DJ Sun embarks on an ancestral quest for his latest album, Qingxi, a seven track journey that is based around his travels through China. This audio project, which was commissioned by Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC), is inspired by a curiosity surrounding DJ Sun’s Chinese ancestor (Soon Sam Sin), who departed in 1858 from the South of China via Macau to Suriname, South America as an indentured servant.

DJ Sun has graciously offered up the fifth track of his project, “Mystery,” as one of today’s XLR8R downloads. DJ Sun had this to say regarding the feelings and personal questions that inspired this particular track:

“The more we trekked, the closer we began to feel to my ancestor—but only in the sense that the historical context drew us more deeply into questions around his personal situation. Why did my ancestor leave southeast China to embark on an arduous journey to a land unseen at only age 20? How did he do this? What was the impetus to follow through with such drastic measures like giving up his surname, his ancestry, his family, and land? Was this voluntary? Was he coerced? Was he duped? Was he abducted? Was there a debt he was evading? Was it for refuge from the chaos of war?”

Download the track “Mystery” below via WeTransfer.

Mystery