Legendary bassist Jah Wobble has teamed up with his sons, performing under the name Tian Qiyi, to create a unique musical project titled ‘Mystic Liverpool: The Beatles’ Psychedelic Psongbook’. This exceptional album offers listeners ten tracks transformed into a fascinating fusion of dub, Chinese tradition, and psychedelia.
From Post-Punk to a Family Fusion of Lineages
British musician Jah Wobble, born John Wardle, is an icon of the East London scene who launched his stellar career as co-founder of the seminal post-punk outfit Public Image Ltd (PiL) alongside John Lydon. In 1982, he formed his own band, Invaders of the Heart, earned a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, and over the decades collaborated with music giants ranging from Brian Eno, Björk, and Sinéad O’Connor to members of Can and Massive Attack. His bassline is iconic for its massive, hypnotic dub frequency, yet on this latest project, he chose to weave this lifelong passion into an even more personal dimension—his own family.
The project was created in collaboration with his sons, John T Wardle and Charlie Wardle, who form the duo Tian Qiyi and organically blend British, Chinese, and Mongolian musical traditions with post-punk and experimental production. A pivotal role in the story is also played by their mother, Zi Lan Liao, a world-renowned gu-zheng virtuoso trained at the Royal Academy of Music, and her father, K.H. Li, who established the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra in Liverpool in 1981. It was at the Pagoda Studios in Liverpool that the entire album was recorded and mixed, and it is dedicated to the memory of K.H. Li, who was a lifelong, passionate collector of The Beatles on vinyl.
A Mystical Reinterpretation of Iconic Stars
‘Mystic Liverpool’ is not merely a collection of nostalgic covers, but a genuine deep-dive into the most mystical and exploratory corners of The Beatles‘ catalogue, with ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ and ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ serving as key touchstones. Tracks like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ treat the original material as spiritual music, replacing standard guitar layers with the traditions of China and Mongolia, represented by instruments such as the yangqin, erhu, and morin khuur, complemented by Chinese percussion, gu-zheng, and Wobble’s signature dub bass.
“I’d been circling the idea for a while. A Beatles record, but specifically the psychedelic years — that’s where the real music is, for me. That’s where they stopped being a pop group and started being something else. I had the family right there: two sons who’d grown up between Chinese classical music and dub, a wife who’d studied at the Royal Academy and grown up in Liverpool, a father-in-law who’d owned every Beatles record on vinyl.”
Blending Tradition and Place with the Spirit of a Port Town
The musical scope is further anchored by a deep local connection to Liverpool itself—viewed not just as the cradle of pop, but as an ancient port town shrouded in fog and spirit. Son John T Wardle describes the creative process and philosophy behind the record in his own words: “Growing up, traditional Chinese music, classical, dub, jazz, rock, and hip-hop were all treated as equal music in our house. We realized that Harrison was tapping into that exact same ancient, spiritual lineage. This album isn’t about nostalgia; it’s about stripping away the standard guitar layers, bringing in our family’s heritage, and finding that deeper, hypnotic frequency that ties all these sounds together.” The result is a unique sonic map that connects past and future, East and West, and family heritage with timeless musical history—which is the main reason why we have selected this record as our “Album of the Week”.
NMR (photo: promo, Alex Hurst)
