Cold Fairyland
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Cold Fairyland, (冷酷仙境, Lěngkù Xiānjìng) a Shanghai music group, is a progressive rock band in China. Their style combines Eastern melodies and rhythms with Western symphonic rock. While the fusion part is relatively easy to describe the music itself is not. Combining riffs that are in 7/8 or 13/8 and often layered to be played with different instruments simultaneously might make one to think the end result is a chaos, but the music is still entertaining and solid. Their music has influences from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, early Genesis, Björk, Wong Faye and Dou Wei.
Cold Fairyland was established 2001 by Lin Di (Vocals/Pipa/Keyboard) and Su Yong (Bass). They reworked several songs they had each previously written and made a demo. Unofficially released online, it was soon picked up by an underground record company LStape and released on cassette. This demo became later available as their first CD “Flying Over the City”. Later the same year drummer Li Jia joined the band, and with a few others who came and went, they had their first show at a bar called NowhereTown. In September of 2001 they played a cancer benefit at XinTianDi’s ARK Rock Club in Shanghai; thus began their long relationship with the club, playing most months at least once. They have played in many clubs and festivals across China, including The Beijing MIDI Music Festival, often referred to as the Woodstock of China. CFL began a rotation of guitarists until 2003 settling on Song Jian Feng, a MIDI device engineer who works with Su Yong. Next to join in 2004 was the cellist known as Yao Yao (Zhou Shengan) from the Shanghai Opera.
The name Cold Fairyland comes from a Chinese translation of one of Haruki Murakami's books (known in English as "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World") favored by Lin Di. The name reflects sometimes dark tones of their music.
Composer/arranger/keyboardist and Pipa master Lin Di has been playing pipa since she was 4 years old. Her arrangement skills are bringing out often very surprising elements from the mix of cello/pipa/keyboards/bass/drums and electric guitar.
Cold Fairyland has released 5 albums, two in Taiwan, 3 in China the last one being a live album recorded in ARK Club in Shanghai 2005. Performances include concerts in Europe and around China including The Beijing MIDI Music Festival 2004 and 2006. In 2004, Cold Fairyland contributed to the John Lennon Tribute of Yu Yin Tang Music and performed & recorded the song "Eleanor Rigby".
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[edit] Lineup
Lin Di 林笛 : Pipa, Keyboards, Vocals
Su Yong 苏勇 : Bass, Background Vocals
Zhou ShenAn 周圣安 : Cello, Background Vocals
Li Jia 李佳: Drums, Background Vocals.
Song JianFeng 宋建丰: Guitar.
[edit] Discography
- Live at ARK- 冷酷仙境 2005现场 - 2006
Recorded live in ARK Music Club 2005, Shanghai.
1:Mirror Theater 摹仿剧场
2:Dead Children In Newspapers 死在报纸上的孩子
3:Mosul 摩苏尔
4:Puzzle 缭乱
5:The Blessed Place 福地
6:The Flood 洪水
7:Assassination 暗杀
8.Paris Cat 巴黎猫
9:Class cutter 玻璃刀
10:A Seed On The Ground 地上的种子
11:A Desperate Flower in Your Hand 手心里的绝望花
12:Waiting For Farewell 等待告别
- Ten Days In Magic Land - 魔境十日 - 2004
Modern Chinese sensibility, magical lyricism, and trance-like synthesizers make this album 'Enigma of Shanghai', but it is really a new species in eastern musical ecology.
1:The First Day: Dance of Seduction 诱惑之舞
2:The Second Day: Repentance Day 忏悔日
3:The Third Day: The Blessed Place 福地
4:The Fourth Day: A Desperate Flower in Your Hand 手心里的绝望花
5:The Fifth Day: The Flood 洪水
6:The Sixth Day: Slaves 奴隶们
7:The Seventh Day: Mirror Theater 摹仿剧场
8:The Eight Day: The Dusk In The Deep Green Praire 绿草原深处的黄昏
9:The Ninth Day: Wake 守护
10:The Tenth Day: Reincarnation 循回
- Bride in Legend - 迷路新娘 - 2004
An epic album with a touching story: a young girl's journey to marry a man afar becomes a quest of her own destiny and her life. Deserts, oasis, exotic natural scenes, wars and dreams all emerge in the magical music. Cello, guitar, bass, Chinese flute, pipa, er-hu and zheng blend so well in surreal images that you can no longer tell the East from the West.
1:Yilang Yilang 依蘭依蘭
2:Marriage 嫁
3:Mountain Song of the High Lands 高地山歌
4:Riddle in the Bronze Mirrors 謎語銅鏡
5:Speechless in Forest 失語叢林
6:A-jia-li-yalai 阿加裡亞萊
7:Love 愛
8:Mula-shabel War 慕拉沙貝大戰
9:Colorless Sun 陽光褪去了顏色
10:Heal the Wounds of Time 療治時間的創傷
- Kingdom of Benevolent Strangers - 陌生仙子国 - 2003
1:3AM 凌晨三点
2:Soaring 飞翔主题
3:Autumn sleep 沉睡秋天
4:Glass Cutter 玻璃刀
5:Dead Children In Newspapers 死在报纸上的孩子
6:DuDu! You Say 嘟嘟对你说
7:A Desperate Flower in Your Hand 手心里绝望的花
8:Paris Cat 巴黎猫
9:Little Fairy Girl 小仙子
10: Color of Sunset 暮色
- Flying Over The City - 2001
1:Morning 晨
2:Sea Rose
3:Black Wing 黑色的翅膀
4:Who Knows 谁知
5:Only One 唯一
6:Very... 很
7:Waiting For Farewell 等待告别
[edit] Compilations
- John Lennon Tribute - Give Live a Chance - 2004 - Shanghai
- Rock and Roll Music Mag Issue 2006.4 insert CD and booklet with Zhou ShenAn on both covers. www.xmusicmag.com
