News, Releases, Yada Yada Yada

It’s gonna be a slow week while I play catch up with some editing down yonder, so what better time to catch up with releases from the past month including the latest from world music trope Echo Orchestra, metal rap group Chinatown, Shanghai doomsday soundtracking artist Nahash, and the latest batch of experimental wonders from the Subjam label. Let\’s get at it.

That’s a bit from world music musicians Echo Orchestra, who have been spotted more than a few times on the Gulou circuit and have just released their first proper album. As stated by the lead singer, Liang Huamin, the bands idea was to ‘make a kind of music that refers to China the moment you hear it’ – a Chinese rhythm if you will. Their debut, entitled ‘Picturesque Landscape（江山娇), is a pleasant enough trip though Chinese melodies and contemporary music that’s well worth a listen. Again, nothing groundbreaking here – but man does it go down smooth. Take a load off and relax – give it a listen here and purchase it over here.

There’s the promo for Chinese rap metal trope Chinatown who have just unveiled their latest album entitled Another I. Released early this month, the album can be previewed over on their douban page – nothing groundbreaking here, but as someone who grew up on Limp Bizkit, P.O.D, and Linkin Park, I can definitely see the appeal. Rap metal has been taken the young generation for a spin recently, and Chinatown looks to continue that trend. If you’re looking in get in on the craze grab the album over at IndieMusic. Still, I’d take CMCB over these guys any day of the week.

For a little something to bring in the inevitable apocalypse, throw this baby on for a spin, A Dying Breed by Nahash. The solo project of producer/DJ Laura Ingalls, who has been kicking asses and taking names down in Shanghai under the guise of Acid Pony Club (as well as the psychedelic metal jazz outfit Death To Ponies, who, mind you, are performing this weekend) – it’s a dark, unsettling, soundtrack of madness which was made ‘on a bunch of analog synths, two of the crappiest guitars and bass known to man, a limited amount of hardware effects, and the unavoidable unintelligible shrieking painfully under-mixed vocals’ – dig the blackness of this monster. Download it for free here, and if you’d like check out Nahash this Wednesday at School Bar.

Last but not least, for those who love going down the rabbit hole, and jam out to field recordings – I’d recommend checking out Lionel Marchetti\’s latest, entitled 23 Formes en Élastique, recently released on experimental maverick Yan Jun’s Subjam label. It features field recordings and experimental compositions that Marchetti has produced over the last 23 years, reworked into a new format and the disk comes with a dairy full of written passages of Yan Jun’s personal reaction to Marchetto’s soundscapes – think of it as a commentary track. Some cool soundbites here – check it out and purchase it over here. Hat tip to SmartBeijing for this bit of news.

Stay tuned – another slew of releases will be plugged later this week, including Low Bow’s latest opus, Tianjin pop rockers The Hangover, Shanghai hard rockers Guoshen, and more.