“sonic territory that’s never been explored”
Traveling freely between composed and improvised worlds, Proliferasian is a unique voice rising from the west coast of Canada. The band encompasses both rhythmic intricacy in its compositions and the fluidity and spontaneity in creative improvisation. Proliferasian performs cutting edge music rooted in Taiwanese and Chinese traditions and avant-garde jazz, representing the merging of genres, while embracing influences from other cultures into the equation. The musicians explore the contrasting, complimenting, and sometimes contradicting natures of multiple genres. The result is a new “musical species” that proliferates and transforms continuously. Proliferasian may take inspiration from Asian music, literature, landscape, legends, or paintings, but its music will definitely break any preconceptions of Asian cultures.
Formed in 2012, Proliferasian has brought together some of Vancouver’s most innovative musicians. Its core members include Lan Tung (erhu/Chinese violin & vocals), JP Carter (trumpet and electronics), Colin Cowan (bass), Kevin Romain (drums), and Dailin Hsieh (zheng/Chinese zither).
Proliferasian has collaborated with a number of internationally renowned guests: multi-instrumentalist Fengxia Xu (zheng/Chinese zither, sanxian/Chinese lute, and vocals) from Germany, pipa player & vocalist Xiao Fen Min from New York, erhu players Jinming Dong from China, and Ka Dao Yin from Taiwan. Proliferasian was the featured soloist in the Giant Project, collaborating with Taiwan’s Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra at the 2014 Sound of Dragon Music Festival, 2015 Vancouver Jazz Festival, and 2018 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) .
Proliferasian has performed at the Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, Sonic Boom Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Capilano University Concert Series, the Sound of Dragon Music Festival, Taiwanese Canadian Arts Festival, and various local venues. Proliferasian’s activities are supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council.
With the blessing of the legendary Vancouver improviser/pianist/composer Paul Plimley, the band is named after his composition Proliferasian, commissioned in 2001 by the Orchid Ensemble, also under Lan Tung’s artistic direction. This piece was Lan Tung’s first encounter of a composition with extended structured improvisation. Proliferasian is humble to operate under this name to honour the friendship and mentorship of Paul Plimley.
Musicians
Lan Tung 董籃
Artistic Director, Composer, Erhu & Vocals 藝術總監、作曲、二胡、演唱
Lan creates a new musical language combining her various trainings and influences. The sounds of the East and the West, contemporary and traditional, all enter and exit the canvas freely from time to time. Her rhythmic intricacy has a direct influence from Indian music, while her passionate melodies from Flamenco and Central Asian music, and the sense of breath/space from Chinese music. Lan draws inspiration from ancient myth, philosophy, poetry, paintings, landscape, and other imageries. However, she experiments with contradictions by taking culturally specific materials outside their context and fusing them with other genres. Incorporating improvisation and graphic notations with Asian traditions, she explores a new territory to discover fresh sounds.
Dailin Hsieh 謝岱霖
Zheng 古箏
Dailin graduated from Taiwan’s National Tainan University of the Arts and received a Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology from National Taiwan Normal University. She has premiered numerous groundbreaking works by Taiwanese and Canadian composers and performed as a soloist with Turning Point Ensemble, Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Taipei Municipal Chinese Orchestra and Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra (Taiwan & European/China/Canada tours). Dailin is a member of the JUNO nominated Orchid Ensemble, Naadaleela Ensemble, Sound of Dragon Ensemble, BC Chinese Music Ensemble, Qing Ensemble, 88 Strings, and Sounds Global Ensemble. She is a regular collaborator with Music on Main, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, and BC Chinese Orchestra.
JP Carter
Trumpet & Effects 小號
JP combines innovative intuitive utilization of effects, amplification, extended techniques, and traditional playing to craft his sound on the trumpet, creating a massive sonic vocabulary that is ever evolving. A multiple Juno award-winning trumpet player and composer, JP’s extensive discography totals over 100 recordings. JP is composer/performer with Inhabitants, Aeroplane Trio, and Carsick, as well as a member of Vancouver bands Destroyer, Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, Fond of Tigers, Tony Wilson 6tet, Mary Margaret O’Hara & Peggy Lee’s Beautiful Tool, Gordon Grdina’s Haram, Michael Blake’s Variety Hour, and Now Orchestra. JP has released albums with his Drip Audio label.
Colin Cowan
Bass 貝斯
Born in New Brunswick, Colin has lived, performed, composed, collaborated and studied many realms of music and performance art for more extended periods in Toronto, Halifax, California, London (UK), Germany, and Australia. He has studied bass with New York’s Mark Helias, taken a residence at The Banff Centre, learned/ performed at Toronto’s The Second City, produced a month long five star-rated show at the Ediburgh Fringe Festival, and played main stage at UK’s Glastonbury Music Festival. Bands he currently plays basses with locally & internationally include Black Mountain, Dalava, Aram Bajakian Trio, Sun Ra’s Stars System, DADA PLAN, Tiny Pyramids, Woodpigeon, Tishomingo String Band, Moriarty Trio, Jenn Bojm, and Rob Butterfield. Cowan plays the guitar/song-writes/sings/produces records independently in only one project: his band Colin Cowan & The Elastic Stars. He also happens to be creator/manager/curator/permanent resident artist of China Cloud Studios.
Kevin Romain
Drums 鼓手
After relocating from Windsor, ON in 2007, Kevin has studied jazz and contemporary music at Vancouver Community College. He has since toured regularly across North America, Europe, and West Africa. Kevin has studied with Mark Guiliana, Tomas Fujiwara, Bernie Arai and Dylan Van Der Schyff, and has shared the stage with notable musicians such as new music luminary Anthony Braxton and the late legendary West African percussionist Doudou N’Diaye Rose. He has travelled to Dakar, Senegal to study Sabar music and perform in the Deggi Daaj Festival of Drumsets and Dance, completed a solo residency at the Banff Center, and received a BC Arts Council grant to study in New York. Now based in East Vancouver, Kevin maintains a presence in Brooklyn’s creative music scene. He performs regularly with art pop ensemble Only A Visitor, new music iconoclasts We Just Stole A Car, indie rock group Mega Bog, and leads two jazz trios under his own name. Kevin is currently writing an instructional book detailing his polyrhythmic concept entitled Natural Time Through Precision.