The piano picks up, veiling your eyes with thick fog. You are in a dense and fragrant forest, looking for someone. You don’t remember who it is, but you decide to stay here for a while.

   The album begins with Fireworks, in which the passionate vocals are accompanied by vibrant piano and a catchy rhythm, drawing the listener in from the very start, the way any relationship should begin. The vocals of Ain’t No Sunshine sweep across your senses, revealing pieces of memories long since torn up and scattered. Smiling Face makes the distant feel present. Love portrays an amorous dialog between bass and trumpet, as if two lovers first becoming acquainted with one another’s bodies and souls. In Pale Moonlight, the surreal bass line is like the palpable yet unfathomable sensation of love, gradually leading you into the mesmerizing vocals. The melancholy of Ascending West Tower Alone is completely dissipated by the elegant joyfulness of Tennessee Waltz. The irresistible flower blossoms under the brilliant white light of the moon, but no one is there to enjoy it; whatever happened to the promise of Waiting a Lifetime for You? Only the clouds know. The waves of time have slowly washed away the edges of memory, leaving nothing much more than a name, which still burns with eternal heat. 

   This feast of jazz music, including many songs from early 19th century southern United States harbor cities, is like the prayer of a love song, like an intangible and unsustainable encounter. Vocalist Wang Yunyi, with her charm and talent having been showcased on The Voice of China, possesses a unique voice that is best described as “magnetic”. She began learning piano at the age of six, then moved on to guitar at ten, and began experimenting with jazz vocal styles at 15. Her powerful but gentle voice is perfectly suited for expressing herself for jazz, and in these songs, sung in both English and Chinese, she provides track after track of stunning performances. Many of the songs are accompanied by trumpet and piano, and some feature improvised shuffle rhythms.

   Rhymoi Music brings you this epic milestone in the Chinese jazz music scene, in which music and vocals playfully intertwine, creating a sound that is at once soothing and awe-inspiring. Veteran producer Ye Yunchuan overcomes all obstacles to successfully meld American jazz culture with Chinese vocal styles, including four classic English language songs, and eight elegant Chinese songs. Among the 12 tracks, seven were recorded in Los Angeles under the direction and instrumentation of master jazz performers, and the other five were overseen by Japanese jazz artists. Mastering was performed in the US, each track crafted with meticulous attention to detail, making this collaboration among Chinese, American and Japanese artists a true landmark in jazz music production. The brilliance of jazz is taken to a whole new level, where it waits to share and exchange its memories with you. 

   Among the colorful paper lanterns lining the streets, neon lights hum and twitch. A lethargic trumpet, an indecisive piano. These 12 songs have an almost palpable texture to them, their conversations between instrument and voice a feast for the senses. The smoke drifts away like the sail of a ship in the wind, impelling a dreamlike song, its rhythm carrying you into the sky. The clouds whisper to you, the moon can feel your heartbeat.

   In Times Forgotten no memory is insignificant, every shard is precious. Memory is as gentle as a perplexing dream, love is the insignia of the past. Music is the best way to preserve these treasures of our lives.