Welcome!
You have reached the home on the web of MoShang's Asian Variations remix album. Use the links on the right and left of this page to learn more about individual tracks and artists. Visit the download page to download the complete album as a .zip file and for the press kit. For recent news and reviews of the album, please visit the blog.
The complete album and all the tracks on it are made available under a Creative Commons Music Sharing License. In short, you are welcome to share these tracks and freely use them for any noncommercial purpose, as long as you give credit to MoShang and the original artists involved.
About the album
The Asian Variations album is a collection of remixes produced by MoShang in his Chinese Chill style of downtempo electronica, melding deeply laid-back beats with Chinese traditional instruments. Some of these remixes were solicited by the original artists, two were done for remix competitions, and in some cases MoShang approached artists directly requesting permission to remix their work. The artists represented on the album are literally from all over the globe; The U.S.A. (Fort Minor, Toao, Lovespirals, Brad Reason), Taiwan (Kou Chou Ching, Chang Jui-chuan, Viba, Andre van Rensburg, MoShang), South Africa (Gordon’s Suitcase), Japan (Akihiko Matsumoto & Chage), Italy (Tafubar), and Slovenia (PureH) and for the most part the collaboration with MoShang was via the web. With the exception of Fort Minor and J-pop star, Chage, none of the artists are signed to major labels and all are working hard to be heard. Thank you for listening!
MoShang (South Africa / Taiwan)
MoShang is the Chinese moniker of Jean Marais, who began as a choral singer in the early 1980s in Cape Town, South Africa – at which time he acquired his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20. It would take some time, however, for his love of music and computers to find its ideal expression. Marais first earned acclaim as lead singer/frontman of the South African art-rock band Duusman and as saxophonist for the group Tsunami; he also served as producer on three award-winning albums honoring poet Breyten Breytenbach and formed half of the Afrikaans pop duo 12Hz. He garnered South Africa’s prestigious Avanti Award for his score to the short film “Angels in a Cage.” Most recently, his music was selected for the HDTV Discovery Channel production “Fantastic Festivals Of The World.”
Marais relocated to the Taiwanese city of Taichung in 2003; his first release as MoShang, Made in Taiwan, was released on his Onse Plate (Afrikaans for “Our Records”) imprint in 2004. His second, Chill Dynasty, followed in 2006. “I’ve always been fascinated by Asia, and Taiwan, with its vast Chinese musical heritage, seemed the perfect place for me,” he says. “I’ve fallen in love with Taiwan and its people; this country has truly reinvigorated my creative process. I am as excited about the musical possibilities now as the day I arrived.”
