A punk gig in a Chengdu McDonald's + an "AI messiah"
+ Omnipotent Youth Society to tour North America + "oriental futurism"
Hello and welcome to Concrete Avalanche, a newsletter about music from China. Thanks very much for reading.
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In this issue: Omnipotent Youth Society’s forthcoming US tour, a gladiatorial battle over AI, electronic music infused with ethnic minority singing, the sounds of “a robot getting lost in the jungle”, Chengdu punk, Changsha avant-pop, and more.
“Music is a divine gift”: three experimental electronic releases you need to hear
I don’t know whether it’s the back to school / business feeling that comes with Autumn or something else, but it feels like there’s been a real glut of notable releases lately. I’m barely keeping up.
Good news though: this means less waffle from me and more embeds / links.
I’ll hopefully be able to return in a future newsletter and provide some proper background the People Pump label and co-founder Louzhang. But right now, you need to just hit play on King of Wells, “Louzhang's oriental futurism album”.
Weaving together “samples and field recordings from Louzhang‘s hometown in the deep mountains of southwestern China, as well as instrumental/vocal recordings from the Miao and Dong ethnic groups”, the record is a pulsing, exciting experimental electronic release, and one of my favourites from this producer and this label to date.
Speaking of exciting producers creating interesting electronic music, the brilliant Laughing Ears is back with a new release. It feels like only last month I was writing about her last album… because it was. She’s followed up the “angular, industrial sounds” of 4.44.444 with what for my money is an even stronger demonstration of her skills as a producer.
Another Shanghai-based artist showing off their chops as a producer is Charity SsB. The rapper and regular Genome 6.66 mbp collaborator put out an album of largely instrumental electronic productions in mid-August. Billed as his “first formal album” (I think they mean as a fully-fledged producer), it’s an interesting departure from last year’s more rap-oriented album The Ancient War, which featured Bloodzboi, Young Queenz, and members of Chongqing rap crew GO$H Music.
The tracks were made by Charity over a number of years, but there’s a fluidity and consistency to the album as a whole nonetheless. The record also represents Charity’s belief that
“in a world filled with desire, conflict, and war, and within the complexities of societal systems, music is a divine gift of mercy and solace to humanity. Music creation is his sole pathway to experiencing true freedom and spiritual liberation. It holds significant meaning in his life, serving as his soul's sanctuary and the pillar of his spirit.”
Amen to that.
King of Wells, Erased Tapes, and Clemency are all available for your listening pleasure right now. Try them all.
Sunday punkday: Chengdu hardcore act Gaiwaer kick out the jams on new tracks
Chengdu outfit Gaiwaer (loosely translated as ‘street kids’) have shifted line-ups and styles a bit during their ten years of existence. But their music has always come with a big dollop of attitude. Notably, they once performed live in a McDonald’s in the Sichuanese capital:
They’ve got their principles too. They’re one of the few Chinese acts I’m aware of to have released a song related to the situation in Gaza — their track ‘3514’ was dedicated to Aaron Bushnell, the US airman who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC in February.
Their latest release features two typically punchy tracks, accompanied by album artwork by Riot29 that you should probably wear sunglasses to look at directly.
Coming to America: Omnipotent Youth Society to tour US and Canada
After a handful of shows in the US late last year, Omnipotent Youth Society are doing a proper North America tour in October and November. This is a big deal. If you’re in or near one of these cities you should go see them if you can.
The string- and brass-laden indie rock act made millions by self-releasing their second album in 2020, a sign of how much their reputation had soared in the decade since their first LP. Combining catchy hooks with smartly written lyrics about everything from environmental degradation to societal change, they’re a band who deserve the attention — and continue to impress live.
Here’s how things went down last time they were in the US of A:
Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
ZZ top: Changsha alt-pop singer Chainhaha shows potential on debut album
Back in June, I flagged that an old EP from Hunanese singer Chainhaha had made it to Bandcamp about two years after its initial release. Turns out it was laying the groundwork for a new album: Za Nang Zz Nang arrived at the start of September.
While the individual tracks she released in the wake of that June 2022 EP, Who’s In My Belly?, failed to offer anything as infectious as that record’s title track, Za Nang Zz Nang is far more interesting. From the opening lines — “So I am a commodity” — there’s a stronger energy and sense that Chainhaha is not content to produce standard pop.
Not every track is a knock-out, but as she muses on subjects ranging from self-love and self-doubt to humans’ interactions with nature, there are plenty of quirky, playful moments to sustain interest across Chainhaha’s first full-length record. Bjork is an obvious influence, but there are flashes of originality throughout as well.
Za Nang Zz Nang is out now.
New AI orders: Stolen depict clash of AI civilisations ahead of European tour
Stolen, a Chengdu band whose blend of post-punk and electronic elements has caught the collective ear of New Order, have always had a penchant for the dramatic. So it’s perhaps no great surprise to find them tackling the subject of artificial intelligence by dressing it up in Ridley Scott Gladiator-like robes.
Over to the Bandcamp blurb:
“This song is bringing us to a near future after the big AI outbreak. A song about Arenas. the place where civilisations rises and fall.
”The vibrating bass lines, like remnants of a storm in the middle of a desert. AI is personified into a physical true god form and is ruling on a Roman empire-like arena in the middle of a desert where you could hear fiercely marching military drums sounding like swords and knives on the battlefield where Humans, divided into two main groups of people, are ready to fight : one side is standing for AI’s quest for perfection while the other side still wants to assume humans imperfections as a moto.”
Like what you hear? If you’re based in Europe, you can catch the band live in the coming weeks as they set out on a UK and EU tour. And yes, they’ll be stopping in Manchester.
Exit music
Rounding off with this excellent track from Meng Qi and He Kairan. Meng Qi is known for making weird and wonderful new instruments, such as the Mengqipa, a modified pipa.
The song,
“uses the self-generated sounds of the Blippoo Box and noise machine Honey as the background sound source. The performers play Zawose kalimba, canned kalimba, and kanjira in the piece. It is named Cracker Bot because of the self-generated, delicate crackling sounds found within. The music resembles a mesmerizing spectacle of explosive brilliance created by a remote device igniting firecrackers from afar.”
It was sent to me and described as sounding like “a robot getting lost in the jungle”; to my ears, it’s like an experimental twist on gamelan music. Either way, it’s great.
New Wu Zhouling record is superb. Including a sampled collaboration with Prof Brian Cox. And I’m loving an EP called ‘Take Me To Beijing’ by Chinese American Bear.