Indie Rock: Made in China
China isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of indie rock. But with China’s population soaring over 1.3 billion, should we be surprised to find that Beijing has an emerging indie rock scene?
Lonely China Day is a quintet indie rock group from Beijing that mixes post-rock elements with electronic beats and blurps and beautiful Mandarin poetry. Their sound is compared to Album Leaf, Mogwai, and Sigur Ros, saying these guys are good would be an understatement. In 2007 they signed to Tag Team Records out of Beijing and Los Angelas, releasing their debut full-length called Sorrow.
Deng Pei programs the electronic beats, and is also the guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. He expressed his vision for Lonely China Day:
“I want to be different from the rest of the crowd here in China. I want to achieve much with very little. Very minimal songwriting with the addition of many, many surrounding elements. I don’t know very much about the American indie rock scene, but there is an indie rock scene in China. I think there is some original music happening right now in China, but not very much. Lonely China Day is out to change that.” (Tag Team)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sWZ1ONLip4[/youtube]
Another band that hails from Beijing is Rebuilding The Rights Of Statues, also signed to Tag Team Records. Their sound is “explosive, danceable, unsettling post punk that leaves you unsure whether you want to take your clothes off and shake the spiders out, or go look for a rope, a closet and a copy of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot.” (Tag Team)
Hua Dong, guitarist and vocalist of Rebuilding The Rights of Statues, spent several years studying in Germany and writing songs. When he returned to Beijing in 2003 he formed Rebuilding The Rights of Statues. In 2005 the band recorded Cut Off! and was thrilled to have legendary producer Brian Eno sit in on keyboards.
Rebuilding The Rights Of Statues – Boys In Cage
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APpmRDHOfbs[/youtube]
Joewi Verhoeven is a third artist from Beijing that has caught our attention. Writing under the name of Arrows Made Of Desire, Joewi is actively involved in the Beijing indie rock scene. Born and raised in Holland to a Dutch father and Chinese mother, Joewi moved to Beijing after graduating from High School to study at the Beijing Film Academy. He recently released his debut album, Songs That Sell Fish, on Tag Team Records. Joewi produced, engineered, and recorded every instrument on this album on an 8-track recorder.
Joewi Verhoeven describes his musical roots:
“The moment that music really started to mean something to me was when I discovered the world of rock music. Nirvana was my gate to this world. They were the band that made me pick up a guitar and start a band, like so many others. A lot of my current musical influences are from the older days. I especially like folk blues: an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, and tapping feet for rhythm. Then there is jazz, which I think is really exciting to listen to, it’s like a new world I’m still exploring. On the other hand I’m also listening to modern music. I like a lot of post punk bands and also a lot of noise rock like Sonic Youth and Polvo.” (Tag Team)
Arrows Made Of Desire – King of Lonedom
Lonely China Day
October 20 – Velvet Underground Bar – Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China
October 21 – Show Club – Zibo, Shandong province, China
October 26 – Castal Bar – Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China
October 27 – Live Bar – Shanghai, China
October 28 – 4-Live Bar – Shanghai, China
November 2 – Base Bar – Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China
November 3 – Club Cixi – Hong Kong
November 10 – 2 Kolegas – Beijing, China