NOT FROM BEIJING: Chinese Indie Rock
Jan 27, 2009
So there's great rock ‘n' roll in Beijing-what about the rest of China?
BY JOEL HARTSE
In 2007, America discovered Chinese indie rock. Every major publication, it seemed, was sending writers over to check out what was going on in Beijing. And although we now know that the cute little girl at the Olympics opening ceremony was lip-synching, China's indie rock bands are, more or less, the real deal. Rock ‘n' roll is being made here, and it's a refreshingly uncommercial enterprise.
Most of what reaches the US comes from the relatively insular Beijing scene that orbits around bands like Carsick Cars who play regularly at the rock club D-22, where almost any night of the week you can join a crowd of expats and locals to see the new talent this scene is developing. Still, China is a country with 1.3 billion people in it, and more than a handful of non-Beijing-indie-scene records released this year are worth paying attention to. Here are some bands worth keeping an eye on in preparation for the Chinese Rock Invasion.
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The Honeys
Water (ECRSC)
Started by musicians from Hangzhou and Shanghai, the Honeys have been around for decade and their new album is ambitious, with big-rock production that almost reaches a Bon Jovi-like bombast at times, but keeps itself grounded with the smooth, laid-back sounds of Chinese stringed instruments on the title track and others. Not the most groundbreaking indie release of 2008, but a solid introduction to the genre.
The Swamp (and Friends)
The Metamorphosis (Self-released)
www.zhaoze.com / www.myspace.com/theswampcn
This Guangzhou-based band released a remix album featuring re-imaginings of their previous work (which leans toward psychedelic rock and morose, atmospheric pop) by artists from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Although the Swamp have existed since 1996, they're just now coming into their prolific own; in 2009, they plan to put out a new studio album featuring an experimental symphony written for electric guitar and guqin, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument.
Various Artists
Noise is Free: Mini Midi 2008 (Kwanyin Records)
http://www.subjam.org/archives/327
A compilation from the Mini Midi Festival (admittedly held in Beijing) an experimental offshoot of China's biggest music festival, this handmade limited run of CDs features compositions from a number of sound artists, ranging from a squonking sax improv to an amusing noise piece which incorporates an oft-heard recording from a Chinese phone company: "Sorry, the phone you dialed is not answered for the moment."
The Rogue Transmission
Illicit Intercepts EP (Self-released)
www.myspace.com/theroguetransmission
Can a group of white dudes be a Chinese rock band? The first release from these Shanghai-based expats manages to capture the energy of their sweaty, beer-soaked live show. Impressively mustachioed frontman Dan Shapiro yowls like a more impassioned Dave Grohl, and the band's tight, aggressive power pop is stirring, whatever their nationality.
Wang Wen
IV (Fox Tail)
This four-piece post-rock group from the northern coastal city of Dalian, released maybe the best non-Beijing record of 2008. Starting off in Explosions in the Sky Territory, Wang Wen makes the genre their own, adding flourishes like playful jazz drumming and melodica to their celestial guitar twinklings and drones.
[Pictured: Wang Wen]
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