A sneak preview for your eyes only!

Carmina Formosa #8

Ni hao from Taiwan! The new video for our song “Nemesis” has been uploaded to YouTube but is still marked as unlisted and won’t be made public until the end of the month. However, we are sharing the link here today with you, our wonderful subscribers, so that you can watch the video before its official premier! “Nemesis” is something of a diss track or what a young Bob Dylan might have called a “finger-pointing song,” but who exactly is being dissed and who is pointing the finger at whom? Could the “nemesis” in question be the shadow self? However the listener chooses to interpret the lyrics, we are very pleased with the video and hope you enjoy the simplicity of the concept. Try not to have a stroke while watching the pretty colors glitch!

Meet the Band – Part One

As promised in the February edition of the newsletter, this month we bring you the first installment of “Meet the Band,” a series in which we will introduce the various members of the [ai] collective. We start, of course, with Mark Will. As suggested in Carmina Formosa #1, the buck stops with him. He writes and sings the songs, lays down the basslines, hires the other musicians, books the studio time, conceives the artwork and music videos, handles the business affairs, and supervises the promotional activities (which include, be it noted, the composition of this newsletter). Basically, [ai] is Mark Will’s baby and Mark Will is [ai]’s daddy. Below is a picture of the not-so-smooth criminal and, yes, he always wears the hat.  

In addition to being a sporadically prolific songwriter, our resident mad hatter is also the author of various books. See the Amazon author page of this self-described “writer in permanent exile” for a complete list of his published works, subscribe to his Substack (the first edition of which will hopefully appear sometime next month) to stay updated on all his literary activities, and pray that his new experimental novel Earnest Games will be released sometime in May.

Remix news

It was also mentioned last month that work had begun on a remix of our latest album, No Cure for the Princess Disease. Thus far, rough mixes featuring the following MIDI keyboard patches have been completed for the first six songs of the forthcoming Still No Cure for the Princess Disease:

1. “Rice King” - gayageum and Korean flute

2. “Rondo Polynesién” - Bob Marley & the Wailers-style organ and acid synth

3. “Residence” - Rick Wakeman-inspired strings and prog rock organ

4. “The Subway Song” - brass

5. “Nemesis” - mellotron

6. “Ji-Woo Says” - accordion and vibraphone

Sounds good, don’t you think? [ai] plan to share info on tracks 7-9 next month.

Updated stats

We are delighted to report that our audience continues to grow apace. [ai] currently have 2,500+ followers on Spotify, 1.46K subscribers on YouTube, and 1,200+ subscribers here on Substack. Thanks again for your support. As we never tire of saying, [ai] 愛 you all!

He can name that tune in one second!

Our devotion to the Beatles borders on the fanatical, but Jack White is now officially the High Priest of Beatleology. #Respect

Apocalypse Soon?

Is it just us or has anybody else been listening to this old ditty recently?

BTW, if you happen to personally know any of the dupes who are currently clamoring for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, please tell them to remember who the only beneficiaries of military escalation are.

Substack shout-outs

[ai] recently had the opportunity to meet some other members of the Substack community on a Zoom call. In doing so, [ai] discovered some great music-related newsletters that [ai] subsequently subscribed to. If you like Carmina Formosa, you might like the following as well:

• Fog Chaser - original musical compositions with notes from the eponymous composer

• Foggy Notions - songs and essays from London-based troubadour Lail Arad (check out her intimate cover of the Velvet Underground classic “Sunday Morning”)

• On Repeat - listening recommendations from playlister Kevin Alexander (sign up to receive Thelonious Monk’s 25 tips for musicians)

• Shuffle Sundays - listening recommendations from tastemaker Leo Mascaro delivered—yep, you guessed it—on Sunday

• Songs & Stories - personalized musical and literary reflections from blogger Brennan Quenneville

• The Run Out Grooves - in-depth explorations by Mitchell Stirling of the last track on each of your favorite albums (e.g., Joy Division’s Closer and Love’s Forever Changes)

Happy reading (and listening)!

P.S. As residents of the island which calls itself the “Republic of China,” we would be remiss if we did not also recommend Todd Cornell’s “Heart of China” blog. See his timely essay on “War, The Yi Jing, and Confucius” to sharpen your perspective on this increasingly multipolar world we inhabit.

Before you go . . .

Please let us know what you think about the content of this edition of the newsletter in the comments section below! Is there something you would like to hear more—or less—about? Thanks in advance for your feedback and watch your inbox for next month’s edition of Carmina Formosa, which will feature a sneak preview of the video for our song “Residence,” the second installment of “Meet the Band,” and so much more! Zai jian!