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Flashbacks in a Crystal Ball

by Shanghai Restoration Project

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All aboard the bubble ship, buckle up before the interrealm highway opens wide Soar across the desert towards the jungle temple beaming refracting light Photonic guardians welcome you inside Light up all your senses Tactile sonic beat will sync your slide Melt down your defenses Reprogram your vines Cosmos of fireflies Fluidize your mind Watch it run to the sea
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Time Gambler 05:06
你从来不紧张 You’re never nervous 闯四海像大风过山岗 Rushing the four seas like a big wind blowing over mountains 你从来不痴狂 You’re never enchanted 就算是水妖对你歌唱 Even if the sirens sing to you 信自己总有一天 Believing that one day you’ll 找到传说中的宝藏 Find the legendary treasure 水手、大副和姑娘 Sailors, first mate, and ladies 就会投来崇拜目光 Will look at you with worshipping eyes 寻寻觅觅 Searching and seeking 你需要打赢一场 You need to win one round 与命运的较量 In this contest with fate 别无选择 No other choice 你被训练成一个 You’ve been trained to be a 时间的赌徒 Time gambler 你从来不惊慌 You never panic 就算浓雾遮住了前方 Even if a dense fog covers the front 你从来不绝望 You never despair 哪怕是海水已进船舱 Even if the water has entered the cabin 就算是草长莺飞 Even when it’s springtime at home 泥足深陷异国他乡 You’re stuck in deep mud in a faraway land 就算是铁马冰河 Even when the years have gone by, when things might look the same but people have changed, 斗转星移物是人非 You still dream about riding the armored horse crossing the frozen river 年复一年 Year after year 你依然志在千里 You still aspire to go a thousand miles 孤独的船长 Lonely captain 为了成就你被认可的欲望 Your desire to be recognized 放逐在路上 Exiles you to the sea Bridge Whatchu looking at? Whatchu thinking about? Testing out testosterone Eliminate your doubt Whatchu thinking now? The world is so strange What’s everybody saying? Is everybody crazy? Everybody Jabberwocky Zibadoowee Zabadooway Zibadooway Zabadooway Ba ba bip dip ba doo bop Everybody Jabberwocky Zibadoowee Zabadooway Zibadooway Zabadoowa Bip bip bop ba deep ba doo bop 你从来不紧张 You’re never nervous 闯四海像大风过山岗 Rushing the four seas like a big wind blowing over mountains 你从来不痴狂 You’re never enchanted 就算是水妖对你歌唱 Even if the sirens sing to you 信自己总有一天 Believing that one day you’ll 找到传说中的宝藏 Find the legendary treasure 水手、大副和姑娘 Sailors, first mate, and ladies 就会投来崇拜目光 Will look at you with worshipping eyes 寻寻觅觅 Searching and seeking 你需要打赢一场 You need to win one round 与命运的较量 In this contest with fate 别无选择 No other choice 你被训练成一个 You’ve been trained to be a 时间的赌徒 Time gambler 你从来不惊慌 You never panic 就算浓雾遮住了前方 Even if a dense fog covers the front 你从来不绝望 You never despair 哪怕是海水已进船舱 Even if the water has entered the cabin 就算是草长莺飞 Even when it’s springtime at home 泥足深陷异国他乡 You’re stuck in deep mud in a faraway land 就算是铁马冰河 Even when the years have gone by, when things might look the same but people have changed 斗转星移物是人非 You still dream about riding the armored horse crossing the frozen river 年复一年 Year after year 你依然志在千里 You still aspire to go a thousand miles 孤独的船长 Lonely captain 为了成就你被认可的欲望 Your desire to be recognized 永远在路上 Forever on the sea
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Zoom in the lens on a wild, wild East See a clever girl, daughter of a squanderer Dressed in second hand love, fibers so tough Clinging by a thread but she hauled herself up Yearned for higher learning, didn’t have the right chromosomes Told her only duty was to pass his chromosomes Hard pass, to the mountains she fled Rocked out on the organ with a chorus of kids Soundtrack to a carefree time Green jagged hills kept the chaos in line Gold dust sprinkled all over the place, over the clothes, over the hair Everyday a celebration in the tropical heights River mirror glowed with the purple twilight Evening boat rides on a gentle wave of clouds And she would row this way and that way This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will row Nobody knows, nobody knows This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will row Nobody knows, she doesn’t know Now and then she would get a rosy letter Every brushstroke drew a better future But the sketches in ink never came to be Blotted out by a storm fast approaching it was time to flee Hitched to the wagon of a slumbering beast Rolling over rocks at a breakheart speed Mad dash ascending to a city on the hill But the race didn’t stop at the top She found herself trapped in a cauldron of heat Surrounded by a feast but only given scraps to eat Lights came on, masks came off, orders came down, Dirty laundry piling up And out from underneath she crawled to the window Peeked through the pane, the moon gave the go ahead Open the hatch, the cool wind lifted her wings, carried her out, over the wall, off she flew This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will fly Nobody knows, nobody knows This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will fly Nobody knows, she doesn’t know From the summit she bobbed down the river Current so erratic she learned to maneuver the ball Each bounce gathering dialects, black and white photographs, three little ones and Always in motion, surrounded by commotion Contamination came out in the wash of the ocean What remains is a childhood collection of music and words Minus the hurt Many years later she dreams of the weather in the tropical heights Can’t quite recall that purple twilight nor the names, the faces, the green and the gold But the feeling is the same Never had a compass built according to plan Caught a few breaks and the arrow would bend but it never ever came to a stop It’d either go this way or that way This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will dream Nobody knows, nobody knows This way, that way This way, that way Which way she will dream Nobody knows, only she knows
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Soft Diamond 04:22
那些嘴巴还在说 Mouths are still talking 你的耳朵已麻木 Your ears are getting numb 你只想知道雨珠 You only want to know where the raindrops 窗外要流向何处 Outside the window go 穿街过巷顺流而下 Flow through the street without hindrance 奔向海滩四百步 Running four hundred steps to the beach 汇聚成潭映照灯火 Gathering in a pond reflecting the lights 车轮驶过飞雾 When wheels pass by, they make a fog 无尽的指责掩饰 Endless accusations are attempts to hide 无法压抑的厌恶 Uncontrollable disgust 欲望砸碎的镜中 In the mirror that was smashed by desires 你存在是个错误 Your existence is a mistake 幻想离开整个地球 Fantasize about leaving Planet earth 逃到火星去放牧 Escape to Mars to herd cattle 无拘无束无牵无挂 Unrestrained and untethered 种一棵猴面包树 You can grow a baobab tree 无情的人啊 Heartless people 离他越远就越好 Get as far away from them as possible 软弱的人啊 Gutless people 他的赖你不需要 You don’t need to shoulder their blame 运气不是直接的因果 Luck is not direct causality 打扰世间并非你选择 To disturb the world was not your choice 所以不必道歉 So don’t apologize 耐心一点 Be patient 忽然有一天 Suddenly one day 你拥有罗盘和宝剑 You’ll have a compass and a sword 清晨就出发 Depart in the early morning 写下属于自己的诗篇 Write your own poems 一从篝火燃烧痛苦 Start a bonfire to burn away the pain 吐出被灌下的毒 Spit out the poison that you’ve been fed 一片森林葱郁延绵 Find a stretch of unbroken and lush forests 做个树上的神仙 You can be a legend on the tree 过去算了吧 Let go of the past 别再和他们计较 Stop trying to make sense with them 回忆忘了吧 Leave the memories behind 咒语会立刻失效 Their spell will immediately break 从柳梢到草尖到荷叶 From a willow tip to a grass blade to a lotus leaf 透明流动的柔软钻石 You are a translucent soft diamond 看你万丈光芒 You will be radiant 旋转飞舞 So spin and dance in the air
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燕风斜 Swallows fly diagonally through the wind 看天地将绿 The world is turning green 当送波上舟 But we are about to send the boat on the waves 逐不尽哀愁 To chase away the endless sorrow 断灭何急 What is the rush to end everything? 死比生更长 Death is longer than life 迷途或归宿 An unexpected place or your destination 愿你得安详自由 I hope you’ve found peace and freedom 无疲惫 No fatigue 花染城 Flowers dye the city 忍替你笑语 They have the heart to replace your laughter and smile 哪堪飞絮扰 You leave us defenseless to pollen 滂沱已沾衣 See our clothing drenched with tears 纤缕何幸 How unlikely that we came to this world 本应有至乐 It should have been fun 海风起甘泽 Let the sea wind bring down the rain 愿你抵清凉世界 May you arrive at the pure land 无忧惧 No worry and no fear

about

Flashbacks in a Crystal Ball is a collection of songs about “aha” moments: moments of reflection or intuition where we suddenly see the world in a different light. These moments are sprinkled throughout our lives: the instant children realize their parents are flawed, the acknowledgement that a pipe dream is no longer worth the pursuit, the revelation of truth in the passing of a loved one, or the decision to dedicate a lifetime to a craft.

credits

released November 8, 2019

Flashbacks in a Crystal Ball
All songs produced by Sun Yunfan & Dave Liang

Cover art and CD design by Sun Yunfan

℗ Undercover Culture Music 2019
All Rights Reserved

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Shanghai Restoration Project Barcelona, Spain

Shanghai Restoration Project (SRP) is the Barcelona based electronic duo of Dave Liang and Sun Yunfan. SRP’s genre-bending, border-traversing, retro-futuristic soundscape often uses poetic melodies to draw audiences into imaginary settings where unexpected adventures unfold with a dissonant and polyrhythmic palette. ... more

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