Defend The Homeland is a resampled album inspired by and celebrating the work of Chinese artist Zhao Bandi, the minimalist of appropriation and a pioneer of digital photo collage. Zhao captures globally recognized Chinese symbols, most notably the giant panda, along with the kitschy language and expressions prevalent in advertising, to humorously and poignantly reveal sharp societal critiques. By effortlessly piecing together basic cultural symbols, he transforms himself into the panda, symbolically "defending the homeland."
Similarly, this album is not an unconscious exercise in random collage but a deliberate selection of sounds, atmospheres, and language imbued with popular cultural symbolism. These elements are humorously and gently fused with subcultural abstract music that carries strong representational weight. Several tracks also play with poetic gestures, stretching or pausing phrases to enhance their lyrical impact.
Under a tightly controlled and autonomous aesthetic vision like the Chinese aesthetics strategy, each remix on this album is crafted from only two songs, strictly without interchangeability. Each track forms a unique narrative that cannot be replicated, building a wall to safeguard the homeland, and preserve a holy belief.