A Mongolian take on King Crimson + anti-war punks from Qingdao
A Mongolian take on King Crimson + anti-war punks from Qingdao
+ "funeral doom metal"
Hello and welcome to Concrete Avalanche, a Substack about music from China. Thanks very much for reading.
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In this issue: a double dose of excellent Mongolian music, Canton club trax, Chinese Football’s world tour, highlights from Shenzhen’s renowned Tomorrow Festival, vengeance-seeking swordsmen and more.
The kid’s alright: Hugjiltu channels traditional Mongolian folk on Returning to Childhood
The new album from Inner Mongolian musician Hugjiltu, entitled Returning to Childhood, is a family affair. His mother provides sketches for its inside cover and at the album’s heart are three poignant tracks on which he duets with recordings of his late father. These songs are performed in the holboo form, which dates back to the 12th century. Holboo can be translated to English as ‘connection’ and that feels like a theme on this new record — not just because of the family ties, but because it finds Hugjiltu delving deep into the Mongolian folk traditions he was steeped in as a child.
Hugjiltu made his name as part of stomp-along Inner Mongolian acts Hanggai and Ajinai before forming the more psychedelic-leaning outfit GAAL. Yet Returning to Childhood hews closer to the stripped back sound that he employed on the mesmerising Cycle, which imbued the musical retelling of his Beijing commute with serenity and charm.
On his new record, there are songs about nature, about children, and — unsurprisingly if you’ve ever seen a Mongolian band perform — about drinking. The Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tsuur (Mongolian flute) and Khuurchir (four-stringed fiddle) are prominent throughout. There are moments where some of Hugjiltu’s GAAL-like tendencies for expansive composition bubble to the fore, but the traditional folk songs performed by his late father are generally given gentle, affectionate production, with elements added beneath the vocals without overwhelming them in the mix.
It’s glorious, it’s beautiful, it’s lots of words I probably use too often in this Substack. But seriously, you really ought to go listen to this record.
Returning to Childhood is out now. Hugjiltu is currently on tour around China, with physical copies of the record in tow. You should also follow his WeChat video channel (胡格音乐) if you’re on the platform — he regularly posts homely improvisations there.
Present and correct: quirky Canton club trax
Bit of a change of pace here.
Jyugam, who take their name from the Cantonese for ‘at present’ are a collective I’ve been wanting to spotlight for a while. Their excellent new compilation Genius Loci Vol. 1 gives me the opportunity to do precisely that.
The Guangzhou-based label have put together 11 tracks of fascinating electronic music, swaying between ambient and techno. The compilation features producers from across the country, names such as Yu Hein and Rainsoft (who both have releases on trusty Beijing imprint bié Records) and Jyugam leader mafmadmaf.
Glass Bystander, the Shanghai-based producer who eagle-eyed readers will have spotted on Concrete Avalanche’s July playlist, is also involved, delivering a typically deconstructed take on electronic music with ‘A Walk to Meteorites’.
One of my favourite tracks comes from Beijing’s Noooodle King, and not just because I like the idea of noodle royalty. Opener ‘Inside the Oil Tank’ tees up the record with gentle, billowing synths making for a lovely one-two with Ryefield Society’s pullulating ‘Familiar Skies (Anemoia)’.
There’s lots to like across the compilation, and across Jyugam’s discography in general as well — check it out.
Genius Loci Vol. 1 is out now.
A little taste of Pu Poo Platter
Pu Poo Platter, a band whose name I’m still coming to terms with if I’m honest, are getting ready to bring their debut album to the table. The Brooklyn-formed group cook up tasty funk with a similar flavour to the excellent Sleeping Dogs, as demonstrated on last year’s EP Pu Poo Platter Vol 1.
The band, who are playing a couple of shows in Guangdong at the end of this month, have released three singles in the last few weeks: ‘Cha Kee’, ‘The 400 Blues’ and ‘Wen’s Woozy Wrap’. That last track first emerged about a year ago, but now comes with this music video:
The album, A Chilling Winter Night, is due out very soon.
Liquid swords: black metal act Vengeful Spectre return with more tales of betrayal and revenge
I mentioned last time out that there’d been a flurry of Bandcamp releases from Pest Productions, one of China’s finest purveyors of metal music, and that included one that I hadn’t had time to digest properly before hitting ‘publish’: Vengeful Spectre II by Vengeful Spectre.
This album is the second part of a trilogy that began last year (the albums were released exactly a year apart) and sees the band continue the tale of “eastern swordsmen” going through “war, conspiracy, betrayal and revenge” and “further extending the storyline of part one, and depicting the life and death of a prophet, a religious war of insurgence, and the return of vengeful swordmen.” The stories are delivered through a “desolate” brand of black metal that’s punctured by occasional traditional Chinese folk instrumentation and which, Pest Productions note, comes “with more elements of funeral doom metal” this time around.
The album opens with a piercing suona (traditional Chinese woodwind instrument) solo from Liaoning pagan metal act Frozen Moon’s Piao Sanye and you don’t even need to be familiar with their previous work (album one began with a proper ‘make you jump’ moment) to know that something is brewing — they’re called Vengeful Spectre after all, you know where this is going.
But it’s almost a double bluff, with ‘Beneath Dark Clouds’ passing by without the brutal black metal onslaught you’re expecting. That soon follows though. Vengeful Spectre’s sense for atmosphere and drama hasn’t left them; tracks such as the excellent ‘Ghostly Mountains’ reaffirm this.
Vengeful Spectre II is gloomier and doomier than its predecessor, and perhaps not quite as well paced, but it’s still got plenty to offer black metal fans.
Vengeful Spectre II is out now.
Qingd-oi: punk act Dummy Toys prepare for Europe with new LP
“It does not matter that the melody may not sounds good to main-stream audience or may not pleasing them enough, we just want to punk out our music loudly without explaining the meaning of it.”
Can’t really argue with that can you? This is part of a statement accompanying the new album from Qingdao punks Dummy Toys. War Is Nightmare comes almost four years after their debut Not A Puppet; the band say they’ve matured, and there’s been a shift in their sound too.
While Puppet was out-and-out street punk, War brings in more metal and hardcore influences. (Even the artwork looks more metal.) And it’s not just military conflict that invokes their ire: domestic violence, online comment ‘mobs’ and complacency around the climate crisis also get skewered.
If you like what you hear and are in Europe this summer, take a moment to peruse the poster below and see if you can catch them on tour:
War Is Nightmare is out now. Vinyl versions are coming soon apparently.
Speaking of bands on tour…
At the start of this year, Chinese Football’s Xu Bo told me, “Our goal in 2023 is to break out of Asia and go to the world”. Well, it’s happening. It’s really happening.
They’re a fantastic band (and it’s not just me saying that). Go see them if you can.
All Tomorrow’s parties: watch Mamer and more perform in Shenzhen
Shenzhen’s Tomorrow Festival returned in June, with its always interesting mix of free jazz, avant-garde and experimental music. Alongside international acts including Marisa Anderson, Xylouris White, 106: Phew & Dowser N, Tatsuya Yoshida and Kentaro Nakao — plus a talk from Sub Rosa’s Guy-Marc Hinant — artists such as Mamer, bBb bBb and the Makit Dolan Muqam Group joined the fray.
If you weren’t able to make it along, fret not: host venue B10 has put up a series of YouTube videos from the festival for your viewing and listening pleasure.
Exit music
Last thing for this issue is the excellent 2017 album from Hai Qing, which just recently found its way to Bandcamp. A nice bookend given we opened with a talented Mongolian musician as well.
The Flesh is a beautiful record that finds Hai Qing wearing his love for King Crimson on his sleeve. He also happens to be a lovely gent, so if you’re so inclined please consider supporting him by paying for the album.
You had me with King Crimson, and Hai Qing is my favourite here. Funny coincidence we listened to Altai Hangai a lot in the ‘90’s, it’s very peaceful pastoral music. (Although their is a 12 minute praise of Genghis Khan somewhere)