MV Weekly: Yaksa, j-fever x Yang Le, Hanggai

Hit up the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, take in some exquisite sand painting, and enjoy the buddy comedy pairing of actor and rapper – all in this week\’s edition of the latest music videos to get play on the web including fresh cuts from Hanggai, Yaksa, and j-fever & Yang Le.

Hanggai, the Inner Mongolian rock gods are slowly preparing for the release of their latest folk rock epic, and to entice listeners they’ve been releasing videos of the band working hard behind the scenes (with producer Bob Exrin of Pink Floyd and KISS fame) as well as a music video for their latest single ‘Vast Grassland’. While the video seems to follow too safely every other Hanggai video where we have the band wonder aimlessly around the grasslands in their attire, the MV does have some nice flourishes, such as layering shots of the bustling city and cars over a horde of horses galloping across fields and some primed (though basic) critique of the treatment of these natural landscapes. But come one – it’s new Hanggai!

The China entertainment industry has no qualms about actors crossing over into the music industry – in fact, I often find that agencies actively encouraged and curate this sort of media onslaught with their talent. So it’s no surprise to see TV star Yang Le (of the show ‘Little Husband’) rubbing shoulders with local Beijing rapper j-fever for the new single ‘When a Beijinger Loves You’. In fact, the whole buddy comedy thing fits the playful song and tone quite well, giving the rapper, whose fame has only been growing over the past couple year, plenty of screen time and swagger.

One of Beijing’s longest active metal outfits Yaksa, who have long abandoned their nu-metal paths, show off their new softened sound on the latest music video for the song ‘Sunset’. The MV showcases some extremely dope sand painting that’s mightily impressive. The metalcore band who recently jumped ship to label head behemoths Modern Sky, seem to be getting in touch with their more somber side with references to the band’s ethnic background and a surprisingly more mellowed out Hu Song. Really, at the point, the band can do as they please – their massive legion of fans with follow them blindly to the end.