Right after receiving this brand new album of Li Daiguo, I played the first song and felt like there’s a beam of light blooming over my head. A soft fire was being pulled when the wind was blowing in my heart.
Although Li Daiguo got a start of classical music from a child, by learning cello and piano, and had learned erhu and pipa in adolescence, but afterwards he came into contact with more regional music, like Finnish folk music, Karnatic music of South India and the mbira in Zimbabwe. The instruments he has played are also hard to count out. He usually uses them to jam, especially pipa, cello, guzheng, bawu and piano. He prefers the vibration of acoustic instruments. Several years earlier, Li Daiguo remolded the prepared piano to make it almost become a synthesizer. The mechanical resonance of acoustic instruments is strong, long and detailed. It’s so sensitive to the dynamics that it has been able to have daydreams inside.
Listen to select tracks below:
刚收到李带菓（Li Daiguo）这张新专辑的时候，打开第一首曲子，仿佛，我头顶绽开一束明亮。是一团文火，在心里吹起了风，被牵引着。
李带菓虽自幼从西方古典音乐入门，学习大提琴、钢琴，少年时又习得二胡、琵琶，但到后来接触了更多的地域性音乐，像芬兰民间音乐、南印度卡纳迪克音乐、津巴布韦的安比拉琴。他玩儿过的器乐也是不胜枚举，常常拿它们来即兴，尤其是琵琶、大提琴、古筝、巴乌和钢琴。他偏爱原声器乐的振动，早在前几年，李带菓就用预制钢琴加料的方法，几乎让它变成一个合成器，原声机械的共鸣很大且细节冗长而丰富，对每个力度又很敏感，已经可以在里面做切片的白日梦。
点击即可试听 :
But this time, Li Daiguo simply lets you put down yourself, putting you to sleep.
His new album was named sincerely and directly, pilgrimage to the realm of deep baby sleep, which is called the frequency that help his highness glutinous rice balls in Chinese. His highness glutinous rice balls is his baby. As a wish that a father gives to his baby, we simply borrow the halo to look back upon the blank of childhood.
而这次，李带菓索性让你踏踏实实的安放下自己，催你入眠。
他的新专辑名字就取的真诚直接，叫做 “Pilgrimage To The Realm Of Deep Baby Sleep”，中文翻译为《汤圆殿下的助眠频率》。“汤圆殿下”是他的小孩，作为父亲给到孩子的期许，我们便也借着这抹光环回溯下幼年的留白。
In the second song, i heard shake and daze hidden in the notes, and the soft fire before climbed up to the tip of the candle. Go to the third song, although it’s unable to measure the temperature of the song, it was heard like cooling down, humidity rising, fogging, things flickering, it finally came to your hand but teased you for half a day. Look at the title of the song, it was called “stop pretending your eyelids aren’t heavy.” When it came to the fourth song, it suddenly became flat again, like waiting for you in the distance.
And then the fifth, the shining star floating up, the clouds fluttering away, the reflection of the pool below, somebody treading water, how rich the gradation is!
Juts in this way, keep listening. Sometimes there were singing bowls joining in.
Listen to the next few songs, it already felt like sometimes i drill into the wave of a note, talking to myself, sometimes walked a long way alone. But till the end, everything only turned into a few minute bubbles.
在专辑的第二首里，我听到音符里面藏着抖动、恍惚，先前的那团文火燃到了蜡烛尖儿上。到第三首，曲子本身虽无法丈量温度，但听觉上能感觉降温了，空间湿度上升，起雾，见东西也是忽隐忽现的，它终于到你手边了，也还是逗你半日。一看曲名，叫《不要假装不困》（Stop Pretending Your Eyelids Aren’t Heavy）。
到第四首，又豁然平坦起来，彷佛在远处等着你。接着第五首，有浮起闪亮星星，又有云飘过。底下有水潭子的倒影。有谁在踩水。空间层次丰富。
就这样，继续听着。时有钵的共振加入。
听到后几首，已然觉着自己时而钻入一个音的波，跟自己对话，时而独行漫漫长路，而到最后，不过都化作了一些小气泡。可能也都是汤圆殿下梦里的小气泡。或者如第七首说的，“睡眠是另一个毛茸茸的子宫。”
I look out of the window, night like the dark sea, distant windows shining like some floating ships. When ill, there are always different visions. Some wet and endless sour ooze out of the joint gap, like fogging. Fogging exactly, Li Daiguo said this album was fog, too. I listened slowly again. See, you’re allowed to spread your body inside peacefully, rippling away slowly, like tearing off a space without any reason, to breathe.
You poke your head out and look around the outside world. Everyone is always seeking medical advice all around, closing themselves off. The capital is good at selling fetter, making you feel the square brick always lack of a corner. At that time, music sells soft melting bone. When necessary right now, we may as well try to message our minds softly. Medicine and music are originally homology, in traditional Chinese character, “music” is only missing some “grass”, comparing with ”medicine”. Music is always a medicine that not only good but also not bitter. When mind gets clear and bright, body would be more comfortable naturally. Choosing the right frequency at the right time is generating resonance with life.
我扭头看向夜的窗外，像是在暗的海上，远处的窗户星星点点又像是另一些浮船。虚弱的时候，总有不同的幻像。关节缝隙里渗出一些酸，潮湿的，延绵不尽的，像是起雾了。起雾了，李带果说，这张专辑也是雾，我又再缓缓听，你瞧，你可以被允许在里面平静的铺开身体，慢慢的荡漾开去，仿佛平白无故的撕开一个空间，得以喘息。
你探出脑袋张望下外面的世界。大家总是在四处寻医问药、各自为茧，资本擅长贩卖紧箍咒，让你觉着四方积木永远缺只角。彼时的音乐贩卖化骨绵，在这种必要时候，我们不妨试试轻柔的按摩自己的心神，音、药本同源，繁体字里“樂”比“藥”仅少了些草。乐，从来是剂良药，良药也不苦口，心神明澈了，身体自然要好过许多。在合适的时候选择合适的频率，是与生命体本身产生共振。
This hypnotic album of Li Daiguo builds many accesses and fragments with possibility in the note space, by different tone of piano. It’s allowed to empty yourself or fill it with imagination. Every note has its unique shape and texture that you can assemble them freely. Probably ever time you listen, you could find a different side, and every side would be a circle, pulling you feel yourself deeply. Even if facing a wall, you can go to a long journey. Between breaths, the journey is completed. Like sleeping.
It has deep strain. You feel like you are not the object of being told any more, which brings you some comfort temporarily. With no beginning, with no end, the presentation of meaning is not important any more. “snuggling” is a state of mind.
The album Pilgrimage To The Realm Of Deep Baby Sleep is currently only available on overseas platforms as Apple Music and Spotify. Domestic streaming media has not yet been officially released. Support the physical vinyl records please click the link.
李带菓的这张助眠专辑，借由钢琴给到的不同音色，在音的空间里搭建了很多通道和可能性的片段，你可以置空，也可以往里面填想象，都充分被允许。每个音节都是不同的形状、质感，你都能自由组装。应该你每一次听，都会找到不同的面向，而所有会面都是圆，牵引你深入自己的全息。即便面壁时，亦能远行。一呼一吸间，归去来兮。如同睡眠。
ta 有着很深的张力。你感觉自己并不是被讲述的对象，这带来了一时的宽慰。没有开端，没有结束，意义的表象不再重要。“依偎”是一种精神状态。所以，来“睡”这张专辑。
专辑《汤圆殿下的助眠频率》（Pilgrimage To The Realm Of Deep Baby Sleep）目前仅在海外平台 Apple Music 和 Spotify上架，国内流媒体尚未正式发行，支持实体黑胶唱片，请戳购买链接。
Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram: @Li Daiguo
Contributor: Chan Qu
English Translation: Zou Zhuoheng
Images in courtesy of Li Daiguo
