Name: otay:onii (aka Lane Shi)
Nationality: Chinese
Occupation: musician, artist
Current release: Dream Hacker on bié Records
Recommendations: “Three Body Problems” by Liu Cixin, and the highly debatable "Backster Effect” experiment.

If you enjoyed this interview with otay:onii's you can visit her website.

When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

When I was 12 years old, I developed a strong addiction to books and films. During summer vacation, I would often watch three movies a day and finish a book in just two days, for a total of two months. One book that had a profound impact on me was "Outsider" by Guiyeoni. The world inside the book inspired me to compose my first song with piano and voice, as the story was calling for a "theme song" by the end of the book. I had practiced classical compositions enough that creating this type of music turned out to be a natural outlet at the time and a powerful way for me to express the conversations happening in my mind later on.

Some people experience intense emotion when listening to music, others see colours or shapes. What is your own listening experience like and how does it influence your approach to music?

Sometimes it’s a conversation, other times it’s a hammer to rigid confinement. It’s like I have the key to a door, but it leads me to another.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

Chinese mythologies and films have always been a great source of inspiration for me. However, my other sources of inspiration have been less positive. Living in the U.S., I face social injustice through media and experience the consequences of a negative impression of China that has solidified during the pandemic. To cope with these challenges, I turn to music, which has always been a source of comfort for me. I find solace in writing eerie songs, and magnesium has become a daily habit. But recently, spending time with Dream Hacker has rekindled my ability to feel joy and express myself through music. I cherish these breakthrough moments when I can break free from my own limitations.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

Living in the US as an immigrant from China can be a challenging experience, as I often feel the need to justify my views and background. I strive to maintain a fluid and inclusive perspective, free from racial tensions and language barriers. Fortunately, music provides a means to connect with others in all realms, regardless of these factors. Recently, I regained my courage to step into the public sphere again, through singing in an open field of mountains. As I looked into people's eyes, I found a way to connect through the acute "talking" of music, feeling confident and at ease in a way that only music can provide.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Solving a puzzle with another puzzle that can't be seen or touched, but must be felt.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

Music is a philosophy that requires a lifetime of experimentation. It's about honesty in the present moment and using one's connection to an instrument to create something unique and meaningful. Traditional instruments like the Chinese Guqin, West African Kora, and Greek Lyre have lost popularity in recent years, but they still hold a special place in the hearts of some artists. It all depends on the artist's relationship with the instrument and what they hope to gain from the experience.

Interestingly, the standard A tuning for music has changed over time, from 432Hz to 440Hz. The origins of this change can be traced back to Paul Joseph Goebbels, the chief propagandist of the Nazi party in Germany. After World War II, the Rockefeller family provided funding for the American Federation of Musicians to adopt the 440Hz tuning. In 1953, the International Organization for Standardization also made the same regulation. However, some people believe that reverting to the 432Hz tuning could have a positive psychological impact. Ultimately, the future of music is difficult to predict, but perhaps there is value in looking to the past for inspiration.

And, in my humble opinion, I think the future will be ancient, ancient was the future.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Voice as a biological instrument. I have quit smoking cigarettes because it hurts it - unlike other instruments such as guitar or piano, you might have the ability to replace one - voice is different, once you destroyed it, you have little chance to gain it back. It ages over time as well, and my body carries it where I go, and wherever I go, if I wish so, I could play this instrument right away. Spirit is the battery, the electricity; and the ability to feel is the skill itself.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

Morning-  dream, contemplate, get up.
Cook, drink non-non-alcoholic liquids, contemplate, write.
Eat, walk, singing while walking, record paths where sounds are appealing.
Come back home, work.
Relax, write
work, relax.
Sleep.

There is perhaps one night of the week I would definitely devote to be dancing, either dancing at home, or dancing in a club setting, usually straight up for five to eight hours.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

‘Good Fool’ on Dream Hacker, was later produced out of an improvised singing recording in my Shanghai apartment back in 2021. The apartment had very thin wall, which meant my neighbour definitely could hear it. My neighbour was an old lady who just lost her partner, she was not particularly nice to me at first, but after interacting with me and always asking my advice for operating phone applications, she never knocked on my door for a noise complaint once. And when I was moving out to leave for the US she told me she liked my singing. I later wrote lyrics in Chinese “矮小与伟大只不过，一波来去，爱的呼吸”  Translated into English, it means “The lowest and the greatest are all but waves that come and go, through a breath of love”.

It touches me because even my old neighbour could show me the kindness of appreciation for my music.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

Yes :). This is probably my favourite subject to explore because I have a story to tell:

During my first and second year at Berklee College of Music, I tried to convey to my instructor how my singing is heavily influenced by mountain singing and heavier music. However, one instructor simply expressed a distaste for singers who scream on stage and did not offer any advice for the realm in which I sought guidance. Additionally, I was struggling to understand the importance of harmony lessons, which seemed to be beneficial for those who incorporated a lot of harmony knowledge in their writing, but did not inspire me to create anything that I felt proud of. The homogenous compositional style that favored only jazz was detrimental to my sense of exploration, which made me lose faith in music.

However, I had a transformative experience at Austin Psych Fest in 2013 when I picked up a single-person tent and headed there. On the campsite, I began singing to a musician playing guitar and called for all people to join in. Within five minutes, people started coming out of their tents, with or without instruments, contributing their parts to the jamming or repeating the vocal rhythms or melodic patterns I was singing. Even though the police shut us down in the end, we thanked each other for such a vibrant and memorable night.

Even though I had no recordings of the synergetic concert in the camp site that night, the memory of it has been giving me the power and encouragement to create - it is ok to be different and alienated by authority, honesty is the key, and everything will follow.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

It is another form of philosophy.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

I once encountered someone who didn't speak English, and we struggled to form meaningful connections or have productive conversations. So, we came up with a solution - we decided to exchange one song per day. Surprisingly, this turned out to be one of the most uplifting experiences I've ever had. We searched for traces of breath and constructed our thoughts through the rise and fall of the melody, the adjectives of the lyrics and poems. This exchange of songs lived between us, filling up the gaps of reality where even words failed to deliver.

There seems to be increasing interest in a functional, “rational” and scientific approach to music. How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?

They could potentially help each other to explore a world if one takes no notion for acclaiming hierarchy in the field of creation.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

In my opinion, the act of creating music and pursuing enlightenment in life are not fundamentally different. If I were not a musician, I would likely be a cook. Adding various spices to a flavorful dish or carefully brewing a delicious cup of coffee is similar to collecting water droplets for sound production. These crafts may be considered more mundane, but they deserve as much credit as any other creative pursuit. However, if the context is changed - for example, if I were cooking for creativity and making music for financial gain - then they may not be in the same practical position to begin with.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

Interactions happen because they are vibrations too. Music is quite literal in that sense, it simply echoes the fundamental medium of energy exchange within breathing creatures and ongoing matters.