Monica Xiao | Piano Music Posts

Check out the video on YouTube, Keeper of Flames, or Bilibili, 守焰人.

I have been listening to Julie Elven’s (original) Keeper of Flames for about 2 years. It becomes an urge for me as a musician to do something with such good music. Therefore, with the approval of Julie Elven herself, here comes the cover of this song in a jazzy style.
While shooting the video I had the idea of bringing Mutyi, my cockatiel, into the scene. It was the worst decision of the day, trying to get her to stay put and not fly away while also keeping up with playing the music. But that is because Mutyi is her Papa’s bird who doesn’t care much about staying next to me on the shaky stand. So I tried the other bird, Koi, and she seemed to be OK with it. Koi is also featured in the following video where she is performing a color distinguishing trick: Cockatiel Telling Colors Trick. No one on YouTube has ever done such sophisticated multi-color tricks with a cockatiel before!

Hope you enjoy the videos!

Finally!

After 5 years being a composer I finally have my CD professionally made in France.

Many thanks to my packaging designer (myself) and my husband who helped me and let me spend a sh*tload of money on their manufacturing.

Now you can buy the physical CD on Bandcamp, or buy only the digital album on:

• Bandcamp
• CD Baby
• iTunes
• Amazon
• Xiami (虾米)

You can also listen to it on Spotify.

Here is the link to my latest composition: A Night in Merzouga (Unlike in a recipe blog, I FIRST present my recipe, then write about every single thought I had during the day).

I have always preferred to listen to a piano solo. However, as a composer, I have many times seen the limit of my instrument. The piano is a powerful tool, but not omnipotent. In “A Night in Merzouga”, for example, the piano has talked a lot, like a stranger trying to paint a foreign world with his own words, but you don’t feel enough of it.  When wearing VR glasses, you can sometimes see the pixels of a movie. That’s like the piano effect to me, a “virtual” reality. Sometimes I find it important to stick to a solo instrument so other people can play it more easily. You can build a crystal castle with one kind of transparent shining stones which looks fantastic, and so can you build your style with one instrument. But the monotonous result simply doesn’t have the earthy feel that I missed from many places. My ears dig other sounds, too, and I allow them.

Let me show you some of the instruments I am gathering in this music:

• Riq: an Arabic tambourine. Unlike the tambourine I have seen in the jazz band back in ND, it has fewer and bigger jingles. It was originally used in Egypt, but used in many other Arabic cultures.

  

• Drums. This is a picture taken by Sz in Merzouga. It is THAT night I am talking about,druming with some Nomads in the Sahara. I don’t know the exact name to these drums, but I think they are leather drums.
• Krakebs. It is my first time seeing them. I found them throughout the souks in Marrakesh and in the dessert as well. They are the Berber version of the high-hat.

  

A friend of mine told me how she felt about the percussion. “Being kidnapped”, she said.

By accident, a pianist Carlos Marquez found my CD on Bandcamp, and bought my album with the music scores. Later he contacted me and sent me a recording of Water Lily from his studio. It was a blast. It was my first time hearing someone play my composition better than my own recording, even though some parts are treated very differently as what I would have done.  It was truly an amazing moment. If you love impressionism, classical, colorful and soft tunes, make sure to check out his collection of recordings on SoundCloud.