FORGET TWINSETS AND ankle-length frocks. Unlike other classically trained musicians, double violin assault specialists Liz Chi Yen, 28, and Sarah Chi Shang Liew, 26, who together form the London-based duo Chi2, dress how they like.
That means flamboyantly. Liz sports a spiky haircut, stripes and a multicoloured crucifix. Her sister, who is married to the Hong Kong-born Tomb Raider 2 baddie Tom Wu, decorates her hair with butterfly clips and wears her eyeliner arcing out at the sides a la Cleopatra.
At an Islington cafe, fresh from a world tour with Moby, the duo riff about their career with spirit and humour. The electric Liz seems to teeter perpetually on the brink of laughter, fuelled for instance by a memory of a visit to a nearby restaurant where she was served salad which contained a living 'animal' (an exotic beetle).
When Liz cracks up, Sarah loses it too. As they chorus, they look like pixie twins or 'hyper angels' to echo the name of a track on their demo CD produced by the Orb's Simon Phillips and Hamish Stuart of Average White Band fame, among other names.
Against a background of electronica beats, Liz and Sarah switch between acoustic, electric and Chinese violins. The last, known as jinghu and erhu, lend themselves to the playing techniques known as 'bending' and 'sliding' that lend an edge of discord to Chi2 recordings.
'Their music is harsh and pulsating one minute and lyrical and beautiful the next, interspersed with textural fragments and snippets of musical conversation,' the duo's press release accurately says but omits mention of influences. Chi2 somewhat recall the British outfit Penguin Cafe Orchestra noted for arranging catchy, unusual tunes with quirky gusto.