VA - 合成中国 Synthetic China Vol 1 (2018)

Synthetic China is a vinyl compilation collecting 11 Chinese electronic music producers. There have been no shortage of electronic music compilations from China in the past, but this is the first one to focus explicitly on the concept and practice of “synthesis.”

The synthesizer, of course, is an essential tool for electronic music production. After nearly a century of development by countless scientists and musicians, the synthesizer can now be heard in all corners of the music industry. Analog or digital, physical or software, with or without a keyboard… Synthesizers vary in form, but all are based on the same basic theory of sound synthesis. Since the German electronic music of the 1950s (Elektronische Musik), the music produced by synthesizers is entirely derived from the signal of a circuit — rather than the sampling of a physical sound — and then modulated by filters, effectors, and sequencers to create a sound that blends technology with futuristic musicality. In contemporary electronic music production, many ideas can be traced back to this basic technological breakthrough.

The artists on Synthetic China come from different backgrounds. Some are famous pioneers in the world of Chinese electronic music. Some are well-known club DJs. Some make pop music, some play in bands, some do radio programs, some invent musical instruments, some write code, some are designers. The synthesizer is the common interest that pulls them together — not only collecting them and comparing their sounds, but discussing and understanding different approaches to sound synthesis. As for the music: as you can hear on this record, from hard, danceable beats to faint atmospherics, from deep uneasiness to heartwarming melody, each artist’s result takes a very different form. After all, synthesizers are merely tools.

Franky speaking, this compilation is not a work of “heart and soul.” Its tracks are records of the daily fragments of these musicians’ working process, moments of their lives. As fleeting documents of countless daily performances, rehearsals, and reflections, it’s not important to think about whether each “moment” reflected is representative or not. History is made up of instants, after all. Twenty years ago, some critics suggested that the era of electronic music in China was just around the corner; today, it seems that it still has not quite arrived, but on Synthesis China some of its best thinkers have joined forces to advance in this direction.