China's answer to Coachella + an Omnipotent Youth Society milestone
+ The river, Orchestration, Walkman!
In this issue: an outstanding release from Hualun, Chinese bands going international, “dystopian sci-fi” electronic music, and rumours of who might appear on the new series of China’s biggest rock TV show.
Rat pack: Chengdu electronic producer and erhu player Temple Rat drops solo EP
Last year, a friend of mine moved to Thailand. I gave them two recommendations: one was a small cocktail bar in Chiang Mai, the other was Siamese Twins Records. Based in Bangkok, the label provides what it calls “a home for authentic, tribally rooted sounds introducing Asian artists and creating symbiotic dialogues with producers around the globe”. Together with Rắn Cạp Đuôi, they’re one of the most interesting collectives I’ve come across in the region, so I was excited to see them presenting a new release from Chengdu-raised producer and player of the erhu (a traditional two-stringed instrument) Mei Yuxin, otherwise known as Temple Rat.
Back in September 2021, Temple Rat appeared on the label’s Kāthā V.A. (ST-๐๐ห้า) compilation (alongside Nanjing “ritual ambient” group Yingshui Dijiang), a record “whose strong transcendental ambience comes tinged with Eastern psychedelia”. She also recently collaborated with Forest Choir to produce ‘Into Your Dream Temple’, “a captivating sound installation” that will be presented in three phases at Funkhaus Berlin later this year:
As those pieces suggest, she is adept at creating enveloping ambient sounds. But she also knows how to get a dancefloor going, as her Boiler Room set (eventually) shows:
Both of these skills are demonstrated on The Composition of Air, her debut EP. The record merges darkwave and ambient with techno-tinged IDM, with Siamese Twins describing how it “gracefully transitions, creating a harmonious blend of ethereal haze yet grounded echogenic brushstrokes”. The description goes on to hit some classic Bandcamp blurb keywords: “dystopian sci-fi atmosphere”, “meditative alchemy”, and “interlacing oscillations” are all in there.
Not all of those elements come together quite as they could, but this is still an intriguing release from an artist who is certainly one to watch.
The Composition of Air is out now.
Animal tracks: Zoo Gazer’s “casual indie”
Did you know that China has more than one Terracotta Army? Xi’an’s warriors are the ones everyone’s familiar with, but there’s another set of stone soldiers further south in the city of Xuzhou; smaller, younger and not nearly as celebrated. Which kind of sums the whole place up. Located in Jiangsu, Xuzhou is a largely industrial place and about as anonymous as a city of 2.3 million people can be. But even a cursory glance at the history of rock and pop will tell you that such places can sometimes produce outstanding art.
It’s a little early to classify Zoo Gazer as an ‘outstanding’ band, but the Xuzhou-founded act already have some highly enjoyable releases to their name. It’s a name that in English references their sometimes shoegazey sound, but in Chinese translates into ‘Zoo Nail House’, a ‘nail house’ being a term used for the stubborn structures whose owners refuse to move in the face of China’s often sweeping construction projects, sometimes rendering them as lone ‘nails’ stuck on a giant building site. This feels appropriate too, given the band’s ability to craft tunes that won’t budge from your head.
Exhibit A: their eponymous 2018 LP, which saw Zoo Gazer set out their stool as “a casual indie band abusing major 7th chords and spring reverb”, as they put it.
Exhibit B: the synthy chill-pop of 2020’s Hiding In Your Room EP, which dropped just as the pandemic kicked into gear and felt like a balm in those worrying times.
I really liked both these records. As for their new album, entitled Zoo Gazer II …I’m still making my mind up on it to be honest. It’s certainly ambitious — chill-pop and casual indie remain at the core of the band’s sound, but there are also funk, jazz and even metal influences at times.
You can have a listen above while you read the considered thoughts of Mando Gap on the album here.
Zoo Gazer II is out now.
Cassetteboy: Bandcamp’s Tape Label Report spotlights one of my favourite Chinese imprints
In case you didn’t already know, Bandcamp does a regular Tape Label Report column that comes out every month and “introduce[s] you to five cassette-focused labels you should know about, and highlight[s] key releases from each.”
Before you scoff, you might want to read this piece from The Honest Broker about how Bandcamp has achieved profitability largely off the back of physical music formats. But you should also read the latest edition of said Tape Label Report, because it features some words on one of my favourite Chinese imprints — from an author whose name you may recognise. And if you’re really interested in that label’s work (and why not), you can read a full Q&A with the founder here on WeChat.
More tapes: The river, Orchestration, Walkman!
Speaking of cassettes, here’s a new one from intriguing improvisational experimentalists The river, Orchestration, Walkman! (Their Chinese name can be translated simply as ‘Riverside Walk’ but I’m so glad they decided to go with this as their English name.)
Trio dropped on New Year’s Day along with a separate set of seven similarly angular, saxophone-laced improvisational recordings, but has only recently been given the physical format treatment.
Whether or not you’re building a tape collection, this is definitely a band to keep an eye on. (And just this week, they’ve released a new 12-track album.)
Trio is out on cassette and digital download now.
“Like a small-scale Coachella, without the weed”
A few issues back I mentioned the return of Chunyou, one of China’s more alternative music festivals. Turns out The Economist went along for a visit:
Some 5,000 revellers gathered outside the city of Meishan for the Chunyou Festival (chunyou means “spring outing”). Sparkling lakes dot the landscape between green hills and idyllic forests not far from Sichuan’s famous panda sanctuaries. A fifth of those attending came from outside Sichuan, many from Shanghai and Beijing. Many discounted tickets also went to locals, some of whom just came to watch the city folks boogie. With everyone dressed up in boho chic, it felt like a small-scale Coachella, without the weed.
In that same issue, I also wondered how China’s sudden lifting of Covid-related restrictions would impact touring. A few months on and we’re starting to see some foreign acts book shows in the country (there’s a MONO x Wang Wen double-header and Black Midi among them) and a number of Chinese bands plan tours overseas. Chinese Football will play Arctangent festival in Bristol this summer plus dates in Dublin and Leicester following their tour of Japan, while FAZI and Oh!Dirty Fingers have also announced dates in Japan for July. Bloodz Boi, who toured Japan in early May, has teased a tour of Australia and New Zealand in September. Good news.
Speaking of FAZI, here’s what I had to say about their most recent album for Chaoyang Trap and here’s a video from their latest tour:
Around the world: Hualun’s Homework gets a Slovakian vinyl release
Regular readers will know of this Substack’s love for the Wuhan-founded instrumental band Hualun, who you can read more about here:
A session with the band playing songs from their Homework series has recently been given a special vinyl release (along with a limited edition face mask) by Slovakian label MTS. On it, the band use guitar loops and synths to build beautiful multi-layered ambient sounds that are easy to get lost in. Adding to the quality musicianship that typifies any Hualun release, Homework features percussion from Wang Xu, the acclaimed drummer for White+ and formerly of The Gar.
From MTS:
“An album which made a huge impact on me during the early months of the pandemic, and which shaped my whole experience. Listening to it every morning and afternoon in the car, driving to and back from work. <<Homework>> struck me deeply and gave me a strong feeling that it needs to be released on a vinyl format.”
There’s a soothing quality to the music here, perhaps in part because I associate many of these songs with the early pandemic period as well. As the band says, “We remember the special moment with «Homework», because a week later with the outbreak of the COVID-19, everything stopped.”
Whether you carry those Covid connotations or not, and whether you’re a hardcore fan or have never heard of Hualun before, this is a truly excellent record.
Hualun’s Homework in Quiet Time is out now.
The Big Band season three rumours have begun
The Big Band, iQIYI’s Pop Idol-like TV show for rock acts, is set to return later this year. Rumours about who’ll be taking part have already begun to fly.
Beijing indie-rockers Birdstriking and Eight Immortals Restaurant are the names who immediately jumped out to me from the supposedly leaked list that’s been circulating. Them and Second Hand Rose, an old-school dongbei rock act who are big on theatrics and have a penchant for drag — would be interesting to see how much leeway they were given in the current cultural climate in China.
Curry 3000, a sort of super group formed by members of New Pants and Reflector, would probably fancy their chances of going far, while other acts to watch for would be Berlin Psycho Nurses, Sound Toy, and Nova Heart.
We’ll see in a few months how many of these actually turn up on the show….
Spinal taps: Louzhang attempts an “expansion and refinement of electronic ambient music”
Skittering beats and bleeps, atmospheric ambient, and dark techno textures come together on the latest release from China-based label SOTI Music. The Form of Spine by Louzhang comes with quite the introduction:
Experimental musician Louzhang's debut album "The Form of Spine" is an expansion and refinement of electronic ambient music. It attempts, by various means, to deviate from the traditional structure of ambient music with a twist of spiritual resonance to haunt "the paths beneath our feet". These compositions were created entirely with analog devices, full of noise, darkness, and dissonance. Through this work, Louzhang aims to depict and examine the collective consciousness that coalesces in all of our skulls, unraveling a common gene that courses through our veins, driving the world into chaos and disarray.
That’s an ambitious declaration, especially for a debut solo record. But this isn’t Louzhang’s first attempt reimagining ambient music — late last year they formed one third of Irrelevant Trio with jazz musician Khezk and electronic musician littlesweetpotato for the similarly intriguing Tailing:
It all sounds a bit dark and gloomy, and maybe at times The Form of Spine is (nothing wrong with that in my book), but Louzhang’s solo record is also embellished with moments of softer, warmer instrumentation, meaning it’s not exactly the cold, heartless slog that could be imagined after reading some of the track names and the context surrounding the release. Give it a whirl.
The Form of Spine is out now.
Omnipotent Youth Society are now Mercedes-Benz Arena big
When we saw Omnipotent Youth Society live last year, I remember saying to Mrs Concrete Avalanche that they ought to do a series of shows with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at the city’s impressive concert hall. Turns out they had bigger plans. It took the independent Hebei band just minutes to sell out the Mercedes-Benz Arena, a venue that has played host to Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and Metallica. Not bad for a bunch of friends from Shijiazhuang with only two studio albums to their name.
Officially, the stadium can hold 18,000 people, though that’s when it’s hosting sporting events. When Re-TROS played there last year the audience was just over 10,000 I believe. It’s not clear exactly how many people attended the Omnipotent Youth Society show last week, but we do know that the band (plus special guests including avant-folk hero Xiao He) played ‘in the round’, likely meaning a bigger audience than at the Re-TROS show. Regardless, it looks like it was a special night.
Good for them, they’re a fantastic band. If you’re not familiar with them, start here.
Hopefully there’ll be some sort of official video (maybe even a live album?) soon, but for now here’s the best of the shaky fan footage that I’ve seen so far, featuring a special version of ‘Kill the One From Shijiazhuang’:
Exit music
Closing out with a track from Chengdu hardcore act Gaiwaer, taken from their new album It’s getting light again:
Sound Toy are still making music? Do you know who is in the band these days?
Sorry, did you just write that black midi is gonna play in China?