MV Weekly: AV Okubo, Elenore, Chengdu Underground Vibes

A modern day opium addict in Wuhan’s AV Okubo’s latest, a video-game inspired rock ballad from Beijing indie rockers Elenore, and a in-depth look at Chengdu’s bubbling underground electronic music scene. It’s the latest batch of music videos to get you through the day. Have at it!

Wuhan kitsch disco punk outfit AV Okubo ease the pain with their latest MV for their single ‘Opium’ off of their 2014 album Dynasty. The band’s fascination and fetishization of film and cinema is very much apparent in the video, which, while minimal in its setting and plot (this is a pretty accurate description of how one acts on the drug aka doing absolutely nothing), is shot quite creditably with a fine sense of mise-en-scene and camera movement. And nice punchline too, though I’m not even sure this can even be considered a punchline.

It’s a new day and age when you’ve got rockers finding inspiration in video games. But that’s exactly what’s happened with Elenore’s latest wall busting single ‘Bad Blood’. Inspired by the popular Playstation 4 game Bloodborne, which follows a Gothian era hunter who must rid a fictional city of terrifyingly diseased beasts (thanks Wikipedia!), ‘Bad Blood’ is effectively able to use these fantastical images and themes for their song, which got even more of an epic boast from the addition of three top notch drummers and a little help from the Asian Philharmonic Orchestra (check out some behind the scenes video of the recording). And you know what – while video games aren’t exactly what I think of when I think of pounding atmospheric rock music, it friggin works like gangbusters.

Chengdu’s a pretty dope place – from the food, to the weather, and of course, the music scene, which is becoming a beacon for more and more artists. Frankly, I can’t wait to go back, particularly to dip my toes further into the city’s massive electronic scene, which gets plenty of loving in this video, Chengdu Underground Vibes, produced by Toast City Productions. While the video relies a little too heavily on the expats who make up the underground electronic scene, it really is a nice encapsulation of Chengdu nightclub scene and the city itself. And above all, makes it look like a hell of a time. Oh, and Poly Center is the devil’s candy!