Kicked off my Mayday holiday by heading over to Modernsky Lab to say hi to an old Shanghai confederate and also see what all the hype around Belarus’s Molchat Doma was about. The Russian-speaking band from Minsk revels in atmospheric synth-heavy dark wave sounds – think sleek moody synths, hip-swaying drum machines, catchy guitar melodies, and earthy baritone vocals – straight out of the 80s.

Playing to a sold-out crowd – filled with a mix of locals and expats – the band jumped head forth into a long set filled with brooding gothic cold wave, jagged and nervy post punk, and highly danceable synth pop – all handled with modest yet deft musicianship and almost hypnotic propulsion. It’s a tricky balance (especially sans drummer) but after one track I was onboard. A nice surprise.

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It’s been a fine year for Shengjian Records. The label seems to have transformed itself over the past year into the defining go-to-label for indie pop in China- everything from The 尺口MP’s debut to Jo’s Moving Day has been top of the line stuff. They seem to have an eye for building up bands with word-of-mouth and sly marketing – all done with a deft personable touch. Said personable touch was there last Thursday night at Modernsky Lab where the label held their annual Tropical Christmas showcase – decking out the stage in palm trees and having mulled wine on hand to help folks get into the spirit. 

The evening kicked off with a set from Sense Print Club, a band I’ve been dying to check out since their debut with SJ Records earlier this year. Offering ample amounts of jangly dream pop that feels like it could have emerged from the UK in the late 80s or early 90s, the Kunming band hits a very different indie pop groove that I’m all for. Sardonic and tender all at once, its icy new wave sound just kept afloat by its brisk catchy melodies and simmering fireside warmth, it’s not too far off for the vibe David Lynch was shooting for on Twin Peaks. They may wear their influences on their sleeves but damn is it a hell of a good time. And A-OK is simply one of my favorite tracks of the year. 

The same could be said about Daydream Secrets, the Chengdu Britpop juggernauts. I had the same reaction I had to them three years prior – this is not for me but holy shit do they know how to entertain the crowd. From their bellowing of ‘Gentle Stranger’ which had the crowd brimming in ecstasy to their late set Technicolor rendition of ‘Moscato’ it was clear these cats were audience favorites. Too bombastic for my taste but have to give credit to Daydream Secrets where it’s due – they’re entertainers through and through. 

Jiangsu’s Zoogazer meanwhile is a band I’ve had a soft spot for since their delectable debut back in 2018 (perhaps my favorite release that year). Since then they’ve softened their edges, pushing further into warm-hued city pop that relies on its synth-powered jubilation, but I keep coming back to the richly layered arrangements that glisten with youthful vigor and deft musicianship. 

A fine way indeed to break in the holiday weekend. 

The post Gig Recap: Sense Print Shop, Daydream Secrets, Zoogazer (2021.12.23) first appeared on .

TransMiB – the new Modern Sky adjacent label – strutted their taste-making skills with a hard-edged, imaginative lineup featuring bands that not quite fit into any neat box genre-wise and yet embody the music they perform, dangerously alluring in their pull and magnetism. 

The night kicked off with a set from Domino Trigger, who have been spending the first half of the year refining and rewiring their twisty grunge-filled psych rock sound, one that’s simultaneously both brooding and riotous. And while they were forced to switch out their guitar at some point, they managed to maintain their cool. A part of me wishes I could catch them in a dingy derelict basement venue. My kind of vibes. 

Holy shit – forgot how fun Division Control aka D.C are. I haven’t seen the Tianjin based post punks in four years since putting them on a bill back in Beijing. Bombastic and without an ounce of nuance, but there’s no denying the kinetic energy they bring to their sets. Broadly invoking a grocery list of of post punk greats, much of the band’s charm lies it their high-wire gusto, led by its devilishly madcap frontman. Excited to see how they fare with their new label motherlords. 

Shanghai punk rock stalwarts, Dirty Fingers, whose sweaty scruffy Balkan punk evoking sound ignites upon contact seems to be dipping into their more melodic side more and more. By no means a determent – in fact, I don’t think they’ve missed a step since tapping into their new rich rhythmic direction and emotional through-line – striking a mood that’s volatile, raw with a touch of bittersweet romanticism. Oh – check out their new LP set to drop tomorrow – it’s really something. 

The night closed out with the always deliciously delirious prog psych outfit Kṣitigarbha, who seem to have no issue pushing their sound into the stratosphere or into the hellish underworld depending on their mood. And yeah – the big stage fits them quite well – allowing their new visuals to work their magic while the band got comfty. After seeing them countless times this year already I’m still shocked at how many surprises they can still throw at listeners.

All in all, a brawling unruly night of tunes and proof that Shanghai has plenty to give listeners looking for something a little sharper to spike thier drinks with. In the case of me, a fine bottle of Jinjiu. 

The post Gig Recap: Dirty Fingers, Kṣitigarbha, Domino Trigger, D.C (2021.04.23) first appeared on .

JaJaTao, the genre-bending art-rock troupe JaJaTao have come a long way since I first caught them in late 2014 in Beijing. That was when they were still jumping on grunge bills (more frequent than you’d imagine in the capital). One of the things that immediately that stood out about them – besides the theatrical, snarling mix of grunge and Chinese funeral music – was their attention to detail and how fully formed they sounded at the time. Professionalism up the wazoo. Since then, the brainchild of Liu Yucao, has been steadily tightening the screws on his grunge revisionist outfit, whose mix of traditional Chinese instruments and folklore with volatile scream-filled acerbic alternative rock circa the early 90s is otherworldly in its vigour. And why the looks of the packed out Modern Sky Lab, the cult is strong in JaJaTao – whose fans seem to have a spiritual connection with the band – donning Yucao’s signature smeared lipstick make-up as well as his trusty cardigan sweater which has never left his side.

The band were in the midst of their nationwide tour in support of their wildly ambitious sophomore release, voted the No. 1 Chinese Album of the Year by the Xiami (RIP). Coated in layers of sludge metal, noise and psychedelic free jazz and filtered through traditional Taoist music and Chinese folk funeral music, it takes the bands sound and stretches it out even further, creating an almost unrecognizable world that toes the blurry line between mediation and anguish. Shanghai continues to be the year I get to see bands of my Beijing past and witness how far they’ve come! Props to JaJaTao and getting their dangerously seductive sound to the masses. 

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Baby showers and live music was the name of the game last Saturday as I joined friends for an evening at Modernsky Lab after a little shindig at my place. And for their first outing in the Year of the Ox, the Hongkou venue did not hold back, assembling a sonically titillating array of acts with electronica in their DNA one way or another. And while pretty much all the acts featured consisted of the indie scene’s most established musicians from years past, the lineup was indeed fresh – with most of the acts only gaining traction in the past year. 

Things kicked off with 上马巡雾, the new project from Aming and Bai Tianke (of Mirrors) – there’s a madcap lived-in quality to their performance that’s easy to get wrapped into even if it’s clear it’s still fermenting and taking shape. But I think its improvisational streak and 80s IDM-evoking sound are a whole lot of fun and dynamic in its rhythmic layers.  

Up next were Chengdu’s Fake Gentle – which consists of two of The Hormones’ founding members – Li Jing and Wang Xiaoxue, who left that band in 2017. Since then they’ve evolved from a duo into a fully formed band – leaning into their former band’s more electronic coldwave components – showcasing a feminist-bent, pulsating bit of electro-pop that’s crisp, lean, and buzzing with rock and roll attitude. It didn’t exactly light my fire, but it’s clear they’ve got the goods. Will be interesting to see how they develop. 

It’s only been a few months since I’ve last caught Aero Boat, but damn are they getting better. The trio featuring Zhan Pan (of The Gar) and Li Nan (of Da Bang) feels like a band that so many others have strived to be over the past couple of years – an indie band whose pop sensibilities are never shoe-horned in and instead are utilized in service of (and alongside) some richly detailed and electronically propulsive rhythms – all elevated by a band that can play the shit out of their instruments. Simply put, it’s a dream team match-up. 

Cool-hued IDM architects Frankfurt Helmet, who recently relocated to Shanghai from Wuhan, were perhaps my favorite act – an ambient-filled slow-burning set made the ever more satisfying by the duo teaming up with visual artist 膨胀螺丝, who utilized some sort of facial recognition/motion sensor app on his phone to manipulate the awe-inspiring images on the screen – from facemask troops overtaking an urban center to a face-melting mashup of emojis and faces (which may or may not have been grabbed from the utterly terrifying https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/). Truly complemented the sometimes stirring, sometimes kinetic, and always engaging set. A fine addition to the Shanghai music scene. 

I stuck around for a bit of LST’s set, -Li Nan’s second time to show off his slick drumming skills and he didn’t disappoint. Joining him was Liu Shang of C.K.T.P (Chaos Kills The Pain) and yeah it was the perfect closer to the evening. Stimulating tunes all around. 

The post Gig Recap: Aero-Boat, Frankfurt Helmet, Fake Gentle, LST, 上马巡雾 (2021.03.06) first appeared on .