Babylon of the Orient

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVAs0vs6t3s

We at Shanghaiist know that you have felt something amiss in Shanghai since you arrived, whether you were born here or the day you stepped off the plane. A nagging feeling tugging gently on your consciousness -- a feeling that there is more to this great city than meets the eye.

One man, Dave Liang, has taken it upon himself to bring us a taste of Shanghai that might have been lost somewhere along the city's crazy road to development and modernization. Dave brings us the "Shanghai Restoration Project", a serious undertaking for a serious artist.

Here is how he describes the project on his website:

The Shanghai Restoration Project draws its creative inspiration from the old 1930s Shanghai jazz bands, an early combination of East and West that has become an international legend. Today’s Shanghai is a chessboard of similar tensions and dichotomies: exotic versus familiar, lore versus technology, and most importantly, traditional Chinese philosophy versus contemporary life. The Shanghai Restoration Project captures and explores these tensions by introducing Eastern instruments and rhythms to the Western sounds of hip-hop, jazz, and pop.

As a Chinese-American, Liang aims to revive the exotic blend of the original Shanghai Jazz bands in a modern context: "Like the rest of the world,” he says, “China is changing so much, but it's doing so on an entirely different level from the rest of us. It's time to explore that idea musically."

That last quote from Dave really sums up the depth of understanding he brings to this delightful musical tour de force. Let's take a look at the delectable track listing that Dave offers, geared especially toward music connosieurs and Shanghai residents:

1. Introduction (1936)
2. Nanking Road
3. Shanghai Express
4. Jade Buddha Temple
5. Peace Hotel (What Is Love)
6. Miss Shanghai
7. Lu Xun (Watch Me Dance)
8. Babylon of the Orient
9. Pearl Tower
10. Avenue Joffre
11. The Bund
12. Old City
13. Pudong
14. Bubbling Well Road
15. Jessfield Park

While some selections could use a little more cowbell, the overall effect of the album is both staggering and profound -- an effect I think that is best summed up by the haunting first verse of "Babylon of the Orient":

Just holla! C'mon and holla back!
We gonna holla! We gonna holla back! (hey)
C'mon and holla! Want you to holla back!
Want you to holla! Just holla back! (hey)
Let me holler at you! (We gonna holla back!)
Let me holler at you! (C'mon and holla back!)
Let me holler at you! (We gonna holla back!)
Let me holla babe! (Let me holla babe!)
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
Hol-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Mmmmm. With heart-felt lyrics like those, we are sure this is going to be a BIG hit with people for whom Shanghai occupies a special place in their hearts.

Kudos to you, Dave Liang, for your musical accomplishment. Shanghaiist salutes you!