Mindy Meng Wang & Sui Zhen

Origin of You is a startling new collaboration between Chinese-Australian composers Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Becky Sui Zhen, forming spontaneously one wintry afternoon in Melbourne and enduring with bonds that will last longer than a lifetime.

The debut release from these two auspicious artists revolves around three images that form the basis of their musical exploration: 空 (Kōng), or Emptiness; 疼 (Téng), or Pain; 气 (Chi), sometimes known as ‘Energy’.

It is from within these motifs that the central themes of this startling collaboration emerge. As described by Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 --

“This is an album about two artists who got together and formed a sisterhood. It’s about understanding life, family and ourselves. It’s about transforming from being a woman into a mother. And it’s about human connection. We are not related, but we find a connection that comforts us as much as family does.”

The record centres around a continual shift in an individual’s understanding of identity and of the self; coming to terms with who you are, where you are from, and where you will go. It is about life, death, and birth. And it is about transformation: from daughter into woman, woman into mother, from outsider into friend.

Ultimately, the album is a celebration of family, friendship and connection, grieving the irreplaceable loss of some bonds while celebrating their existence and finding joy in the creation of others. It is an album that marvels at the amazing capacity of emotion at our fingertips, the pain and joy that lie waiting at every turn of the path, the immeasurable feeling as yet undiscovered in the depths of ourselves.

Stay and listen to this one journey, and let it be a companion you carry with you on your own.