From gritty scifi tracks to melodic punk with a heart of gold, to soulful hip hop – it’s time to look further into the releases of the summer worth checking out including the latest from Dirty K, WWW, and itsogoo.
Dirty K – Exsciccation
Shanghai electronic label Genoome6.66Mbp continues exploring the dark underbelly of the electronic scene in China with their latest brain worm – Exsciccation from Nanjing producer Dirty K. On the surface, the four track EP is as accessible of they come, taut club jams with a sci-fi edge, but on closer inspection there’s a brooding epic narrative at play here, one that sneaks up on you and keeps you enthralled even before the drop hits. Remixes from Hyph11e and Yikii are the cherry on top.
Bandcamp: https://dirtykkkk.bandcamp.com/album/gnm004-dirty-k-exsciccation
WWW – WanWanWan 顽丸玩
Looking to take listeners back to the late 90s underground punk scene, WWW, who formed in 2004 out of the small town of Huaihua in Hunan is pure pop punk catnip, laid back in its demeanor but full of melodic heart and soul. Their self-titled debut, off of Wuhan’s Wild Records, is a labor of love that explores thirteen years of growing up – from friends to small town dreaming. A bit of emo ache there, a bit of ska jamming here, and plenty of pop punk pleasures, it’s not destined to shock. Instead WWW hit something a little closer to home.
Bandcamp: https://wildrecords.bandcamp.com/album/–2
Xiami: http://www.xiami.com/album/2102745752
Itsogoo – Universal Islanders宇宙岛民
One of Beijing’s most underrated hip hop group itsogoo return with their LP – Universal Islanders – off of StreetVoice and AllGoodMusic – an intoxicating soul infused old school romp that brings to mind everyone from Madlib, Us3, to Digable Planets. With production from a number of the scene’s newest contenders, including Major, Trius, EddieBeatz and Tangrenti, among others, this is jazz hip hop done right, as the trope (which includes including Snarelop, Jia Ming, Alienkey, and Zhou ShiJue) breathes life in the streets of Beijing with ease and understanding.
Xiami: http://www.xiami.com/album/2102763781
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