Left Foot Dance Of The Yi

The mountains of south-western China have inspired the folk traditions of those living in their shadows for millennia. Now, Shanren follow their ancestors' footsteps with a mash of traditional Chinese folk and buzzing modernity on their infectious international debut Left Foot Dance of the Yi.

Left Foot Dance of the Yi is a contemporary re-working of traditional music that traces out a striking collage of present day China. Many of the tracks meld together the soundscapes of old and new China to striking effect. The opening track, "Wandering", weaves field recordings of Yanan's Yi and Wa tribes, with sounds captured from the frenetic streets of bustling Beijing. The anthemic track "Thirty Years" is an original composition owing equal creative debt to western rock as it does to the sounds of the Yi people.

Shanren began their careers as musicians in the 1990s. Buzzing off red-hot western rock heard on illegally imported cassettes they began to mash the sounds of Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers with the indigenous sounds of their Chinese homeland. It was a potent mix and their sound quickly matured into something entirely unique - the high-pitched vocals, unusual string textures and driving rhythmic beats heard on this album.