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The sound of swimming in a large, cavernous space. A dreamy, yearning voice beckons you to shore. Welcome to Folding Story.

FAZI are a band from the ancient city of Xi’an, China, active since 2013. Folding Story is their fifth studio album release. Self-described as “post-punk” (which is by itself a very loosely defined genre…), the album reminds me at times of Hiperson’s Bildungsroman (especially the track Vigil), and at other times of Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race for Space (track Eye in the Sky).

I love this album because of its fresh sound and broad emotional range. It takes you on a journey from very dreamy, ethereal, happy melodies (Eye in the Sky), through melancholic malaise (Silence), towards full-on rage (Delingha, followed by Died in Wind). Yet it ends with grace and gratitude in Way to Atman, referring to the Hindu ideal of transcending the ego and breaking the cycle of rebirth. Indeed, as described by their European label Pelagic Records, Folding Story “is itself a cyclic experience of rebirth, renewal and a return to origin.”¹

And appropriately, the album ends with the same ambient soundscape as it began with, of you swimming away into the distance. It is an invitation to restart the cycle and immerse yourself once more in FAZI’s folding story.

For those who like a visual listening experience, FAZI have released a full 45-minute “album film” to accompany this record, available for free on YouTube.

Happy listening,

Max

FAZI - Folding Story (2022) cover art