Given the state of the world today, there has never been a better time to explore the music of the Far East. Given China’s economic rise in recent times and the fact that the USA seems more economically shattered and socially divided than ever (regardless of whether you support Donald Trump or not), this album is not something to be ignored. This album release is part of a series of album releases designed to showcase the rich and beautiful world of traditional Chinese Classical Music. This album aims to showcase two primary instruments of legend. The album was released on 18 March 2021 on Rhymoi Music Records. Let’s listen to this release and hear what it sounds like.

1. Hundreds Birds Worshipping The Phoenix – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo and Utar Artun. It begins with some searing and interesting horn, mixed with some weird keyboard. Honestly, the keyboard isn’t necessary. It launches into a weird yet wonderful listening experience that is very different. This is a good tune if you like experimental music, but aside from that, do not bother with this tune. The keyboard organ sound ruins this tune. Not needed, and certainly not worth your listening time. In any case, this music would be better with a little more Chinese Traditional Music and less dramatic sounds. The horn parts are very good throughout, however. This is an awkward idea musically that just doesn’t work. In any case, you can go on and skip ahead if you wish. A regrettably forgettable listening experience.

2. Sorrow of the River – Guanzi Music features Yazhi Guo and Hui Weng. It begins with some interesting Chinese instrumentation that sounds absolutely gorgeous and is something that many westerners will never have the opportunity to hear in their lives. Nonetheless, this sounds amazing and fantastic simultaneously. A very interesting listening experience with Chinese Classical Music instrumentation, this is moving and mindblowing to hear. A gorgeous and adventurous piece of music that goes on for nearly nine minutes in length. This is some of the very best of music that the Chinese can make for a large international audience. It sounds absolutely fantastic to listen to. China is a great country with thousands of years of culture behind it all. This music is a beautiful and interesting piece of Chinese Traditional Classical Music that will blow your mind and touch your heart. It sounds absolutely fantastic throughout, and is consistently amazing to hear. A really great listen. Towards the middle, things get subtle until the main instrument of the day pops out to surprise you. A very deep and emotional listening experience is present on this tune, and this music on this track at least deserves more credit than it gets. The second half of this tune has some interesting horn sections, which are really very good. This music continues on for a while, sounding very authentically Chinese. A good listen with some deep and moving sounds throughout. This continues on for some time, but the length is honestly a bit of a drag here. In any case, this music sounds quite beautiful in its own way. It just could be shorter. Towards the end, this sounds heroic and powerfully moving. It wraps up nicely with some flourishes of gorgeous sounds and is really cool to hear. It slows down, before entering into a gently melodic conclusion. Good to hear, although very long.

3. Praising the Local Specialty – Hanging the Red Lanterns – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo, Zhimin Zhao, Tao He and Ruomao Zhen. It continues with traditional Chinese instrumentation and has some absolutely horrible singing in the mix as well. Instantly, this album is a big failure and what came before it wasn’t great anyway for an album of this calibre. It drags on and is a shot in the foot if the idea was to provide an authentic Chinese Music listening experience. Anyway, it sounds very, very weird and is a bit of a disaster musically speaking, even without the weird vocals. This is beyond terrible listening. There have been better examples of Chinese Music out there in the history of things. Eventually, some percussion enters the scene and this is somewhat redeemed as a result. Still, no point in polishing a you-know-what. This is okay at best, but shockingly bad at worst. A long listen, the second half makes up for the awful first half. It gradually wraps up with some interesting wind instrumentation and percussion to match. A joke, really.

4. Thirty-Mile Shop – Guanzi Music features Yazhi Guo. It begins with some more horn sections that sound quite eerie and enters into a piece of music that is better than what had come before it. A really sweet and different sort of vibe is present on this tune, and some gorgeous guitar is here, which actually suits this piece of music. This continues on in a gorgeous and lively sort of way, and the music throughout is spiritually intense and gorgeous throughout. The acoustic guitar playing is a great crossover between East and West throughout, as is the overall theme of this track. Better things have been done in the name of Chinese Music, however. The acoustic guitar playing does add a bit of a difference to this music all the same, however. This is particularly evident in the solo section in the middle of the song, which sounds great. This continues to progress along very nicely, with some interesting playing and sounds throughout. The second half of the song sounds absolutely beautiful and memorable throughout. This is followed by a section with guitar harmonics and the prominent wind instrumentation playing against each other, which is quite cool. This sounds just like Eastern Jazz Music. It gradually begins to wrap up after nearly six minutes. A good listen throughout.

5. Yellow Ears of Wheat – Guanzi Music features Yazhi Guo. It begins with some eerie melodies, which are deep and different. The music throughout is like a siren call to arms in China. The wind instrumentation is really good, provided that is something that you can accept musically. It sounds completely different to Western Music, and it is supposed to be. A really interesting listen that has a great deal of character about it, this music is fantastic in a sense. Very odd to hear, this music is incredible though. The sounds and playing throughout are deep and different to hear. A good structure and slice of Chinese Music, this is completely different to anything that contemporary Western Pop Music, or even the likes of K-Pop, can prove. Nonetheless, this does sound really good. A decent example of Chinese goodness, this sounds majestic and magical in a way. A really cool and divine tune, this sounds deep and meaningful throughout. All in all, a really great and interesting tune to hear. Wonderful listening. It gets very uptempo towards the end.

6. Missing My Lover – Guanzi Music features Yazhi Guo and Wesley Wirth. It runs for over seven minutes in length. It begins with some excellent horn playing, which sounds absolutely marvellous. Some other instrumentation is in the background, which sounds like a Zither. This is made to sound like a double bass being played. A really cool and interesting listen, this sounds deep, soulful and meaningful throughout. If indeed, you have a Chinese partner, then this is the music to play when you miss them. A good listen with some intricate playing and some pseudo-Jazz sensibilities throughout, this does sound stunning. A very different listen, although to be frank, this isn’t the greatest Chinese instrumental album out there. In any case, this particular track is a very good listen. It sounds awesome and interesting throughout but is more of an experimental exercise than anything else in music, really. A really interesting and different tune, although not the best instrumental ever made. A sweetly melodic and interesting-sounding piece of music, this does have an element of dramaticism in it throughout. The horns throughout are emotional and deep, and this is likely great music to meditate to. All in all, a really great and deep tune but very slow to get through. A decent but slow instrumental that sounds moody yet magical. Definitely different but worth hearing throughout. It does drag on though, and this album probably deserves a bit of a rethink. Still, a good listen but not a great one. It is very subtle musically towards the end, very much in a silent way.

7. Pink Butterflies Picking Flowers – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo, Tao He and Ruomao Zhen. It begins with some Pipa, which sounds really great and dramatic, launching into a shortish and sweet listening experience that is essentially Chinese and very authentic throughout. This has some horns throughout that are very, very good to hear and to listen to. A really great piece of music and musicianship here, this articulates nature and the finest things that it can bring. Hence the name of the song title. This works, even though it sounds a little bizarre at times to listen to. The music is still very fresh and unique, however. In the midsection, it sounds upbeat and joyous which is very sweet yet different. The masterwork and musicianship throughout are sensationally good, and it does the job nicely. A very nice listening experience, this sounds extremely good to hear. An awesome tune to enjoy, this is one of the better pieces on this album. A fantastic tune from start to finish.

8. Tune of Liu Qing Niang – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo. It is a short and sweet listen of horns galore that sounds interesting. A two-minute long listen that is best for those of you who want a sample of this album’s music, it sounds very gorgeous and precise as a tune. Various melodies flow through this nicely, just sounding completely unique and different throughout. A very good and sweet listen, this sounds absolutely amazing to hear, in some ways. Very nice and traditionally based.

9. Beautiful Tashkurghan – Guanzi Music features Yazhi Guo, Vasilis Kostas and Panos Aivazidds-Qanun. It begins with some clanging Pipa and wind instrumentation, which sounds very much Middle Eastern, as opposed to Far Eastern. It sounds very nicely and sweetly melodic, all the same. A really great and wonderful listen, this goes on for nearly eight minutes. It sounds awesome and majestic throughout and is another winner of a tune to listen to. A good mash-up of Arabic-sounding melodies and Chinese Music sounds, this is quite clearly a winner for those of you who have never heard such style of music. Nonetheless, this does sound mindblowing and really fantastic to listen to. This has some deep and memorable melodies throughout, and the music is absolutely sweet and interesting to hear. A truly great effort to enjoy, this music is top-notch, provided you love Asian instrumental music. It builds up in pace and tempo towards the middle and sounds absolutely awesome. A very wonderful tune that sounds absolutely great. This music has some staying power to it, even if some of the earlier tracks on this album were a letdown. The playing and performances in the second half are shredtastic and sound absolutely mindblowing to listen to. A really great piece of music. This continues onwards with some pleasant horn melodies and sounds really great to hear. A cool tune to listen to. This is memorable and moving listening. All in all, this piece sounds great from start to finish. A winner. It gets subtle towards the end with some interesting Pipa-styled harmonics and horn playing, before it solos its way to a great conclusion to listen to. Awesome.

10. Lovesickness Hanging the Wooden Club Combination of Qupai in Jin Opera – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo, Vasilis Kostas and Panos Aivazidds-Qanun. This begins with a searing horn melody, which sounds epic and awesome throughout. The music present is sweet and very timeless. A great piece of horn-based music in a Chinese style which even by itself is a solid gold winner. This music is an acquired taste, but nonetheless, a taste worth having. It sounds absolutely amazing and simply moving for what it is. The sounds and melodies throughout are insanely good to hear. This music is genuinely super sweet and amazing to hear, with some awesome melodies that are very touching. All in all, this tune is a very calculated, excellent and amazing listen throughout. Definitely worth hearing, if you have the taste and patience for sitting through Chinese Music instrumentals. Very lovely to hear, this music sounds absolutely awesome and different to listen to. Genuinely gorgeous, this horn solo section is a winner. It gets somewhat more frenetic towards the end, before reaching a good conclusion to finish. Sweet.

11. Six Words Opening Door – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo and Wesley Wirth. This launches straight into some expressive horn playing and some very double bass-styled sounds to match. A weird combination, but nonetheless a combination throughout. It sounds like a good mixture of East and West as a result and is deep and moving musically. A very good listen, this has some pronounced and unique musical characteristics about it all. In any case, this music is definitely very sweet to listen to. A short, interesting and expressive piece of strange Chinese Music, with double bass soloing throughout. In any case, this is an excellent listen that has personality and character throughout it all. This sounds remarkably good for what it is. This is borderline musically experimental, considering the sounds and melodies being played throughout this tune, but it still works very nicely. A good listen, but definitely too weird to be a great listen. Energetic and different, however.

12. Joy Of Emancipation – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo, Zhimin Zhao, Tao He and Ruomao Zhen. It begins with some dramatic Pipa and horn section runs, which are both excellent and brilliant sounding. This is a four-minute-long piece of glory, and it sounds absolutely sweet, joyous and upbeat throughout. A cool and descriptively clever sounding piece of music, this is another real winner from this album. It sounds gorgeously fantastic and simply tasty throughout. This music is absolutely beautiful and emotionally touching, as is most Chinese Traditional Music. A really great and wonderful listen from start to finish. A smooth, lovely and sweet tune that sounds absolutely divine, this never loses its appeal nor consistency throughout. A very lovely and gorgeous listen, this has some intricate musicianship that many Punk guitarists can never match. Absolutely wonderful, and a pleasure to hear. Worth it for the four minutes of listening time on this tune. It ends rather dramatically.

13. Two Eight Rhythm of Yu Opera – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo. This is only two minutes in length, which is short and sweet. It is a horn solo piece that sounds like ear candy. A very simple, sweet and powerful musical instrumental that works nicely, this is a golden moment of the album. A short, tasty and interesting listen with prominent horns that sound absolutely stunning, this is worth it for the two minutes of extraordinary soloing. Great to hear, even if you aren’t a fan of Chinese Music. Stunning.

14. February Coming – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo, Hui Weng, Tao He, Ruomao Zhen and Wesley Wirth. It is a fresh, deep and melodic piece from the start with a multitude of Chinese instruments playing away in a soothing and blissful fashion. This is definitely one of the highlights of this album, and it really sounds amazing for what it is. Some neat percussion is in the background on this piece, and this sounds absolutely fantastic for what it is. A stunning and amazing listen, through and through. This sounds gloriously beautiful and very relaxing throughout. This has a sweet and almost peaceful theme to it, perfect for meditating if you should so wish to do. The double bass playing is a bit weird, but then again, this is a mixture of East and West Music here. The horn playing in the second half is descriptively wonderfully beautiful, and this tune is one of the better listens from this album. Very, very good and it ends with some sweet musical soloing to conclude with. Brilliant. Fine artistry.

15. Glowing Red Morningstar Lillies – Suona Music features Yazhi Guo and Utar Artun. This is the final track of the album as well. It begins with horn parts and sounds extremely dramatic throughout. It is another deep and moving Chinese instrumental piece that sounds very good. A refreshing and lovely tune that is good. Unfortunately, this has an organ on it, which makes zero sense to add on such an album as this. Why? Why is this here? Quite frankly, it ruins the music-listening experience. You can hit stop by this point if you wish, this is not a Church-styled album, it is a Chinese Music album. In any case, this is awful and forgettable as a result. An eye-rolling disaster of a tune, this is not what one had in mind when thinking of Chinese Classical Music. It has a ton of soloing in the second half of the tune, but this album is effectively done by this point. A joke of a tune, do not listen to this particular track. You aren’t missing out on much anyway. Definitely not worth hearing.

This album is not a good one. It seems that whoever was in the creative hotspot for this album release thought that it was a brilliant idea to awkwardly fuse the most weird combinations of Eastern and Western Music onto this release. Therefore, this is a bit of a failure. Sure, there are good moments of listening but overall, this is not good enough. Should you listen to this album release? No, there are better Chinese Classical Music releases out there to enjoy instead, which are easy to find on streaming services.

A bit of a joke.

5/10