MV Monday: Nova Heart, Wan Xiaoli, The Hutong Yellow Weasels, Spice

Some nifty new videos for all you music fans out there – makes me wanna grab my camera and shoot something. Check out the latest videos from The Hutong Yellow Weasels, up and coming Hangzhou ‘manual rock’ outfit SPICE, folk favorite Wan Xiaoli, as well as the directorial debut of Helen Feng of Nova Heart.

After much much tease we have the directorial debut from Nova Heart frontwomen Helen Feng and it is indeed a thing of strange beauty. With stunning cinematography from Joewi Verhoeven (lead singer of Arrows Made of Desire) the MV for the bands first single off their self-titled 2014 release, ‘Lackluster No.’ combines David Cronenberg’s maternal horrors with a bit of Lynch and Kubrick thrown in for good measure. It’s a bit all over the place (not sure how I feel about the gimp) but love the ambiguity of the whole thing, and the payoff works like gangbusters. The colors! Not even gonna bother to try to decipher this baby (!)

I had the pleasure of checking out the foot stomping, smile inducing antics of bluegrass outfit The Hutong Yellow Weasels yesterday at the JUE Creative Market, and all I can say is this – you’re guaranteed to move your feet. In fact, this recent music video for ‘Liberty’, pretty much hits it on the nail. Filmed out by MOMA, the MV features the weasels swaying the droids of a dystopian Beijing into letting loose and having a good time. There’s even a little dance tutorial for those of you unaccustomed to the old timey dance form, which I’ve manage to mess up time and time again.

As I stated at the end of last year, Hangzhou-based electronic rock mammoth SPICE is gonna go blow minds this year. I’m not sure when or how, but according to this little promo, it might be this weekend in Shanghai. The band will be showcasing a ‘stage version’ of their latest EP. As stated by the JUE organizers, ‘“Force Analysis Theatre 1.0” is Spice’s latest conceptual short film project, and sits within an ongoing one-year art project that began with the release of Force Analysis Pt.1 (Spice’s latest album) in September 2014. Drawing from the working process seen in Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Spice’s ongoing explorations through the arts will manifest as several conceptual performances including musical works, paintings, costume designs, merchandise, visual imagery and more.’ Geez – the times I wish I could be in Shanghai. Tickets here.

Last, for anyone looking to brush up on their chinese characters (or utterly jump off the deep end) here’s a lyrical music video (a sing-a-long in my day and age) for famous folk singer Wan Xiaoli’s latest single ‘Lonely Bird’. The Hebei artist, whose been a prominent figure on the scene since the late 1990s alongside other regulars like Xiao He, is returning the scene this year with a new album, ‘The Sun Looks Round’ and I must say, I’m pretty excited. Enjoy the scenery and melancholic tunes that sound like those a past time. Check out Wan Xiaoli’s tour dates, which includes a starting date at Mako Livehouse on March 27^th.