every dollar is a soldier/with money you’re a dragon, originally commissioned by Two Temple Place and Kakilang combines elements of spoken word rap and gig theatre. It features actor and writer Daniel York Loh and is performed against an exciting soundtrack of electronic music composed by An-Ting 安婷 and classical Chinese instrumentation.
With spoken word and electronic music, An-Ting 安婷 and Daniel York Loh create a powerful lament on the immigrant experience, taking in myriad reflections on the need for money and status as well as the right to call a place that can either reject or embrace you "home". They juxtapose the harsh experiences of the first Chinese settlers in London with the opulent world of privileged, but bitter, émigré William Waldorf Astor.
An-Ting's score seamlessly carries us over entire continents, oceans, and winter plains, as well as into the gloomy bowels of ships, with its evocative erhu and pipa melodies, lonesome tack piano, cheerful waltz, and distinctive "Asia beats."Acclaimed classical actor Daniel York Loh narrates his epic text, which The Upcoming describes as striking. It explores the eerie grandeur of Astor's very own Xanadu of Two Temple Place, smoke-drenched Victoriana London, even smokier opium dens, and the burgeoning concrete mountain range of Manhattan across centuries and to the present. His use of language conveys a range of feelings that are precisely matched with the musical upswing.
“As a concert pianist with a heritage rooted in East culture, the prospect of creating a project that harmoniously integrates traditions from both East and West is incredibly exciting. I embedded the distinctive sounds of Chinese instruments into a contemporary style, conveying a different musical expression,” An-Ting comments on the release.
"I wanted to write about migrant journeys. About loss and loneliness, about what we take with us and what we leave behind, and the legacy we want to impart to the next generation. And what we’ll do to ‘belong’’," Daniel York Loh comments.
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