Christos DC – Distance – Press Release

February 20, 2024

Press Release: Christos DC is going the ‘distance’ with the second release off his upcoming, ground-breaking album.

Seasoned Roots artist Christos DC has released the second track from his highly-anticipated new album – one that is set to break down musical and cultural barriers.

Distance, released via Christos’s own label Honest Music, is the second track from the artist’s upcoming full album Kung Fu Action Theatre. The album is set to be groundbreaking: merging Roots Reggae beats across an entirely instrumental album that also employs the use of traditional Chinese instruments:

After the eclecticism of the first single, Mountain King, Distance builds on this musical smorgasbord – taking the listener on a journey from Jamaica to China and back again.

“Distance is another sterling piece of work from Christos DC and the team. Here, perhaps we see more of his vision fleshed out than in Mountain King – as the Chinese instruments take centre stage throughout, bringing an almost dreamlike yet fluid movement to the track which is mesmerising. This, coupled with the slick Reggae backdrop, makes Distance scintillating” – Mr Topple, Pauzeradio

Distance is another fascinating piece of work. Here, Christos has created a highly agile yet emotionally meandering track, where the Reggae musical devices merge with elements of Dub to create a sonic stream that, while constantly trickling, ebbs and flows like water does. Of note are the expertly-arranged horns, which punctuate the track with slightly staccato-then-legato riffs – almost like droplets of water falling from tree branches into an ever-flowing river.

The Chinese instrumentation and its positioning are once again excellent. Chinese plucked stringed instrument the guzheng tinkers around with a rapid-fire melodic line, while the dulcimer (a hammered yangqin) plays brisk chord-based sequences which at times branch out into something more complex. The pinnacle of this, though, is the erhu – a two stringed fiddle – that wails and whines in and out of Distance like a human voice. When these three instruments are combined, they perfectly serve to bring China straight to Jamaica – and the effect is enchanting.

Both this and Mountain King are perfect introductions to Kung Fu Action Theatre; Honest Music’s first full instrumental release. Christos commented on the process of constructing the album:

“It certainly was a different process in writing an instrumental album that required a different approach. We would record a full take of overdubs using these instruments and then remove parts in the editing process.

Without vocals there is room to hear very subtle parts that would otherwise be obscured.

It is a completely different process than applying words to a piece of music. The instruments are the message and tell their own story without the use of words or written language”.

Kung Fu Action Theatre is set to be released on 28 February. With first Mountain King and now Distance, Christos has shown just how much promise the complete project holds.

Listen to Distance on YouTube here.

Distance credits:
Drums: Lincoln Style Scott.
Bass: Errol “Flabba” Holt.
Keys: Darryl “D Train” Burke.
Guitar: Lap Steel.
Guzheng: Christos DC.
Chinese Dulcimer: Chao Tian.
Erhu: Hiroaki Kobayashi.
Saxophone: Brian Falkowski.
Trombone: Paul Hamilton.
Percussion: Kenneth Joseph.