‘A chronicle of the struggle for free speech and free artistic expression in the People’s Republic of China.’
Crosstown Rebels head honcho Damian Lazarus has just shared the news that scored his first film ever. The producer and performer has written original music for the documentary film ‘Beijing Spring’, which tells of the struggles that artists have gone through in the People’s Republic of China, during a brief period of political reform during the late 1970s.
Written, produced, and directed by Andy Cohen and co-directed by Gaylen Ross, ‘Beijing Spring’ follows a group of artists called the Stars (including Ma Desheng, Huang Rui, Ai Weiwei, and others) as they search for their own voice, an issue that is still highly relevant today.
Damian Lazarus first met Andy Cohen in a nightclub in Geneva. This chance meeting led to a commission to embellish the existing more traditional soundtrack with a modern take, something more experimental.
According to its press release, ‘Within two days of the meeting, Damian was recording musicians playing ancient Chinese musical instruments in a recording studio in Bali. Each musician experimented around the same tonal scale, while Damian’s friend Millane contributed vocals. After these intense recording sessions, it was back to Damian’s studio in Italy to edit, compile, and complete, before the whole album was mixed by the Grammy-nominated Bruno Ellingham.’
Damian Lazarus will be releasing the original score ‘(Music Inspired by The Film) Beijing Spring’ on April 1st, which you can pre-order via Bandcamp here.
Watch a trailer for ‘(Music Inspired by The Film) Beijing Spring’ below.
