Nicholas Zhu's Chinese heritage shines brightly on this remarkable new recording, but it isn't central to its success. Limpid Fear is an innovative, boldly modern album.
The L.A.-based artist, who performs under the name bod, weaves together a digital patchwork of traditional and avant-garde styles. In lesser artistic hands, the contents of these two compositions would be overwhelming.
Not with Zhu. He fuses multiple styles together so tightly that the full effect of his work is, at times, difficult to fully appreciate. The "mixtape" analogy, which has been used to describe Limpid Fear, doesn't do it justice.
The album's power lies in Zhu's ability to transform his source material and various musical techniques into something entirely his own.
Knives — a sub-label of Planet Mu operated by Kuedo and Joe Shakespeare — has a limited-edition cassette run planned in addition to the digital download. Collectors take note.
(Knives)The L.A.-based artist, who performs under the name bod, weaves together a digital patchwork of traditional and avant-garde styles. In lesser artistic hands, the contents of these two compositions would be overwhelming.
Not with Zhu. He fuses multiple styles together so tightly that the full effect of his work is, at times, difficult to fully appreciate. The "mixtape" analogy, which has been used to describe Limpid Fear, doesn't do it justice.
The album's power lies in Zhu's ability to transform his source material and various musical techniques into something entirely his own.
Knives — a sub-label of Planet Mu operated by Kuedo and Joe Shakespeare — has a limited-edition cassette run planned in addition to the digital download. Collectors take note.