MV Tuesday: Chui Wan, Echo Bookstore, INTRO, Pale Heads

It’s a funky week for music – axed festivals, mid-week mega lineups, and people getting their kicks in early for labor day — which has pretty much cost me a week’s of pay — yeah, it’s getting weird. Oh well – might as well pretend like all is well and dig into these new videos from Chui Wan, INTRO Festival, Echo Books, and Pale Heads.

One of this year’s casualties was getting everyone’s favorite electronic festival INTRO moved from Chaoyang Park all the way out to Hebei. Depressing indeed. Nevertheless, the last minute venue shuffle hasn’t deter organizers in rallying up its target audience – kids who love dancing (and indulging in substances which make you prone to dancing). They’ve put together this swank, slightly nostalgic video recapping the past years’ festivals (like how they subtly skip over 2014) and it’s not bad. Dude at 1:05 mark – yeah, that pill is definitely kicking in for him. Full details on the festivities over here. Fingers crossed it all goes down smoothly.

Dalian bookstore and sometimes music venue, Echo Bookstore, run by lead guitarist Xie Yugang of Wang Wen, has been putting together a series of shows in the past year showcasing the ambient experimental scene. Past participants included Yan Yulong, Maxime Petit, Qu Rui Ning (of Which Park), thruoutin, and the shop owner himself. Well videos for each showcase are hidden in the Chinternet, the above video gives us a view of the atmosphere. Looks pretty slick.

Maybe Mars continues churning new albums – just one week after the release of Chengdu based outfit Hiperson’s debut, the sophomore release of neo psychedelic gazers Chui Wan dropped today over at death and taxes. To promote it and the band’s upcoming North American tour – they’re posted this tiny, yet effective’ teaser which puts into motion their latest album cover. Simplistic holographic rainbow fun – aka that moment when you realize the mushrooms are kicking in. Expect a full review of their latest next week.

Remember when shit rock duo Pairs\’ wailer Xiao Zhong left China and everyone collectively cried and sobbed like children for a whole month. Well, looks like our dear friend hasn’t quite put down the sticks yet. He’s just released a LP with Melbourne quartet Pale Heads who are self-described as ‘dark, dirgey Australian punk-rock – into the sewer and beyond’. Better yet, the band has created their own douban page and released their first MV for ‘Devotion’ on youku. And while the LP ‘s cover won’t be doing them any favors in visiting the Big Red any time soon – it’d be wonderful to see Xiao Z return to the filth and grime that is China.