We recently sat down for a chat with our favorite guzheng player and experimental musician / virtuoso composer Wu Fei. Born and raised in Beijing, Wu Fei started playing guzheng and piano at the age of six – just three years later she was performing solo concerts. At 15, she entered the China Conservatory of Music to study composition.

When she left China for the US in 2000 to pursue an M.A. in Composition from Mills College, she began to diversify her sound and experiment widely, working with musicians as dynamic as John Zorn, Fred Frith, Be´la Fleck, Pauline Oliveros, Carla Kihlstedt, and Cecil Taylor and also as a commissioned composer for Percussions Claviers de Lyon (piece premiered at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing).

Wu Fei’s compositions for choir, string quartet, chamber ensemble, Balinese gamelan, orchestra, film, and modern dance exhibit her remarkable skill and profound musical understanding. She has appeared as a guest on Frith’s “Eye to Ear II” (Tzadik, USA) and “Happy End Problem” (Recommended, UK) and Carla Kihlstedt’s “Traineater” (Anti, USA), and performed in cities around the world, including New York, Rome, Beijing, Berlin, Dublin, Venice, Milano, and San Francisco.

Wu Fei’s performances on guzheng and her voice can be as delicate as lace or furious as thunder. We’ve shared some her music in the embedded player below. Have a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

For more from Wu Fei on NeochaEDGE, link here. /// AjS

You recently moved back to Beijing after nearly a decade in the US. What brings you back?

The food brought me back, as well as a fascination about the changes that have happened to my home town while I was abroad. So much has changed.

Musically speaking, has anything surprised you about the China you’ve returned to? How is the music scene in China different than you remember it?

I’m surprised that authentic musicians from remote villages are being promoted on CCTV now. There’s more diversity in the current Chinese music scene than when I left. But then again, I don’t really remember it being a scene back then. I was still an undergraduate student at the China Conservatory of Music. The academic scene was pretty cut off from what was happening outside.

What bothers me? A few things: 1) shitty cheesy pop music is still in your face most the time. Even shittier pop music than when I left; 2) there is too much “style and idea” copying from America, especially with music television programming; and 3) there’s a lack of originality in almost every genre. I’m talking about creating new music, not performing or covering existing music.

I’m a composer, so original ideas weigh the most when I listen to someone’s music. Artistic creativity based on root culture can establish a strong identity among international ears. Imitating wont accomplish this.

You started playing the guzheng at a very young age, why did you start playing? Was it something you had natural talent with, or did you have to work hard to develop your skills, etc.?

My parents chose the guzheng for me. I didn’t have much say in it. My parents said they saw musical talent in me when I was just a toddler, like before I was three years old. They had me try many different instruments, but I didn’t like most of them. The last instrument they had me try was the guzheng. The rest is history, but to be honest, I don’t really remember much of this.

Yes, I practiced a lot to get better – of course. It was a painful process, but very rewarding. I still benefiting from all the hard work I put into mastering the guzheng.

Tell us about your current musical style? How has it changed / evolved over the years?

My current musical style is “style-less” you could say. I don’t think my music fits in any set category.

From a “live performance” point of view, my music is usually classified as “classical contemporary,” but it’s also sometimes called free style, experimental, or acoustic, sometimes even “free jazz.”

My music overall approach to music, or I guess you could say my “musical style,” has always been evolving, it’s still evolving and growing. I’ve lived in and have traveled to many cities in the U.S. and Europe over the last 10 years. These travels have influenced my music. My music is simply a reaction to and reflection of my life experiences.

At times, your musical style seems to be much more than “traditional Chinese music,” but rather more of experimental composition / world music that happens to use some traditional Chinese instruments. Tell us a bit more about this “fusion.” Do you think your music is hard for Chinese people to accept?

Generally speaking, I think my music is hard for most of China’s 1.3 billion people to accept. Why? I don’t really know. If CCTV put my music on prime time everyday, people would probably accept it.

I’ve heard you are quite an accomplished pianist, why don’t we hear more of your piano playing? What other instruments do you play?

I’d love to play more piano. Since my first record was a guzheng / voice record, I’m known as a guzheng musician to labels, festival, and concert promoters. Once your identity is set, it’s not easy to break that frame. I also play some percussion. I used to be the percussion player in an ensemble when I was a kid because guzheng was not always used. I’m a vocalist too.

It seems like its been a couple years since your last (solo) album (A Distant Youth), are you recording anything now? When can we expect something new from you? What will the music be like?

There’s another record that came out in November of 2008 called Yuan on Tzadik Records. It’s a chamber work CD that features five ensemble compositions I wrote from 2003 – 08.

I’ve studied composition my entire life, in China and abroad. Writing scores is my primary work. I do this even more than performing.

I’m working on several projects with a few American and European artists right now. Two of them will be duo projects. One is with a wonderful American guitarist and composer named Gyan Riley. The other is with an Italian chapman stick / viola da gamba player Guido Ponzini.

I’m writing a series of compositions for guzheng and their instruments. We will record next spring and summer. Hopefully the records will be released next year or in early 2011, and hopefully they’ll be released in China too.

Tells a bit about upcoming concerts / performances, collaborations, and / or recording projects.

I’m going to give a solo concert and a collaboration improvisation concert in Gent, Belgium in early December. It’s a big festival called Europalia China Arts Festival. Next march, I’m doing a residency in Rider University in Princeton and then a recording session in New York City for a new record on Tzadik again. Over March, May, and July I’ll be going to Europe to promote a new DVD titled Shan Qi that was just released in Germany this month. In June 2011, I’ll be doing a month long composer-in-residency at the Montalvo Art Center in northern California. There are other performances / tours being discussed right now, hopefully will have some shows in China. There is a possibility that I’ll be playing in next year’s Beijing international music festival. But that’s not confirmed yet.

Tell us more about the Shan Qi DVD.

The DVD features five musicians from Europe & China. It was filmed on the Alps in Northern Italy a couple years ago. The five musicians are Guo Yue (Chinese flutist, a London-based native Beijinger), Giovanni Aghmigetti (keyboardist and producer, Italian), Guido Ponzini (chapman stick, bass, Italian), Helge A. Norbakken (percussionist, Norwegian), and me. It’s all original music and would fall into the “world-contemporary” genre I’d say.

footage from Shan Qi ///

Recently it seems you’ve been performing a lot in the US and Germany. When will you start performing more in China?

Whenever China wants me more, hahaha.

I just moved back. It’ll probably take a while for me to have a regular performance schedule in China, but I’m working on it.

Recently you did a show in Beijing with Xiao He (solo folk artist, also a member of Glorious Pharmacy), we are big fans of his. Tell us about that show. What do you think of him and his music? Did you play together or was it just a double bill?

We played separately, then did a duo improvisation session. Xiao He has a unique approach artistically. I like his song writing, his voice, and the way he links Chinese elements into his creativity.

Besides guzheng, what other instruments do you like to work with in your compositions / music?

Any instrument really. I’ve written for / played most Chinese & Western instruments in solo music, small-large ensembles, choirs and orchestras, etc. I’ve even dabbled with electronic music. Now, I’m more interested in writing for and working with anything that I haven’t written for or worked with before. I want new challenges. I want to learn more. For example, writing for ancient instruments from other cultures to create a new series repertoire – hopefully.

Who are your biggest musical influences and why?

Humans. Because humans are the best combination of simplicity & complication.

Who do you most enjoy performing with and why?

Every time I play with someone, I have the most enjoyable moments and also the “low energy” moments. It happens with everyone I’ve ever played with. Generally, I enjoy performing with musicians who are honest in presenting their sound and personality. Those that are good listeners while playing, and of course those that are masters of their instrument technically. I can’t stand it when musicians fill every second with sound just so the audience will know they are doing something. Some musicians are also just not comfortable with silence. I think this is an obstacle for musicians. Sometimes less is more. But I guess it’s really about one’s personality. You play who you are, you write who you are.

You’ve played with Billy Martin, I grew up listening to him (mostly in Medeski, Martin, and Wood), what was it like playing with him?

Billy is an amazing percussionist. Outside of MMW, Billy’s own creativity is all over the place. He’s a really talented painter too. I’ve played with Billy a few times – each time was a different experience. Ultimately though, very free and fun.

What modern Chinese musicians / bands to you particular enjoy or admire? Do you like any particular genre of local music (indie-folk, electronic, experimental, etc.?)

In China, I admire classical and traditional musicians. Needless to say as a composer, I prefer to work with highly skilled performers when they play my compositions. I also like authentic roots music, like village singers from ethnic minorities throughout China’s countryside. I haven’t found a local indie band that strikes my fancy. I’ve only been back for a few months, I need time to discover more. Like I said before, I always go for originality from an artist / group, not because they have adopted the latest music trend from NYC, Berlin, Tokyo, etc.

Besides the tracks shared above, where else can we hear / buy your music?

See my website to purchase my music and records. See this MySpace page of mine to hear my ensemble composition work. And, to here some of my solo, improvisational, and collaboration work, link here. Or just Google me, you’ll find all sorts of sites that have my music, like Amazon, Last.fm, eMusic.com, Tower.com, etc. My stuff is also on iTunes, but interestingly, my second record, Yuan, is listed as “explicit.” I have no idea why – it’s a chamber ensemble album. Hahaha. Oh, and of course, check out my Neocha page. There are also some cool videos on my YouTube page.