Ok, I admit it. I’m getting older in at least one stereotypically way: I don’t listen to as much loud music anymore.

I’ve been into heavier guitar rock since I was but a pup.. memories of my mother having to accompany me to Ed’s Record Shop to buy a Jane’s Addiction album because the guy wouldn’t sell it to a kid. (I grew-up in rather anal Toronto, especially back then, and the cover of the album in question featured some kind of claymation threesome sex scene.)

But let’s face it, if you’ve listened to this blog for a while or if you know me personally you’ll know that my taste has shifted decidedly acoustic over the past few years. What was once “indie” or “alternative” is now “alt-folk” or “stripped-down”. Even my taste in dance music is more mellow.. what was once drum and bass is now decidedly Herbert-esque.

So that said, it’s nice to go to a loud-ish rock show like the Tag Team showcase the other night and genuinely enjoy the over-cranked acoustics and guitar fuzz that still rings in your ears as you leave the venue.

Let’s hear a good example. As I mentioned yesterday Lonely China Day played an interesting set with nice light work and lots of effects to go with the noise. If you catch them live in the US in the near future they’ll probably sound a bit like this.

It’s the 27th of August today and I leave Beijing on the 1st of September. I probably won’t get a post in between now and when I’m back in Paris on the 10th of September, but I’ll try to pick-up some more music for future posts while I’m still in Beijing and when I get down to the Yunnan.

This Chinese series has been fun. Beijing has far exceeded expectations, musically and otherwise. Of course there’s so much more to the scene(s) here than what I’ve touched upon.. but as far as casual musical travel goes, Beijing has impressed.

I’ve met a lot of good people here- special to David of Panjir, Ed of MicroMu, Mat “of the alter ego”, Matt from Tag Team, and everyone else I’ve met for all your knowledge and some great nights out.

See you in a couple weeks.

Lonely China Day – Beijing Realize

I really think that I brought Young MC’s “Bust a Move” to a whole new level the other night at some Beijing KTV cathedral. The lyrics were just flowing off my tongue and the beat was sweeter than usual. Because we couldn’t quite figure out the Chinese-language buttons I managed to get in two renditions in of this classic of classics.. amazing. (And yes, the room came with 44 bottles of Tsing Tao. Definitely a help on the mic.)

Ah yes, there’s nothing quite private-room karaoke in Beijing at 5am with a bunch of South Africans after quite a few pijou. (Actually, I’ve been known to rock a very similar evening in Toronto at the XO.. but anyway..) Like the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, a down’n'dirty night of KTV should be part of anyone’s must-do list in Beijing.

I imagine you’re not too keen on listening to a recording of me rapping (don’t worry – there isn’t one, at least not that I’m aware of) so we’ll be hearing some Beijng indie rock today. I’ve been busy “blogging the shit” out of Ed Peto’s Beijing musical venture, MicroMu, but we shouldn’t forget some other great labels that I’ve come across in this city.

We listened to some Re-tros the other day, an interesting group off Beijing’s Tag Team label. I went to a Tag Team showcase just the other night and saw a bunch more of their bands. Matt, the guy in charge of Tag Team, was kind enough to slip me a few CDs, including a couple by bands featured at the show.

The show was hit and miss, but there were definitely a couple of great acts. Lonely China Day put on an interesting preview of the kind of laptop-rock they’ll be playing on their upcoming US tour .. we’ll hear from them tomorrow.

Today we’ll hear some Arrows Made Of Desire. The band’s lead, Joewi Verhoeven, is half-Dutch, half-Chinese. He grew-up in Holland but “caught the first flight to Beijing, China to study Mandarin and film directing at the Beijing Film Academy.” He’s a really young guy and a really good guitar player.. he put on a fun set.

You can learn plenty more about Arrows Made Of Desire at the Tag Team web site. If you’re in the US you can buy their releases at the Tag Team online store. While you’re there be sure to check-out another Tag Team band, Venice Is Sinking. Their track “Esther C” is fantastic.

So hey, I’m still in Beijing. Seven weeks yesterday. Man. Now that the work bit is over I have only holiday-time in China to look forward to.. A few days in Beijing then down to the Yunnan province. Lovely.

By the way, I might be at the Hanggai show later tonight at Yugong Yishan. If you’re in Beijing and want one of those “beers on Benn loxo” I’m the white guy in a t-shirt who needs a haircut, hovering near the bar.

Arrows Made of Desire – Truism

Live and direct from the Beijing olympics: I’m posting this from the field of the Bird’s Nest, specifically between this morning’s javelin competition and the track. I’ve always thought javelin was a cool sport…

Some laid-back Chinese country-folk today by Liu Dongming. It’s off another MicroMu release.. yet another that I quite enjoy.

Ed Peto explains:

“Liu Dongming taught himself to play guitar while busking on the Beijing subways and has slowly grown to be one of the most feted folk singers in China. This song talks about how the old days were great, but you should also enjoy the times you spend together now, stop thinking only about the past: ‘everything will flow and I’m not sad anymore, those times we were destined to spend together, learn to enjoy, brother.’”

Nice theme. “Youthful Days” could easily apply to my time here in Beijing so far. I haven’t pulled all nighters and been out as much as this in a while. That’s not to say that where I normally live is dull – despite its surprising buzz, Beijing is no Paris – but it’s different when you’re visiting a place and not staying long-term. I’ve been in Beijing long enough to launch myself well into it, and short enough to go full throttle the whole time.

As usual with MicroMu releases you can download the whole album – free and legal – here: http://www.micromu.com/wp-content/uploads/MMDLLP002%5BMicroMu%5D.zip

Tomorrow it’s black Afrikaans South African hip-hop, live in Beijing (tonight). Say what? Exactly. Stay tuned…

刘东明 – 少年时光 (Liu Dongming – Youthful Days)

And now for something you might have heard of…

Hanggai are all the buzz right now. Pitchfork gave them an 8.0 which will guarantee a storm of downloads by the indie masses over at emusic. The BBC gave them a glowing review. Hey, even I can’t wait to see them at 2Kolegas on August 22nd.

It seems like everyone finally stopped writing about “China’s upcoming classical music dominance” (I’ll rant about that later) and found a Chinese group to write about during the Olympics. Luckily, they’re really good.

Hanggai’s first release for the international market, Introducing Hanggai on World Music Network, is lovely. You can hear it everywhere else.. so today I’ll bring you a great track off a live recording made last year at the 2 Kolegas in Beijing. You can find the studio version of this track on their latest release.

The first time I heard this track, before (and even after) I realized that Hanggai had become so hyped, it took my breath away. Great stuff.

Hanggai Band – Wuji (live)

I was wandering around Beijing’s 798 “art zone” this afternoon when I found a small record shop – a rarity in this city. Inside they were playing some nice-sounding Chinese rock, which turned out to be Wang Wen’s IV.

(Sidenote: from now I promise to always drop the post- from rock. Every Beijing rock band seems to be tagged with the unfortunate label post-rock.. I’m not quite sure what’s so post about their rock in the first place. It just sounds pretentious.)

To be fair I’d never heard of Wang Wen until I walked into this shop, but I like what I hear. Their laid-back, dreamy guitar sound is perfect for the night-shift I got stuck with today.

From their MySpace page,

“The band was formed in the city of Dalian, a busy seaport in northeast china, in the year of 1999. Wangwen was at first started by two awkward (at that time!) guitarists who were crazy about The Smashing Pumpkins and later joined by the drummer who also brought along the band name, representing the idea of an unknown band and insensibility to what others say. The band began to record their first demo- ‘the animal world’ on their own in the same year they formed. Since then the band members had been changing while continuous creation of new pieces of music and performing. ‘lingshuihe’(‘the IceWaterRiver’)was recorded on their own in 2000 and the third demo ‘the Tenebrous Yinyang Road’ was also completed two years later. During this period the music style of the band had been gradually changing from vocal to instrumental and started to draw broad attentions both from the reviews and the audience as well. It was considered as the one of the leading band from china in the fields of post-rock and acid rock. The band was influenced by: Mogwai, Red Red Meat, Mono, Explosion in the Sky, Polvo, Tortois–GYBE, etc.”

Pretty much sums it up.

Apparently they’re on a European tour this summer and seem to have some kind of a following in various countries outside of China, at least judging from their MySpace comments and some buzz on the web. The track on today’s post is from IV, their May, 2008, release on Fox Tail Records.

The young guy working in the record shop where I picked up this album was quite nice and offered up a bunch of tips, which resulted in me walking out with a bunch of albums. I felt nice actually buying music in China, though I’m not so sure that the artists will see any of the revenue from my buys… but in the very least they’ll help keep this little record shop in business, and the friendly guy working the store in a job.

Wang Wen – 污水塘 (Great Tactic)