Yan Jun, 20 for Lona (3

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The steps through which Yan Jun went in constructing 20 for Lona are laid out very clearly and concisely in the sleeve notes. The prime sound source is that quintessentially Chinese neo-capitalistic product, the pirated DVD.

Here, the artist selected twenty pirated DVDS from his collection, muted most of their respective soundtracks, let them all run simultaneously and mixed up a witch´s brew of international cultural detritus. Languages comprehensible include Hebrew (both classic liturgical and modern conversational), Chinese, English (early on I hear Sarah Jessica Parker and character actor Willie Garson [from an episode of "Sex and the City", no doubt]), Japanese, maybe Russian. On top, alongside and underneath are sound effects, ambient sounds both soothing - trickling water - and grating - subway trains speeding along their tracks - and musical snippets from the original scores themselves.

This release is but a tantalizing excerpt specially prepared for the label (as its title bears witness) taken from an installation premiered at the 4th International Media Art Biennale in Seoul and entitled "I Bought 3000 DVDs", where I am guessing it was enthusiastically received. Much less random and chaotic, and much more dramaturgically composed than its stated parameters might first lead one to expect. Ltd to 100 copies.

http://www.yanjun.org
http://www.lona-records.com