With the eight solo improvisations that make up Dark Radiance, performance artist and composer Ying-Hsueh Chen (b. 1983) takes listeners on a journey through subtle musical movements that meticulously weave the past into the present in a remarkable manner. Nearly every piece is devoted to a single instrument, and each, for the most part, emerges from a single musical gesture or action, creating sounds from the thunderous to the delicate.

Ying-Hsueh Chen is an internationally acclaimed percussionist, performance artist and composer who has garnered attention for her visionary approach, captivating stage presence, and extraordinary interpretations of contemporary music.

The Taiwanese artist has been based in Denmark since 2006. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

She has a long-standing interest in traditional instruments from around the world, reflected in the instruments chosen for Dark Radiance, such as the Korean brass gong jing and Buddhist woodblock muyu.

She is exploring the intersection of ancient and contemporary music, and the unique magic that arises in the vibrant interplay.

In her eight solo improvisations that make up Dark Radiance we hear the influence of Iannis Xenakis, Pierluigi Billone and Toke Brorson Odin

Several pieces are made like a folk musician would, by remembering a basic structure but freely making variations on that, without ever writing anything down.