MV Weekly: Pumpkins, Howie Lee, Skip Skip Ben Ben

Berlin recording sessions, album teases, and a CGI-enhanced version of Planet Earth – count me in! It’s the latest batch of music videos to keep your mind at ease and your eyes pleased with fresh cuts from Xinxiang punks Pumpkins, Beijing electronic producer Howie Lee, and Taiwanese noise pop faves Skip Skip Ben Ben.

Converse continues its crusade of putting bands from around the world on the map. Or at the very least, give bands a glorified recording session on their dime. Which, when all is said and done is pretty dope. Especially when meeting on the Ramones is on the agenda. That’s what Xinxiang punk outfit Pumpkins, who impressed with their debut earlier this summer, got to do when the band was flown to Berlin to record a track and get some studio advice from Converse Rubber Tracks. Love the genuine awe of when the band members get to meet one of their idols. And must say, kudos to Converse for giving some of the scene’s underrated talent a step up.

Howie Lee, one China’s most fascinating producers, whose intoxicating mix of traditional chinese instruments among synths, 808s, and other samples of trap music, has won the artist acclaim here and aboard, is primed to garner further accolades with his just released debut, Mù Chè Shān Chū, and it’s accompanying music video for single ‘Bei Hai’. What starts out of a visually stunning portrait of rural China turns into a sci-fi CGI-enhanced showcase featuring flying robots, dragons, and other modern day takes on Chinese folklore, filling the skies. Pretty crazy stuff.

Another release I’m dying to get my hands on is Taiwanese shoegaze outfit Skip Skip Ben Ben and their latest piece of psychedelic folk crossed with noise pop, Mirror in Mirror, to be released this Christmas by re:public records in Taiwan and Maybe Mars over here. The band, as some of you may know, was founded by Taiwanese artist Ben Ben in 2010, before settling in Beijing for three years, where the band developed their sound, and won over countless fans such as myself. Ben Ben has since relocated back to her home in Taipei, and has since further the band’s reputation. So yeah, super stoked for the new release – all I got is this teaser to keep me at bay.