alternative china

'alternative china' links to articles in english about the new music scenes springing up all over china. composed by australasian diy music specialist shaun/tenzenmen (http://www.tenzenmen.com)

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

Interview: Tom Crowther on the Beijing punks As you may already know (we’ve been talking about this for a while), Hejorama will be hosting a screening of the much talked about documentary Beijing Punk in Paris this weekend. Since I can’t be there myself, I set out to learn more about these crazy punks by a different means.

Interview: Tom Crowther on the Beijing punks

As you may already know (we’ve been talking about this for a while), Hejorama will be hosting a screening of the much talked about documentary Beijing Punk in Paris this weekend. Since I can’t be there myself, I set out to learn more about these crazy punks by a different means.

Check out: Jingweir If you haven’t seen the sleek photocopied zines cropping up around Beijing or the various events orbiting around a small collective of noise-inclined rabble-rousers, take the time now to peep JINGWEIR.

Check out: Jingweir

If you haven’t seen the sleek photocopied zines cropping up around Beijing or the various events orbiting around a small collective of noise-inclined rabble-rousers, take the time now to peep JINGWEIR.

Core in China Compilation Released A couple of months ago, the team behind Rock in China wiki and good ‘daze friends set out to collect samplers from all around China to get a feel for what was happening in the ‘core side of things… by ‘core they meant hardcore, nintendocore and all kinds of other terms i’d never heard off. I also discovered in the process that there was something called Folkcore, I kid you not.

Core in China Compilation Released

A couple of months ago, the team behind Rock in China wiki and good ‘daze friends set out to collect samplers from all around China to get a feel for what was happening in the ‘core side of things… by ‘core they meant hardcore, nintendocore and all kinds of other terms i’d never heard off. I also discovered in the process that there was something called Folkcore, I kid you not.

King Ly Chee Takes Mao Live to School – Hardcore Rock n Roll to Blow You Away I had been hearing about King Ly Chee for quite sometime now but never really took the time to check them out until they were scheduled to stop by Beijing about a week ago. I was aware of their reputation and was pretty darn impressed when they got a shout out from none other than Biohazard during the Intercity Music Festival last year. How would they measure up live, in the flesh?

King Ly Chee Takes Mao Live to School – Hardcore Rock n Roll to Blow You Away

I had been hearing about King Ly Chee for quite sometime now but never really took the time to check them out until they were scheduled to stop by Beijing about a week ago. I was aware of their reputation and was pretty darn impressed when they got a shout out from none other than Biohazard during the Intercity Music Festival last year. How would they measure up live, in the flesh?

WOOOZY INTERVIEWS GENJING In honor of International Record Store Day, Shanghai-based music blog Wooozy.cn recently did an interview with label owner Nevin Domer about Genjing and vinyl culture in China. You can find the Chinese version up on their site, and the English version below.

WOOOZY INTERVIEWS GENJING

In honor of International Record Store Day, Shanghai-based music blog Wooozy.cn recently did an interview with label owner Nevin Domer about Genjing and vinyl culture in China. You can find the Chinese version up on their site, and the English version below.

Interview with Road End of 1724 Records | Post Rock Label from Beijing The Beijing Post-Rock compilation released by 1724 Records caught our eye a couple of weeks ago. And as I started to dig deeper into the post rock scene of China, I noticed that 1724 Records is quite active on Last.fm and the owner Road End is a user there. For the record, 1724 has reached over 2500 listeners with 24 thousand scrobbels. Put that in comparison with Maybe Mars Last.fm power of 8000 listeners and 100 thousand scrobbels and you will realize that 1724 has an enormous reach in the overseas market. As such, I contacted Road End, whose real name is Niu Lei and interviewed him with our basic questionaire to bring light into the dark. Niu Lei had responded in Chinese and a dear friend of his helped with the translation. In between the answers you will find music sniplets of 1724 Records and the corresponding record cover.

Interview with Road End of 1724 Records | Post Rock Label from Beijing

The Beijing Post-Rock compilation released by 1724 Records caught our eye a couple of weeks ago. And as I started to dig deeper into the post rock scene of China, I noticed that 1724 Records is quite active on Last.fm and the owner Road End is a user there. For the record, 1724 has reached over 2500 listeners with 24 thousand scrobbels. Put that in comparison with Maybe Mars Last.fm power of 8000 listeners and 100 thousand scrobbels and you will realize that 1724 has an enormous reach in the overseas market.

As such, I contacted Road End, whose real name is Niu Lei and interviewed him with our basic questionaire to bring light into the dark. Niu Lei had responded in Chinese and a dear friend of his helped with the translation. In between the answers you will find music sniplets of 1724 Records and the corresponding record cover.

Chui Wan at the last ‘Zoomin Night’ @ D22, Beijing, Jan 10th, 2012. Video by S.Dummy

Snapline - “She” / “Part of Solution” The Beijing trio Snapline formed in 2005, when they were studying science and engineering at the city’s most elite universities. They initially grouped themselves with Carsick Cars, The Gar, and White into the “No Beijing” movement, cribbing the influential New York no-wave LP title for a 2CD compilation and short tour that year. While their peers went on to buff the most abrasive elements of their sound into more or less palatable forms of noise rock and post-punk, Snapline earned a reputation for uncompromising, often alienating live shows. Their 2007 debut, Party Is Over, Pornostar, showcases a brazen mix of minor-chord melodies, industrial fuzz waves, motorik drum machine propulsion and percussive guitar shreds, all backgrounded by vocalist Chen Xi’s surreal lyrics ontologically probing the bleak postmodern Beijing landscape.

Snapline - “She” / “Part of Solution”

The Beijing trio Snapline formed in 2005, when they were studying science and engineering at the city’s most elite universities. They initially grouped themselves with Carsick Cars, The Gar, and White into the “No Beijing” movement, cribbing the influential New York no-wave LP title for a 2CD compilation and short tour that year. While their peers went on to buff the most abrasive elements of their sound into more or less palatable forms of noise rock and post-punk, Snapline earned a reputation for uncompromising, often alienating live shows. Their 2007 debut, Party Is Over, Pornostar, showcases a brazen mix of minor-chord melodies, industrial fuzz waves, motorik drum machine propulsion and percussive guitar shreds, all backgrounded by vocalist Chen Xi’s surreal lyrics ontologically probing the bleak postmodern Beijing landscape.

On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 20-04-2012 I had my real first taste of Psychoney Wave back in January for the last Zoomin’ Night – let’s just say I was carving more. Since then I’ve indulged myself in some of the more experimental acts in town as well as started my love affair with Skip Skip Ben Ben, the three-piece ‘we-make-fucking-good-music’ group. Well I basically had a feast prepared for me at Mao Livehouse last Friday as I got to finally check out Birdstriking once again, see Skip Skip Ben Ben take names, listen to the increasingly intriguing Chui Wan, and be surprised by Deadly Cradle Death. 

On The Scene: Mao Livehouse 20-04-2012

I had my real first taste of Psychoney Wave back in January for the last Zoomin’ Night – let’s just say I was carving more. Since then I’ve indulged myself in some of the more experimental acts in town as well as started my love affair with Skip Skip Ben Ben, the three-piece ‘we-make-fucking-good-music’ group. Well I basically had a feast prepared for me at Mao Livehouse last Friday as I got to finally check out Birdstriking once again, see Skip Skip Ben Ben take names, listen to the increasingly intriguing Chui Wan, and be surprised by Deadly Cradle Death. 

Shanghai Awakes: White+ on The Bund This is a bit of an oddity. I would go so far as to call it an accidental music video. Last September I ended up on The Bund at dawn in Shanghai. This should happen at least once in your lifetime. Ostensibly I was there to photograph a performance by the talented and capable Olek, whose crocheted work I first encountered in New York City this past summer. After she failed to initiate a crocheting enterprise, thanks to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, I stuck around and watched the sun rise in all its glory over the imposing Pudong skyline. Slowly but surely the entire city awoke around me. My favorite part are the old guys walking backwards for exercise. I find their physicality a strangely fitting metaphor for the urban development occurring around them. It was a beautiful sight. I mashed up the video from that morning with a live performance of White+ recorded at the now defunct D-22.

Shanghai Awakes: White+ on The Bund

This is a bit of an oddity. I would go so far as to call it an accidental music video. Last September I ended up on The Bund at dawn in Shanghai. This should happen at least once in your lifetime. Ostensibly I was there to photograph a performance by the talented and capable Olek, whose crocheted work I first encountered in New York City this past summer. After she failed to initiate a crocheting enterprise, thanks to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, I stuck around and watched the sun rise in all its glory over the imposing Pudong skyline. Slowly but surely the entire city awoke around me. My favorite part are the old guys walking backwards for exercise. I find their physicality a strangely fitting metaphor for the urban development occurring around them. It was a beautiful sight. I mashed up the video from that morning with a live performance of White+ recorded at the now defunct D-22.

Interview with Backyard Surgeons Aussie punks Backyard Surgeons are playing Midi Festival this weekend (22nd) and Yuyintang next week (25th) as part of their second Chinese tour in two years. We got ahold of guitarist Ryan Melder before departing for China to talk about their first trip to China, the Australian music scene and the documentary that they filmed on their first tour through the Middle Kingdom.

Interview with Backyard Surgeons

Aussie punks Backyard Surgeons are playing Midi Festival this weekend (22nd) and Yuyintang next week (25th) as part of their second Chinese tour in two years. We got ahold of guitarist Ryan Melder before departing for China to talk about their first trip to China, the Australian music scene and the documentary that they filmed on their first tour through the Middle Kingdom.

HEDGEHOG’S ZO Layabozi came out early to welcome Beijing beasts Hedgehog and chat a little bit after their sound check. We got to sit down with Zo, the band’s lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter. It was a fun little conversation wherein Zo held court about the band’s inner dynamics, the backlash against Honeyed and Killed, the new album’s triumph, former bassist Box’s departure, his opinions on past and current bands, and whyHedgehog is now independent as fuck, among other things. We even touched on a few sore subjects he didn’t really want to talk about, but he was a good sport about it.

HEDGEHOG’S ZO

Layabozi came out early to welcome Beijing beasts Hedgehog and chat a little bit after their sound check. We got to sit down with Zo, the band’s lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter. It was a fun little conversation wherein Zo held court about the band’s inner dynamics, the backlash against Honeyed and Killed, the new album’s triumph, former bassist Box’s departure, his opinions on past and current bands, and whyHedgehog is now independent as fuck, among other things. We even touched on a few sore subjects he didn’t really want to talk about, but he was a good sport about it.

Interview with Meat Sucks | Post-Hardcore from Wuhan Post-Hardcore band Meat Sucks answered our call for CORE IN CHINA and also responded for all our interview questions.

Interview with Meat Sucks | Post-Hardcore from Wuhan

Post-Hardcore band Meat Sucks answered our call for CORE IN CHINA and also responded for all our interview questions.

The Tea Rockers Quintet Our interview with Li Daiguo on the band’s experimental mix of tradition and ceremony

The Tea Rockers Quintet

Our interview with Li Daiguo on the band’s experimental mix of tradition and ceremony

5 Minutes with Skip Skip Ben Ben Beijing’s Skip Skip Ben Ben plays Yuyintang on Thursday as part of the JUE Festival - we grabbed 5 minutes with Ben Ben to find out about her background, the kind of music that gets her excited and the kind that makes her want to vomit….

5 Minutes with Skip Skip Ben Ben

Beijing’s Skip Skip Ben Ben plays Yuyintang on Thursday as part of the JUE Festival - we grabbed 5 minutes with Ben Ben to find out about her background, the kind of music that gets her excited and the kind that makes her want to vomit….