Birthday gift

"The first day of our rehearsals was June 18, my birthday. So it felt like a gift," says Du, who lives in New York, adding that she felt excited about going back to the rehearsal after New York City began reopening in mid-June after months of lockdown restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I used to have a hectic schedule and flew all the time. The viral outbreak forced me to stay at home. When everything got back to semi-normal, I was touched, and it felt like we were starting over again," she says via email.

The album consists of five independent works. The opening piece, titled Epilogue, is based on a field recording by Southern Weekly reporter Yang Nan, from a market in Wuhan, Hubei province. Yang had sent Du sound samples of Wuhan after the lockdown was lifted. Du improvised on them.

"The resurgent sounds, such as people in a local market, were my inspiration," says Du. "It would be a totally different album if I had released it last year or next year. The situation of my life connects with the musical pieces I wrote."

Prologue, another improvisation, is the album's ending work.

Du has included her 2014 piece, Tattooed in Snow, in the new album. It explores "the temporary and fragile crystallization in nature and in space", she says.

"Even if I write an obscure story with music, as long as the audience finds emotional resonance, I would think I have accomplished my goal."

Du recently announced a three-year cooperation with Modern Sky.

"With this signing (of the latest album), Du Yun will bring new works to expand the boundaries of contemporary classical music in China with Modern Sky," the company says, adding that the label based on youth culture is cooperating with more composers and expanding in the field of original music in China.

Du says she has been following news of Modern Sky for years since it has been promoting Chinese bands.