May Chi is a Hong Kong-born songwriter, composer and visual artist currently based in the East Midlands, UK.
May’s compositional works draw from her intrinsic connection with nature and saudade (nostalgic yearning). Her works explores various aspects of electroacoustic and ambient music production, and plays around with the limitations offered by traditional instruments and ensembles to create and mould various sounds, timbres and ambiences.
She was the commissioned composer for Pilot Theatre's virtual reality production 'Monoliths', which was selected for international film festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and Berlin Re:Publica Festival. She has also composed for Quatuor Bozzini, Fidelio Trio, Thallein Ensemble, Flauguissimo Duo and Tresonant.
A defier of genre boundaries, May's songwriting blends Alternative Rock, Indie Folk and Ambient elements to create uniquely ethereal, rustic yet powerful soundscapes. Her introspective and vulnerable penmanship evokes the feelings of saudade and catharsis in her lyricism. She self-produced her first two EPs, Blue and Wayfaring, over the course of 2018 and 2019, and is currently working on her debut album Suspension, which was the recipient of the Sound and Music COVID 19 Composer Awards.
She is also a part of the collaborative music group Prisoner's Cinema, comprised of Ryan Probert and Luke Deane. Their debut track Forbidden Cities was featured on Atrocity Guide's documentary The Kidnapped Filmmakers of North Korea.
She completed a Composition MMus at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, for which she was awarded a Distinction, and was the recipient of a scholarship for the duration of her degree. She has studied with composers including Sean Clancy, John Pickard, Neil Farwell and Ed Bennett.
A keen artist, her visual mindedness is evident within her large musical body of works often drawing from nature; she has created illustrations, graphic designs and short videos in accompaniment of her music and is a keen film photographer. With future artistic endeavours, she is looking to narrow the gap between her art and music practises.
select press:
Issue 2.1: Coming of Age (Interview) - Retrograde Magazine
Issue 01: Behind the Scenes (Interview) - Underground Zine
Wayfaring EP by May Chi (review) - Underground Zine