Yangzhou fried beats + Brutal Girl Delusion
+ ecological ambient from rural Zhejiang + new Wang Wen
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In this issue: beguiling handkerchief-wrapped electronic sounds, not one but three upbeat rock records, a post-rock soundtrack, forest-recorded ambient, and a post-punk trio who “talk about feminism and queer rights in a fierce voice”.
Spring breaks and beats: DaYe’s Road to Spring will make you feel better about the world
Beijing’s brilliant bié Records are back with a beautiful debut LP from producer DaYe, dedicated to her hometown of Yangzhou.
While for a lot of people one of the main connotations for Yangzhou is a ubiquitous fried rice dish that bears its name, the eastern Chinese city was once a centre of vast wealth due to its role in the salt trade (and its proximity to both the Yangtze and the Grand Canal). It’s dotted with waterways, alleys and classical gardens — and it’s these aspects that DaYe draws on for Road to Spring. The twist, is that she’s now based up north in another city, meaning the record is a musical attempt to capture locations based on her childhood memories of them, while she also learns to navigate her new surroundings. She does this through a wonderfully-judged blend of field recordings and samples, and charmingly off-kilter beats.
This is not the first time DaYe has released work on bié. In early 2023, we got the matter-of-factly titled EP1 and EP2. As intriguing as those teasers were — with some tracks seemingly concerned with rhythm and beats, others more with general atmosphere — Road to Spring feels like a strong evolution of the sounds DaYe was experimenting with two years ago. Somewhat paradoxically, there’s more cohesion and confidence in the (intentionally) scattered sounds that comprise the LP.
Whether you have any personal reference points for the canals and alleyways of Yangzhou doesn’t really matter, Road to Spring feels transportive regardless. And while the spring in the Chinese title is actually referencing spring water rather than the season, there’s a brightness to the record that chimes perfectly with the time of year (in the northern hemisphere at least).
And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s a CD version that comes wrapped in a handkerchief featuring beautifully embroidered artwork by comic artist Lu Ran and a ten page booklet of “fanciful reflections on the compositions in Chinese” from DaYe.
It’s another bié gem.
Road to Spring is out now.
Choose your own indie-rock adventure: three punchy guitar-driven albums not to miss
Shenzhen’s Small Animals Records continue their strong suit in full-throttle, highly-likeable, guitar-propelled songs from young Chinese bands with the excellent debut record from Guangzhou group 红发少年杀人事件. Not sure they have an official English name, but loosely, that’s The Red-Haired Youth Murder Case; they seem to prefer adjusted Japanese when going without characters: Akagenosyounensatuzinziken.
Whatever you want to call them, the important thing to know is that this is a fantastic record, packed full of energy — one to blast away the cobwebs of winter with.
Also packing a punch (and not just because there’s a track on it called ‘Fight Club’) is this new record from Green Deer. Black Sun, the Ningbo-based quartet’s second album, is a smart mix of post-punk and math-rock that hits its stride right from the off with ‘Viva Villa’ (perhaps more accurately translated as ‘Long Live Freedom’) and the powerful title track. It never really lets up from there.
A third rock-based record that’s bursting with energy comes in the form of the new album from Riot in School, a DIY trio from Chengdu. While the official blurb’s claim that the group have created “a unique musical language that belongs solely to Riot In School” is a bit strong, their second LP does make interesting use of elements of rap and electronic music on top of its post-hardcore base.
Notably, the cover art features a ‘left behind’ child, one of four that the band have supported in Sichuan after raising funds through one of their tours.
BRUTAL GIRL DELUSION, Black Sun, and //Punk Rock Blasphemy are all out now.
Say yeah: Chinese post-rock titans Wang Wen return with Clap Your Hands soundtrack
Sometimes writing this newsletter is simple: I see a new Wang Wen album and I post a link to it.
The latest release from the giants of China’s post-rock scene, now in their 26th year together, is a rare-for-them soundtrack work. The film in question is Clap Your Hands, which “revolves around a woman struggling through numerous hardships who is still determined to ensure her family gets to live their best life”, according to Far East Films.
The opening pair of tracks are classic Wang Wen (in a very good way) — brass-laced pieces that build to driving rock crescendoes. There then follows a clutch of shorter, more atmospheric pieces, tracks that feel much more soundtrack-appropriate, playing a supporting role rather than claiming the spotlight. As director Zhu notes, “Wang Wen rarely compose film scores”, and it’s interesting to find them working in this space, where their inclination toward layering up gentler sounds into intense guitar-heavy peaks may not work quite so well with the visual pace of the film. That said, the more low-key moments of their discography have shown they’re just as adept at creating minimalist soundscapes too, and they do so with aplomb here.
The band use an instrumental refrain from ‘My Crime’ from their 2006 LP Re:Re:Re as a repeated musical motif across the soundtrack, with echoes of it on both ‘The Bungee’ and ‘Light the Fire’ before a fuller reworking — denoted here as ‘My Crime 2020’ — closes out the record. The redux feels like an emotional climax, even without seeing the film it soundtracks.
The only slight issue is that at under 45 minutes the record is over all too soon. Yet this is still worth a listen, especially for the opening two numbers — and at least there’s Wang Wen’s excellent back catalogue to play your way through when it ends.
Clap Your Hands (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out now.
Cranes in the sky: the lush soundscapes of an ambient LP recorded in a Zhejiang forest
I said I’d continue to update and tweak the Chinese ambient playlist(s) periodically, and already there’s this fascinating new addition — albeit from a record that diverges from ambient the longer you delve into its four 20ish minute tracks.
Occupying a spot in my personal preference Venn diagram between ambient, experimental, and traditional Chinese instrumentation, Cranes Appeared in the Forest by xuán yīn is the result of a Big Tech-backed project in rural-ish Zhejiang:
“This concept arises from in-depth research conducted in Qingshan Village on how to blend its natural surroundings, geographic conditions, and cultural characteristics into a unique artistic field. This field integrates elements of sound, music, literature, and performance, aiming to inspire artists to create and perform and to invite the audience to engage, interpret, and immerse themselves in the experience.”
The recordings were part of a drive to turn the village of Qingshan, located not far from Hangzhou, into something of a rural arts hub. Public art shows, academic forums, and themed events such as a ‘Natural Theatre’ programme have all been held on and around the village’s bamboo-shrouded (and increasingly re-wooded) slopes in recent years. On July 1, 2023, after some heavy rains, Chen Mulian led an evening performance among the trees with fellow electronic musician Zhang Jianfu and percussionists Lin Zhe and Dong Liang. Cranes Appeared in the Forest is the result.
The album is split into four ‘chapters’, opening with two pieces that blend traditional-sounding Chinese instrumentation with ethereal synths. ‘Chapter III’ retains the atmospheric sounds, but layers on traditional Chinese opera-style vocals and sparse percussion for a haunting feel. ‘Chapter IIII’ retreats further from ambient territory with foghorn-like drones and drums that build to an almost military-like rhythm, before more placid instrumentation returns for the record’s finale.
It’s an absorbing listen.
Cranes Appeared in the Forest is out now.
Exit music
Wrapping up this edition with a couple of tracks from Xi’an band Rats&Pears, who are teasing a soon-to-be-released debut album. The Maybe Mars-signed post-punk trio say that they “talk about feminism and queer rights in a fierce voice,” and you definitely get that energy from this video. Excited for the LP.
Jake, thank you so much for your continued reporting on this music. Just from a first quick scan, I'll definitely check out DaYe and that ambient forest record. That recent Chinese ambient list was right up my alley, I found a few amazing pieces through your recommendations.
Always love reading this newsletter, but this one, especially the indie rock section, just slaps extra hard. Really digging it and can't wait to read more!