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From The Desk Of Rainbow Chan: Mixtapes

RainbowChanLogoSydney pop songstress by way of Hong Kong, Rainbow Chan records her music in the same place that her zany garb and shoes reside: her closet. After realizing her original artistic focus of being an oh-so-experimental singer/songwriter was not for her, Chan turned to something a little more her: infectious pop music out of left field. What resulted from this genre jump is the Long Vacation EP (Silo Arts), which is named after a 1996 Japanese TV drama. She claims the inspiration for the six tracks consist of, but not limited to, glockenspiels and music boxes, Frédéric Chopin and Steve Reich, girl groups and electronics, Hong Kong pop, Shanghai jazz, American rhythm ‘n’ blues and Japanese television theme songs. Chan will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all this week. Read our brand new feature on her.

MixTapes

Chan: To include mixtapes seems highly predictable of the Gen Y hipster, I know. I can’t help but love cassettes and records because they are such tangible and tactile modes of experiencing music, which is increasingly lost through mp3 and digital culture. There is something quasi-ritualistic about rewinding and fast-forwarding a tape. I like that it takes patience and time, making us slow down. I enjoy many extramusical elements such as hearing the hum of the tape spinning and the loud clack of the playback buttons. My grandmother in Hong Kong used to send my family very DIY and hodge-podge mixtapes of songs she recorded off the radio. She vowed only to listen to Western music as she thought Chinese music was naff. We would sing along to these golden oldies in the car. I like how these tapes live on even after death and are physical pieces of history through music.

Video after the jump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnouSQ26p3k