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Music

Pan Daijing's New Track Pairs the Horrific with the Sublime

Hear "Act of The Empress 皇后之作" from the Chinese producer's forthcoming debut album on PAN.
Photo by Nadine Fraczkowski

Using language that wouldn't sound out of place in a horror film, Berlin-based experimental producer and sound artist Pan Daijing has described the process of making her debut album Lack 惊蛰 as "like a mind game." The scathing tone of the record's noise experiments lends the statement a certain sense of perversity—what kind of mind game was this, exactly?

"Act of The Empress 皇后之作" raises more questions than it answers, but the track's bracing for the way it lingers in this ambiguity, producing a kind of exhilarating strain that's as disturbing as it is sublime. Over email, the artist explained the inspiration for the song.

"I grew up watching a lot of Chinese historical documentaries, the idea of empire had a very strong impact on me. This was a one take recording with my vocal and pieces of gear that I've owned from the beginning. During these five minutes I was just simply letting go a fantasy with the sound."

Lack 惊蛰 will be released by PAN on July 28, and is available for pre-order.

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