- THE THREE SOUND OF REVOLUTION / RING SOUND / MIDDLE SOUND / INDEX SOUND
Hui Ye
(China)
Bio:
2004-2011 studied composition and electroacoustic composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
2010-2018 studied Digital Arts and TransArts (Master Studies) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
From 2017 to 2019 she works as guest lecturer at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) in South China.
Her works span on different media such as video and sound installation, composition and live sound performance, and often address questions in regard to individual social identity and its entanglements with different cultural and political contexts. In her recent projects, the artist started the research on socio-political aspects of sound and music culture in order to open new perspectives on the diverse correlations between sound and contemporary societies.
Hui Ye is co-founder of
Mai Ling – a queer-feminist Asian artists collective and a member of Vienna Secession as well as the Association of Women* Visual Artists Austria (VBKÖ).
Ye‘s works have been presented internationally, e.g. at Kunsthalle Wien, Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna Secession, Tresor at Kunstforum Wien (Vienna, Austria); Ohrenhoch Sound Gallery, Times Art Center Berlin (Berlin, Germany); WRO Media Arts Biennial (Wroclaw, Poland); the Jim Thompson Art Center (Bangkok, Thailand) and Times Museum (Guangzhou, China).
CONCEPT
The last (gun)shot was originally composed by CUI JIAN – also known as „godfather of the Chinese rock music“ – in 1988, drawing inspiration from the historical controversy of the Sino-Vietnamese War. After the national 89’ Democracy Movement which ended by a bloody, governmental military intervention, this song has been given a new meaning and ever since its original version is been prohibited in mainland China until today.
By reflecting upon the historical context of this song, my work focuses on the powerful lyric delivered by Cui Jian’s iconic singing. Using AI-based audio splitting techniques, I extracted Cui's voice from the original track, making it the primary compositional material for the remix.
The remix begins with a low-frequency, „punching“ sound, metaphorically representing the prolonged sound of a gunshot, which repeats throughout the entire track. Additionally, Cui's singing voice has been fragmented into extremely brief sound snippets, creating a disturbing and cacophonous soundscape in the first part of the remix.
As the remix progresses, this cacophony gradually fades out in the last part, allowing the original voice track to emerge amid the seemingly never-ending „gunshot" sounds, echoing one sentence of the lyric: „How many, how many of these last shots“.
Lyric
CHINESE
一顆流彈打中我胸膛
剎那間往事湧在我心上
只有淚水 沒有悲傷
如果這是最後的一槍
我願接受這莫大的榮光
哦哦，最后一枪
哦哦，最后一枪
不知道有多少，多少話還沒講
不知道有多少，多少歡樂沒享
不知道有多少，多少人和我一樣
不知道有多少，多少個最後一槍
安睡在這溫暖的土地上
朝露夕陽花木自芬芳
哦哦，只有一句話，
哦哦，留在世界上
不知道有多少，多少話還沒講
不知道有多少，多少歡樂沒享
不知道有多少，多少人和我一樣
不知道有多少，多少個最後一槍
一顆流彈打中我胸膛
剎那間往事湧在我心上
哦哦，最後一槍
(repeats)
在我心上
哦哦，最後一槍
(repeats)
在我心上
哦哦，最後一槍
(repeats)
ENGLISH
A stray bullet hit me in the chest
For a moment, the past floods my heart.
There were tears, but no sadness.
If this is the last shot
I'll take the glory.
Oh-oh, one last (gun)shot*
Oh-oh, one last (gun)shot
How many, how many words are left unsaid
How much, how much joy I've yet to experience
How many, how many others are like me
How many, how many of these last shots
Sleeping peacefully on this warm soil
in the midst of fragrant flowers and trees.
Oh-oh, there is only one sentence
Oh-oh, to remain in the world
How many, how many words are left unsaid
How much, how much joy I've yet to experience
How many, how many others are like me
How many, how many of these last shots
A stray bullet hit me in the chest
For a moment, the past floods my heart.
Oh-oh, one last (gun)shot
(repeats)
It’s in my heart
Oh-oh, one last (gun)shot
(repeats)
It’s in my heart
Oh-oh, one last (gun)shot
(repeats)
