It is something really exciting about the song of Adai Song, River Run, that hits you the moment you hear it. It is overflowing with this fullness of energy–shiny synths over a sounding percussion–that is both fresh and simultaneously eternal. It is one of the songs in “The Bloom Project” album, which has also been nominated for the Grammy Award in the Best Global Music Album category, a feminist reinterpretation of shidaiqu, the curious combination of Western jazz and Chinese folk lore that thrived in 1920s Shanghai.
What is truly intriguing to me is how Adai has been able to incorporate such conflicting things into a whole that is totally understandable. You have EDM production, standing next to the traditional Chinese instruments, massive modern arrangements, and classic melodies, and it all works. Her voice is emotive and completely convincing, pushing the positive mood of the song with these easily memorable hooks that really stick with you even after the song is over.
The recording is crisp and contemporary without being sterile–all the elements are in their place and you can hear every one of them. It has this contagious EDM energy running through it, and it does not ever dwarf the cultural richness beneath. Having been raised amidst classical violin schooling, Chinese traditional music and American pop, there is no doubt that Adai has been blessed with this amazing palette to play with, and she has exploited it here to great effect.
The boldness of such feminist reinterpretation is what I find the most impressive. It is a respectful and revolutionary thing to take these Shanghai tunes of 1920s and recreate them with new lyrics and an aggressive arrangement that brings rap into the picture. She is being genuinely confident in crossing cultures and times as both Adai Song and her much more electronic alter-ego ADAI.
River Run is easy to understand and captivating and is truly innovative. It is the type of a song that makes you remember how energetic music can become when musicians are not scared of mixing the classic with the novel.