Li Yilei – 垂髫 / NONAGE

London-based Chinese sound poet Li Yilei takes us on a journey through childhood on her second album for Métron Records, 垂髫 / NONAGE, which refers to the carefree phase of life when children are encouraged to explore all of life’s offerings: love and despair, grief and glee, curiosity and mistakes. Like her debut 之 / OF, 垂髫 / NONAGE builds a sonic world of its own, this time through samples from old Chinese TV shows, children’s toys, and instruments designed by Li. There’s a pleasant uncertainty and randomness here, with the tracks often meandering between broken keyboard playing, field recordings, modular synth bloops, and ambient drones, much like a child might experience life through play. Li hopes “listeners will engage with this album in a dreamlike manner, allowing them to freely explore within their dreams without the need to consider how they arrived there or how they will exit.”

Available Now: https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/product/li-yilei-nonage-lp/