Black Lotos is far more than a duo. Not only consists Lucas Niggli’s acoustic layout of many parts, each of which could stand alone as an instrument: Xu Fengxia keeps switching between her two string instruments Guzheng and Sanxian and in parallel she uses her unbelievable voice. Thus the range of this music goes from soloist moments to the intimate dialogue up to almost orchestral abundance, from a short monologue in an interspace to a centipede ecstatic ride over an endlessly vast steppe. Chinese opera, Mongolian throat and overtone singing, Heavy Metal, traditional Chinese folk music, noise, contemporary Western music, African rhythms and jazz: ethnology, music history, tales, the moment of suspense, all combined in the Instant Composing of Niggli and Xu.

Cover art: Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger
Cover design: Jonas Schoder
Liner notes: Steff Rohrbach
Photo: Alberto Placido

Recorded at Loft Cologne, December 9, 2007 and mixed at Ton-Art Studio, February 27, 2008 by Christian Heck. Mastered February 10, 2009 at Studio Klangdach by Willy Strehler. Produced by Lucas Niggli and Intakt Records. Published and copyright by Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt