Emmy the Great, David Lyttle and Quinta are set to take residence in China as part of the British Council and PRS for Music Foundation’s Musicians in Residence programme. The artists will spend six weeks in different Chinese cities exchanging ideas, creating new work and building cultural bonds between the countries.
Previous participants in the residency scheme include Imogen Heap, Matthew Bourne, Jamie Woon, Sam Genders, Mira Calix and Arun Ghosh. In 2014, the Guardian covered part of the programme by travelling to meet Genders, who was busy putting together a band with musicians in Changsha. In nearby Wuhan, Ghosh was mixing jazz and orchestral influences with a local punk band.
As part of the 2017 scheme, Mobo-nominated Irish musician Lyttle will be travelling to Suzhou in eastern China, while multi-instrumentalist, performer and composer Quinta will visit Guiyang, in the southwest of the country. Emmy the Great, who was born in Hong Kong, will head to Xiamen on the southeast coast. The musicians are likely to head out at some point between April and June next year.
Cathy Graham, British Council’s music director, said: “Once again, all of the musicians selected to take part have demonstrated a deep commitment to sharing ideas and experiences with local people in China. Every residency so far has resulted in diverse and unique work from the artists involved and I am excited about what these new encounters will inspire – both in the short term, and also as long term legacy for the artists themselves, and for the UK and China.”
All of the musicians have submitted plans as to how they propose to spend their time, although the scheme encourages flexibility. Previous collaborations have resulted in impressive work. Imogen Heap’s 2014 album Sparks includes a track called Xizi She Knows, which was composed during her time in Hangzhou. In 2013, Gareth Bonello released the album Y Bardd Anfarwol, which combined Welsh and Chinese folk music to tell the life story of the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. It won the Welsh album of the year award at the 2014 National Eisteddfod, and was nominated for the 2014 Welsh music prize.
