Thank you to all who entered last week's giveaway to win The Shanghai Restoration Project latest album, The Classics. If you didn't hear from me (check your direct message on Twitter), you didn't win. Sorry.
But hey, it's all good. The Classics is now available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes. If you're the sort who still purchases physical albums, I highly recommend the CD, which includes a handsomely packaged booklet with lyrics, pinyin pronunciation, and English translation.
The album takes The Shanghai Restoration Project's signature sound, blending traditional Chinese instruments with hip hop and electronica, and applies to contemporary remakes of 1930s and 40s Shanghai jazz standards. Check out this fun medley of songs from The Classics set to video animated by Sun Yunfan:
Also check out this cool NPR interview with producer Dave Liang and vocalist Zhang Le:
There's some very cool history behind these songs. It's a gorgeous album through and through, and as Dave says, you don't have to be able to understand Chinese to enjoy these tunes. This is music for everyone.
For more info about The Shanghai Restoration Project, go to the website and follow updates on Facebook.