Performer Notes

Composer: Damon Albarn.
Lyricists: Chen Shi-Zheng; Shi-Zheng Chen.
Adapter: Liao Weitang.
Personnel: Zhou Haolu, Zhang Wei, Zeng Li, Xu Xiouxia, Xu Keija, Wang Yingsi, UK Choir, Tang Ling, Miao Village, Jia Ruhan, He Zijun, Gisele Edwards, Fei Yang, Fan Zhuqing, Fan Tongzhou, Dou Wing, Beijing Tianyuan Chorus Choir, Wang Wei, Don Wing, Zeng-Quang Li, Wang Wei (vocals); Xie Qing, Wang Weiping, Cheng Yu (pipa); Antonia Pagulatos, Sato Kotono, Oliver Langford, Stella Page (violin); Li Fuhua (erhu); Isabelle Dunn, Wayne Urquhart (cello); Thomas Bloch (harmonica, glass armonica, ondes martenot); Henri Del‚ger (trumpet); Guillaume Milli‚re (trombone); Josquin Chuffart (bass trombone); Frederic Marillier (tuba); Mike Smith , Mike Smith (piano, keyboards); Hannah Loach (piano); David Coulter (omnichord, synthesizer, Jew's harp, tamtam, tom tom, hand claps, percussion, musical saw); Rory McFarlane, Al Mobbs (bass instrument); Zeng Zgen, Chuang Cheng-Ying, Zhen Zeng (zhong ruan); Stephen Sedgwick (programming); Xiao Ran, Kate St. John.
Audio Mixer: Jason Cox.
Recording information: Chinese Conservatory Of Music Studio, Beijing, China; Chinese National Orchestra Studio, Beijing, China; Hear Heart, Beijing, China; Studio 13, London, England.
Animation: Jamie Hewlett.
Illustrator: J.C. Hewlett.
Translators: Chuang Cheng-Ying; Zhen Zeng.
Unknown Contributor Role: Susie Sun.
In 2007, Blur/Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn took on the ambitious task of writing the music for an operatic adaptation of JOURNEY TO THE WEST, a Chinese novel from the 16th century, combining Chinese motifs with electronica and rock flavoring. This soundtrack to the stage piece is not actually a verbatim recording of the show's music, but rather a reinterpretation based on the original. It's a wild ride, as Chinese choral voices and traditional-sounding melodies share space with floating ambient textures, freaky electro-acoustic dischord, syncopated electronic beats, and contemplative settings that could almost be labeled New Age if not for the overwhelmingly unconventional context into which they've been placed. Trace elements of Gorillaz can be heard here, but JOURNEY TO THE WEST is undoubtedly an outward expansion of Albarn's aesthetic.

Professional Reviews

The Wire (p.60) - "Albarn's elaborate score is brought into being by an orchestra and choir of both British and Chinese musicians, recorded in London and Beijing and produced to a formidably high shine."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Albarn's mastery of the largely non-harmonic Chinese instrumentation -- lots of delicately plucked pipas and gu-zhengs, gongs, cymbals and cellos -- seems impressively intuitive....File under 'brilliantly out-there'."

Fishpond works with suppliers all over the world to bring you a huge selection of products, really great prices, and delivery included on over 25 million products that we sell. We do our best every day to make Fishpond an awesome place for customers to shop and get what they want — all at the best prices online.

About Fishpond

You can earn a 8% commission by selling Journey To The West [Digipak] * on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!

Are you the Author or Publisher of a book? Or the manufacturer of one of the millions of products that we sell. You can improve sales and grow your revenue by submitting additional information on this title. The better the information we have about a product, the more we will sell!

Submit Information