Q&A: Belle Chen on Shifting Her Sound, “Late Night Sessions” & More
☆ By SAACHI GUPTA ☆
WITH A MAGICAL SOUND THAT TRANSCENDS GENRE — Belle Chen draws the listener into her world: a place that is distinctively peaceful yet chaotic, and full of emotion.
It was in 2016 that Chen began to look for her place in the world. As a concert pianist, she had always felt like she was telling other people's stories — now, she hoped to find her own voice.
Chen's drastic shift from classical music to experimental, electronica and jazz is a striking example of her boldness. Her music is ever-changing, she states, and is greatly influenced by her adventures around the world.
In 2020, the lockdown caused Chen to begin the #SoundsFromHome Project which invites listeners to send recordings from their homes, and helps Chen feel more connected to the world. Now, with the project continuing to run successfully, Chen has also released “Papaya Tree: Part I”, the first single off her newest EP Late Night Sessions: The Storyteller, set to release soon.
LUNA: Places clearly have a huge influence on your music. What is one place in the world that has left the biggest mark on you?
CHEN: That is a brilliant question, and a difficult one to answer. Different places touch me in different ways. Right at this moment, some vivid memories that pop up in my mind include: A monk's shed up in the mountains in southern Taiwan. The shed was a simple concrete construction, and on this particular day of visit it was up above the clouds. It was a surreal experience — I remember the coldness and thinness of the air.
The all-encompassing blanket of stars and layer of cricket sounds in outback Australia, near the New South Wales and Queensland border. The landscape was very flat where I was — the sky met the land on the horizon — and I remember being overtaken by this incredible sense of openness.
The darkness and salty air during a 12-hour ferry crossing from Napoli to Sicily. The contrasting sense of void on the outside of the ferry against the cheering of crowds inside (I think there was a football match on).
LUNA: When did you realise your love for traveling, and the connection between your music and traveling?
CHEN: I think my love for traveling comes from my background. We moved around a lot as a family. In my 12 years of schooling, I went to six different schools. I always remember the constant change from my childhood — it's quite normal to me. In a way, I'm transient. Which also means that sometimes I get envious when people talk about their lifelong friends because I don't have anyone except my immediate family that has known me so consistently all my life. When I grew up, it was just natural for me to move around, to see new places and meet new people.
LUNA: How did staying in one place during the lockdown impact your creativity? When did you come up with the #SoundsFromHome Project?
CHEN: I have been in London since February 2020. The first few weeks felt okay, but towards April, I began to feel very isolated and lost. Before the lockdown, I was accustomed to traveling — it feeds my creativity and fulfills my sense of curiosity. At that time, I had already walked pretty much all the streets within 1-2 hour radius of my neighbourhood within the daily allowable exercise outing. Then, a few more weeks passed, and as more cities entered into lockdown around the world, I began to realise that perhaps many people were undergoing similar experiences in different parts of the world. So, in May 2020, I began the #SoundsFromHome project, where I invite listeners to share a short sound recording of their city or neighbourhood, along with their story, which I would then improvise to and share on social media. The initial vision was to experiment and see whether it was possible to continue exploring the world during the lockdown. The project ended up fuelling my creativity throughout the various lockdowns that followed, and formed a community online. I still haven't left London since last year, yet I felt like I've explored a diversity of places around the world and met many people through this project.
LUNA: What is something you learned from the #SoundsFromHome Project that you didn't expect to?
CHEN: I felt like I learned more about the perspective of my listeners. I got to know them quite well by the way they describe their life to me, and also by the way they describe their environment. It's kind of like looking through a window, the window being the people who sent me their files. Through this project, I had a glimpse into a lot of people's lives. The recordings I received were very diverse in demographic: people who are older, people who are younger, people who've just had children. I also received recordings from places like Taiwan that have done very well in terms of controlling COVID. In Taiwan, everyone was going to shops and concerts, and nothing had changed — to have that contrast to what people were looking forward to or worrying about, was very interesting.
LUNA: As a classically trained pianist, what attracted you to experimental music? How did your journey begin?
CHEN: I first started working with sound as an ‘instrument’ when I was nearing the end of my studies at Royal Academy of Music. At that time, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to stay in London, and wished to capture a bit of the city with me as a souvenir. I have strong emotional memory associated with sound, so in the final few months of my study, I walked the streets of central London in an attempt to capture the city's voice. From there, I began experimenting with integrating sound and classical music in my work.
My first foray into experimental music using the piano happened after delving into sound art — through free improvisation performances at London’s Café Oto. I collaborated with Chinese percussionist Beibei Wang quite a bit during this time — she's a great artist, and during this time we would do some really whacky things in performance, like hitting the piano with all sorts of things... kitchen utensils, or whatever that could be found. She called the segment ‘Killing Piano,’ and the performance always had that raw, emotional edge to it. The piano always survived. I've also toned down a bit since then.
LUNA: How do you think studying music academically helped change your perspective?
CHEN: Anything that's passed through education becomes the accumulation of everyone's effort before you. So you're presented with all this information in a way that's logical and that's easy to absorb. I don't know who said it, but I always remember the saying, “You learn the rules so you can break them.” I suppose studying music academically just gives me knowledge I can draw onto, to make my decisions. It's kind of like painting, in a way. The knowledge that I gather academically is the different colours, the different techniques and brushstrokes that I can draw onto. And whether I use them or not is down to what I want to create. But I know they're there.
LUNA: How has your sound evolved through your last few records?
CHEN: My music has always been a real and transparent snapshot of my growth as an artist, and also my life. In this way, the sound of my records has evolved throughout the years (and will probably continue to evolve).
My first album Mediterranean Sounds (2016) was a journey along the northern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, juxtaposing works from classical masters with captured and re—constructed field recordings taken on—location.
In 2017, I was dealing with loss, and Mademoiselle was a recording that reflected that vulnerability and hurt through piano, field recordings, and threads of electronics. It was around this time I began writing my own compositions too — so here you'd hear some very early attempts to move away from classical repertoire.
In 2018, I began delving seriously into physical experimentations on the piano and was also beginning to document my fascination with traditional music and instruments.
So in Departure (2019), you can hear the integration of prepared piano and extended technique (metal screws, horse hair etc), with original composition, improvisations, and field recordings.
Later in 2019, I started experimenting more seriously with synthesizers and electric pianos. It was also during this time that I began to take a close note of climate events, initially triggered by observing wildfires that systematically take place in Australia. And this was reflected in Destinations (2020).
In 2020, with the pandemic, came the Late Night Sessions — this recording is currently being released in stages as a set of EPs, and it documents specific moments experienced with the online community throughout the last year.
LUNA: Do you still consider yourself a classical musician, or find comfort in classical music?
CHEN: I've stopped thinking of myself in terms of genre because it's hard to categorize what I create — it changes so much. I definitely still listen to classical music. I can still play it in my head. I think it's in my DNA — but how I use this will be down to what inspires me. Often, when I'm performing on stage, I'll start playing classical music and then come out of it again. So, I suppose I'm classically-rooted yet quite free.
LUNA: What are some differences you've noticed between the classical music and alternative music industries?
CHEN: I'm not sure about the differences, but I can feel through the people that I've met that both classical and alternative / experimental musicians and industries are driven by the love for their artform. The genre and approach may not be the same, but the love, passion, and persistence feels the same to me.
LUNA: Who are some of your musical inspirations at the moment?
CHEN: My musical inspirations change month by month! Lately I've been listening to a lot of jazz pianists — from Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Hiromi to Eddie Palmieri. I feel like my ears are expanding in that direction, and I'm really enjoying delving into this area.
LUNA: According to you, what is the most fulfilling thing about creating music?
CHEN: For me, there are two parts to this answer. Firstly, I find it fulfilling to be able to express myself and share my interpretation of life experiences with others. But actually, my music is no longer my own after I create it — and for me this is the second fulfilling thing about creating music — when listeners offer feedback and share how my creation has become part of their lives and memories. It is fascinating and fulfilling.
LUNA: Is there any part of creating music that has been tough for you to deal with?
CHEN: Very often when I am creating music, I feel like I'm looking at myself in the mirror. A lot of the process is looking into myself truthfully and deeply in order to fine tune what I want to say — and sometimes this opens up vulnerabilities, like unlocking a pandora's box. It's worth it, though — once I can catch the essence of what I want to say, the remainder of the process — from writing, polishing, performing etc. comes very organically and usually very quickly.
LUNA: Other than music, what are some creative outlets you have?
CHEN: This is really strange, but I love designing games. Not complicated coding or anything, but escape room style games — coming up with riddles and taking people through a journey. I've been trying that online with my own community as well. The last one I did was a cyber treasure hunt, where people had to find the answers in order to complete a web link, and the web link will lead them to a second clue, and so on until reaching the prize.
LUNA: “Papaya Tree: Part 1” is, in my opinion, one of your most touching pieces. What are your plans and intentions for the upcoming EP?
CHEN: The upcoming EP Late Night Sessions: The Storyteller is the 2nd part of the 'Late Night Sessions' series. Essentially, the 'Late Night Sessions' reflect my life since the pandemic started.
The first EP — Late Night Sessions: At Home — marks my shift to sharing my writing process online during lockdown. It reflects a need to seek calmness and peace during a time of uncertainty, whilst using textures from prepared piano (paper, woolly scarf, metal screws, putty) and a gentle touch of synthesizer.
The upcoming Late Night Sessions: The Storyteller delves more into the power of imagination — both within myself and the listeners. This EP is like reading a book, with each track unfolding a black and white story that is to be coloured in by the listeners' imagination. The compositions are more narrative in nature, and this is my first piano—only output.
Usually, with each new recording, I factor the new pieces into live performances. Given the circumstances of this year, we'll be looking at a livestream.
LUNA: What is something you're looking forward to in the future?
CHEN: To be able to hug my family and friends again. To play live stages again in person. To be able to travel again without fear.
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From Pavietra 🕊️ https://t.co/BXVgWlZud8 -
slowthai by Rosie Matheson 🤩 https://t.co/z7SDfFQ5iF
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RT @i_D: Ian Kenneth Bird photographs young punks on Polaroid: https://t.co/MKT0tMUqO9 https://t.co/a0tTl12ML5
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RT @AnOtherMagazine: #DreamHome – this isolated idyll in the mountains of Lanzarote 🌵 📸 via Nowness, photography by Clemence Blr 🔁 https://t.co/GUusdxD0cg