In January 2008, Xuefei recorded her next album, “Forty Degrees North” for the EMI Classics label. The album was released internationally on April 7th 2008. The CD can be brought at usual outlets (eg : HMV or Amazon), or via EMI.
In the UK, Xuefei launched the CD at her China Now concerts, including her 2008 Wigmore Hall Concert in London. Xuefei has a particularly strong following in the UK, her home, and base for her international career, for the last seven years.
About the repertoire
As a child, Xuefei was raised listening to both guitar music from Spain, and the traditional music of her homeland, China.
The CD features Xuefei’s arrangements of some traditional Spanish repertoire that she first heard as a child, studying guitar,
alongside pieces inspired by Chinese
traditional music that she recalls from her childhood.
The capital cities of Spain and China both approximately lie on latitude 40 degrees north – hence the title of the CD.
For many of the Spanish pieces, Xuefei has returned to the original piano scores to make her own arrangements.
The Chinese pieces feature arrangements for guitar, and new compositions (based on traditional themes) written for Xuefei.
They represent another step in Xuefei’s ambition to contribute towards a Chinese repertoire for the guitar.
About the recording
The recording took place in a beautiful church in an English village, near London. The recording engineer is John Taylor, who has long-established himself as one of the top recording engineers for classical guitar.
About the instruments
For this recording, Xuefei used four different instruments,
choosing instruments to best suit the character of each piece.
The Spanish pieces were recorded on Spanish instruments by Fleta, and Ramirez.
The Chinese repertoire was recorded on instruments by Smallman, Ramirez, and Gee.
The photo shoot
The album cover and promotional video were shot by EMI Classics in London.
In January 2008, Xuefei recorded her next album, “Forty Degrees North” for the EMI Classics label. The album was released internationally on April 7th 2008. The CD can be brought at usual outlets (eg : HMV or Amazon), or via EMI. 
For this recording, Xuefei used four different instruments,
The album cover and promotional video were shot by EMI Classics in London.