It’s a new year – time to start browsing for that new artist or band that’s gonna blow your mind this here. And what better way to Johhny 5 your way through a heap of bands and sounds then with a compilation. So let’s dive into four of the latest compilations featuring artists old and new across multiple genres from the likes of Do Hits!, Nerd Noise, Super Street Fighter, and VOX.
After releasing one of last year’s most buoyant and downright infectious compilation the Do Hits! crew returns with their annual Chinese New Year compilation Do Hits Year of the Rooster and it’s another home run as far as I’m concerned. Simply love the mad science behind each of these songs – from Sonia Calico remix of a supermarket hit to Lofimaker’s take on ‘Gala necessity Xiangsheng’s ‘Wan Shi Ru Yi’ – each and every artist puts their heart into transforming another cultural facet, joy, or burden of CNY and making it their own. Intoxicatingly fun and a reminder that the year of the dog is just around the corner. Can’t wait. Bandcamp/Xiami
Looking for that new band to carry you through the next year – then I can’t recommend highly enough this extensive compilation from local Beijing promotion team Super Street Fighter entitled Young Gun I which tracks ten artists from across China. While Beijing is reporesented by scrapper punk rockers Duff Beer and melodic tween indie pop outfit The Diagon Alley, what makes this record stand out is the sheer talent on display from the other bands. Bands that I’ve never even heard before. Like grunge-lite indie rockers Dahila Rosea from Shanghai. Or indie pop trio Red & White from Lanzhou. Or Non-Player Character from Chongqing. Or Qianchuan Drugstore from Beijing!?. Really killer compilation that truly finds like a nice discovery of bands we’ll be hearing about soon. 163/Xiami
New indie rock platform Nerd Noise release their first ever compilation album featuring the underground scene’s newest additions with a stellar lineup that includes Ningbo shoegaze torch bearers City Flanker, two of Beijing’s best new bands, neo-psychedelic outfit Last Goodbye, and jangly indie rockers Backspace, as well as Hangzhou’s Gatsby in a Daze, Shanghai’s Forsaken Autumn, Chengdu’s Sound and Fury, and Ningbo’s der Berliner Nebel. For those looking to soak in all that fuzz and reverb and check out some of this year’s potential breakthrough bands look no further. 163/Xiami
Despite what some may think, Wuhan’s music scene continues to strive, and they gonna let the rest of the country know. Already in it’s fourth edition, The Voice of Wuhan, is a compilation series put out by VOX (Wuhan’s premier venue and distributor) highlighting some of the city’s blooming talent. Featured on their latest is synth melodic metal outfit Meat Sucks, tight jeaned. hair (well in my mind all their members have long hair) rockers Risky Joy, hip hop team Big Dog, the boisterous hard rock outfit No Plan, and the humid saxophone flourished Chinese salsa of Wang Wei (my favorite by a long stretch). Not their strongest entry but further proof that Wuhan is still going strong. Xiami
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