In commemoration of the late Can frontman Damo Suzuki, his widow Elke Morsbach hosted a night of live music and spoken word featuring live sets by Tian Qiyi and Bo Ningen.
Tian Qiyi, sons of esteemed bass player Jah Wobble, have just released their new album, ‘Songs for Workers’. They started their set on their last studio album ‘Red Mist’ (2023) with the grungy creep of ‘Abyss – of the Yangtze River’, performed by Charlie Wardle on traditional Chinese instrument, the horse head fiddle (Morin khuur), accompanied by John Wardle on Jaki Liebezeit inspired drums and Wobble on bass.
The brothers also performed the frenzied ‘Incantation’ on Erhu and drums which opened out into an experimental instrumental that sounded like a Chinese New Year parade. Moving onto the new release, they played ‘At the Beginning’ with its tribal beats and Wobble’s jagged basslines, although these were just snippet versions of the full length tracks on their album. Charlie then performed an Erhu solo intro for title track ‘Red Mist’ from their last album. They ended their set on another new song, ‘Dharma’, from their ancient Mongolian inspired release.
28/06/25: Tian Qiyi @ Merton Arts Space, London.
Photo © Peter McDonnell.
© Ayisha Khan.