Juxtaposing the harsh experiences of the impoverished first Chinese settlers in London with the opulent world of privileged, but nevertheless bitter, émigré William Waldorf Astor, An-Ting 安婷 and Daniel York Loh create a powerful lament on the immigrant experience with spoken word and electronic music, taking in myriad reflections on the need for money and status and the right to call ‘home’ a land that can either reject or embrace you.

‘As a concert pianist with a heritage rooted in East culture, the prospect of creating a project that harmoniously integrates traditions from both East and West is incredibly exciting. I embeded the distinctive sounds of Chinese instruments into a contemporary style, conveying a different musical expression.’ – An-Ting

“I wanted to write about migrant journeys. About loss and loneliness, about what we take with us and what we leave behind and the legacy we want to impart to the next generation. And what we’ll do to ‘belong’”.  Daniel York Loh

Originally commissioned as a live performance at Two Temple Place (the gothic London mansion William Waldorf Astor designed and had built for himself), but moved online as necessitated by the pandemic, every dollar is a soldier/with money you’re a dragon won the 2021 Arts Council Digital Culture Award (Storytelling) and was selected for the prestigious Horizon Showcase at Edinburgh Festival. It was performed live for the first time in Two Temple Place at 2023 Kakilang Festival. 

Originally commissioned by Two Temple Place and Kakilang, every dollar is a soldier/with money you’re a dragon is part gig-theatre, part spoken word rap, performed by writer and actor Daniel York Loh, set against a thrilling combination of electronic music composed by An-Ting 安婷 accompanied by classical Chinese instrumentation –

‘We jumped ship at the dock in this city sickly with gaslight 
‘We huddled there in the eastern enclave where we made our world 
‘And our own kind of street life… ‘

Press

“An-Ting is the one-to-watch in the world of composing. Manifesting soaring ballads that bring electronica and tender piano melodies together, she draws upon life experiences to create a narrative so poignant it feels like strings plucked from the heart.” Darcy Culverhouse, Notion

“An-Ting 安婷 created harmoniously integrates traditions from both East and West…” We Speak Media, ‘Top 5’ Weekly Music Round-Up

Track List

Track 1 mansion 宅第
Track 2 flight 遷徙
Track 3 astor 亞斯德
Track 4 voyage 迷航
Track 5 dynasty 王朝
Track 6 showtime 登台
Track 7 culture 文化
Track 8 names 無名氏
Track 9 belonging 歸屬
Track 10 community 社群
Track 11 waltz 華爾滋

Album Credit

Words written and performed by Daniel York Loh
Music composed and performed by An-Ting 安婷
With Cheng Yu (pipa) and Wang Xiao (erhu)
Photos by Howard Cheng
Audio mixed, mastered and produced by An-Ting 安婷
Originally commissioned by Kakilang and Two Temple Place
Research source materials: The Chinese in Britain 1800 – Present by Gregor Benton and Edmund Terence Gomez, The Astors by Virgina Cowles

Video Credit

Designer: Christine Ting – Huan 挺歡 Urquhart
Creative Technologist: Ian Gallagher
Dance and choreographer: Si Rawlinson
Artist: Chloe Wing