MV Weekly: SMZB, Loreli, Yunggiema

An indictment of China\’s police force, a intimate rehearsal from renowned Bhutan minority singer, and a profile on the latest creative platform in Beijing – it\’s the newest batch of music videos to tease your ears, entice your ears, and ease your mind before the weekend including the latest from SMZB, Yunggiema, and Loreli.

Well there’s no way this is gonna make it on any Chinese streaming video service. Wuhan based outfit SMZB, considered the godfathers of Chinese punk rock to many, premiered their latest politically charged MV for Chengguan Revolution (城管革命) on UniteAsia (an awesome site by the way) at the beginning of the month, and it’s a barn burner – a passionate rallying call and indictment of chengguan – the infamous \”Urban Administrative Enforcement Bureau Agents\” that have been abusing their powers for years. Love the way the video mixes newspaper archives and video. The band was been around for twenty years and it’s clear they haven’t let up one bit. Bless them.

Loreli, the open platform for emerging artists, writers, and musicians in China, was been slowly building a fan base these past few months with a steady stream of interviews, articles, and events bringing the creative minds of Beijing together. China Daily showcased two of the site’s founders Kerryn Leitch and Amy Daml for their Laowai Not series. Passionate folks carrying the torch for creative folks in Beijing – my kind of people.

I’ve typed a many keys of praise on Menba born folk singer Yunggiema in the past – simply put, she’s a mesmerizing performer. And evidently I wasn’t the only one to sing her praises as she gained nation-wide exposure after appearing on Chinese Idol last year. Since then, she’s been busy performing here and there, and expanding on her sweeping sound. She’s set to kick off her forthcoming tour tomorrow night at Yugong Yishan in Beijing, and we’ve got a first look at what the show will be like with this behind the scenes rehearsal take for the song ‘Sarisawa’. Once again, beautiful stuff – highly recommend checking that gig out.