ListN Up playlists are commissioned by American Composers Forum. Artists are selected by ACF staff (including I CARE IF YOU LISTEN and innova Recordings).
Clae Lu (吕皎) is a multi-faceted blob of laughter, proud second generation Shanghainese American born ‘n bred in Flushing, Queens (unceded territory of the Lenni-Lenape). They enjoy spending time with chosen family and friends, eating good food, scribbling, and plucking away on the 古筝 (guzheng). Their achievements include creating an event featuring queer, trans, gender-non-conforming performers of Asian diasporic identities connecting heritage, culture, and traditions called Our Sonic Love, recording a soundtrack called Playroom Meditations with Ben Florencio, and being a 2022-23 resident at The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) as a recipient of The New York Community Trust’s Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund.
A note from Clae:
The guzheng has always been this super niche Chinese classical object that represents tradition, history, something old and ancient, and not very contemporary or present, so when I get to see and hear from artists who are taking these classical things and bringing them into the present, it is incredibly inspiring!
I was lucky enough to grow up in a neighborhood filled with Chinese immigrant community. There was a lady who had a shop filled with Chinese folk instruments and was providing classes. I decided to take classes there with the support of my mom, and pretty immediately fell in love with what felt like an entire world that I had been missing up until that time. Even though I was exposed to piano and Western music theory before (through force by my parents), my mind naturally picked up Chinese folk music. Sure it was hard to learn songs in an estranged language where I couldn’t read song titles and only picked up bits and pieces of the stories from my teacher, but a lot more pieces of the puzzle felt at home in me when I would play the music.
Clae Lu — Photo by Vincent Chong
I think of music as sound, and sound is political. I think of the sounds, songs, noises that we grew up around – whether it’s the music our caregivers played, songs sung while we were in the womb, sounds off the streets, familiar noises that remind us of our place and belonging. I have spent a lot of my life so far stumbling my way back to my roots, and a lot of that has been thanks to guzheng and Chinese folk music. I find myself being drawn by the spirit of music, and I hope some of the music in this playlist inspires you to find your way to your roots.
“[By] believing in ancestors that we don’t know, working through us, we retain memory. Our education teaches us to dismiss all sorts of things that are indigenous to our roots, our histories. Discredit our ways of knowing, people…That’s where the information was, that’s where the language, the color, tales, folktales…” Toni Morrison
梁祝 (Butterfly Lovers) Concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, Performed by Sun Huang, Yan Huichang, and the Hsinchu City Youth Chinese Orchestra
This is my ABSOLUTE favorite song/story of Chinese music/history. It originates from ancient China and tells a story of kinship, chosen family, queer love. I always refer to it as proof that queer histories have always been around, rather than a “new” development – something as old as ancient China, if not older. This piece was written in 1959 by He Zhanhao (何占豪) and Chen Gang (陈钢), in the 5-note pentatonic tradition and uses melodies from Shaoxing Opera.
雪山春晓 (Spring on Snowy Mountains) Performed by Ying Xiao
This guzheng piece was composed in 1981 and is one of the earliest compositions to adapt elements from Tibetan and Xinjiang music. It’s a more advanced guzheng song, and I distinctly remember being very drawn to the different beats and music styles incorporated when my guzheng teacher first introduced me to it. There are elements that feel like drum beats, village folks dancing, celebrating, and even flowing water elements.
Wish by Hwang Gina
Hwang Gina is a geomungo (Korean traditional instrument) player and composer. Her music reminds me of the expansiveness of creating present-day music rooted in East Asian folk language without sacrificing folk music’s core. I went to see her perform at Lincoln Center and saw how she builds layers and layers of sounds to create a world of sounds and feelings using instruments that look and feel like the guzheng, which was incredibly inspiring to me.
“Ever New” by Beverly Glenn-Copeland
I recently went to see Beverly Glenn-Copeland perform live with his wife and it was such a magical moment to see a trans elder share so much magic and love with a whole auditorium of queer and trans community. His music reminds me of the preciousness of trans elderhood.
“Magic” by Treya Lam
Treya Lam is a beloved friend, community member, and fellow musician incredibly talented across multiple instruments. Their music makes me feel so warm and loved! I love the intentionality to their lyrics, the way their music builds, and how they bring in community to their performances. Their work with the Resistance Revival Chorus is also soul-warming.
“Tried by 12” by The East Flatbush Project, feat. Des
Sampling is a core part of hip hop music, so coming across this track that samples a plucked string instrument that sounds much like the guzheng, from 1996 (!!!) written and composed by such an iconic group like The East Flatbush Project, has been a big inspiration for me. It reminds me that music making spans genres and cultures.
我的新衣 (“My New Swag”) by VaVa, featuring Ty. & Nina Wang (王倩倩)
This song really blew my brain when it first came out. VaVa rose to fame through a show called The Rap of China. While the appropriation of Black culture is very much on my mind when I think about these artists and what they’re doing, things are also nuanced. I am reminded that VaVa is highlighting local culture, Chinese opera, rapping in Mandarin and Sichuan dialects, and keeping alive aspects of Chinese culture that celebrate uniqueness.
“a spell for the present moment,” by adrienne maree brown, Performed by Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Conceived/written by adrienne maree brown, performed by Beverly Glenn-Copeland, currently being workshopped by Troy Anthony and Charlotte Brathwaite as a choir song. A few weeks ago when I went to a Fire Ensemble rehearsal led by Troy Anthony at The Shed, he introduced this poem/spell/song and everything about it felt so good for the soul. As a shower-singer and occasional karaoke-yeller, singing this amongst a choir of mostly QTBIPOC folks was empowering.
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