You might remember about a month back, NPR previewed Afterquake, a new folk/electronica music project produced in Sichuan and commemorating the devastating earthquake that struck southwestern China last year. The seven-song EP is available today, May 12 -- the anniversary of the earthquake, with a portion of proceeds going to Sichuan Quake Relief.
The project is a collaboration between folk musician Abigail Washburn and Dave Liang, the producer behind the Shanghai Restoration Project. The two have collected recordings in rural Sichuan of what they call "earthquake soundscapes" -- construction sounds, playground noise, song performances by children from the quake zone, and the voices of their parents: 'Afterquake': Rebuilding Sichuan With Song.
I've been listening to the Afterquake CD for a couple of weeks now, and someone who has heard pretty much all of Dave's music under the SRP banner, I think it's some of his most interesting, ambitious, and moving work yet. To learn more about Afterquake, check out the photo galleries, interview/making of videos and music clips at the website here. Also check out this cool documentary on YouTube.