The xun is a globular, vessel flute from China. It is one of the oldest musical instruments in China and has been in use for approximately seven thousand years.The xun was initially made of baked clay or bone, and later of clay or ceramic.

Li has made a small number of ceramic xun, cast through plaster moulds and finalised by hand to support the release of their incredible new album OF which features a track called ‘Xun’ that samples a number of Chinese instruments including a xun.

Each xun comes signed by Li and will be shipped in a customised wooden box, along with an information card and photo card.

All purchases will come with a digital download of the album.

Please note these items will be shipped separately to any record purchased as they will be shipping directly from China where Li is currently working.

‘’之 / OF is a word that can be used as a preposition to express the relationship between a part and a whole. It is an unfinished tone, a broken sentence, a start and a whole. It is sustainable, full of potentials and longings.’’

London based performance and sound artist Li Yilei shared an experience familiar to many migrants during the past year of COVID-19 chaos. With their UK visa set to expire, and family back in China, Li made a last-minute dash to return to their nation of birth. Able to board one of the last few flights to China during the initial turmoil of the coronavirus outbreak, Li made it back to Shanghai for a two-week stint in a quarantine hotel.

Though Li had already begun creating OF, the reality of the pandemic began to seep into the recordings. Each of the 12 tracks is a study in horology, using metaphorical sound transcriptions and atmospheric extractions to focus on the temporal relationship between experience and surroundings. Li’s awareness of their own understanding of time became increasingly heightened during quarantine and the emotional involvement found within these new realities informed many of the sounds created.

‘’I tried to portray each song as a short, scattered poem…  more

credits

released August 16, 2021

Composed and produced by Li Yilei.
Mastered by Brandon Hocura.
Design by Jack Hardwicke.