STREAMS (2019) ACT 9876-2
1. Hippocampus 5:06
2. Bamiyan 5:37
3. Swing a Ming 6:00
4. Subtle Body 5:00
5. 6h55 4:29
6. Mazurka 6:13
7. Sawira 5:45
8. The Single Orange 4:05
9. Coromandel 5:07
10. Hear Here 6:20
Nguyên Lê : electric guitar, electronics
Illya Amar : vibraphone, T'rung bamboo xylophone (2, 7)
Chris Jennings : acoustic bass
John Hadfield : drums & percussion
Written by Nguyên Lê except (5) by Chris Jennings and (8) by Illya Amar
Producing, mixing & additional recordings by Nguyên Lê at Louxor studio, Paris, France, August & September 2018
Recorded by Hugo Bracchi at Midilive Studios, France, July 2018
Mastering by Klaus Scheuermann
Nguyên Lê plays Julien Gendre guitars, Fractal Audio, Vovox cables, D'Addario strings, Zexcoil pickups, Hantug guitar parts. Chris Jennings plays a Thomas Martin double bass, D'Addario strings and David Gage pickups. John Hadfield plays Evans drum heads, Vic Firth sticks, Sabian cymbals & Cooperman frame drums
Photo by Macha Mosconi
Cover art by Philip Taaffe, Signal (detail), 1986
Executive producing Siggi Loch
Instinctive Flow:
Inside Nguyên Lê’s Streams
By Anil Prasad
The only constant about Nguyên Lê’s career is that it’s always evolving. The Paris-born and based musician has established himself as a preeminent voice in combining myriad global musics with Vietnamese influences in thrilling and groundbreaking ways. Streams continues in that tradition, with a focus on taking jazz elements and extending them far beyond conventional boundaries.
“The album is about revealing where my journey has brought me today and how each cultural idiosyncrasy has melted into my own voice,” says Lê. “There are lots of Indian rhythm concepts, many Indian and Vietnamese phrasings, Oriental melodic shifts and accents, and rhythms from Maghreb—as well as unknown references to imaginary traditions. I like to think all of Streams’ music showcases the journey of cultures, and how cultures transform themselves when they travel.”