The Hsu-nami
The Four Noble Truths
The Hsu-nami are The first ever Er-hu Prog Rock Group in the world, known for virtuoso melodic Erhu, heavy guitar riffs and tasteful guitar solos in their music to add to the "progressive Asian sound scape" effect.
A progressive rock instrumental band incorporating the use of an amplified "erhu"(Chinese Fiddle). a two-string bowed instrument that is often used in Chinese classical music and folk ensembles, takes the place of lead vocals.
The Four Noble Truths
The new studio album from The Hsu-nami released 3.24.09.
Written and record at various locations, The Four Noble Truths is the group's 2nd studio album since the 2007 release of Entering the Mandala.
Produced by The Hsu-nami, Mixed by Derril Sellers, sessions for Four Noble Truths began in the Lacuna Recording Studio in New Jersey, and continued at Prism Post, New York's Sound Recording Studios, and mastered by Nathan James at The Vault mastering studios in New York City.
The album released in digipak format. The digipak Art is designed by Lauren Bergholm and Matthew Cumbie. The Four Noble Truths will be released as a digital download at CDbaby, Itunes and other major music websites.
The eagerly awaited follow-up to their debut album Entering The Mandala sees the signature Hsu-nami sound developing into a more mature one.
"I'm very proud of The Four Noble Truths. We took a lot of time arranging the tunes to perfection and used our instrument abilities to the fullest. I'm really excited for people to hear this album, it is truly an experience from anything you have ever heard before," says Jack, one of band's founder.
"This album shows a more confident Hsu-nami. On Entering The Mandala, we found our sound and on The Four Noble Truths, we expanded our sound," says Brent, band's lead guitarist.
"It represents how the world is changing and becoming smaller, how styles and cultures are becoming one. It's a tribute to the past with a look forward into the future. It touches on many themes – war, suffering, hatred, sorrow, love, joy, longing and companionship. It's life. To live is to suffer. Great creations come from suffering, and it shows how much we've been through."
Derril adds: "This record captures more of the energy and intensity of our live shows than anything we've done before. With our second self-produced CD, Hsu-nami is learning to use the studio as an instrument. The recording process is inspiring us to innovate, whereas it used to be a struggle to capture our music without losing too much excitement."
World: Chinese traditional