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Jia Peng Fang It is said that instruments were played initially to imitate the human voice. If that is so, niko is the perfect instrument to express the melodies of the Asian continent in the tones of this continent. From the lowest to the highest, the tones stretch expansively and they conjure up in the listener's minds, images of the broad and slightly red tinted skies and the green fields of the Asian continent and the people living tranquil lives there surrounded by the rich natural landscapes. Of the songs contained in the album, only the six piece and the ninth piece are pure Chinese classics, these being, YUEYA WUGENG" and YUYEYE" and the rest are all original works created for this album. And despite the abundance of Western harmonies and Instruments such piano and guitar, the sounds produced by niko maintain the gentle and the sweet melancholy tones of the Orient and express the great openness of the pastoral life in the Asian continent. The other star of the album, Jia Peng-Fang, is a niko player representative of China, or rather of Asia as can be noted in the profile and perhaps it is his gentle sweet character reflected in the performances that make us feel so much at peace with ourselves as we listen. Also Seiichi Kyoda who
was in charge of the musical arrangement of all the pieces
in the album and composed six, got on really well with Jia
and they made a great team together. Seiichi was also able
to make a natural connection to the instrument niko, making
it possible for him to create the perfect melody makeup and
arrangements for the work. This in turn, made the music more
accessible for us who have little chance of ever hearing
such an instrument. The title is River" so why not listen to
the album and let ourselves feel like we are on a small boat
floating down the Yellow River, looking at the fantastic
landscapes on the river coasts as we go. Fresh, vibrant
atmospheric music created to stimulate and not comatize the
listener." Review by Ben Kettlewell information: |
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When
it comes to the creative drive which makes for outstanding
original music, Jia Peng Fang is one of those rarely well
balanced artists who is absolutely vital to the overall
presentation. With strokes of his musical brush, he carries
us to areas of his creativity that have not previously been
revealed. The instrument used on the album is called the "
niko", a traditional stringed instruments from China. There
are many instruments in the lute category that are played
with the bow rubbing against the instrument which produce
the sounds, such as batokin" from Mongol, hegum" from the
Korean peninsula and many others just from Asia alone. As
for Europe, might not we say that violins are representative
of string instruments there?