Various Artist – Functory 03
Functory 03 is the third compilation from FunctionLab, the unruly innovative and downright rebellious collective of renegade club producers that’s been putting Hangzhou on the map. As they put it – it’s in many ways ‘more functional experimental music’ spearheaded by its bombastic, frenetic energy that resonates with the absurdity of present-day and of ‘growing up wildly in the chaotic jungles of the internet’. It’s clear the label’s tentacles are spreading as they’ve managed to gather a wide array of producer across the globe including Hangzhou (GUAN, GG Lobster, Mice) Shanghai (Laughing Ears, Zean), Shenzhen (XHANKONKON), Changchun (Yikii), London (Akito), Berlin (Kieran Loftus), Zurich (Mr.Peña, XOXO Miro) and Seoul (Bela). Forward-thinking electronic music for those wild at heart.
Bandcamp: https://functionlab.bandcamp.com/album/functory-03
Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/2105057375
Netease: https://music.163.com/#/album?id=80759025
Various Artists – Death Kult Over Black Congregation
Nanchang-based Pest Productions whose prolific and robust catalog of the Chinese metal scene, and in particular it’s more extreme subgenres, has made them a name around the world, pays tribute to the genre its label head feels most at home with – black metal. Gathering twelve current artists from across the country, it’s a comprehensive entry-point for how the genre has manifested itself here in China. Chock full of epic crescendos, blood-curdling, wind-torn vocals, and atmospheric beauty the new wave of black metal is on full of display here – from the high-speed blastbeat of Infested Crucifix from Nanjing to the beastly screams of Throat Cutter from Taiyuan. A treasure trove of violent delights.
Bandcamp: https://pestproductions.bandcamp.com/album/death-kult-over-black-congregation
Xiami: https://www.xiami.com/album/9cJ4sZe461d
Various Artists – Cutt. Trax Vol. 1
Shenzhen-based electronic label Cutt. Records – dedicated to underground house & techno in the modern hustle of the southern cosmopolitan – whip up some kinetic dance-numbers by pairing up some of China’s most club-worthy names alongside international acts. Local support includes Beijing’s punx, MHP and Theory of Noise out of Shanghai, and Egypt-bred Shenzhen-based Purple Key, one of the label’s founding members. Meanwhile, among the international talent, there’s Melbourne producer Biting Eye, Sweden artist Acidalius, and New York-based Joelectrick. With a strong penchant for the underground sounds of Detroit and Chicago, hardware-based synths, drum machines, and sequencers – there’s a classic propulsion to the magic being cooked up by the budding label.
Bandcamp: https://store.cuttrecords.com/album/cutt-trax-vol-1
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