Christina Li Speaks Her Truth On New EP: ‘Strings’
From Christina Li
🍊 1 month since ‘Strings’ was released. 27k streams. 18k listeners. So much love for you all. ❤️ Now onto the next 😈
Writing those very words alone is absolutely mind blowing. This EP has truly been years in the making, and an incredible journey beginning to end, from recording voice memos to exporting the final masters three years later. Words can’t describe how stoked I am for you all to hear these songs that I’ve poured my heart and soul into.
So help me on this final leg of the journey by staying engaged with all the coming updates over the next two weeks! I’m gonna need you all to make this release drop big!”
album art by: Isabella Hamlen & Madeline Lee
photography by: Kendal Duff
features by: ÉMIR, Cameron Herring, Yas Akdag & Thomas Bergeron
production by: Christina Li
session musicians: Arayana Carr Mal — Violin / Joe Wang — Violin & Viola / Nadia Jo — Cello / Thomas Bergeron — Trumpet / Sam Watson, Atang Peloewetse, Angelique Alexos, Isabella Hamlen, Josh Oduro, Tony He, Soo Oh, Sarah Jung, Max Brown, Colby Amos, Elliot Flagg, Mira Binzen, Talia Rajasekar — Background Vocals / Josh Oduro — Electric Bass / Mike Shalaby — Electric Guitar / Jacob Winthrop & Gabe Bango — Percussion
music consultants: Thomas Bergeron & Sam Watson
marketing consultants: Atang Peloewetse, Helen Mak, Elven Shum, Justin Winley & Amir Royale
engineered by: Christina Li, Aaron Kates, Yas Akdag & Amir Royale
mixed by: Christina Li
mastered by: Christina Li
EP Review
To anyone listening, perhaps the most striking feature of Christina Li’s debut EP Strings is its diversity in musical arrangement, storytelling, and emotion, which combine to cohesively paint a vivid picture of Christina’s changing experiences as a student and an artist. Through telling a captivating story of growth, Christina explores topics in Strings such as friendship and love, humility and growth, and lessons learned.
The EP kicks off with “Young and Reckless,” which tells a retrospective narrative reflecting upon love with light and lively strings, a musical tone which appears multiple times across the EP’s musical identity. Here, and throughout the EP, Christina’s lighthearted musical compositions demonstrate the confidence and vulnerability with which she reflects upon lessons learned. As the musical pace and composition evolve throughout the song, Christina often transports the listener to the ‘top of the world’ with her past self before returning to her present reflective self. “Young and Reckless” ultimately concludes with a touching reflection of the idealized past with clarity and maturity, in contrast with the song’s title.
“Stay Foolish” maintains the previous track’s catchy, lighthearted composition with dreamy lyrics and dynamic musical elements. Midway through the track, Christina takes listeners on a delightful musical journey, dancing through an adrenaline-fueled adventure of timeless romance. With playful and energetic melodies, the track is an irresistible invitation to ‘stay foolish’ with Christina.
As “Stay Foolish” draws to a cheerful end, “If You Care” takes a turn in the EP’s musical progression. In contrast with the previous two tracks, “If You Care” is a poignant reflection with slower, more steady violin melodies that play alongside lyrics that show a different side of Christina’s journey. As compared to “Young and Reckless” and “Stay Foolish,” this track focuses on the sober realities of love and affirmation rather than the previously explored idealizations. Christina demonstrates this when, in concert with the track’s instrumental elements, she declares that she wishes the subject would “love me for me,” a vulnerable and moving confession which appears multiple times throughout the song. Almost as if in conversation, the track’s lyrics speak volumes about Christina’s experiences and lessons surrounding love and acceptance. With “If You Care,” Christina uncovers a new and distinctive side of her journey, and provides clarity through a rich musical composition brimming with emotion.
At the EP’s midpoint, Christina transitions from the smooth melodies of “If You Care” to the chorus-filled, cheerful “Truth,” a lively song that begins with voice recordings of Christina’s friends talking. Similarly, other artists harmoniously join Christina on “Truth” to create a catchy and melodic track that echoes the stories of “Young and Reckless” and “Stay Foolish.” Interspersed by jazz and chorus snippets, one line rings throughout the song: “Tell me the truth, oh tell me!” Indeed, “Truth” is bold and confident in its character and message, inviting the listener to tell their truth.
On the heels of “Truth,” Christina tells her truth in “Pretty Girl,” a spacey track filled with electronic melodies, a sound distinct from previous tracks. Singing, “I don’t want to be your pretty girl, don’t want to be your world tonight,” Christina reveals yet another facet of her love in addition to earlier reflections. This intimate and selfless side blooms throughout the track’s progression as Christina is joined in harmony by ÈMIR, who joins Christina in a confident celebration of their individual experiences with romance. Most strikingly, both Christina and ÈMIR are completely unapologetic in their lyricism, a tone mirrored by the track’s bold and unique sound.
Musically distinct from the rest of the EP, “When I Let You Go” starts with a subtle pause. Similarly, the rest of the track is also sonically defined by its minimalistic arrangement. Unlike previous tracks, which feature an artful array of instruments working in harmony, “When I Let You Go” is similarly harmonious but features only Christina’s voice and a piano. Here, the intentional lack of instrumentation allows Christina’s voice and story to shine through without obstruction, amplifying her lyrics on this track. Certainly, Christina’s lyricism grows throughout the track with every question furthering an emotive tale of uncertainty and love. From the first isolated lines to the later background chorus harmonies, the music centers Christina’s raw and touching question about love. Christina’s powerful minimalistic techniques are especially evident as the song comes to an end with Christina’s unanswered question echoing the soundstage, allowing the listener to bask in the same uncertainty which defines “When I Let You Go.”
In closing, Christina leaves us with “Golden,” a 7-minute long track that skillfully concludes the EP. With a spacious and careful arrangement that flows and evolves throughout the track’s distinctive runtime, “Golden” paints an abstract world with a foundation of vivid, personal memories interspersed throughout the track. In building her “gilded” world, Christina crafts soaring dream-like chorus arrangements which are sung with brimming emotion, ultimately crafting a track which revels in its unique musical identity. Equally as unique as the track’s musical arrangement, Christina’s “golden” self explores this abstract musical space in an incredibly personal and touching way as Christina tells her story centered around wrestling with identity and self. On the EP’s closing strings, listeners are genuinely immersed within Christina’s ‘rosy’ world of transformation and growth.
From the “top of the world” on “Young and Reckless” to the “crashing waves” of “Golden,” Strings is truly a triumph both in its storytelling and musical construction. Using her strings, Christina Li takes listeners through a multitude of imagined worlds, all of which are painted beautifully by Christina’s lyricism throughout the record and tell touching lessons and experiences of growth.
Click here to listen to Christina’s stirring pilot, and hear her journey of self-discovery.
— Written by Tony He
Cover Art for ‘Strings’:
Click here to listen to the full project.
About the Artist
Singer-songwriter, producer, composer, and arranger Christina Li is a prime example of the up-and-coming DIY recording artist generation. Her musicianship began as a child with classical education; she then moved to contemporary when she was 12, and now maneuvers comfortably through a variety of genres. She finds her sound in the blend of Korean pop, American R&B, indie pop, and more. Christina splits her time between homes; one in Hong Kong and the other in New York City. After graduating from New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music Summer High School program in 2019, Christina is now pursuing her undergraduate education at Columbia University; developing her musicianship and establishing herself as a bright, bold new force in a rapidly changing industry.
Social Media
Linktree — https://linktr.ee/christinalimusic
Facebook — https://facebook.com/christinalimusic
Instagram — https://instagram.com/chrissytinali
Twitter — https://twitter.com/chrissytinali
Contact
Personal Website — https://christinalimusic.com
