ListN Up playlists are commissioned by American Composers Forum. Artists are selected by ACF staff (including I CARE IF YOU LISTEN and innova Recordings).
Lemon Guo is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and vocalist from the southeastern coast of China. She creates voice-based performances, installations, virtual reality films, and other intermedia works that explore things that haunt her and wouldn’t leave her alone. With a background in Chinese folk music and social psychology, Lemon holds an MFA in Sound Art from Columbia University and is currently a DMA candidate in composition at Stanford University.
She has performed and exhibited her works internationally, in places such as Rubin Museum of Art, Sundance Film Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (US), BBC Radio 3 (UK), IDFA (NL), and Siggraph (CA). Lemon created music for director Yi Tang’s short film All the Crows in the World, which won Palme d’Or at Festival de Cannes. Lemon is also half of an experimental music duo Southeast of Rain with composer/pipa-player Sophia Shen and they are currently working on their second album while in residence at Montalvo Arts Center.
Hi, my name is Lemon Guo. I am a composer, vocalist, and sound artist. I’m sharing with you here some tracks by friends, teachers, and people who inspire me. Most of these tracks feature female voices. And they are all about animals. I hope you enjoy them!
“Cicada Song” Performed by the Kam (Dong) singers from Xiaohuang village
I’ve been working with these incredible Kam singers since 2017, taking lessons, documenting their songs, and making creative works informed by their music tradition. An ethnic minority, the Kam people are known for their polyphonic group singing, which is an entirely oral tradition. This song is about the cicadas of early spring.
“Pilentze Pee” Performed by The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir
This is a powerful song from the Bulgarian Women’s Chorus repertoire, about the singing of nightingales. Many famous pieces were directly influenced by this song, for instance the theme song from the Japanese animation Ghost in the Shell. I was singing with the Yasna Voices, a New York Bulgarian Women’s Choir, when I was living in New York. It was one of the most joyful parts of my musical life.
Into the Day by Samita Sinha, Video by Sunil Bald
Samita is a dear mentor and collaborator. She has a unique way of metabolizing and distilling North Indian classical music through her body. Made during Covid time, the video features her singing with the sounds of rioting birds on spring mornings.
So Close by Cassandra Miller, Performed by Miller and Silvia Tarozzi
I’m loving my composition lessons with Cassandra Miller at Stanford this quarter. This piece of hers, composed through an improvisatory process with violinist Silvia Tarozzi, reminds me of the howling of a pack of coyotes at night in the best way.
Day 18 To Frank the Owl 致猫头鹰弗朗克 by Southeast of Rain
My bandmate Sophia and I were obsessed with this beautiful baby owl that lived around us when we were making this album. I would try to bond with him by imitating his high-pitched shrieks, and he would just fly away in disdain. The hocketing between the pipa and voice in this piece is a bit like this back and forth.
蛙蛙哇 ! Songs of the Frogs of Taiwan Vol.1 by Yannick Dauby
A magical album of 16 species of frogs in Taiwan by field recording artist Yannick Dauby.
Chat Ecoutant La Musique (Cat Listening to Music) by Chris Marker, Music by Federico Mompou
This little film warms my heart every time I see it. My favorite filmmaker Chris Marker filmed his cat listening to a piano piece by Federico Mompou on a beautiful sunny day. Look at those paws!
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