star, star by mingjia
On Friday, November 17, 2023, Mingjia, the vocalist, composer, songwriter, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist lauded for her ability to “synthesize [multiple] influences into a unique, modern style” (The Whole Note), and whose compositions “communicate an opera’s worth of feelings and emotions, firing all of our senses together at once” (Dominionated), will release her new album, star, star, via New Amsterdam Records. star, star is a collection of kaleidoscopic, through-composed, and emotionally charged songs written by Chen for herself and the Tortoise Orchestra — a Toronto-based 13-piece chamber ensemble that marries courageous songwriting with curious, colorful orchestration, and improvisation.
Throughout star, star Chen uses songs as vehicles to explore stories inspired by her life, Chinese mythology, and the world around her by “creating little worlds of magical realism, where the story is truer than the outcome, little bubbles that are all their own. The story does not merely arrive at the truth, the story itself becomes the truth.”
The album also features the voices of Chen’s friends telling magically real stories throughout. “Following in the tradition laid out by the Tortoise Orchestra EP feel seen, I interviewed and played story-telling games with my friends & neighbors, which I then edited the recordings into sound collages that form the skeleton of the album.
The stories told through this album are twofold — outward and inward: the stories it tells to the listener, you, and the stories it tells the writer, me. The act of completing this record tells a story about the kind of faith in myself that I want to lead my actions with, and love that I am surrounded by. A story I kept telling myself over the last four years is that I have had so much support from my friends and family in the making of this album that it would be physically impossible not to succeed.
This album is what I have to show for in the face of shame. The way to stand up to one’s shame is not necessarily always to prove it wrong, but I'm glad I did. I hope you can find some of yourself in my stories. I hope you will tell your story, and that I can meet you there.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Sane // the Dancer | 6:49 |
| 2. | **-* | 7:06 |
| 3. | & Then | 5:47 |
| 4. | Losing // the Dancer II (feat. việt) | 8:00 |
| 5. | Saint | 11:00 |
| 6. | Everything Looks Prettier from Afar | 3:53 |
| 7. | moon I: time is but a sound | 3:28 |
| 8. | moon II: dusk, dawn | 4:15 |
| 9. | moon III: sun, ocean | 4:16 |
| 10. | moon IV: the birds could not sit still | 7:33 |
| 11. | Madam // & Now | 6:31 |
| 12. | prtnd [Bandcamp exclusive bonus] | 9:05 |
Credits
compositions & lyrics by mingjia chen
produced by paul barton & mingjia chen
tortoise orchestra is:
mingjia chen voice, guzheng, electronics
tom upjohn conductor
anh phung flute
jeff larochelle clarinet, flute
naomi brigid mccarroll-butler bass clarinet, alto flute, alto saxophone
aaron paris violin
meghan cheng violin
clara nguyen-tran viola
jill sauerteig cello (tracks 1-2, 4-11)
evan lamberton cello (tracks 3 & 12)
ben heard upright bass
ewen farncombe piano, synth
jillana nickel vibraphone, glockenspiel
mark ritter electric, nylon string, & acoustic guitars
the choir (tracks 5 & 6) is:
linnea sablosky
erika poh
grace miedziak
erin mihalka
rohan ramanan
karl mccomas-reichl
luc kleiner
raymond ortiz
storytellers are:
sam boer
andie trepanier
emily steinwall
nebyu yohannes
lieke van der voort
tiffany wu
diego hinojosa
việt voice (track 4)
gabe miller voice (track 2)
additional production by:
hunjiya (tracks 2, 4, 5)
david steinmetz (track 4)
andrew feels (track 10)
mingjia & tortoise orchestra was recorded at canterbury music company by andrew mullin, assisted by julian decorte & produced by paul barton.
choir was recorded at knob world by lewis pesacov, assisted by garrett lang & produced by dory bavarsky.
additional recording by gabe miller, mark ritter, amir mehrabi, ashley fulton & mingjia chen
edited by tom upjohn with additional editing by kohen hammond, ashley fulton & mingjia chen
mixed by andrew mullin
mastered by michael hammond at figure 8 recording
artwork & design by mingjia chen
funded by the ontario arts council & the toronto arts council
