Former student, Jasmine Chen, an accomplished jazz vocalist, songwriter and cultural curator, has another exciting international achievement.
Two of Jasmine’s Chinese jazz works - Smoke Lingers and We Chat, We Share - are featured in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s globally released game Marvel’s Wolverine. Her music appears during a memorable casino scene, bringing a distinctive Chinese jazz voice to an international gaming audience.
The story of Smoke Lingers spans more than two decades.
In 2000, while living in the UK, Jasmine discovered Ta-Bakiera, written by Goran Bregovic and Ranko Rihtman, on a European album Kayah & Bregović. The melody stayed with her for many years. In 2015, she wrote original Chinese lyrics for the piece, transforming it into her own deeply personal Chinese jazz interpretation, Smoke Lingers.
In 2016, Jasmine recorded the track in Denmark with Danish jazz musicians, pianist Nikolaj Hess, bassist Anders Christensen and drummer Mikkel Hess, creating a distinctive jazz arrangement that brought together the original melody, her Chinese lyrics and her own vocal expression.
In 2023, an unexpected opportunity opened a new chapter. A senior member of Sony PlayStation’s music team reached out to Jasmine through a mutual contact after discovering her music, particularly Smoke Lingers.
At the time, Jasmine had little experience of the video game world and never imagined that her music might become part of a major international game production.
“I had never really been involved in the gaming world before. I simply thought it was an interesting opportunity, so I started talking with the team across the Atlantic. At the time, I had no idea where those conversations would eventually lead.”
Marvel’s Wolverine launched globally on 15 September 2026. For Jasmine, hearing her music in the game was an unexpectedly emotional moment:
“It was an incredibly surreal and wonderful moment. After so many years, my music travelled across oceans and finally appeared inside a global game production. Watching the characters dance in the casino scene while my own voice played in the background felt absolutely magical. I never imagined my songs would journey so far.”
Both tracks are officially credited in the game, recognising Jasmine as performer and songwriter/lyricist.
Jasmine’s journey has taken her from classical piano training and jazz vocal studies at Leeds Conservatoire to an international career.
Her work explores the meeting point between jazz and Chinese musical expression, developing a distinctive Chinese jazz voice through original music, reinterpretation and cross-cultural collaboration.
Leeds Conservatoire is proud to celebrate Jasmine’s journey from our community to an international audience, and to see her distinctive voice and music reach new listeners around the world.
