ChengduMusic.com

Happy Birthday To Us!!

dave — Sun, 26 May 2013 15:52:06 +0000

Chengdumusic celebrates it's second birthday in style at the Hemp House this coming Saturday with some of the best bands and DJs Chengdu has to offer.

Here's a quick look at what to expect on the night.

Formed in 2011 Wednesday's Trip are a four piece livetronica band based in Chengdu with singer/producer Jolene Wu, DJ Fly, Huang Jiyang on bass and drummer Huang Jin. Head on over here to the band's soundcloud page to hear a few dubby originals.

To say we were chuffed when Stolen agreed to come and play would be a bit of an understatement. If you havent seen them play before we strongly recommend you come down and check them out, you wont be disappointed. You can read our interview with the band here and have a look at their take on the Joy Division classic "Love Will Tear Us Apart" recorded last December at Chengdu's Little Bar.

Hi Person are another Chengdu five piece band that have been putting on some really impressive shows this past couple of years. Check this video below and you'll understand why we cant wait for Saturday to come around quick enough.

And thats not all. The party vibes will be going till the wee hours with music from Stereo Freeze and Chengdumusic's very own YoMoFo. Visuals, as ever, provided by VJ Cha Fei.

So folks, there it is, 3 of the finest bands Chengdu has to offer and Djs all night long. Hope to see you all this Saturday night at the Hemp House.

Come and help support your local music scene!!!

Nova Heart Interview

dave — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:20:07 +0000

All article photo credits: ©Фуко, www.foukography.com

Helen Feng (冯海宁), lead singer of Nova Heart, is a name synonymous with China's burgeoning underground music scene. Back in 2004 she started punk band Ziyo [自游], later co-founded the electro band Pet Conspiracy and in 2009 co-founded the Chinese music collective FakeMusicMedia with her partner, Philipp Grefer. Described as dark, sexy and beautiful, Helen Feng′s new project is Nova Heart. To date they've already clocked up 3 European tours including lengthy tours of the the States, Canada and Australia. Lucky for us, lead singer Helen kindly agreed to answer a few of our probing questions as the band get ready to embark on their first national tour.

Chengdumusic (CM) : You've been in the music business for some time now. Looking back, do you see a time when you were happiest?

Helen Feng (HF) : I think its like everything in life, we are most happy when we don't know that we are suppose to be unhappy. For music I was most happy in the 1st three years doing a band. I had been doing music since I was 3 but mostly in choirs and music groups that had constricted lines by which you could grow as a performer, and in the 1st three years with Ziyo before reality had actually caught up to us was great. It was born an only child, and it was like overnight I had four brothers, that drank smoked and we could do whatever f--- we wanted with our music. Everything that happened at the time, we were thinking "wow! I can't believe this is happening to me it's so amazing." We could be playing in shitty bar with no soundsytem to some hookers and johns and we were happy. Life is more fun as the underdog. Still I can't complain, I'm happy all the time, and most happy on stage. I had a pretty damn good life now, and maybe all that is just unwarranted nostalgia. Everything looks better in retrospect.

(CM) : What would you say has been your biggest achievement so far?

(HF) : Surviving. It's alot harder than it sounds.

(CM) : Somebody once likened you to a female Jim Morrison. In your opinion, how much truth is there in Jim's quote, "Whoever controls the media controls the mind."

(HF) : Was true in his day but is outdated now. The new quote should be, "Whoever controls social media controls the mind".

(CM) : We read somewhere that you once got shot at a party. Could you tell us a little more about what happened? Was this the closest you've ever come to death?

(HF) : No, I'm one of those people that got pretty close quite a few times. I was hospitalized for Phenomia when I was 4 for a week. I almost drowned when I was 7. I got shot at when I was 16. I fell out off of a fence, shattered my jaw, and lost alot blood. Woke up in the middle of surgery in a shitty Chinese hospital that had me on the wrong anesthetic when I was 24. I think those were the closest ones so far.

But as for being shot. I was walking out of a party when I was 16 after sneaking off to my first underground rave with a friend in highschool. She brought one of her friends, this guy, who I danced with all night. He put a bandana around his head to keep the sweat from flowing into his eyes. We were thirsty and decided to go to the van where we had stored some water because the Rave sold water for way too much money to capitalize on all the kids on X. When we walked out, some gang bangers saw my friends bandana, which was the the wrong color probably of a rival gang in that neighborhood. So they did a drive-by. I don't think they were planning to kill us, just scare us or something. It worked. I didn't go to another underground rave til college.

(CM) : Pet Conspiracy played Chengdu late last year. Are you still in touch with the band and have you seen any of their shows lately?

(HF) : Not really with the band, though I talk to some of the members every so often. Last time I saw their show as when Nova Heart played our first real official gig, and they were on the same bill. That was in Zurich August 2011, year and a half ago. I haven't seen their show since.

(CM) : Chengdu's changing quickly whilst the underground music scene moves at a much slower pace. What's your take on Chengdu's role in China's underground scene?

(HF) : I think if I had to pin it down to a music town vibe I can do it best with unfair over-simplified comparisons to the US. I think Beijing is like New York, Shanghia is like LA, Wuhan is a like Detroit, and Chengdu would be more of a Portland or a Seattle. Like these Oregon Cities Chengdu has a pretty good variety of bands, but it's kind of thriving in it's own bubble not so connected to the music trends elsewhere. It doesn't get sucked into another arbitrary musical movement. But there's still enough venues to play, musicians and fans to make the scene active and growing, and it has a really good local support system. It might take longer for bands to get famous in the rest of China or find their sound, but it also gives local bands distance enough from the noise to work toward something unique. Some of my favorite bands are from Portland or Seattle, it's pretty diverse even though that area's mostly known for starting grunge. I think Chengdu will be that, a music town that might create a sound that isn't a copy of what's going on in the west but uniquely Chengdu.

(CM) : We've been lucky to be able to see some of the best bands in the country playing at the Little Bar. Are there any new bands you've been listening to or seen recently that you could recommend to our readers?

(HF) : I haven't seen enough Chinese bands lately, because we spent half the last year on tour oversees and the other half recuperating. But we saw some really amazing international bands. M83, one of the best shows I ever saw. French Horn Rebellion, really really fun. We toured with them and it was blast. Brandt Brauer Frick, cause being a musician I just stand jaws agape in awe of what they do. Bonaparte, the hands down craziest show on the planet and real punk rock not faux punk rock, with some dancers that would scare you shitless if they weren't so great. The National, because it's very emotional for me, and I sing along. Friendly Fires, I danced my ass off. Planning to Rock, was just so bizarre it was cool. WhoMadeWho, another life changing experience for me. There's a huge list, most of them maybe a bit out of range for little bar, but man, some of these bands remind you, oh that's why they became so big. It's cause they're friggin amazing!

(CM) : Any advice for any new bands just starting out?

(HF) : Take what you do seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously. Biggest turn off are bands that pretend to be rockstars before they even known how to play their instruments or write a half descent song. If everyone thinks you're douchebag, you can forget about becoming a real rockstar. (not always true but that's what I want to believe)

Rehearse and play as much as you can. That seems pretty simple advice but lately in China there are alot of bands that play 1 or 2 festivals and think that their too good for club shows. They try to not play as much to up their "market value." It's a bunch of BS. You can do that if you're a headliner, and most headliners I know played like I did in the past, something like 3 or 4 shows a week for years. Remember the Beatles were playing 6 hours a day 6 days a week in Hamburg for 3 months at a stretch. Trust me, you clock in the hours, you get the results.

Learn to do a sound check!!! Next time you meet a descent sound guy, be nice to him or her, and ask questions like. How do I EQ the levels on my guitar amp to make it sound better? Most sound guys are willing to share if you ask them nicely, and so when your in a situation with a venue with a not so good sound guy, you can do your own sound or at least get your sound closer to what you want. But regardless if the soundguy is good or bad, try to always be nice to them. They have alot of power over you, so don't piss them off.

Be Unique -- You get results faster in China if you copy somebody else's successful formula. But the end result is you don't have your own voice, and when you go to the outside world, you get outed and end up as just another novelty band, the Chinese version of blah blah blah. Everyone is looking for a unique sound. You'll have some hurdles with audiences at first, but they will come around if you put the time into song writing and cultivating that vision. If you think you found something new, hold on to it and don't let the naysayers discourage you. Especially the hipsters. They spend too much time trying to dress well and reading reviews on Pitchfork to cultivate a real personal opinion about anything. Remember, there has always been trend setters and trend followers. Follow your gut, and you'll have a better chance of being the former.

(CM) : Festival season's coming around again. What's the best one you've been to so far and why?

(HF) : For me, the best festival I've ever played was Icelandic Airwaves. It was a showcase festival, so it was still venue based, but the vibe was great, the sound was great, the audience was great, and place was great. Only thing not great was the freezing cold weather but hey it's Iceland, everything else. . . GREAT! As for outdoor festivals in China, the best was Midi Shanghai. It wasn't the best billed festival I've ever been to, but the vibe was so positive. People had fun, and there was a sense commaderie between audience and bands, and the bands with each other. Clockenflap, was probably the best billed festival I've ever been to in China, even if Hong Kong is kind of a special circumstance. If I could put Midi's vibe and Clockenflap's bill together, with Icelandic Airwaves environment and technical perfection, it would be the best festival on the planet!

(CM) : How was the Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong? Did you get chance to catch any other acts whilst you were there?

(HF) : It was really nice. We had only been together as a band for 3 months with Nova Heart when we played it, so we were really raw. I was kind of mortified. I was there 2 times, once with Pet Conspiracy and Once with Nova Heart and Ziyo. For a new festival, they really have a strong vision, and I think they took a concept that I thought would be impossible in Hong Kong and made it possible. Also the bill is always really good. I saw Blood Red Shoes, The Pains of Being Young at Heart, Los Campesinos, Santigold, and the Cribs there.

(CM) :How do you feel your shows are received abroad and is it a different reception to the ones in China?

(HF) : Yeah, last year, we were received much better abroad then here in China. We're still a pretty new band, so we still need work, but we played something like 7 festivals overseas last year which was really nice. I think we resonate well overseas because the mood of the world is always a wave. Up and down, one day we want to party party party, next we want to calm down and be contemplative, and at times we want to sulk. In 2002 to 2008, it was party party party. Then the party was over. The world realized that there was price that they had been ignoring in a fog of consumer noise, at first they were mad, and they became screamy screamy with a bit of party party still left over. Now the mood is less angry and people want to think about how we did this to ourselves instead of just getting loud. They want to be more cerebral. I think music is more than anything, a reflection of the mood of the moment, and we caught the wave somehow in the west. My head is in this stuff right now, politics, economics, social behavior, what is morality, why are drugs illegal, and why are wars so different now and so weirdly much worse because there are no more clearly defined winners and losers. I'm on my own metamorphasis kick right now which seems to resonate well with people overseas. China's on the back end of that wave, it's still party party, screamy screamy, money money, anger mixed with materialism mixed with a longing for hedonistic self-gratification. I'm not on that wave anymore. Still I can see this country coming around to us. By the time China does, who knows, maybe we'll be on a different wave.

(CM) : Could you tell us a little about the other members of Nova Heart?

(HF) : Current members are Boxuan. He's bassists also for the Gar, Maitian Shouwang Zhe, and he used to be in Hedgehog. He thinks in complicated forms, which means that he pushes away the simple construction of basses that usually exist in four to the floor dance music. At first I didn't get some of his concepts, but now I really dig it. Our drummers Atom, who is still in Hedgehog. She's a powerhouse drummer and one of the best performers I ever met. She's added alot since joining, and they've both taken the band in a more rock direction from our early Italo disco roots. Zong Can was from my former band Ziyo/Free the Birds, and he's a really unique guitarist. He's not a virtuoso, but he builds crazy soundscapes with his guitar, and has a kind of buddhist chant vibe mixed up with some distorted funk like its coming out of a heat bent record played by a worn down needle. I like the sound we're creating, lots of influences yet it's not really anything I've heard before. Working with everyone makes me excited, we're in a process of kind of finding the best working way for all of us right now.

(CM) : What's Nova Heart's song writing process like?

(HF) : The initial writing process is very different now. Nova Heart started with me and Rodion. Rodion produced the tracks that I wrote. I'd do a simple foundation for a track, hook ideas, vocal parts etc on garageband and send it to Ed (Rodion). He would make a basic version send it back. I'd send notes, and we do this back and forth for a few months. Finally I end up in Italy in his studio, and we just take all the different tracks and do fixes and throw ideas around until we have a structure. I take the stems back to Beijing and work it out in the studio with the band. Record bits we like and send it back to Ed and he integrates it in the mix. That was 2011, the Process 2013 is I'm doing more stuff in my own studio now. Upgraded to Logic and more professional gear, and I do more without Ed then before. I program the electronic elements at home along with vocals and some basic structure bits. I take the stems to rehearsal and work it out. I think Ed will come back in the process some time later, but I'm working out much more stuff in my studio. It's easier to change it that way, and make it more live ready, so I can create seperate version for the album and live. It's challenging because I'm still learning to do the programming and mix myself. I think there was one time when my boyfriend joked that Girls shouldn't get into programming electronic music. He threw down the challenge and now, I'm just 100% into it.

(CM) : Are there any performers out there that you really admire?

(HF) : Nina Simone. I am a lifelong fan.

(CM) : Many thanks for doing the interview Helen. One last question, where would you most like to be right now?

(HF) : On tour in Central America or Africa. . . next goal!

Nova Heart play Chengdu's Little Bar on Saturday the 23rd March with support from the excellent Hi Person. Doors open at 8pm. We suggest you get your tickets early at the following pre-sale ticket link:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=0.0.0.0.lq5hlX&id=22853908063

For more information on the band click the following links:

Website: http://www.fakemusicmedia.com/artist/nova-heart/

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/novaheart/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Nova-Heart/211992295524438

Bandcamp: http://novaheart.bandcamp.com/

Douban: http://site.douban.com/NovaHeart/

Myspace: www.myspace.com/nova-heart

Chengdu's Very Own Mothership - Time to Get High

dave — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:31:13 +0000

Chengdumusic (CM): Howdy Rob, many thanks for doing the interview.

Rob Tanner (RT): Great to be here. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce us to your loyal readers and music fans.

CM: First question's an obvious one. What five things would Apollo 20 take with them in a lunar module orbiting the earth?

RT: Five each? .... We are 4 distinct personalities. One of us gets to bring 2 things? So that's unfair. Ok, collectively it would be Guitar, Bass, Drums, Amplifiers, and ScoobySnacks.

CM: And a second, not so obvious one, why did you choose the name Apollo 20?

RT: The name comes from a conspiracy about an alleged moon landing in 1976, where the astronauts went to the dark side of the Moon to investigate a crashed spaceship near the Delporte crater. They also find and retrieve an alien, and explore the ruins of an ancient lunar city. I came across the video on Youtube by accident, and was very intrigued. Kind of blew my mind, hoax or no hoax. The video is on Toudou as well. This all ties in with the Vimanas, the ancient Hindu flying machines, something that blew my mind a while back when i was reading about them in the Vedas and the other Sanscrit epics. . So, why not put them together? Since the dawn of time, humanity has felt the need to fly. And flying and flying technology has grown and grown. And now, the technology has broadened our ideas of truth. And now the truth is scary. So, taking an ancient myth and a modern myth, you are still left with many questions.

CM: How did you all end up in a band together?

RT: Quite serendipitously. In late spring last year, I was having a beer with Wang Guo, singer of the band 'The Hit'. We started chatting about what kind of music we were listening to these days, and he said he was listening to a lot of Doom and Stoner Rock. These sub-genres are not too well known, especially in China. I love that type of stuff. Melvins, Sleep, High on Fire, Altamont, Om, Kyuss, to name a few. The light bulbs and sirens started going in my head.... "We have to put a project together!" So after my holiday back to Canada was over, we went to work. It was as simple as asking my friends Jovian Brown (synth) and Adrien Brill (drums) if they were interested. When we got together in October of last year, I knew right away that this band was going to be special, so I chose not to rejoin my old band. We've been going strong ever since, and I am so lucky to have friends that are as talented as these guys are.

CM: We like the first few tracks we heard on Douban. What can we expect to hear at the Little Bar gig on the 15th?

RT: Because we are not headlining, our set at Little Bar is only about 45 minutes, so you will hear what you heard on Douban, plus only a couple others. As you heard, our songs are quite long. What you don't know is that those songs don't have a definite structure, and that improvising is an important part of our band. Our main focus in creating this 'Dopesterock' music is to induce a hypnotic effect on the listener. Depending on the vibe, you may hear a lot of different stuff you didn't hear in the two songs on Douban.

CM:.What's your songwriting process like?

RT: So far, the songs have come from me. I introduce the ideas to the fellas, then we roll with it. Naturally, others will offer suggestions, and we just keep cobbling away. I think I am very lucky, because the style and structures, or lack thereof, can be quite complicated, and the guys are all as excited as I am, so everyone is involved in getting the songs sounding the way they do. It has been extremely gratifying so far that all four of us are so excited about the project.

CM: How do you write your lyrics and what music influences your lyrical style?

RT: I wrote the lyrics to Lakshmi the Consort as a reaction to criticism I have received over the years of being an overly negative person. One night I awoke from a dream about a gang of hooded thugs chasing me because of something I said. I went upstairs and sat in front of the computer and wrote the lyrics straight away. The song is a love song, in fact, and why not write a love song to the most worshipped woman- a Hindu goddess? Our other song, One Day for Brahma, Wang Guo wrote after finding some information on the four Yugas. They are in Chinese, so in reality, I don't even know what he is singing. And Jovian added his vocal part that he wrote during his mixdown of our demo. So, I guess, lyrics are contributed by everyone. Stylistically, I cannot honestly tell you where they come from. The Hindu themes have just kind of came out of left field. I do not think I ever consciously thought about where the lyrics' style come from. Just that Hinduism is so trippy, and I want our band to be trippy. In Lakshmi, the lyrics were simply designed to bounce in rhythm to the guitar riff.

CM: Any other major influences musically as a band or individually?

RT: We are into all sorts of stuff. Like I said before, Wang Guo and I love Stoner Rock, which I guess drives the band most of all. Jovian likes his electronic and hip hop stuff. Adrien just loves everything. It sounds cliche, but I don't think this band is easily put into a category. Some people have said it sounds 'post rock', but I don't even know what that is. Take the 's' out of that, and you are more spot on. I suppose you could say that our music is about -"What would have happened if Black Sabbath went to India instead of the Beatles?"

CM: Can you tell us a little about the sitar elements of your tracks?

RT: How that came about is perhaps the most synchronous moment in my musical life. I have always been a big fan of the sitar. Love it, mate. Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee are two of the greatest musicians ever to grace this planet. A couple of summers ago, I got into playing raga-type pieces on a guitar in open tuning. Used to jam with my good friend Oliver on hand drum. Although not much came out of it (no shows, no recordings), those sessions kind of changed me. It made me restless to keep going deeper and deeper into classical Indian music. It seemed so free... to improvise for 20 minutes and having it not sound too boring..... Then, while i was in Canada, after the aforementioned conversation with Wang Guo last summer, I found that this company called Electro-Harmonix had made this sitar emulator guitar pedal. I bought one straight away. Somehow, it fit right in with the stoner rock thing. So the two styles have just sort of fused together. Ragas can be over 90 minutes long, so its trippy and hypnotic, too. Sitar can be damn heavy, as well. Sitar music is extremely difficult to play on guitar though, let me tell you. I am still learning and wrestling every day with it. CM: What’s your take on Apollo 20's role in the Chinese underground community and the importance of underground venues around China. RT: We are a brand new band and our sound is far from ordinary, so we'll have to see how we are received. Its not your average stuff, to be sure. Our songs are long and complex, but I believe that the hypnotic effects we try to induce will be a kind of therapy for people here, both locals and expats. China is such a stressful place sometimes, so I hope people can find some means of escape through our stuff. As for venues, they are growing in both quality and quantity. Its promising. Chengdu certainly needs a few more within second ring road. The East Music Park is a fantastic place, although a bit out of the way. Lots of cool venues out there. The more venues, the more places bands can play, so I hope the trend continues to climb. The venue is where the nerves converge. the place where the collective conscience gets a bit more focussed, so the venue is obviously key. Back in about 2006, the equipment these places provided were so sub-par. Now you go in, and they have some top-notch gear. So now the bands can more properly reproduce what the crowd paid to see and hear.

CM: Is there a special audience you want to reach in China?

RT: We want to cater to those who are willing to take chances with their music experience. The further they are willing to go, then the better. Our musical style has not been heard before, anywhere. Its an experiment, to be sure. We are doing stuff that is against the current trends, and admittedly, on purpose. This verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/double chorus crap has to die, and I want to help kill it. To make songs that are the length of TV shows is more interesting and promising than to write songs that you want to be hit singles. Music belongs in bong circles, not in corporate circles. Music is art, not a commodity, right? The art in music is kind of losing traction. It needs to come back. You don't go to an art gallery to see some random Crayola scribblings. Art is about exploration, emotion, and experience. For us, we want the audience to be as high or deep as possible.

CM: Do you believe that Stanley Kubrick helped the US fake the moon landing in 1969?

RT: Anything is possible, isn't it? Its kind of cool to examine the untraditional viewpoints on topics such as these. Maybe the Apollo 20 mission actually happened? So much unexplained things happen. Goverments' try to trick their people all the time. I would certainly not be surprised if Kubrick helped fake it. Its important to second guess everything you read or hear about. Closer examination of both sides often reveal the truth.

CM: One last question. Ravi Shankar, George Harrison or Syd Barrett, choose one to invite to the Apollo 20 afterlife tea party.

RT: ooo.... tough one. Probably not Harrison. haha... If its just tea, then Ravi. If its tea and party favours, then thats more of a toss-up.

CM: Looking forward to seeing you in Chengdu on the 15th. Anything you want to share with our readers before the launch?

RT: Close your eyes, open your mind...... Believe the signs of the Reptile Master. Follow the Sonic Titan as it rides on the clouds of a new Horizon.

Apollo 20 play Chengdu's Little Bar on Friday the 15th March alongside AH and Amnesiac. Doors open 8pm sharp. More details on the band can be found at the following links: http://weibo.com/u/3170838192 http://site.douban.com/Apollo20/

Made In Chengdu

dave — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:17:01 +0000

Made In Chengdu

1.秘密行动-Lose Her Mind
2.THE HIT-Instigating
3.阿修罗-永远的快乐
4.童党-褪色
5.48v-西街
6.Hi Person-乐园
7.鱼尾纹-新一天
8.罗友生-星光
9.马赛克-Hot One Star
10.张小饼-再见列侬
11.声音玩具-最伟大的说谎者(live)
12.自然而燃-Killing You
13.绊脚石-Warmth

See you on the 15th!!

Stealing the Show

dave — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:22:01 +0000

In 2012 Stolen did a bunch of shows, what’s your best memory of performing live this year？

Probably our two shows at the Midi festival this year. We were the first band to play that day and there weren’t that many people but it really changed us and gave us a great feeling. We don’t really get that much chance to play outside Chengdu, especially the bigger shows, so we don’t know what people outside Chengdu think about our music. Even without a big crowd it still gave us a great feeling about our songs and performing on a big stage.

You guys don’t have that many shows outside Chengdu, want to do a whole China tour?

We don’t have that many shows outside Chengdu and when we do, most of them are shows with other bands. We really hope more people can have the chance to listen to our music and we'd love to play in different cities. This is something that every band must do, you really have to explore new areas to get a different mindset and feeling about music which helps inspire us whenn writing new songs. We'd really like to do this because it’s a great thing to tour!

Stolen's music sounds pretty international but most of the songs are in Chinese. Ever considered writing lyrics in English?

The lyrics are important for our band and we are aware of this. To be honest, I’m not that satisfied with the lyrics written so far as I’m not that good at expressing myself and putting my emotions and deeper thoughts into my lyrics. I really want to change that, but I think it just might take some time to get better. I don’t really care whether I'm singing in Chinese or English, maybe when my English improves I start writing more songs in English. I also believe singing in English could expand and help my own melodies for singing.

What music do the members of Stolen listen to these days?

We listen to many different kinds of music but we all have quite similar tastes: joy divison, the cure, kraftwerk, radiohead, foals, sonic youth, the chemical brothers, gang of four and many others. Too many。Also like much darker music, it’s nice to express dark feelings through rock music, haha like some kind of human paranoid.

Stolen is not signed to any record label as yet, any plans of releasing a new album?

There were actually plans for recording an album, but in the end we’ve didn't do it as we really want to be happy with the results and we weren’t completely satisfied with all the songs. How to say, we would like to release an album that really is a whole, with song structures, with the emotions and mindset just right, not just simply releasing a 10 song cd. We are working on it as we speak, but it’s not easy (smiles).

The band is participating in a Converse event that gives smaller bands the opportunity to record an album abroad, would you like to go to another country to record an album?

That would be our dream. We are aware that our music probably still lacks enough power to break through abroad, but if we have the chance we would definitely take it! It could give new direction to the band, it could be a way to introduce our band abroad, it would be hard work but it’s really something we would like to achieve. We believe in rock music and the power of it, so let’s just hope!

What feeling would you like to give the people that are coming to the Little bar show on Friday?

Hope the people will discover our new songs and like them, easy as that! We are still a young band, we want to really push it and (re)discover ourselves. That’s a good feeling. Sometimes changes can be good or bad, but we don’t want to do the same all the time.

You once said that playing a headlining show in the Little Bar was a 5 year old dream, what other dreams you have?

We just have too many dreams!! Releasing an album, going on tour, signing to a record label, going abroad and playing shows, probably the same dreams as every other band has at the beginning. These are all small dreams and it’s only ourselves that can make them come true. Our biggest dream for now is that we can just do our best in writing good music, hopefully the smaller ones will come along soon!

Stolen play the New Little Bar this coming Friday 12th October . Tickets are 40rmb and the doors open at 8pm.

Flying High

dave — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:48:04 +0000

Hi Guys. Sparrow is about to take off on it’s 2012 China tour, what cities are scheduled?

The tour will start in Hong Kong, we will play Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xian and Chengdu. We will also do a special show in our hometown Beijing after the tour.

Sparrow released it’s first EP in 2010, what’s different with the new album?

Compared to our first EP, this new mini album is more harsh, capturing more emotions and personal expressions.

The title for the new album is “Rainbow Mountain”, where does the name come from?

It comes from a picture. This picture has absolutely mindblowing landscapes and a beautiful house on it. When we were talking about the picture, a friend of us told me the place of this picture should be called “Rainbow Mountain”. We all liked the feeling and it is definitely a place where we want to go, so we just decided to call our new album after this place, Rainbow Mountain.

The band is strongly influenced by Japanese postrock bands, do you think music should sound international?

It's true, we are doing are best to get rid of any restrictions in musical style, whether are not we are influenced by Japanese bands or international bands is not important. We care if our music sound nice.

How do you want Sparrow to grow as a band, any plans made?

To be frank, we haven’t really thought it through. Sparrow has it’s own life, so it also has it’s own destiny, which makes it impossible to predict what will happen with the band. After the end of this tour we really want to work on new songs and create new melodies and just create better music. If possible we want to release something in 2013.

What’s your view on today’s music scene in China?

The environment is getting better and better, we are hoping that more people will have their own thoughts about music and not only go with mainstream stuff. We hope that people will get inspired by upcoming bands in China.

Do you think postrock bands fit in at big festivals?

Of course they do! There was a day I saw Wang Wen playing a big festival, their show really touched me, very beautiful show. We are also looking at live video’s from foreign postrock bands on the internet and we think a lot of them are amazing and are perfect bands to play festivals.

Anything you guys are looking forward to in Chengdu?

We really hope the people in Chengdu will like our music and we are also very looking forward to checking out the Chengdu cuisine!

See you in Chengdu!

Sparrow play Chengdu's New Little Bar on Saturday October 27th. Doors open at 8pm and tickets are 40 rmb in advance and 50 on the door. See you there!

Big Gigs in Chengdu

dave — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:09:18 +0000

Is Chengdu finally ready to step up and become a city capable of hosting the biggest bands in the business?

The past month has certainly given us reasons to think so. Hot on the heels of the Mono gig last month and a new venue popping up from out of nowhere that easily holds 1000+ people, we've just been treated to LiZhi's sell out gig last week and have another to look forward to this coming Friday. But, before we get carried away, let's examine the current state of the Chengdu scene

Last year the great new hope was the East Chengdu Music Park with Xiong Mao opening amid tremendous fanfare and an opening 2 days the likes of which we are not likely to see again for some time. Berlin's Efdemin and Lawrence on the first day and DJ Shadow on the second was a clear statement of intent. But, for the majority of venues in the East Music park, these are hard times. A quick look at the line up of the new Xiong Mao festival, Panda Attack, will tell you that. The world renowned headline acts have been replaced by local DJs, bands and MCs. Thats not a slight on those acts, many of them are very talented and indeed it still should be a great festival, but the general tone of all the venues in the East Music Park is one of pessimism rather than the optimism that we were all filled with this time last year. One venue however, is bucking the trend: Someone's Soil （拾得雨林）.

While electronic music lovers might be despairing, rock music fans in Chengdu have never had it so good.Someone's Soil serves as a Western Restaurant in the daytime but with a stage, lights and a capacity of 1200 it's a venue that makes hosting larger bands possible at last. We were present at the Japanese post-rock band Mono's gig in August. Despite terrible weather and the unwillingness of some people to travel out to the East Music Park the event was a success with more than 400 tickets sold. Tickets were priced at 150 rmb presale and 180 rmb on the door, a small fortune in Chengdu. Now, I know that 150 isn't a lot of money to see a band of Mono's reputation but lots of people here are tighter than two coats of paint. Considering their reluctance to part with 20-30 to see good musicians, more than 400 people through the door for this gig was an excellent result. The event was first of its kind in Chengdu ever. Big band, big venue, big ticket price. The Little Bar, Xiong Mao and New Noise worked together on promotion which again, was another milestone for Chengdu, with 3 hugely respected promoters working together for the benefit of the scene.

Following on from the Mono gig, last Saturday saw one of the biggest crowds for a live show ever witnessed in the East Music park with a packed full capacity crowd of more than 1000 rocking the Li Zhi show. Hundreds of punters could be seen queuing for tickets pre gig from around 7pm onwards for a scheduled 9pm start time. The show was a massive step forward for the Chengdu music scene with a great crowd and Li Zhi’s team bringing in trucks of equipment to guarantee high quality sound. This coming Friday promises to be just as impressive with over 800 presale tickets already sold it's Miserable Faith's (痛仰）turn to take their rightful place in the spotlight. Miserable Faith are a name synonymous with the history China's burgeoning underground music scene. Established in 1999 to critical acclaim the band quickly developed their own loyal fan-base playing a number of high profile music festivals prior to the release of their first album "This's a problem" back in September 2001. Have a look at the video below recorded at Midi in 2009, and you'll have a better understanding as to why the band is considered to be one of the pioneers of China's hardcore rock music scene.

The Little Bar have been involved in these gigs and, if rumours are to believed, they are now looking at building their own large scale venue somewhere in the West of the city. Its certainly an exciting time to be a rock music lover in Chengdu and it should be a wake up call to those that moan about the lack of a music scene in our city. There is a budding scene here and its ready to take the step from obscurity into a well known stop for big bands. All you have to decide is whether or not to support it.