Indie rock to ease into spring with, Mongolia metal to bang your head to, house music to kick start the night to, and some experimental jams to lost yourself to – plenty of new tunes to ease those tastebuds of yours including the latest from Beijing indie quartet Casino Demon, Inner Mongolian trope Slud, Shanghai producer Cignarale, and new Beijing improv outfit Not In Catalog.

Modernsky indie favorites Casino Demon return with their sophomore release, Purple Haze From The Orient, and it’s a return to form for the four-piece, for better or worse. Despite numerous lineup changes over the past decade, the band has survived and prospered, giving listeners melodic, undeviating, youth-oriented indie rock that was at once both catchy and quaint. Their latest follows in the same vein, offering impeccably rhythmic pieces of rock and roll that almost sounds like a cross between an unassuming Arctic Monkeys and a dry Bruce Springsteen. And while it’s easy to dismiss the band as another run of the mill pedestrian indie rock quartet, there’s no denying the seamless allure and swagger of Casino Demon that’s theirs completely. It’s at ease in its own skin and therein lies the devilish charm. Give the album a listen over at xiami and just try no to crack a smile whilst listening.

Head houcho of the regular experimental music platform Zoomin’ Night, Zhu Wenbo, from hosting shows in underpasses to releasing tapes on the platform’s label, has been keeping active, debuting two new projects in the past month. First up, No Performance – consisting of Zhu Wenbo on clarinet and Sean Lee on live coding. The duo explore the various nooks and crannies of their sounds and experiences on the two pieces of Summer of Store, available on cassette at Zoomin’ Night’s bandcamp page. And just released last week comes Not in Catalog and their first ever recording. Besides Zhu Wenbo on guitar and clarinet, the four piece groups consists of Zoomin’ Night regulars A Bing (Boiled Hippo) on guitar, Zhao Cong (XHXXH) on bass, and Luodelai on drums. Some groovy jams amidst the playful chaos – rip it.

Traditional Mongolian folk tunes integrated with Western elements of heavy metal isn’t new to China – in fact, the trend is receiving more and more acclaim here and aboard. So it takes some gusto to emerge from the horde of bands tapping into the trend. That’s where Suld comes in. Also known as Battle Flag here in Beijing, the band which formed in Inner Mongolian and consists of members from there and Xin Jiang province, the five piece outfit relishes in mixing the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, with a heck ton of heavy metal creeping in. In that regard, it leans a little toward the heavy metal spectrum than Hanggai, but not quite as far as Nine Treasures, two groups I believe infuse the genre with more personality and evolution. Nevertheless, there’s a no nonsense seamless approach to Suld’s collection of ‘original ecology music meets metal’, City Rider, that proves there’s plenty of worth left in the formula. Check it out over on Stress Hormones Records’ bandcamp.

Co:Motion, the latest electronic label to emerge out of Shanghai, with a focus on the city’s house and techno underground scene, released its second EP last month, Things in Life by veteran producer Michael Cignarale. A hodgepodge of all things house – from classic house to disco-house with a fine sense of melody, the artist’s sound is a layer cake of dance vibes spaced out among fifteen minutes. The EP also finds label key master Laura Ingalls jumping into the mix as well for both a collaboration and a remix and includes also a dub remix from labelmate MIIIA (whose late 2015 EP is also worth a listen). Deep cuts and the perfect pregame to a long night of clubbing. Find it on Co:motion’s bandcamp.