Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$1USD or more
about
This was a tune I wrote back in February, before the pandemic started. Initially, it was about two different topics: Being in a general dream-like state of mind about life (yumeni (萝) means "in a dream" in Japanese), but also my experiences growing up biracial (50% Taiwanese (which has both Japanese and Chinese roots), 50% Western-European ("white")), being called certain names and having certain negative ideas drawn out about me for misidentification of my race (ex. "Jackie Chan/Jet Li" "just a white guy").
Initially, I had dedicated this song to everyone who constantly feels convoluted with their true identity, whether it be between two or more races, different sexualities, etc., because growing up biracial, I often had questions along the lines of "Am I really mixed? Or just one or the other? Where do I really belong, and why does it have to be like this?"
With all the f***ery of 2020 bestowed upon us as of late, I constantly bring up questions like: "Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Will we ever be able to live in full harmony, free of racism, sexism, economic divides, you name it?"
That being said, I now also dedicate this song to everyone who's lost their lives/had their lives hurt in unjust matters. The constellations of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in this cover art are only a small fraction of the destruction, and let's not forget what's happened recently with James Blake, Kendall Stephens, Chadwick Boseman, among many, MANY others.
It's been said before, but it needs to be said again: the battle really is far from over. This is what "Yumeni" is all about: a dream for that ultimate call to action, waking up to what is now and realizing the distance remaining towards that dream.
credits
released September 12, 2020
Recorded 7/9, 7/12, 8/16, 8/18/2020 in the comfort of our own homes, otherwise known as "quarantine"
Gabe Preston - flute, soprano sax, composition
Anthony Passante-Contaldi - keys
Ben Singer - drums
Josh Pannepacker/Thanks Mom Studio - mixing/mastering
Judie Thai - cover art
GPS (Gabe Preston Sounds) is a creative experimental fusion jazz group based in Philly, primarily playing original music written by GP and sometimes other members of the band
Flutist, vocalist, and composer Alex Hamburger creates a wide-ranging electro-acoustic jazz world on her latest album. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 11, 2023
Gerard Masters captures the looseness, magic, and swing of jazz in this second installment of the Composition Series. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 5, 2020
Described as “an ecological history of humanity,” this sparse, tense suite of songs perfectly balances melody and chaos. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 28, 2018