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Guardians Suite IV – Vanished Tails, No Return

from Guardians by Annie Chen

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Digital pack with a 16 pages brochure for lyrics and translations (English and Mandarin), artwork by Lanxia (Summer) Xie and Siyue Li

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A very small batch of this beautiful production made it to the US, released in China by Fusion Music in Feb 2024. Bonus Track "Unrequited Silence" only release in vinyl and only a handful copies left.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Guardians via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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about

This multi-movement work examines the relationship between humans, animals, and the environment from various perspectives. Through a series of varied and evocative imagery, the piece - which provided the impetus for the formation of the band and the thematic core of this recording - interrogates humankind's failure to properly safeguard the natural world, with a particular focus on the effects of this failure as experienced by animals. 

IV. Vanished Tails, No Return
The final movement of Guardians depicts a high-tension chase as a fox desperately tries to escape a hunter. When the fox ultimately meets its fate, it is revealed to be the last of its species, now extinct. This movement was inspired by the Extinct Animal Graveyard in the Prospect Park Zoo, which displays a gravestone for each extinct species. In the context of the suite, the finale makes explicit the connection between human action and agency and environmental destruction.

lyrics

I would still be there, if nothing had happened.
Beating of my heart, and reading movements of a thought.
Lighting the way, watching, someone standing there!

Kept my steps soundless, deep silence descended.
Keeping my breath in check, listen, and told myself.
Not there, not here, not anywhere.

Harder this time, stronger this time, ripples through the air.
Waiting for the beam to pass me, harsh light disappeared.
Watching behind rocks I waited, staring at the sky.
Frozen in space, no time to think, clinging to the ground.

Sharp pain cut through, my skin tearing, screaming to the sky.
Mutual blindness, hint of movements, strangely free of fear.
In the darkness, you spoke to me: MOVE!! RUN!!

I could feel blood dripping down my body, my face, my shoulder, and my tails.
Where could I go?!

credits

from Guardians, released February 23, 2024
Music and Lyrics by Annie Chen
Arrangement by Marius Duboule

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Annie Chen New York, New York

Vocalist, composer, and bandleader Annie Chen has led ensembles varying from duos up to her current octet, and has performed her original music at major venues in the city. Chen’s original compositions which reveal a cohesive musical vision that integrates her influences from across traditional Chinese, Western classical, gospel, Middle Eastern, Eastern European and alternative rock music. ... more

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