MOCA PERFORMS – Wonggongchang Mega Explosive

The Museum of Chinese in America proudly presents Wonggongchang Mega Explosive, the second full-length album by Taiwanese composer, electronic musician, and producer Calvin Kaiˇ-Weiˉ Chang, a.k.a Kaiwei. Set for 2026 release under AAPI artist collective Choaspace, Wonggongchang Mega Explosive is a ten-track sonic narrative and song cycle centered on one of the deadliest man-made disasters in Chinese history: the 1626 Tianqi Explosion, with over 20,000 casualties. Drawing from ancient Chinese classical texts and historical documentations, each piece reimagines anecdotal episodes from the event, unfolding in a format influenced by anthological drama, film and video game soundtracks. Through a contemporary lens, the work integrates found sounds, text-to-speech, and Y2K-influenced sonic cues for explorations of artificiality, emotional detachment, and modern desensitization to large-scale violence in the age of information overload. Accompanied by live Mandarin narration, texts, and animations drawn by Taiwanese graphic artist Nancy Hsiaowen Hu, the performance invites audiences to experience history, through modern perspectives, as a living, resonant field shaped by sound, story, and interpretation. ABOUT Tianqi Explosion The Wanggongchang Explosion (also known... Read more .