New Releases: Proximity Butterfly, thruoutin, Dizkar, Soviet Pop

The first release of Maybe Mars this year sees the return of Chengdu-based psychedelic hard rockers Proximity Butterfly. Also, we have the latest from one of Beijing’s most prolific electronic artists thruoutin. We dip into the Yunnan hip hop scene with the latest from Dizkar. And finally, take a look back at some of experimental label Sub Jam’s latest releases, including two collaborations with Soviet Pop. Bump it.

I’m come to learn that I can be a big softie. I love crying at movies. There’s simply something unburdening having your emotions get the better of you. So when I listened to the latest from the Chendgu-based multinational psychedelic prog outfit Proximity Butterfly’s latest, entitled Medusae, I wasn’t expecting to be some shamelessly manipulated. While the album, their forth, and second under Maybe Mars, does indeed have its share of feisty, barn burning head bangers, namely ‘One For You’ and ‘Running’, there’s a large chunk of the album devoted to those softer-edged slow burners including the closing two tracks, ‘Soon I Will Miss You’ and ‘Happy Ending’, which for all their blatant sentimentalism, are pretty damn effective. As with a lot of the band’s work, there’s this cathartic and ultimately uplifting feeling, that even for songs like ‘Cold-Hearted Killer’, leave you with a sense of serenity. Proximity Butterfly may have lost some of their bite since their last album, but there’s still plenty of heart left. Give it listen over here and purchase it in the form of a limited edition poster with individual download codes.

One of Beijing’s most prolific artists, thruoutin, has been on a roar as of late, pumping out new material month after month, which only leads to believe there’s a new LP around the corner. His latest, Service (The Shanghai Mixes), out on Huashan Records, was conjured up during a visit to Shanghai in 2013, where the electronic artist joined forces with label head Raphael Valensi for some gigs, and subsequently a recording sess. As thruoutin puts it himself: ‘We did two songs in total with six remixes which were all done by Shanghai based artists including DJ Doggy, Laura Ingalls, El\’se & Clark K. The first track ‘Qiguai de difang’, is a loose interpretation of a comic by Beijing visual artist, Yue Ming. Here an individual is met by a delivery man on a cold and windy afternoon at a bizarre beach. The music revolves around boss nova and gamelan samples with pipa and bass guitar. The second song ‘Shao’ has a few verses that rotate over and over about personal respect, satisfaction and modes of transportation. The pipa and bass guitar combo return and are met by beats, synths and manipulated k-pop vocals.’ Pretty stoked myself, as these have been two of thruoutin’s ‘go-to’ songs for the past couple years, and I can’t tell how good it feels to be able to blast these babies on my headphones now. So do yourself a favor, and check out why thruoutin is one to keep an eye on in the next year…right here.

Jinhua, of Zhejiang Province, is proving to be quite the hotbed of hip hop since the emergence of label Groove Bunny Records, who put out so impressive diverse work last year, including Shanghai-based producer Damacha’s latest, which I discovered on We Are Shanghai Vol. 4. Recommend checking out the label’s entire catalogue, including their most recent, Deetape, from Yunanese producer Dizkar. The mainly instrumental affair, a cassette tape none the less (win!), is six tracks of contemporary jazz hip hop that shows pays tribute to a lot of hip hop greats all the while taking pleasure in its own artistic flair and eccentricities, particularly on ‘Dragonfly’. At the very least, it promises an emerging talent coming out of southern China’s tropic regions. Grab the mix over here.

For you experimental fanatics out there, Sub Jam, the experimental label headed by Yan Jun, has a slew of releases that will be of much interest for those in the mood for some esoteric, minimalist, feedback heavy soundscapes. The two most recent releases on the label (as well as sub-label Kwanyin Records) are collaborations with analogue synthesizer duo Soviet Pop, who have been turning their sound art onto more ears as of late. On Huangpu and Donau, the two join sound fields with Olaf Hochherz and Tim Blechmann, both accomplished improve artists with a knack for creating ‘associative fields’ with their self-made instruments, which indeed to sound like ‘living beings’ of an electronic world. Trippy stuff that’s you’re either gonna get down with or not. Art, yo. Grab them here and here.