Li Yilei treats us to an 8 part polymorphic sonic journey. Slipping in and out of genre categorisations, 'Specimen' offers a snapshot of a young artist bursting with ideas, thoughts and feelings: an aural documentation reflecting the various conditions of being.
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Score for 'Specimen:
Li Yilei is a Chinese artist and composer working and living in London.
With a background in fine art and sound art, Li’s body of work sought to investigate alternative modes of listening, reflecting upon the tacitness and transience of existential occurrences.
Li’s work often incorporates with sound, body, found materials, poetry, events, daily objects and broken/damaged instruments.
Investigating serendipitous encounters between beings and their environment, the muted state, the unheard, the disabled and untrained voices.
The overarching dialogue around the tacit and the disabled state stems from Li’s idiosyncratic relationship with the outside world as a person on the autistic spectrum.
Their early classical training in violin sparked an interest in the physique of instruments, and the interests in the alternative use of conventional instruments due to the rejection of the Eurocentric formalities of classical music.
In 2016, Li founded Non Dual Collective, focusing on curating live events for ESEA emerging artists. Li has been releasing records and performing internationally since 2018.
Website: liyilei.me
Instagram: li_yi_lei_
