I had another great night-out in Beijing yesterday. After helping a friend bargain down a pair of knock-off Converse to 4 euros (they started at a ridiculous 75, which exceeds even Senegalese starting price to purchase ratios), a few of us went for some fantastic Beijing duck at a place referred to as “Dresden Duck” because of the crumbling hutongs all around it. We then hopped in a taxi and headed back to where I’ve already seen a couple shows, the Jiangjinjiu pub at Gulou. We had a few beers there as a group called Sambasia hammered out some Brazilian tunes that shook the whole neighbourhood. Again, how random to be seeing live Brazilian music as performed by a Chinese-Canadian-Israeli-Japanese drumming/singing troupe in Beijing. Sambasia would be fun to see in a bigger place so I might drop-by their gig at Mao Live this Tuesday.. give a shout if you’ll be there.

From there a couple of us headed up to the Lama Temple area to see a rock concert at Star Live, but I think we showed up too late. No worries, though, since the new Club P shares the same building. We slipped the queue and checked-out Beijing’s latest Shanghai-esque lounge/club. Club P is the kind of place I would usually shy away from in Paris, but in Beijing I’m all over it. Like most everything else in the Chinese capital, even the “posh” clubs are still quite rough around the edges. By this I mean a guest list and doormen, but ones that are easily talked around by guys in shorts and running shoes. ..or Eastern European dancers in sequin bikinis dancing beside the DJ who smile to show missing teeth. ..or young ex-pat “new media”, finance and diplomatic types at the lounge ordering bottles of champagne for their entourage, but still looking slightly awkward as they do so. This posh-club-not-quite feel makes the place, well, cute.. and a fun spot to dance late.

That said, today’s post takes us far from the budding nightclubs of Beijing. A friend passed me a copy of an album by IZ, a five-piece band led by a Kazakh singer from Qitai, Xinjiang. Their music is rooted in Kazakh folk, but blends other elements from surrounding regions into the mix. What a wonderful album. I really hope I’ll get to see these guys live sometime. Who knew that music by the various people of the Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Region would be so amazing…

For those interested in the Chinese music scene I suggest you have a look at my friend Mat’s project, R2G. He’s involved in the uphill battle to establish a legal digital distribution network for Chinese music, helping to combat music piracy while at the same time dragging labels and musicians into the 21st century. He just helped launch China’s biggest online music store – you can check it out at www.wa3.cn.

Tonight it’s looking like I’ll check-out at least one concert so stay posted tomorrow or Monday for more music and Beijing reports.

IZ – Akhen