Zhu Wenbo, Zhu Songjie

*100 copies limited edition* "Magnet Blues" presents Zhu Wenbo and Zhu Songjie’s unique and utterly bizarre take on American blues, as if filtered through layered variations of darkness. Throughout the recording, we hear barely audible vocals, minimalist, smart, and subtle guitar work, and the folkish atmosphere of what sounds like distant train activity and dying radios. Instrumentation is notable here: Songjie uses the peculiar Casio EG-5 electric guitar, with a built-in cassette deck, while also playing harmonica. Wenbo plays a Fisher-Price toy cassette player, sings, and also plays harmonica. Throughout bursts of noise and rustling midrange timbres, Zhu and Zhu navigate an understated, focused, and dreamlike realm of song and texture.