夏天就要过去，是时候分享当季的收获了。LCM和YYT携时令最热乐队以及神秘嘉宾，用摇滚乐迎接秋天的到来。LCM将呈现“夏日消散”，这也是LCM脱茧北京潜入上海的首秀。闹海，曾以他们另类又锋利的独立摇滚进入视野，又在后朋的躁动和后摇的沉静中燃起新的专辑。地藏，在神话与超验的主题中融合了迷幻、前卫、世界音乐以及新民谣，带来极具观赏性的现场。云镜，来自厦门的噪音摇滚新声，用他们生猛的爆发力冲出校园登上更大的舞台。还有神秘嘉宾，我们暂且保持他们的神秘。

Summer is just about over and it’s time to bring in this year’s fresh harvest – and Live China Music and Yuyintang have prepared some of this year’s hottest new acts, as well as some special guests to welcome in autumn with a rocking good time – LiveChinaMusic presents Summer Dissolve. The evening also doubles as LiveChinaMusic’s first show in their new home since leaving the dusty carcass of Beijing. On the bill we have established indie rock outfit Naohai 闹海, known for their rugged indie rock that’s volatile and filled with playful post-punk breakdowns and atmospheric post rock soundscapes – they been putting the final touches on their latest album and are ready to ignite. Also on the bill, are genre-defying psychedelic troupe Kṣitigarbha 地藏, whose mythic and transcendent swirl of prog rock acrobatics, mind bending psychedelia, and world music crossed with neo folk is something that demands to be seen live. Rounding out the bill are the young and scrappy noise-rockers YunJing 云镜, out of Xiamen, whose unhinged, chaotic, and lyrically propelled tunes go straight for the juggler. While they got their start in university, they’ve finally graduated and are looking to bring their riotous antics to an even wider audience. And while we’re keeping our lips sealed expect a special guest act for the occasion.

让我们一起超速闯入夏日之后的季节（以及这个不确定的时代），接受致命诱惑摇滚乐的罚单。

So let’s drive full speed ahead into the new season (and these uncertain times) with a fine offering dangerously alluring sounds!

LiveChinaMusic presents Summer Dissolve 夏日消散

Date 时间

8月28日 20:30pm

Line Up 阵容

Kṣitigarbha 地藏

Naohai 闹海

YunJing 云镜

secret guest 神秘嘉宾 

ADD 地址

Yuyintang 育音堂 (凯旋店）

长宁区凯旋路851号

TICKETS 扫码购票

Presale 预售 70 / Door 现场 90

The post Upcoming: LiveChinaMusic presents Summer Dissolve (2020.08.28) first appeared on .

Last October, Subtropical Asia was invited by Dafu Records to make a documentary about the legendary Damo Suzuki, former singer of krautrock band Can, and his first ever China tour. During the editing process, everytime we listened to the dialogue with Damo or thought back on every detail of our time with him, we were inspired—we realized that we weren’t only making a documentary related to the tour, but also telling the personal philosophy and lifestyle of Damo Suzuki, a cosmopolitan which has traveled 50 years around the world. In a larger sense, it’s a documentary about new beginnings, creative independence and the magic of being in the present.

On Sunday April 14th, we will be screening the world premiere of ‘Journey: Improvised – Damo Suzuki’s China Tour And Beyond’. Following the screening and a Q&A, they will be performances from an eceltic group of musicans and artists including Viola Yip, a New York-based experimental composer, performer, sound artist and instrument builder; Emily Wong, a choreographer, and contemporary dance improviser ; and guitar demi-god Li Jianhong, whose drone-heavy, shredful, gut-wailing brand of guitar improv is always a wonder to behold.

在两次成功战胜癌症后，CAN乐队前任主唱、Krautrock传奇音乐人Damo Suzuki开启了他的首次中国巡演——“我感觉就像回家了一样，回到一个我两三千年前生活过的地方。”这位日本出生的摇滚巫师如此形容他2018年的中国之旅。

去年十月，Subtropical Asia亚热团队受大福唱片之邀，荣幸跟拍了Damo 的这次中国巡演。影片制作过程中，每每重听与Damo的深度对话、细品与他相处的细节，都会感受到强烈的启发——我们意识到，这并不会是一部简单的仅跟巡演有关的纪录片，它还讲述了Damo Suzuki这个全球游历50载的世界主义者的个人哲学和生活方式，倒不如说，这会是一部关于新的旅程、独立创造性与活在当下相关的纪录片。

Trailer 预告片：

World Premiere 

April 14th @ AOTU SPACE (Beijing) 

Screening ＋ Impromptu Performance 

April 15th – Online World Premiere 

Performances 即兴演出表演者：

 Viola Yip 

生于香港，现在生活在纽约。她是一位实验作曲家，表演者，声音艺术家，乐器制造者。目前她的兴趣包括，基于乐器制造的音乐创作，以及基于身体的作曲家/表演者探索。Viola进行声音/影像表演，利用电流和灯泡的振动作为声源，探索光和声音振动之间在共同领域中的音乐可能性。

作为一名作曲家/表演者，她最近的作品在纽约、密苏里、芝加哥、圣地亚哥、波士顿、匹兹堡、洛杉矶、香港、吉隆坡、贝尔法斯特、曼彻斯特、阿姆斯特丹、科隆、杜塞尔多夫、柏林等地上演。

A Native of Hong Kong, Viola Yip is a New York-based experimental composer, performer, sound artist and instrument builder. Her recent interests fall on creating her music from instrument building to exploring her composer-performer body as a creative site.

As a composer-performer, her recent work have appeared New York City, Missouri, Chicago, San Diego, Boston, Bowling Green (Ohio), Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Pittsburgh, Los Angelos, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Belfast, Manchester, Huddersfield, Madeira, Amsterdam, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Damrstadt.

Viola will be performing an audiovisual set, using the electric flow and the vibrations of flickering light bulbs as a sound source, and exploring the musical possibilities in the common ground between the vibrations of light and sound.

 Emily Wong 

 黄睿明 

一位现于北京工作的自由舞者，舞蹈教师，和编舞。工作包括跟现代舞，舞蹈即兴和接触即兴有关的演出，研究项目和公作坊。她是一位从英国皇家芭蕾舞学院畢业的專业导师。跟随着她对现代舞的兴趣，她在英国University of Chichester取得舞蹈表演的碩士学位，在欧洲跟着学校舞团巡演。在那个时候，她也开始接触了接触即兴。

她喜欢舞蹈即兴，跟不同的艺术家合作，以及对探索身心学有关的专业和练习有兴趣。移到北京后，她分别在剧场和其他不同的空间演出，包括自己或跟别人合作的作品。另外，她也有教导芭蕾，现代舞和接触即兴，并进行和身体运动有关的研究项目和工作坊。

She is a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher working in Beijing, mainly in the field of contemporary dance, movement improvisation and contact improvisation.She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance, and continued her dance performance study at the University of Chichester in the UK, where she toured with the postgraduate company in Europe. She was first introduced to contact improvisation during that period.

Her main interests are movement improvisation and the somatic field where practices explore the body-mind relation, and collaborations between art forms. After moving to Beijing, she had performed in theatres, galleries and outdoor spaces both in her creations and works created with others. She also regularly teaches ballet, modern dance and contact improvisation; she also engages in movement related research projects and workshops.

 LI JIANHONG 

 李剑鸿 

吉他半神李剑鸿，领衔中国最重要的前卫音乐/即兴音乐十多年。他那沉重的吉他蜂鸣，神圣、令人畏惧的吉他即兴总是令人惊奇，他将他的吉他变成一个永恒的声音永动机，摇晃他的整个身体到层层噪音中，让你狂喜地尖叫，如同他正在向吉他之神做一场卷曲盘绕带着报复心的吉他献祭。

Guitar demi-god Li Jianhong, whose drone-heavy, shredful, gut-wailing brand of guitar improv is always a wonder to behold, who’ll turn his guitar into a perpetual motion machine of sound, swaying his entire body to the layers of noise, making you scream out in delight as he gives a curling vengeful noise sacrifice to the guitar deities above.

Listen: https://music.163.com/#/artist/album?id=3712

The post JOURNEY：IMPROVISED — Damo Suzuki’s China Tour And Beyond Premiere Date first appeared on .

Over the course of seven years in covering the music scene, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing bands grow out of their shells, disintegrate overnight, and/or adapt with the times.  I’ve seen bands sell out. I’ve seen bands be humbled. I’ve seen true comradery, and egos battle it out. Nothing shocks me at this point. At the same time, I still find myself rooting for certain bands out there, like a deranged cheerleader or even worse, your creepy uncle who reeks of jinjiu. When I first caught noise rock outfit Backspace at Yue Space in September of 2016, my ears perked up ever so slightly. Perhaps it was the band’s tender yet scrappy demeanor. Their reverb-soaked gazing tunes that hinted at a deep-seeded neurosis struggling to break free. Whatever it was – I was hooked. It didn’t even dawn on me until later that this was, in fact, the band’s stage debut. Hell of an introduction to what would become one of the scene’s most voracious bands.

Photo by：Du Huaiyi

It would be wrong to assume Backspace was a band that emerged seemingly out of nowhere. On the contrary, Backspace’s debut was simply a step in its member’s evolution as musicians and more importantly, as young adults who all hailed from Yulin, China. Each of its members, including vocalist Zheng Dong, guitarist Ahui, bassist Da Long and drummer Mao Te, crossed paths in the small hilly subtropical basin in the southeastern part of Guangxi where they grew up.  It was there in the limelight of junior high school, Zheng Dong who had already started dabbling in guitar, spotted the seemingly at ease Ahui in an instrument shop, and immediately enlisted him. Together they formed a high school band, playing everything from blues to pop – basically anything to keep my minds distracted from the daily grind of high school life. They would later meet their bass player Da Long (though from the same city, Mao Te didn’t enter the picture till their university days) and began performing together during winter and summer breaks. Whilst it was an eye-opening experience for them, they never expected to follow their paths as musicians into the next phase of their lives – university life in Beijing.

Photo by：Du Huaiyi

While each of their studies led them to work in the art world – Zheng Dong in animation, Ahui landscape design, Da Long in experimental art, and Mao Te in painting – they don’t look too fondly on their university years, particularly Zheng Dong who views those years as a suffocating experience. It didn’t help that a few of them had had their hearts broken during this time. And while they don’t outright admit it, it’s clear this new void in their young adult lives left them with the perfect opportunity to hedge their bets and try to make it as a full-fledged band. Zheng Dong reached out and pleaded his case to his friends and past bandmates (which included Shi Lixuan who performed with the band until 2017) and in the summer of 2016, the prototype for Backspace was born.

By the time ‘Romantic Young’, the band’s first single off of Nerd Noise, a comprehensive compilation of up and coming indie rock talent across China, was released, all semblances of dream pop romance have rotted out of the band’s attire. The steams of the band’s psyche have already begun to crack, opening them up to a world of surf rock fervor and post-punk grit. Audiences (including surprisingly my eighty-year-old father) were blindsided by the bands opening sets at a series of year-end gigs at DDC, Temple, and Hot Cat Club – putting them firmly on every promoter’s radar and leading to just about everyone who came upon them asking just who the hell where these cats were.

Backspace would further explore the nooks and crannies of their sound in 2017, whilst gaining further traction with the underground rock scene in Beijing (opening up for staple noise rockers Cloud Nothings was certainly a step in the right direction). Their refusal to take society at face value and their sense of forfeiture bled into their music even more, turning their sets into a whirlwind of musical styles wrapped up in frantic energy. A rollicking outing at School Bar in late March 2017 felt like a revelation – a defiant moment where the band’s voice was finally being heard loud and clear, and I predicted, the moment that would get the band signed. I was close – the band would be signed to Maybe Mars three months later.

Photo by：Du Huaiyi

Ever after getting signed, the band continued to play around with expectations, integrating everything from psychedelic boogie to full on krautrock into their arsenal. They hit the road for a nourishing, boisterous and humbling tour through Shanghai, Ningbo, Yiwu, and Hangzhou, playing with both their peers and idols, before joining Maybe Mars’ Ten Year Anniversary extravaganza over the National Holiday. Recording with the legendary Yang Haisong faced the band with yet another challenge – finding ways to keep their sound as pure as their live sets. While most bands would meticulously lord over the sound of their debut album, Backspace wanted to keep it as unfastened and unadulterated as possible, keeping the essence of their twisting sound intact. As a palate cleanser, the band jumped further into krautrock territory in late 2017 when their friend and fellow musician from Switzerland joined them on keyboard for a few gigs finding refuge and unexpected surprises in their lengthy jam sessions – surprises that happily kept the band on their toes and kept them charging forward full steam ahead.

Since 2018, Backspace has kept their cool – rehearsing, working, drinking, watching performances – rolling with the punches and taking it one day at the time. Despite their youth and all the follies of it, the band has embarked on quite the journey, one that’s only just beginning in the larger scheme of things. Charting the course of Backspace’s evolution what is most prevalent is how well the band functions as a unit. There’s an interplay between its members that simply can’t be faked. It’s ingrained in the fabric of Backspace’s sound and even as the band refuses to stick to any formula, they hit each new wave and musical jaunt with a sophisticated ear, open to the uncertainties that lay within their reach. Oh how fast they grow up.

http://downloads.maybemars.org/album/human-nature-architecture

On Human Nature Architecture – Backspace have sharpened their edges, extended their reach, and not so much evolved but mutated into new beings, as they explore the complexities of modern society, the fragmented minds that populate it, and the grotesque but all too human ways we navigate it. A slice of William Burroughs, a heavy hit of krautrock, a thick haze of surf rock, and dissociative technological nightmares thrown in for good measure, it’s a head trip worth taking. 

Kicking off with ‘Lost Him’, the band sympathizes with the song’s protagonist, who wanders aimlessly in a dreamlike state in search of his better tendencies as his psyche gets uprooted and he is left in disarray. Vocal and guitarist Zheng Dong’s dry anxious delivery on ‘The Chair In The Clouds’ deftly cuts through the hollow climb up the social ladder that masks our existential dread. Meanwhile, on ‘Push’, a double serving of razor-sharp guitars, crisp bass vibes, and gallant drums collapses into a hallucinatory schizophrenic breakdown that all but falls off the rails. Before long, the band and its members have splintered into various selves, fallen prey to the digital age’s erosive ways, before withering away almost completely on the tense, heightened and frantically paced (and utterly delightful) ‘Screen’. Humble, hungry, and hectic, with enough bluster, finesse, and grit to awaken the most lost of souls, Backspace’s debut isn’t so much a cry for help as it is a rallying cry into the abyss that is our mind.

credits

released June 26, 2018

The post New Release Exclsuive: Backspace x Human Nature Architecture first appeared on .

Loneliness, romance, bittersweet memories – are even more relevant in society than ever before. This generation is probably the loneliest generation, everyone’s got some kind of social anxiety in some form or another and we love nothing more than to romanticize it. This is especially prominent in Asia, in big modern cities like Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing due to rapid pace of everyday life in a fast, ever changing environment. Everyone’s lonely and wants to connect with someone but everyone’s awkward and shy, so we write sad introspective pop songs drenched in warm reverb and distortion as a replacement for emotional warmth. The summer of nostalgia is here – so cozy up and soak up the rays cooked up by these rockers.

孤独，浪漫，苦乐参半的回忆 – 在现代社会比以往任何时候都更有意义。这一代大概是最孤独的一代，每个人都怀有某种社会不安感，我们喜欢将这种感情浪漫化。由于快节奏的生活和日新月异的环境变化，这种情绪蔓延在亚洲，尤其是像新加坡，东京或是北京这样的大城市。每个人都感到寂寞，渴望同他人建立联系却害羞，所以我们写了些内敛而忧伤的流行歌曲，将它们融入温和的混响失真作为一种温存的代替，取代了你情感上的孤寂。夏日的怀旧在此——洋洋洒洒，晒晒日光浴，跟这些摇滚音乐人走起来吧！

The evening’s guest of honor is Trip Fuel, from Hefei – a band of young and eager musicians who have been stirring up some noise since their formation in 2017. With moments of jangly math rock and post rock intrigue, and a hefty dose of shoegaze introversion, the band’s single ‘“Let’s Catch The Sun Within 44 Beats And Fuck It’ was featured on the Nerd Noise II compilation at the end of 2017. Their much-anticipated EP is due out later this year.

晚上的嘉宾是来自合肥的Trip Fuel——一群年轻而饥渴的音乐家，他们自2017年成立以来一直在尝试一些噪音音乐。随着数学摇滚，后摇和自赏的崛起，乐队的单曲’Let’s catch the Sun Within 44 Beats And Fuck It’在2017年末的Nerd Noise II汇编中亮相。他们备受期待的EP将于今年晚些时候发行。

Also on the bill – rising Beijing instrumental rockers She Never Sings Our Songs –who provide nurturing instrumental rock and roll with shades of math rock playfulness, dream pop pulp, and post rock crescendos that’s spirited, intricately assembled, and brimming with life. Guitars converse with one another, cymbals shimmer with exuberance, and a dialogue is formed between each of the members, volleying back and forth until blurring into mesmerizing blanket of sound.

来自北京的 She Never Sings Our Songs 同样在这场演出名单里。在他们营造的器乐摇滚氛围里，你既能找到数字摇滚的影子，亦有梦幻流行的悦耳，更有类似于后摇般高亢、复杂、蓬勃的旋律。迷人的音符下，乐器们轻声交谈，乐手进行一场无声的对话，交汇与融合，直到它们深深地印刻在你的脑海里。

Another band that’s been turning heads for the past couple years has been Last Goodbye – the neo-psychedelic shoegaze outfit that has been keeping listeners enthralled with their glassy dream pop laced world and cathartic buildups. They have opened up for numerous international groups such as Flying Colours, Splashh and so on – and in many folks view are on the brink of breakthrough success.

Last Goodbye ——裹着自赏外衣的新迷幻乐队，早已吸引了无数听众成为他们忠诚的追随者，这也奠定了他们在圈内的领先地位。人们沉浸在 Last Goodbye 创造的如玻璃般闪光而易碎的世界中，就像Flying Colours, Splashh 等大牌乐队做到过的一样，人们一致认为 Last Goodbye 的成功只是时间的问题。

Last but not least, Acid Accident, the instrumental rock trio, has quietly become the talk of the town over the past year, bringing together a range of influences to create an ambient, post-rock sound experience that’s volatile and impressionist.

名单的最后，酸性事件凭借着器乐摇滚标配三大件已悄悄地在北京城里掀起了一场属于他们的风暴。通过几乎完美的氛围塑造能力与后朋克般抓人的声场，酸性事件使每个人印象深刻。

乐队 Bands:

Trip Fuel (Hefei shoegaze/post rock/math rock)

SNSOS (post rock/instrumental)

Last Goodbye (shoegaze/neo psychedelic)

Acid Accident (post rock/instrumental)

Trip Fuel (Hefei shoegaze/post rock/math rock)

Formed in the spring of 2017, Trip Fuel, made up of several music lovering college kids out of Wuhu in Anhui Province, is the latest band to wrangle the reverb-drenched sound that has captivated China. With shades of math rock twists and a hefty dose of post rock intrigue, the band whose single ‘“Let’s Catch The Sun Within 44 Beats And Fuck It’ was featured on the Nerd Noise II compilation at the end of 2017. Since then, the band has opened for various bands including Colin Phils and Return to Delicate Time, and have been working on their debut EP.

Trip Fuel最初由几位热爱音乐的大学生们组建于安徽芜湖，2017年三月歪打正着在合肥邂逅郁郁不得志的中年男子陈经理，几经磨合剩四位成员至今。目前因心中依旧熊熊澎湃的热血，每周横跨两地相聚一次。这个来自中部工业城市的乐队仿佛自带失真，配合细密的小间拍，段落间充满粗糙与细腻结合的矛盾的颗粒感与企图冲破压抑的情绪。2017年底，其单曲《Let’s Catch The Sun Within 44 Beats And Fuck It》被收录于草台回声全球全网数位发行的首张【青年噪音计划】Math-Rock（数学摇滚）《Nerd Noise Ⅱ》合辑，2017年至今为Inspritative、Colin Phlis、丢莱卡、重返袖珍时光等当任过开场嘉宾。目前首张Ep已进入混音阶段。

SNSOS (post rock/instrumental)

2013年，当She Never Sings Our Songs 成立的时候，就带着反抗和矛盾。正如乐队名一样，疑惑里透着屈闷，既简单又复杂。从最开始捣毁演出器材的混沌少年，变成为大象体操、tfvsjs、Chinese football等乐队做暖场嘉宾的“北京暖场王”。我们在践行“坚持不自信也是一种自信”的过程中，享受到了无比的快乐并且收获良多。在2017年12月22日，我们发行了第一张同名专辑。专辑内共收录了乐队成立以来的十首作品。这些作品横跨了每个成员在不同时期对音乐的理解，也融入了我们对爵士、电子、噪音、实验等不同风格的喜爱和探索，并希望能尝试表达出各种各样的可能性。

Beijing outfit She Never Sings Our Songs (SNSOS) unveiled their debut self-titled LP at the end of the year and it’s a warm slice of post rock pie that’ll have genre fans clamoring for more. It’s a great display for the band’s sound – nurturing instrumental rock and roll with shades of math rock playfulness, dream pop pulp, and post rock crescendos that’s spirited, intricately assembled, and brimming with life. Guitars converse with one another, cymbals shimmer with exuberance, and a dialogue is formed between each of the members, volleying back and forth until blurring into mesmerizing blanket of sound.

Last Goodbye (shoegaze/neo psychedelic)

如果你不知道这种感觉，我们建议你去听听Last Goodbye。伤感的气氛中，藏着年轻、浪漫和不成熟，这正是这支乐队的魅力所在。如果你喜欢shoegaze，post punk,indie rock，并且经常会泛起一种难以描述的怀旧感觉，那这个乐队对你来说太完美了！

Sentimental atmosphere deep and melancholic, but still young, romantic and immature is the charm of the sound of this band. If you like postpunk, indie rock and constantly feel that nostalgic feeling of something you do not even know very well what it is, this band is perfect for you.

Acid Accident (post rock/instrumental)

成立于2016年夏天的一次心血来潮又深思熟虑。因为大家都不善表达，又不愿将就，于是干脆抛弃歌词，回归音乐本身。”酸”代表我们音乐的一种感觉，”事件”是因为有太多美好的东西都来自于一个意外甚至是一起”事故”!

Formed in 2016, Acid Accident is an instrumental trio bringing together a range of influences to create an ambient, post-rock sound experience.

活动详情 Event Info:

时间/Time: 2018年6月30日21:00
门票/Ticket:  60(ADV)/80(DOOR)（票务：阅读原文）
地点/Venue: 黄昏黎明俱乐部 (DDC)
地址/ADD: 北京市东城区美术馆后街山老胡同14号
Shanlao Hutong NO. 14, Dongcheng District
电话/Tel: 010-64078969
邮箱/Mail: DuskDawnClub@gmail.com  

The post Upcoming: Summer Nostalgia Showcase (DDC 2018.06.30) first appeared on .

The bustling city of Guangzhou won me over pretty quick. The southern juggernaut was the first stop on the tour and after some cancellations, delays, and what have you, I managed to jump on a Mobike and barrel toward T:Unionjust as Love Is A Reverb kicked off the show. 

A sultry mix of jazzy indietronica with a splash of shoegaze thrown in for good measure, the band proved to be a perfect fit with Nocturnes, equipped with a strong female presence, ample use of keyboards, synths, and a city pop sound that was quaint.

While the next band Nouvelle was a far cry from the ethereal grooves of Nocturnes, I have to admit I dig the shit out of them. Indie pop that’s not afraid to get loud and crass, all the while maintaining a keen sense of melody and crafting some seriously catchy singles that trigger all those bottled up feelings of angst, ambition, and recklessness.

Nocturnes did their thing, and once again, the fans were out in full force, getting up close and personal. I’ve talked at length about these two so no need to get into the nitty gritty of it – they delivered. Props to T:Union – a fairly large space with killer sound, a full scale bar, and plenty of table seating for the fancy pants (think of it as a better laid out Yue Space). 

The next morning I let the band go ahead to their next stop, as I was dead set on getting in my Record Store Day licks. After picking up some LPs from Nocturnes I strolled around Martyrs’ Park, where I caught a set from the elderly lakeside yacht club (minus the yacht but with a killer female drummer). I met up with Bryan Grogan – writer of both That’s Guangzhou and One Year in Guangzhou – an most excellent blog of music happenings in Guangzhou and beyond (seriously check it out). 

We headed to Vinylhouse Café – a super cozy, super homey, super friendly record store and café run by husband and wife Mong Huang and Paula Peng – and joined in the festivities as they hosted Record Store Day. It was as you can imagine a hoot – loads of friendly locals, curious customers, artisanal bread, 7’’ throwaways, and music lovers gathering for some fun. I sold some Nasty Wizard cassettes, chatted with the owners, and before I knew it, two hours had passed and I had to skip off to my train to Shenzhen.

Thanks again to all the bands, to Bryan Grogan, Vinylhouse Cafe, Jesse from Baobab Backpackers Hostel, Hannah at Post Wave Music, and White Noise Records.

Shenzhen was a bit of a mess – mostly on my part. Don’t trust Booking.com ever – the place will either not bother keeping your reservation or in my case, not even exisit anymore. Nevertheless, the crafty hostel owner ten floors up was able to find me a slot. So knowing I was in good hands, I cycled down to Brown Sugar Jar, one of Shenzhen’s longer standing venue, though it seems they’ve jumped around quite a bit in the city address-wise. A tiny, subterranean space – it was the perfect setting for a slightly rambunctious night.

Thin City were the find tonight – a twangy energetic mix of guitar pop and art punk that left a big ol’ smile on my face. Infectiously catchy, with a heavy dose of C86 power pop that’ll have you humming their tunes long after their set. Speaking of which, the band, made up of three expat dudes and one Chinese female (ala Boys Climbing Ropes) had just received their just released 7’’ debut off of Shenzhen label Boring Productions, headed by Jovi of Atta Girl and I was able to snag one (keep your eyes peeled for a review of that one). Friendly bunch – hope Beijing gets a chance to catch them in the next year.

After Nocturnes jumped on early (due to technical difficulties with Atta Girls set up) the early evening turned into a jinjiu soaked affair outside, followed by a late evening snack. Kudos Shenzhen – it was all too brief (clocking in at sixteen hours).

I used to hang around Hong Kong a lot – every three months in the heydays of visa runs and visiting family, I sought out to explore every nook and cranny of the cosmopolitan city. Of course, I was just scratching the surface, but as far as cities go – it’s one of the most familiar cities to me. So it was nice to finally swing through once again (this was probably my shortest stint ever there). And yeah – quite a bit has changed. In with the new and out with the old, but at a much slower and reasonable pace. Some of my favorite (i.e affordable) drinking holes had vanished, and the harbor front on Hong Kong Island has had a complete makeover. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to eradicate the personality of Hong Kong and it was a pleasure to hang out in there once again. Nocturnes performed at Fringe Dairy – an old renovated dairy and cold cuts market located at the top of Lan Kwai Fong.

So It Goes – an all female shoegaze trio whose members all go by the name Emily. Hells yes. One of the tightest groups I’ve seen in some time – the band jumped from wistful melancholic dream pop tunes to savage shoegaze grooves with bite, with some seriously menacing rhythms that had my ear worms jumping in delight. Again, it’s amazing the talent that Hong Kong withholds from us, and in many ways itself – it’s a scene whose crop of bands deserve so much more.

After saying a quick hello to an old Beijing buddy and taking in one last Nocturnes set – where the two once again won over their wide-eyed audience (and subsequently sold out all their CDs) we joined the local promoters – Post Wave Music – for a night cap hookah, enjoying the rat sightings and humid air.

With a bit of time to kill the next day we stopped by White Noise Records, a long-standing haven for record lovers and a place to tap into the local scene. The band dropped off their vinyl LPs while I was able to unload the rest of my Nasty Wizard cassettes – bliss! Do be sure to check them out – they’re located in the hustle and bustle of Mongkok/Prince Edward. And like that it was over, we jumped on a bus and headed back toward the border and within a couple hours were on a flight back to Beijing. A three-day southern China tour complete.

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