MV Monday: Wan Xiaoli, Hiperson, 16 mins, Lone

Things are looking grimmer and grimmer for the local scene, with multiple reports of cancellations, and shut down venues reigning in. Will the scene be chocked to to near death or will this rain (holy shit, it’s raining) wash this excremental situation away? Time will tell, but till them I’m gonna stay hopeful as I gorge on these latest music videos from Wan Xiaoli, Hiperson, 16 mins, and Lone.

Renowned folk artist Wan Xiaoli has returned with one hell of an LP, and a hypnotically captivating music video for the album’s title track ‘The Sun Looks Round’. The Hebei singer who became apart of Modern Sky’s \”Badhead\” label in 2002 and has been a staple of the urban folk scene (alongside Xiao He) since. Love how the song just drops in these scattered phrases, poetic and mundane all at once, that linger and burn into the background, as the songs progresses and takes a more sinister route. Xiaoli clearly has a way with words, but I’m more impressed on how well the mandolin and his terse folksy melodies fit in with his more indie, downright experimental sensibilities. And the video is just a lovely vignette of Beijing life as we know it – unwavering in its approach and strangely beautiful. Glad to have you back Wan Xiaoli.

Maybe Mars next big hit, Chengdu-based post punk outfit Hiperson, are prepping the release of their debut album, No Need For Another History, and they’ve got quite the teaser for you. A studio-shot video for their first single, ‘The Curtain’, and it’s does what it sets out to do – introduce us to the band and their sound. I know a lot of people like to pass off the band as PK-14 lite, but trust me, this is a band in complete command of their sound. But yeahhh, I can’t stand this song anymore, as I already spent two weeks straight with it back last summer. Nightmares folks, nightmares. Looking forward to hearing the whole album though.

Speaking of bands with albums on the horizon, alternative rock outfit (now a trio) 16 mins, are hitting the circuit hard this season, as they prepare for the release of their new album, 魔王Erlkönig. They’ve got a little behind-the-scenes look at the album’s making as well as a preview of the album’s tracklist. The album was recorded in Germany and from the sounds of it, is going to be one to look forward.

The accordion-infused, folk rock outfit Lone, fronted by ex-Joyside member Bian Yuan, as slowly been raising through the ranks this past year, as the bands receives more and more love from mainland fans. To push their clout even further, the band is planning a nationwide tour of eleven cities – they’re thrown together a quick publicity video for the upcoming tour, which essentially tacks on a shot of the band walking in slow motion through fallen leaves before delving back in the music video for ‘Dracula’. Not much new, but glad to see the band hitting the road.