Shuwen Zhao and Brian Griffith of Squash & Biscuit “create musical atmospheres for moving images.” Zhao, a pianist, has an ear for detail creating lush soundscapes and intricate melodic lines. Griffith, a bassist, builds deep currents of sound and delicate tonal whispers. Together, they compliment each other’s styles to build pieces that are expertly crafted and surprising.

Mengxi Yang is an experimental animator originally from Nanjing, China, now living in Los Angeles. She has been making moving images since 2013, with an interest in non-fictional storytelling informed by memories and domestic life. Her works incorporate hybrid techniques, including stop motion, archive materials, collages, and hand-drawn animation. In Seven Little Trains, she mirrors the film’s music using playful and surreal animation, collage, and digital manipulation.

In this chat, the three talk about what inspired the kaleidoscope of material in their film, how they use electronic and digital manipulation, and the process of collaborating on a film like Seven Little Trains.

To learn more about their film and accompanying postcard by Jose Guadalupe Sanchez III, go here. To see their film, become a Middle Ear Project member and access our full film catalogue.

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Show Notes

• See the trailer for Seven Little Trains

• Learn more about Squash & Biscuit

• Learn More about Mengxi Yang

• See Mengxi's short film, Ai Can

• See Squash & Biscuit's Invisible Sound Films