YEHAIYAHAN’s “Street Live” Music Series Provides a Soothing Soundtrack for Isolation

When coronavirus-related lockdowns were put into place in China, many of the countries musicians found refuge online, with clubs, gig venues, and individual artists livestreaming regularly. A number of performers also put together special online series, with one of our favorites coming in the form of YEHAIYAHAN‘s Street Live videos, filmed in the southeastern province of Yunnan.

YEHAIYAHAN, who has also produced music as ChaCha, Faded Ghost, and as one half of AM444 with producer Jay.Soul, was born Xinge Yehaiyahan in rural Guizhou province. She moved to Shanghai in 2005, and — as we noted in this in-depth interview with her — “has since become a well known and respected artist across several vectors,” working with the likes of Kode9, Adrian Sherwood, and Kyle Chin.

Last year, she performed as Faded Ghost as part of RADII’s china.wav show in LA.

There’s only been a handful of videos in the Street Live collection so far, but in combining reworked versions of songs from her high quality back catalogue with some sunshine-filled backdrops, the series has felt like a welcome antidote to the grim reality of social distancing.

This was the first one, from her days as one half of duo AM444:

This was followed by a series of spins on previous collaborations with Soulspeak, Jahtari, and High Tone.

Each of those tracks also appeared on her special retrospective mix for RADII that wove together tracks from a decade of music-making:

10 Years of Sound from Shanghai’s YEHAIYAHAN, aka ChaCha (Exclusive Mix)

The stalwart Shanghai singer & producer takes us on a cinematic, 2-hour trek through her sonic memory ahead of her May 3 LA debut at RADII's china.wav showcase

Article Apr 24, 2019

Cue them all up, kick back, and enjoy.