MoShang is a sound jeweler living in Taiwan. He collects rough audio diamonds from the streets of Taiwan (be they overheard conversations, street-ads blared from the ubiquitous blue-trucks, street processions or funeral chants) and fuses them with traditional Chinese instruments and laid-back beats to create a unique blend of downtempo electronica he likes to call Chinese Chill. In SL, MoShang Zhao performs live on a WX-5 midi windcontroller (electronic sax), lending a jazzy air to his downtempo creations.
MoShang is the Chinese moniker of Jean Marais, who began as a choral singer in the early 1980s in Cape Town, South Africa – at which time he acquired his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20. It would take some time, however, for his love of music and computers to find its ideal expression. Marais first earned acclaim as lead singer/frontman of the South African art-rock band Duusman and as saxophonist for the group Tsunami; he also served as producer on three award-winning albums honoring poet Breyten Breytenbach and formed half of the Afrikaans pop duo 12Hz. He garnered South Africa’s prestigious Avanti Award for his score to the short film “Angels in a Cage.” Most recently, his music was selected for two episodes of the HDTV Discovery Channel production “Fantastic Festivals Of The World” currently airing in the USA and soon worldwide.
Marais relocated to the Taiwanese city of Taichung three years ago; his first release as MoShang, “Made in Taiwan,” was released on his Onse Plate (Afrikaans for “Our Records”) imprint in 2004. His second, "Chill Dynasty" was released in September 2006. MoShang's "Asian Variations", a full-length remix album, was released in 2007 under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License and is available for free download from asianvariations.com.
Praise for MoShang's "Chill Dynasty" (Onse Plate 2006):
"Chill Dynasty is a multi-layered, mystical, playful collection of pieces that are quietly stated yet astonishing in their complexity." ~ Jennifer Layton ~ IndieMusic.com
"This album is a daring pursuit for any compilation let alone any individual artist but luckily MoShang manages to explore mainly unchartered territory and has found something unique and fresh. With its layered beats over traditional oriental musical instruments and with a touch of electronica thrown in for good measure Chill Dynasty will be a true delight to any ‘Chinese Chillout’ fan." ~ Christina Warner ~ fly.co.uk
"Chill Dynasty proves MoShang’s consistent quality and mastery as an artist, composer, and producer. Meet the Eastern world’s Sven Van Hees – MoShang proves Chill Dynasty a classic beyond its time." ~ Tim Quigley ~ Groovera.com
For more info, visit MoShang on the web at:
http://moshang.net
http://chilldynasty.com
http://myspace.com/moshang
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