Active since the early 00s onwards, Beijing-based duo Zaliva-D has remained a well-kept secret for years. Having not completely managed to break past China’s highly limitative internet regulations just yet, the pair eventually found in Amsterdam’s Knekelhuis the perfect hub to diffuse their uniquely haunting blends of esoteric new age-informed electronics and haunting tribalisms.
After a handful releases on a few underground Chinese labels, including four full-lengths and as many extended players, Li Chao and Aisin-Gioro Yuanjin turn up on Mark van de Maat’s imprint with the exquisitely eerie, ‘Forsaken‘, a seven-track LP giving prominence to riveting beds of free-flowing organic textures, off-kilter synth lines and intricately woven drum patterns on a warlike tip.
Whilst it engineers a fine mix of hazed-out drones, FX-washed riffs and pagan musical tropes sieved through a mosaic of intensely melancholic visions, the record finds a further compelling balance on the title-track ‘Forsaken‘, streaming via our channels now. Sounding the bells of a quiet revolt, Zaliva-D’s new disc strikes dumb and enthrals all at once, exuding its venomous flavours long after the metronome’s stopped ticking. Proper outstanding material.
Forsaken is scheduled for release 25 February 2019 via Knekelhuis, order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
A1. Can’t Go Back
A2. Forsaken
A3. Faraway
B1. Wicked
B2. Gone With The Pest
B3. Human Addict
B4. Path
Discover more about Zaliva-D and Knekelhuis on Inverted Audio.