished period – a space to confront the spectrum of emotions, from fear and fearlessness to love and despair, grief and glee, curiosity and mistakes.
