A Moving Sound – Songs Beyond Words (ARC Music, 2020)
A Moving Sound is a fabulous world fusion ensemble based in Taiwan. The group has a deeply satisfying album titled Songs Beyond Words. It was originally released in 2007 and it is now reissued and distributed internationally through Arc Music.
Although the ensemble’s music is deeply grounded in indigenous Taiwanese and Chinese musical traditions, they also incorporate elements from Central Asia, India, Inner Mongolia and western music.
Spectacular singer and frontwoman Mia Hsieh performs in various languages and uses various remarkable vocal techniques that include Taiwanese folk stylings, western harmonizations, avant-garde, spoken word and Mongolian-style singing.
A Moving Sound describes its musical work: “Our music is a stream of consciousness, freely associating and reinterpreting musical idioms that can be found in Taiwan.”
A Moving Sound utilizes a wide range of musical instruments from various traditions, including erhu (fiddle), zhongruan (lute), sheng (polyphonic pipes), suona (horn), flutes and global percussion.
The ensemble on the album includes Mia Hsieh on lead vocals; Scott Prairie on zhongruan, bass, gong, and vocals; Zheng-Jun Wu on percussion, flute, and ehru; Chang-Chin Lo on ehru; Hua-Zhou Hsieh on chitarra and zhongruan; Hsin-Hai Yang on suona; and Hang-Sheng Hsu on sheng.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.