Rhythms of the Inter-Island

'Rhythms of the Inter-Island' is designed to draw visitors’ and residents’ attention to often overlooked qualities and dimensions of the relationships that characterize and distinguish life on the islands, by making them accessible to auditory experience, enjoyment, and reflection. 

The project creates and presents music composed and performed in response to sounds and voices heard and overheard near the sea, to explore and appreciate the vibrancy, fragility, and resilience of the inter-island environment that sustains the culture and identity of islanders.   

With an interest in seeing how pure “non-musical” sounds can become music and be combined with melodic plays, Celestial 天上 will create music from a laptop, in a performance that brings background, unattended sounds to the foreground. The interplay between natural, mechanical, spoken, will invite the audience to reflect upon their auditory daily experience.  

In a performance of traditional outdoor music from Chinese opera, The Gong Strikes Ones evokes soundscapes of festivity: when celebration is in the air, it spreads contagiously, to all residents of the island, whether it started as a tiny gathering between friends or a large community-moment…!

About the artists:

“Celestial 天上” are a Hong Kong based collective who have performed, made videos and produced nine albums of Asian Soundscapes since 1996. Conceived by producer Peter Millward, the music has evolved from Chill/Ambient Down-Tempo through full-on Reggae/Dub to Filmatic Soundscapes - but always incorporating a fusion of Pan-Asian traditional musical elements against an electro-symphonic backing, with sound-effects and random voice recordings floating in and out. www.hongkongdubstation.com

Founded in 2012, The Gong Strikes One specialises in traditional Chinese operatic music while exploring different performance settings of the genre. www.thegongstrikesone.com