In the summer 2004, formed by Sonia Ka Ian Lao (vocals), Brandon Lamn (guitars) and Faye Choi (producing), the trio released their first EP “Evade” in September 2009. Despite the fact that it was released on a Macau-based label, with the help of Kitchen. Label producer Ricks Ang (who also mastered the EP and the album "Destroy & Dream"), the band attracted critical notice in Japan for their inventive and original style of electronic music, described by some as a wayward blend of minimalist electronic and dubstep combined with an ethereal pop sensibility. In August 2010, Evade was invited by Japanese independent music label PROGRESSIVE FOrM to perform at their curated event “New Sounds of Tokyo Vol.6″. Evade has also toured Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Singapore, and has lent support to Kashiwa Daisuke, ASPIDISTRAFLY and Flica’s Asian tours.
Evade builds tension through sustained silences and broken down electronic arrangements by Faye Choi, electronic whiz kid and producer of the band. Sonia Ka Ian Lao, an award-winning poet and novelist, pens poignant mantras and softly expresses them in layers of arresting whispers in her native Mandarin dialect Cantonese in “Forgetting”, “Endless” and “God”. As much an imagist as a writer, she creates these characters and Freudian dream-like scenarios that seem circle each other in unpredictable rhythms, intersecting without premeditation. In “Crush”, a carefully-crafted dream pop elegy, Brandon L strums the guitar so languidly as if in acceptance with the disenchantment of the world, and all is swallowed beneath a symphony of bit crushed synths and white noise.
What seems like a continuous vision of despair is destroyed as if the Looking Glass has shattered – in “Love”, all self-seriousness and heroism is clean forgotten now as disorienting, idiosyncratic elements are spasmodically injected – these are puzzling as they are almost self-depreciating, for here lies what really makes Evade so elusive. In “Seeking Mr. Freud” and “Pavillion”, textures are unconventionally amalgamated with minimalist beat loops, traditional oriental instrumentation and fragments of sounds sampled from old Hong Kong films. Despite the mélange of growing-up influences such as Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, Evade may be just what you get when James Blake meets Cocorosie. A slowing burning eruption on all counts, the moments in “Destroy and Dream” are excruciatingly intimate one moment and hauntingly deconstructed the next, yet these are powerfully sequenced images, with flashes of light that cut through the haze of illicit memories.
The album also features three remixes by three acclaimed producers/musicians from Japan. FJORDNE pushes the boundary of his constantly evolving jazz piano in the remix of “Pavillion”, and it may very well provide a glimpse of his future work. Lastly, Serph from established Japanese independent label noble and arguably one of the brightest new talents in the Japanese electronic music scene adds his masterful interpretation of “Love”.
Kitchen. Label: http://www.kitchen-label.com
Here are some Video and Live of EVADE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpMekIVk4uc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z14k1C4lzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74VG3hbI-Yc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUQAAYYBOgU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCMpV3ieZZA
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