#48 Deeper Into Outer Space | Hannah Peel and Beibei Wang
Composer Hannah Peel and percussionist Beibei Wang delve into the creative conversation behind their new record, 'The Endless Dance'...
“I’ve never stood on stage and improvised before,” says composer and producer Hannah Peel. “It was a massive step off of a cliff for me. But I was prepared to do it as I’d met Beibei, believed in us and she was prepared to do it with me too.”
“In that environment, you have total freedom to do whatever you want, and it ended up being really life-fulfilling.”
Hannah and Beibei are recalling their first collaborative performance when the former was Artist in Residence for the Sound Unwrapped series at Kings Place back in 2023. It was from this initial connection that energy flew, opening up the road to their playful new record, ‘The Endless Dance’.
“The dialogue was minimal in the run up to that initial performance,” Hannah says. “The idea was to do something that wasn’t taxing or involved loads of rehearsals or writing something new, it ticked all the boxes.”
Captured at Real World Studios, the record musically maps out the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar, balancing the passage of time with Taoist philosophy. The record’s sound palette blends analogue synths with Beibei’s idiosyncratic percussive elements.
“We hadn’t spoken too much before that first show,” says Beibei on the process.
“As musicians, it’s better to communicate through our sounds - and collaborating is a bit like dating someone. If you don’t like them, then you quietly leave but if you do, you can stay around - which is why we’re still working together.”
First meeting
Hannah is an electronic composer known for her eclectic musical CV - 2021’s Fir Wave was Mercury Prize nominated while she won an MPG award for her soundtrack production on the 4-part Channel 5/Netflix TV thriller, ‘The Deceived’.
Beibei has brought her energy and experimental approach to major orchestras around the world including the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra while maintaining long-term artistic collaboration with her mentor, Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun. Their coming together blended Eastern and Western approaches and has led to an inspired and engaging electronic record album.
“We first met while working on the recording on the Manchester Collective’s 2023 album ‘NEON’,” says Hannah. “We started talking, I thought she had some really great vibes, we got on and then she revealed that she played with water and paper, all these sorts of percussive ideas.”
As an Artist in Residence at Kings Place, Hannah invited Beibei to perform with her for a one-off show. Neither realised that it would be the start of something greater, a bond that has led them to ‘The Endless Dance’.
“We didn’t really know each other but had a mutual respect for each other’s art,” says Hannah.
“Our performance was based on the conversations we’d had during those recording sessions in Manchester, on landscape and imagining places we’d never been to before.”
“When you connect with something or someone, you don’t need to explain anything,” adds Beibei. “It was just instant with Hannah, then when she invited me to do this concert, I just followed my instincts in how I approached it.”
“There is this old Chinese saying; ‘The right time, the right place will lead to the right people’. It’s important to have these three elements for magic, and it’s been a life-changing experience meeting Hannah.”
Real World
After the magic of the first gig, the pair both believed there was more to unravel from their collaboration, and began exploring what a recording could look like. More live outings followed, and more conversations about how they could capture the improvised energy of their onstage performance, bottle it up and showcase it as an album. Then an opportunity to go to Real World Studios arrived.
“That first gig was pure fireworks, then we worked out through other shows that if we found a groove we really liked, we could spend more time sitting in it and experimenting with it,” Hannah says. “With Real World, I’d been there before and really liked the space and thought it fitted what we wanted.”
“The ethos of the place is hidden, it’s in a valley, it feels like you’re removed from the rest of the world, you’re surrounded by trees and water, get cooked incredible fresh food, it’s a special place where you can switch off and immerse yourself in the music.”
Hannah and Beibei had five days to work together - and their process was informed by ideas taken from their gigs. Each day started from moments they had taken from their recordings before they would set off on deeper improvised adventures.
“I have to express gratitude to Hannah, I knew nothing about producing an album or recording, this was totally new to me,” Beibei laughs.
“But I loved the experience - when we arrived at Real World, it was very foggy around the land and I suddenly felt like I was entering a dream, like I was in this imaginary space and on entering, I had so many weird ideas,” she continues.
“I deliberately tried to stay in this mental space as a good start to experiment, to improvise. I didn’t think too much, everything was new and unexpected, I brought all my instruments there, water, pumpkins, stones, objects from the natural world - it aligned well with Real World’s vibe.”
For Hannah, experimentation was at the core of the work with Real World’s gear also open to the pair during the recording process.
“One of the things we hadn’t had the luxury of was a grand piano and they allowed me to put metal screws between the strings of their instrument so we could create these sounds,” she says. “This was new to me and definitely establish this lovely Twin Peaks-esque sound of the record - but there was also an exploratory element of seeing what comes out.”
Collaborations
Mixing engineer and programmer Tim Allen also worked with the duo during the sessions. His role and input was to lend more direction during the improvised recordings.
“I told him to lead us if something could benefit from being developed,” Hannah says. “I didn’t want us to drift along through this experience for five days and leave with nothing substantial. After we’d finished recording, I wasn’t sure how to translate what we had into a record. I ended up sitting with them for six months.”
Another key figure in the making of the album was Mike Lindsay. This Mercury Music Prize winning producer and mixing engineer is mostly known for being the co-founder of UK acid folk band Tunng and had previously collaborated with Hannah.
“He was integral to getting the album over the line, and I had worked with him when he was still touring with Tunng,” Hannah says. “He’s very bouncy, does not sit still and has the fluidity to take the essence of something, then roll with it as an idea. Although I hate the word folktronica, he knows the balance between electronic and acoustic and how to bring something new from it.”
“We were in Thailand doing a gig at a festival when he sent over what he’d done, one was the track ‘Tiger Sex’ and we couldn’t believe what he’d come up with. All the nuances of the recording, hiccups or me saying things were included, but it had this almost Underworld-esque sound and existed in a completely new place.”
Beibei picks out album opener, ‘Wild Geese Arrive’, as a key moment for her from the record.
“When I first heard what Mike had, it was so organic and human,” she says. “You can hear some of the unsure parts, and all these details. It’s not quite perfect, it sounds so lively and playful, it’s a beautiful memory for me.”
The record relates to the solar calendar and the 24 seasons as opposed to the traditional four we know in the UK, a concept that relates to life, mortality and the patterns of behaviour people adhere to.
“We have this very supportive energy that stems from this Chinese philosophy,” says Beibei. “When I do things with Hannah or speak, I can feel how she supports me - that kind of encouraged me to bring what I’ve grown up with these 24 seasons into the album. It’s a different way of understanding the world, which is how I believe we all need to work, especially these days.”
Ongoing relationship
With the album now out in the wider world, there are a series of performances planned for later in the year, including Gateshead, Glasgow and London. The dialogue and creative dance between them looks set to continue.
“There were so many ideas, I can’t see us not working together again because it was so laced with possibilities, there’s so many opportunities, whether it be ambient music or more classical,” says Hannah.
“One of my favourite moments was when we were working on ‘Awaken the Insects’, it was late at night and Beibei just took these bamboo clackers (known as Kuai Ban), then started coming up with tongue twister rap. Everyone in the room couldn’t believe it.”
“It’s a form of Chinese rapping from the old days,” Beibei continues. “You associate it with the past and older generations so when my Chinese friends heard it, they thought it was hilarious. It’s a traditional artform that younger people will not know, and added such a fun and playful vibe to the record.”
Now the shows are coming up, and the duo are looking at retaining the playful and energy that’s coursing between them.
“When you see Beibei perform, it’s magical, she’s like a ballerina within the show, it’s truly mind-blowing,” says Hannah. “From my side, I want to have more of a DJ style approach so we can take what we want from the album and improvise.”
“It’s really exciting to have the chance to play the tunes we’ve already written and expand them, it’ll be different every night.”
Find out more: Hannah Peel | Beibei Wang | Real World Records | Bandcamp
‘The Endless Dance’ is out now.