Two of Beijing’s feistiest hardcore punk bands throw down their debut on a double LP, while one on China’s most sought after composers get the bonafide remix treatment from China’s underground electronic scene, and finally an ambient filled love letter to China – it’s the newest albums to entice and seduce our ears including the latest from Dr. Liu & the Human Centipede, Zankou, Yue Xuan, and thruoutin.
Earlier this month (on April Fool’s day to be exact), Beijing label and promotion team, D.O.G released a hell of a whooper – Weekend Punk a double LP from two of Beijing’s most fierce hardcore punk bands – Dr. Liu & the Human Centipede and Zankou. This ain’t your elbows flailing, warm hearted hardcore music. Vulgar, ruthless, and hurdling at you like a freight train, this is hardcore music with bite and it’s acidic tongue stuck firmly in cheek. Anarchic in nature, both bands play it fast and loose, injecting their songs with an abrasive, taking the piss out of everything from genre to song structure. Instrumentally there’s a more mischievous undertone to Zankou’s side of things, whereas Dr. Liu and company relish in the their malicious and devilishly riotous lyrics – in the end though there’s something utterly refreshing about how unhinged and untethered both bands sound. The punk release of the year thus far. Check it out on xiami.
Changsha raised piano composer Yue Xuan besides being one of the more well known composers in both the TV and film industry has garnered quite the amount of attention in the underground electronic scene. The intersection of those two scenes can be heard on Entrance & Exports Remix Project, an expansive divisive remix of the artist’s 2105 breakout hit In & Out. Yue Xuan hands the keys to her lush and emotionally charged compositions to a cast of electronic producers and sound smiths, including iimmune, Broken Thoughts, Cvalda, 14?, Wisefake, Chenchenchen, MHP, Ocean Walker, Gavintoo, Loga (Hong Qile), and Hou Chenzhong. Minimalist, post-rock, drum & bass, techno, glitch, drone, hip hop, experimental, ambient, IDM – it all gets a fair shake in the ample sonically diverse remix release. Listen to it on xiami.
Beijing based electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist thruoutin returns to his bag of field recordings for his latest hypnotic slice of life, Fine Valley Pass. Compiled of field recordings taken from the city of Jiayuguan in Gansu Province which were later set to sounds taken from Chinese New Year in Beijing, the four track ambient piece finds solace in the everyday sounds of China, and with the use of aptly placed drones and electronic wizardry turns them into cathartic soundscapes that blanket the mind and subdue the ears. In addition to the four originals, the release comes with six remixes from a variety of producers from back West, including Johnny Jitters, ilkae, and more. Beautiful stuff. Grab the release off of Pittsburg based label Aud-Art.
Be the first to comment