What happens when an ancient guzheng collides with a jazz piano and a rocking percussionist inside the Chinese Museum? Audiences will find out when Elysian Blues II hits Melbourne for one explosive return season at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival.
The genre-bending trio pairs the guzheng – a 21-string Chinese zither famed for its delicate, harp-like tones – with jazz piano and percussion, creating a sound that’s bold, unpredictable and defiantly modern.
Guzheng artist QiQi leads the charge, performing on two instruments and switching between them mid-song as the music veers from meditative to rhythm-fuelled chaos.
After a sold-out debut and a 2024 Melbourne Fringe Award nomination, the show is back, recharged and re-imagined, this time staged at the Chinese Museum in the heart of Chinatown on Sunday 12 October. QiQi is joined by co-composer and jazz pianist Darby Lee and percussionist Alexander Meagher for a one-day-only set of improvisation, humour and genre-breaking grooves.
“You could say Elysian Blues is the most ‘me’ thing I’ve ever made — it’s raw, playful, gutsy, and gleefully smashes every stereotype about guzheng music,” QiQi said.
“After one too many people told me ‘your instrument is perfect to fall asleep to’ and ‘you can’t play that, it’s too modern for your instrument’, Elysian Blues was born! … Trust me, it’s not. Come see for yourself – prepare to be enraptured!”
Audiences can expect new originals, reworked favourites, and a spirited mix of virtuosity, banter and soul-stirring storytelling.
Tickets are available here.
