- Li Yilei uses intricate ambient sounds to explore the pandemic's temporal and emotional impact.
- Working primarily in the realms of sound art, performance and installation, Li Yilei transforms simple moments into abstract sonic languages with ease. They make use of field recordings, uncommon instruments and musical influences including noise, avant-garde and psychedelic sounds. Their third album, 之 / OF on Métron Records, explores Li's own perception of time through a collection of ambient sketches. There's an emphasis on warm atmospheres, field recordings from various landscapes and slight, loose structures that make each song feel like a vivid but dreamy portrait of a different place and time.
In an interview with Tone Glow, Yilei explained how their "writing process always starts with a story, or a piece of text I wrote. From there, I will start to 'translate' them into sonic language." Although work on the album started before the pandemic, the story behind 之 / OF is heavily based on their experience during the Covid-19 lockdowns, with the concept of time playing an important role.
Many people's perception of time changed during the early pandemic period—a combination of the sameness of each day and a loss of routine. Yilei thought about early measurements of time, like how when sundials were created time was broken down into twelve parts during daylight. These segments would change depending on the length of day and the season, giving every hour its own identity. In 之 / OF, Yilei also channels this idea of individualism in each hour by portraying the songs, in their words, as "short, scattered poems."
Each of these 12 tracks has its own calming aura, as Yilei plays with recordings that represent distinct times of the day. From colliding waves to gentle birdsong, the heavy presence of field recordings in 之 / OF gives it a real feeling of time passing. (Paintings from China's Song Dynasty that heavily featured birds also influenced Yilei's process.)
While much of the album is tranquil, there are occasional interruptions: the looped melody in "WEI / 未" creates a sense of anticipation, like you're waiting for something to drop. It reminds me of rush hour time of day when people are hurrying—and then waiting—to get home on trains (or stuck in traffic). "YAN / 言" is also a more active than the others, with discussions of spiritual terrorism in the faint vocal samples Yilei layers on top of ocean waves and continuous drums. It sounds like it's trying to induce itself into a meditative state, akin to those moments when you're trying to sleep but can't turn off your overactive mind.
Yilei also makes an effort to address the emotional toll of the pandemic in 之 / OF, capturing one of the most common feelings people experienced: disarray. Living through something for the first time and, for many, being ill-prepared, brings chaos. "SAN / 散" reflects this turbulence. "散" translates as "scattered," and it sounds like it: call-and-response animal-like sounds are contrasted by bleeps triggered at almost random intervals. But despite the variety of sounds in 之 / OF and Yilei's success at producing songs that distinctly reflect each hour, they've also managed to make a coherent body of work. Their brilliant sonic analysis of the different emotions that contribute to the human experience, day-in and day-out, illustrates the relationship between a part and a whole.
Tracklist01. TAN / 潭
02. CHU / 處
03. HUO / 惑
04. WEI / 未
05. HAI / 海
06. NEI / 内
07. MUU / 木
08. SAN / 散
09. XUN / 旬
10. YAN / 言
11. YUN / 暈
12. KOU / 口