New Releases: XY #001, Noise Arcade, The Machinery of Other Skeletons, Yan Yulong & Liu Xinyu

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Hope the Chinese New Year gave the lot of you time to browse through some of last year’s and this year’s new releases – still plenty out there that’s deserves your ever attentive ears. Here are this week’s freshest releases including the latest from electronic bohemian Noise Arcade, a remix of Shanghai metalcore group The Machinery of Other Skeletons, a collaboration from noise makers Yan Yulong & Liu Xinyu. And last, a new compilation of some of the experimental and electronic scene’s most intriguing acts, XY #001. Check it out.

XY #001 is the first album release from new label XY. Centered around the theme of capturing a ‘non-musical performance about voice, people, and city, it is an auditory exploration employing the visual and encourages one to pause, experience, and observe’. The compilation features ten Chinese musicians creating ambient and experimental soundscapes including 8gg, Alok, Bai Tian, Huzi, jfi, me:mo, mulian, Yin Yi, Zen Lu, and zo-on slows. It’s quite a diverse compilation, with some choice cuts – from the dreamlike tracks from the likes of me:mo and Huzi to the more ominous equivocal tracks of 8gg and Bai Tian, there’s something for everyone. One of the best compilations regarding the scene out there. Grab it over here.

Noise Arcade, back from a jaunt in Europe where he had Germans basking into loopful delights of his music, is at his most finely tuned in his latest release – reoccurring themes. There’s a precision, a focus, and dare I say, a melodic drive lurking beneath the layers of drone and synths that has me excited for what’s lays ahead for the artist. Ever amidst all the playfulness, there’s a desire to form fully realized pieces here that proves that the well has not been bled dry yet. But what do I know – this shit is like catnip to me now. Kudos to the luscious cover art, illustrated by local artist Anya Chalina. Download it over here.

Looking to go down the rabbit hole even further – then you might wanna jump headfirst into the latest Sub Jam release, safe haven for all that is experimental. Their sub label Kwanyin Records put out their 55th release, Awaking, this past Valentine’s Day, which consists of forty minutes of improvised noise making from two of Beijing’s most prolific avant grade musicians – Yan Yulong and Liu Xinyu. It’s a beast of a track for sure, one that climaxes into a frenzy of frantic oscillations – in other words, a must have for you noise freaks out there. Grab it over here.

If you ever wondered what a metal album would sound like filtered through the dancehall minded eyes of electronic artists then look no further. Shanghai metal act The Machinery of Other Skeletons, who put out an EP back in August 2014,  put out Beyonder late last year, which puts their album through the remix machine which some very interesting and strangely titillating interpretations from some of Shanghai and Beijing’s more offbeat electronic artists including thruoutin, Ren Min Beats, DJ Caution, Hanzzzie, and MIIIA. It’s a fascinating showcase, and a reminder of how often artists on different ends of the spectrum can cross paths in China. Bump it over here.

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