INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE INDIE-POP-ROCK-ACOUSTIC PART 2
Introduction to Chinese Indie-Pop-Rock-Acoustic [Part 2]
For those who remember (or have been pointed towards) I did a post introducing some Chinese indie/pop/rock artists a while ago - make that months ago. It seemed that it was quite well received and many even wanted to expand their music libraries even more, so I've decided to do Part 2 and again, I'm only sticking to introducing Chinese (Mainland, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong etc) indie aritsts, even though I've been posting some more than usual Korean indie recently. I do have at least one album from all these artsits, BUT I have not uploaded them all because that's crazy time consuming. SO like last time I will have previewable/downloadable preview tracks (4shared) for all artists and for a few favourites I will have full albums uploaded to Megaupload/Box.net. As always with my recommended posts there's a Box.net widget at the end so you can browse through all them songs.
I would love to hear about what artists you already know, have heard about, or discovered from this post or the last one. What type of artists you would like to hear more from and would like me to try and recommend alike bands. If you like what you hear it would be great if you tried to support the aritsts - I know a few are hard to find being independant or sold out releases - but you're best bet is YesAsia and ebay (or Google). A few bands even have their songs up for download at their sites/myspaces. There isn't always alot of English information around (sometimes there isn't even much in Chinese) so I try to add some basic bio stuff, genre types but if you have time check out their official sites and myspaces, they normally have more previews [ Part 1 Here]
Various Artists - "Candy Rain" Original Soundtrack
Release Date: October 18, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
Disc 1:
01. 想想 - 何欣穗 (Cia Cia)
02. NO.1 如果南國冰封了
03. 南國
04. 冰封
05. 繼續 - 黃小楨 (Wu Sheung)
06. 繼續>>不
07. NO.2 看不見攻擊的城市
08. 城市
09. 尋找 - 吳立琪 (Wu Li Qi)
10. NO.3 夢見相反的夢
11. 相反的夢
12. 十年
13. 不散不見 - 彭靖惠 (Jyotsna Peng)
14. NO.4 像花吃了那女孩
15. TRISTE - 張懸 (Deserts Zhang)
16. 女孩的三拍子
17. 泡泡 - 魏如萱 (Wei Ru Xuan)
Disc 2:
01. 讓我搭上一班會爆炸的飛機 - My Little Airport
02. More Soundtrack - 甜梅號 (Sweet Sweet Plum)
03. 我愛你 - 新褲子 (New Pants)
04. Shananana - 電話亭 (Telephone Booth)
05. Bad Dream [Acoustic] - 草莓救星 (Saviour Strawberry)
06. 田納西恰恰 - Tizzy Bac
07. Angel Singing - 電話亭 (Telephone Booth)
08. 和陳五MSN - My Little Airport
Download: (Disc 1) Megaupload // Box.net [65.6MB @ 192kbps]
Download: (Disc 2) Megaupload // Box.net [34.4MB @ 192kbps]
Compilation: Candy Rain Original Soundtrack | So I decided to start off with two of my most played compilations. This is the indie released soundtrack to go along with "Candy Rain", a film released earlier this year with cast Karena Lam and Cyndi Wang based on true stories of lesbian love affairs. Personally, the film wasn't all that great, a nice step out of the comfort zone for many film-goers and it was my least favourite Karena performance but if anything a great soundtrack was produced.
Various Artists - Modern Sky 5
Release Date: September 25, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Bye Bye Disco - 新褲子 (New Pants)
02. 白 - 清醒 (Sober)
03. 在天空中 - 超級市場(Supermarket)
04. 只有我們知道的地方 - 牛奶@咖啡(milk@coffee)
05. 真實謊言 - 周先生 (Mr. Zhou)
06. Athens Calling - 果味VC (Super VC)
07. The Story of Sun and I - 旅行團 (Life Journey)
08. 秘密的愛 - 聲音玩具 (Sound Toy)
09. 自由 - 蘇菲花園 (Sophia's Garden)
10. A Vision of Chris - 重塑雕像的權利 (The Right of Statues)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [67.2MB @ 192kbps]
Compilation: Modern Sky 5 | For those who are familar with Korean indie music label, Pastel - Modern Sky is the equivalent in the Chinese world (although in Hong Kong People Mountain, People Sea is getting quite popular). Apart from the occassional compilation, they also have an Summer outdoors indie/rock concert annually -- the one that just passed actually introduced me to even more artists. A few of those can be found below, or if you haven't already check out Part 1 of the Chinese indie.
1976 1976 is a group thats been around for a long time (summer of 1996) and this is their fifth album already. Consisting of four members; Chen Ruikai is the lead vocalist and lyricist, Zhang Chongwei the guitarist, Joe Lin - youngest member - is the bassist and finally Lin Yu-lin the drummer. Named after the year in which all initial band members were born in, the four of them found a common love in 80's English New Wave, Punk-pop. Indie Brit-pop band has been named "Recommended Mandarin" numerous times and both their previous two albums have gained much postive attention.
Official: http://www.sonybmg.com.tw/pop/1976/
1976 - Asteroid
Release Date: October 22, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 重返金銀島 (Return to Treasure Island)
02. 壯遊前夕 (On the Eve of the Tour)
03. 努特 (Striving to be Special)
04. 撒野俱樂部 (Freedom Club)
05. 慶祝節日的戀人 (Celebrate Lover's Day)
06. 旁白先生 (Mr. One Side)
07. 發光的孩子 (Luminous Child)
08. 右外野手 (Right Fielder)
09. 科學怪人的玫瑰 (Frankenstein's Rose)
10. 星際探險隊 (Interplanetary Expedition)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [69.7MB @ 192kbps]
929 I featured this band last time. I know. But they just released a new album and it was the perfect time to pimp them out again. A simple acoustic duo, with great guitar relaxing tunes. This is the ultimate chill-out band.
Official: http://929.agoodday.com/
929 - Ye Xu Xiang Xing Xing
Release Date: October 09, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 也許像星星 (Like the Stars)
02. 生活炸彈 (Live Bomb)
03. 早起去爬山 (Early Morning Mountain Walks)
04. 圓圈圈 (Round Circle)
05. 漩渦 (Vortex)
06. 貢寮你好嗎 (How Are You)
07. 找不到 (Can't Find)
08. 胖胖女生三部曲之大學荒唐時 (Trilogy of Fat Girls at University of the Absurd)
09. 棉花糖 (Cotton Candy)
10. 花花世界 (Colorful World)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [51.1MB @ 192kbps]
at17 Another band I featured last time but I didn't upload an album. Probably one of the only more mainstream/promotional indie duos of Hong Kong, they're very active in the main media which brings more attention to their music. at17 consists of Canadian, Ellen Joyce Loo and HK native Eman Lam, who are both involved considerably in the songwriting and production for their albums. Loo plays the guitar and piano, while Lam plays the guitar and various percussion instruments.
Official: http://www.peoplemountainpeoplesea.com/at17/
at17 - Over the Rainbow Vol. 2
Release Date: October 24, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 二百歲少女 (200 Year Old Girl)
02. 依然.親愛的 Feat. Karena Lam (Still, Dear)
03. 101727
04. The Moon (Demo)
05. 流浪到彼岸 (Stray to the Other Shore)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [22.1MB @ 192kbps]
意淋 (Bevlyn Khoo) A singer-songwriter hailing from Singapore. Bevlyn has aspirations to make music with influences from all over the world. When she is not singing at various cafés and pubs, or taking on the role of a wedding-singer under the umbrella of A Little Dream which she co-founded, she loves to write songs, of which a few have been sold to Taiwanese and Chinese artistes. I would say fans of Deserts Zhang would like Bevlyn, she goes to release major but she still keeps her style of coffee houses and acoustic jazz. She sings in Mandarin, English and French.
Official: http://bevlynkhoo.com/blog
Bevlyn Khoo - Lonely Afternoon
Release Date: October 18, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 當我八十歲 (When I Was 80 Years Old) [Mandarin]
02. 失了踪 (Missing Track) [Mandarin]
03. Lonely Afternoon [Mandarin]
04. Play With Me [English]
05. Anymore [English]
06. La Vie En Rose [French]
Download: Megaupload // Box.net [31.8MB @ 192kbps]
Carsick Cars Car-Sick Cars were established in Beijing in March 2005 and performed for the first time at Beijing Institute of Technology in May 2005. Since then the band have played every major venue in Beijing as well as in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Made up of guitarist and vocalist Zhang Shouwang, bassist Darkland and drummer Zhongqiu, the band began performing in bars across the city. Music fans began to take notice and the band now plays to a great reception in many venues. The band has developed a unique and attractive style based on their thorough understanding of music. Influences include western bands like The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo. One point no one can disagree with is they ARE talented; they are not afraid to write perfect, instantaneously catchy songs, and they are just as unafraid of detonating them midstream amid a howling wall. Carsick Cars is one of those bands that studio albums don't do justice for. They were born to rock a live stage, the greatness of their stage presence and most unforgettable tunes are those when it's a pinnacle of a concert, howling out lyrics and losing themselves to the music. And to top it off, at this years Music Media awards they finally got the official recognition they deserved -- an awrd for Best Rock Group of 2008.
Official: http://carsickcars.com/
Carsick Cars - Carsick Cars
Release Date: September 08, 2006
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 志願的人 (Volunteer)
02. 棍 (Stick)
03. 蘑菇 (Mushrooms)
04. 中南海 (Central South Ocean)
05. 厚道 (Back Road)
06. 熊貓 (Panda)
07. 廣場 (Plaza)
08. 熱身 (Warm Up)
09. 和聲 (Harmony)
10. 回授 (Feedback)
11. 從鼓樓到新街口 (Bonus)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [62.8MB @ 192kbps]
麥田守望者 (Catcher In The Rye) Yes, it was the name that caught my attention more than anything. For those who have lived under a rock (either that or you really don't like reading) "Catcher in the Rye" is a classic by J. D. Salinger - not that had to do with anything bringing the band together. This veteran band has been around since 1994 and their last release was nearly three years ago. Catcher in the Rye are known for spending a long time away from the recording studio (last two times it was six years apart) but whenever they are producing music, it never disappoints. It takes a long time to produce great music. Their influence comes from bands like "The Sex Pistols" and "U2" and has been noted as one of the first punk bands in China.
Official: http://www.cir.com.cn/
Other Previews:
白夜 (White night)
我们的世界 (Our World)
崩溃 (Collapse)
冷酷仙境 (Cold Fairyland) I didn't upload an album last time and had multiple requests for more from them. A music group based in Shanghai, China. style combines Eastern melodies and rhythms with Western symphonic rock and classical music. The band has two sides; classical and rock, which allows them to play in concert halls as well as in rock clubs. CFL's music has influences from Portishead, Dead Can Dance, Radiohead, early Genesis, Jethro Tull, Wong Faye and Dou Wei, and their genre is best described as progressive rock. They have released two self produced CD's, Flying Over The City and Kingdom of Benevolent Strangers, as well as two albums on Wind Records in Taiwan, Ten Days in Magic Land and Bride in Legend, are entirely (save for one song) composed/written by Lin Di. Bride in Legend holds the highest production value of all their recordings to date.
Official: http://www.coldfairyland.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/coldfairyland
Cold Fairyland - Seeds on the Ground
Release Date: June 16, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 地上的種子 (Seeds on the Ground)
02. 光影遊戲 (Shadow Play)
03. 五人同遊 (Five Travelers)
04. 繚亂 (Puzzle)
05. 肅靜的旋轉 (Solemn, Silent Circle)
06. 關山月 (The Moon at the Fortified Pass)
07. 甦醒 (Reawakening)
08. 騰雲駕霧 (Cloud Riding)
09. 輪舞 (Forest Dance)
10. 冰封之國 (Ice Castle)
11. 荒城夢魘 (Ghost Town Nightmare)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [63.5MB @ 192kbps]
呂莘 (Connie Lyu) Taiwan singer-songwriter Connie Lyu returns with her second album. Connie is a well-versed musician, having trained as a pianist and guitar player since her early childhood days, and eventually began to compose her own songs too. Released in December 2007, her debut EP "Xin Dong De Shi Ke" received rave reviews, and Connie received a nomination for "Most Promising Newcomer" at Taiwan's 2008 Golden Melody Awards. Connie now returns with her all new album, featuring the title track, characterized by acoustic guitar sounds and the singer's crystal clear voice, the song is sure to receive lots of play during Connie's upcoming Taiwan tour.
Official: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/Conniesin
Connie Lyu - Hai Zi Qi De Jian Chi
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 一起去神遊 (Going on a Journey Together)
02. 孩子氣的堅持 (Childish Insistence)
03. 說情話 (Speaking Words of Love)
04. 痛痛飛 (Tong Tong Fei)
05. 不甘寂寞 (Lonely)
Download: Megaupload // Box.net [24.5MB @ 192kbps]
便利商店 (Convenience Store) I'm recycling quite a few artists, but this was highly requested for again. Well, there's no legend to the growing up story of Convenience Store. They were not born early enough to be nourished by the Hippie era. And while the pioneers of Chinese rock felt their hearts aflame with heavy metal power, they were still primary school students, following what their teachers taught them to do. But the 1990's garage wave, epitomized by Nirvana and Brit-pop led them into a brand new music territory altogether. The famous Chinese Brit-pop band has been playing catchy, melodic rock for nearly ten years. With two albums, Five Star (2003) and TV Monkey (2007), available in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Japan. There are alot of mixed reviews about this album. Some think amazing, just like the debut. Some think during the five years of the next album, the group hasn't matured at all/enough and their melodies are still those following too closely to Britpop bands like Coldplay.
Official: http://www.modernsky.com/bands/store/store_index.htm
Convenience Store - TV Monkey
Release Date: April 15, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 世界 (World)
02. 电视机 (Television)
03. Silent Day
04. Monkey Monkey
05. 我们都是科学家 (We're All Philosophers)
06. 悲伤城市 (Sad City)
07. S级生活 (S-Class Life)
08. 行者 (Freelander)
09. 金色瞬间 (Golden Moment)
10. 国王 (King)
11. 仿佛在天空里 (Budda in the Sky)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [70.3MB @ 192kbps]
達達樂隊 (The Dada) All hail the greatest of Dada Band! Now no longer in action, this was one of the greatest rock/pop-rock bands of China -- being the first to get a major music deal with the "Big 5", Warner Music. The success was rare in the world where underground bands are given little attention and it all started in 2000 with "Happy Holidays" single and their hit debut "Angel" in 2001. This was followed on my album "Golden Era" which is their must successful to date, and marks an important time for the band under a major label. The "new sound" was described as a mix of rock'n'roll, pop-rock and rock ballads with electrical music elements. Lead vocalist/composer, Peng Tan has released a solo album which can be found below.
Official: --
Other Previews:
南方 (In the South)
黃金時代 (Golden Era)
Song F
土星 (Dirt Star) An electropop band I came across only recently but I do know their lead is from Canada - which is why you can check out their myspace for downloads, previews and live info - and it's all in English!
Official: http://www.myspace.com/dirtstar00
Dirt Star - The Score
Release Date: 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 三更半夜 胡说八道 (It's Three AM in the Morning, Shut Up)
02. 茶叶蛋和阳春面 (Tea Leaf Eggs and Sunny Spring Noodles)
03. 焦糖马其朵 (Caramel Machiatto)
04. 暴力歌 (Tune of Violence)
05. 对对 = rock star (Duidui the Rock Star)
06. Hole in the Universe
07. 高高飞 (Where you fly?)
08. 多拉A梦情歌 (A Love Song for Doraemon the Robot Cat)
Download: Megaupload // Box.net [27.5MB @ 192kbps]
Elf Fatima Started on 1997, Elf Fatima are an atmospheric, Dark Pop/Post Punk, Post-Heavy-Rock-Instrumentalist, underground band consisting of Elf (vocals), Eddie (guitar), Voodoobee (bass) and Dave (drums), all from Hong Kong. They have two albums to date, the second released through Monitor Records, the iconic HK store/label which is home to a number of other indie artists, and which is the main distributor for the bulk of foreign indie music coming into Hong Kong. Elf Fatima supported Mogwai in late 2004 and can be described as being in that general realm of reverb-heavy post-rock.
Official: http://www.elf-fatima.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/elffatima
Elf Fatima - Elf Fatima
Release Date: 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Frozen Forest
02. 螻蟻
03. 破浪
04. Fourtracksonetakememory
05. 慈悲
06. 昨晚再從高處墮下
07. 喃
08. 無
09. 破浪 (Feat. Jack Or Jive)
10. 昨晚我從高處墮下 (Noise Version)
Download: Megaupload 39.1[MB @ 192kbps]
挂在盒子上 (Hang on the Box) If you cannot handle Engrish - borderline "I-don't-have-a-fucking-clue-what-is-being-sung" then you should skip this band. But otherwise, this is a three member female rock band which formed in late 1998 with it's group members being only 15 years old. Amoung the rock scene, they are one of the more popular and respected bands having been nominated for numerous awards and toured not only Asia (Taiwan, HK, Japan included) but Europe and the U.S. Did you know they even have a number of famous mainstream Chinese fans including Jackie Chan (I ABSOLUTELY cannot imagine Jackie Chan listening to them, lol), Ziyi Zhang and Gong Li and oversea fans including Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Mason? I didn't until I checked out their myspace. They stick true to their rock genre but their more recent works seeing them experimenting with new concepts mixing in psychedelic, electronia and even hip-hop.
Official: http://www.hangonthebox.net/
Hang on the Box - Di Di Di
Release Date: March 22, 2003
Tracklist & Previews:
01. I'm Mine
02. Now I Wanna Say Apology To You
03. Leave Me
04. We Don`t Need A Sax
05. Summer Time
06. What Is Now
07. Be My Seed
08. Spring Out
09. Blue Like The Sea
10. Di Di Di
11. There Is A City
12. Konchiwa Tokyo
Download: Megaupload // Box.net [39.8MB @ 192kbps]
虎子 & 王娟 (Hu Zi & Wang Juan) Bringing two artists together is always interesting. Especially when they normally mix with slightly different genres. Hu Zi started off as at the Chinese Academy of music but ended up as a DJ producing more upbeat electronica genre styled music whereas Wang Juan is a folk guitarist. Their eponymous 2005 album was conceived as an experimental marriage of acoustic and electronic music, reminiscent of the British band Portishead or Icelandic artist Bjork. I think the end results is much better than anticipated. It's a soft, dreamy album - even with the mellow electronic tunes it can produce the same effects as, say 929, a calm relazing Sunday afternoon just lazing around.
Official (Wang Juan): http://www.rivermusic.net/heyinyue/wangjuan/wangjuan.htm
Hu Zi & Wang Juan - Gemini Trip
Release Date: November 22, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 兩個人的旅行 (Gemini Trip)
02. 水滴 (Droplets)
03. 愛情國度 (Love Country)
04. 一個人的旅行 (Single Person's Trip)
05. 兆分之一鳥 (Moment from a Bird)
06. 最後的探戈 (Last Tango)
07. 我聽王娟唱歌時是這樣想的 (When I Listen to Wang Juan)
08. 最後的探戈 (Last Tango) [Finale]
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [43.2MB @ 192kbps]
潘嘉麗 (Kelly Pan) Kelly Pan (sometimes written as Kelly Poon) is a Singaporean singer who emerged from one of the Chinese singing competition held in Singapore, Project SuperStar. Before she took part in singing competitions at school level, and was often honoured with the top three positions. Kelly also began writing her own songs, which she equates to as writing of a diary. But her passion for singing took a break after graduation in 2004 when she became an air stewardess with the Singapore Airlines.
Official: http://blog.pixnet.net/kellypoon
Kelly Pan - Love Me, Kelly
Release Date: June 26, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Love Me Again
02. 愛, 無力 (Incapable Love)
03. 答案 (Answer)
04. 計時炸彈 (Time Bomb)
05. 有些愛 (Some Loves)
06. 非愛不可 (Can't Get Away From Love)
07. 那一秒說的話 (Those Words At That Moment)
08. 魔力 (Charm)
09. 美麗笨女人 (Beautifully Dumb Woman)
10. 關於愛情 Feat. Hong Jun Yang (About Love)
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [51.2MB @ 192kbps]
The Marshmallow Kisses Another Hong Kong indie duo formed by Peter and Edine. Very My Little Airport-esque. The Marshmallow Kisses are currently based in the virtual reality. Formed in 2001, the duo has released their debut EP "I wonder why my favourite boy leaves me in the rain" followed by serveral singles and contribition in compilation with worldwide artists and labels. Their songs have gained commercial success by participating in some advertising campaigns of Nike, Mc Donald, JVC and so on.
Official: http://www.themarshmallowkisses.com/
The Marshmellow Kisses - Memories. Rotation. Dance.
Release Date:
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 回憶. 旋轉. 舞步. (Memories. Rotation. Dance.)
02. The Best Days It Used To Be (Soft Mix)
Download: Megaupload // Box.net [10.5MB @ 192kbps]
自然捲 (Natural Q) One of my first Chinese indie bands - so always will be my first love. Their first album was upbeat, funky and sunny (very closly cross the line with pop) with really cute lyrics and their second album is alot of mellow. However after their second album the duo, Chico and Waa, have split up and ended the day with a farewell single. Waa (female vocalist) has debuted as a solo artist under her name, Wei Ru Xuan. Although this upsetted alot of fans, Chi reformed Natural Q going from a two people duo to a four piece band with new members Riecky, Yang Ming and A-Lih. They have already released a new album under this new make up in summer 2008.
Official (old): http://naturalq.agoodday.com
Natural Q - C'est La Vie No. 2
Release Date: December 30, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 鱼罐头
02. 像我这样的女孩
03. 买
04. 修鞋的阿伯
05. Ich Liebe Dich
06. 答应要
07. 计程车
08. 小苹果
09. 牧羊人
10. 搬家
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [57.2MB @ 192kbps]
P.K. 14 Catergorized as a post-punk band, Beijing's quartet has made it as one of Time's Asia Best Bands. Do I need to say more? From TIME "P.K. 14's thrashing chords, dark bass lines and frenetic beats resonate with echoes of Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Fugazi and the New York Dolls. But the Beijing band's charismatic vocalist, Yang Haisong, 34, says he takes his lead from songwriters such as "Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and a whole generation of protest musicians." Think of P.K. 14, in other words, as neither punk nor postpunk but postfolk."
Official: http://www.pk14.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pk14
Other Previews:
Some Accidents Happen To Early
燥眠夜 (Dry Dormancy Night)
The Pancakes The greatest indie acts in Hong Kong - here comes "My Little Aiport's" predecessor. First notice the name, it's "Pancakes" - plural. But this is actually a one woman band - consisting of Dejay Choi and only Dejay Choi. Her real name is still unknown to the public but she graduated from University of Hong Kong and went on to work full time as a singer/songwriter. When producing her albums, she literally is a one woman band. She does nearly everything herself from of her albums, from musical composition, lyrics writing, singing, recording to production to playing the instruments. The Pancakes has been involved in themesongs and advertistment campaigns her own record label, Rewind Records, which handles the management and promotion for the Pancakes.
Official: http://www.thepancakes.com/
Other Previews:Chill Pill
Bad Boy
Jane and Jenny
彭坦 (Peng Tan) Peng Tan started off as frontman to mainland band, The Dada - considered to be one of the first ever Chinese rock bands to get signed on the "Big 5" major music labels, Warner. They have disbaned, but Peng Tan came back with a solo release in summer 2007. The singer/songwriter takes the same approach to music as he did many years, and his quality is still as high as ever. Apart from his musical ablilities, China (and the world) loves him due to his idol looks - he could easily rival those looks of members of Fahrenheit or F4 -- but his music has far surpassed them on many levels. Hell, he's even on iTunes (Japan) if you can't find it as YesAsia.
Official: http://blog.sina.com.cn/pengtanmusic
Peng Tan - Teen Spirit
Release Date: July 23, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 燈塔 (Light House)
02. 風兒帶著我們飄 (We Float with the Wind)
03. N的進行曲 (March of N)
04. 美麗的漩渦 (Beautiful Whirlpools)
05. 少年故事 (Teen Spirit)
06. 走馬燈 (Revolving Scenic Lantern)
07. 甜蜜蜜 (Sweet)
08. 樹葉 (Tree Leaves)
09. 孔雀 (Peacock)
10. Game Over
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [60.4MB @ 192kbps]
Proximity Butterfly I don't really know too much about this band as I'm not too much a fan of the music. But copied and apsted from their MySpace: "Proximity Butterfly is a highly philosophically charged project that began in Chengdu, China in the August of 2003. PB consists of a drummer, bassist, guitarist, saxophone/ clarinet/ trumpet and eyes like angels coming from Canada, Germany, France and America. The story of the band expresses the maturity that exists in its seriousness towards the human subject. 'It becomes the conundrum of itself; that which brings her flight and being.'"
Official: www.proximitybutterfly.com
Other Previews:
Halo
St. Davide
Stallions of Stop
后海大鲨鱼 (Queen Sea Big Shark) They made a break through last year and I'm sure their names were on the tongues of main electro/rock lovers. Queen Sea Big Shark was formed in 2005 and almost from the very beginning became one of the most watched bands in the Beijing scene and one of the most admired among the younger bands. They have a hard, funky but also very rocking sound that in some ways recreates the New York scene of the early 1980s. Like bands of that time and period - Bush Tetras, the Contortions, ESG - the Sharks combine tight rhythms with very loud, raunchy guitars. Musically among the most sophisticated bands in Beijing, Queen Sea Big Shark are immensely focused in both their song writing and their performances. Their stage act displays a ferocious discipline that consists of Cao Pu’s guitar (one of the best guitarists in Beijing) backed by an incredibly tight rhythm section. All of this control anchors the band in a way that throws singer Fu Han’s out-of-control gyrations and frantic singing into sharp relief. Fu Han’s spectacular stage presence is at the heart of the band’s power and makes their live act one of the best in China, and it doesn’t seem to matter to their stage show whether the audience consists of hundreds of screaming fans or a few friends. However if you're looking for another female frontman with the voice of a gem, Fu Han isn't one of them. Her vocal range isn't strong, but it's the in-your-face music and attitude that attract you to this band.
Official:
Queen Sea Big Shark - Queen Sea Big Shark
Release Date: December 31, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 閃電大都會 (Lightning Metropolis)
02. 硬心 (Hard Heart)
03. 不!不!不! (No! No! No!)
04. 老虎死跳舞 (Tiger Dance)
05. 親吻!乾掉!砰! (Kiss!Kill!Bang!)
06. 女猛獸 (Girl Boss)
07. 月亮上的人兒啊 (Man On The Moon)
08. 你好,過去人! (Hello!Passengers)
09. 我想拉你的手 (Hold Your Hand)
10. Dirty Mind
11. 金錢笨蛋 (Money Fxxker)
12. 姐妹女士 (Lady Sisters)
13. 走你 (Go Away)
14. 愛是熱門 (Love Is Pop)
Download: Megaupload [MB @ kbps]
清醒 (Sober) This is one of my more recntly discovered bands (it was actually from the Modern Sky Festival this year) and info limited, even in Chinese. This rock band is from Beijing and has four members: Shen Lihui (vocalist), Yu Kai (guitar), Zhang Yang (keyboards) and Yi Huan (drums) - though it seems all members can play the guitar as well. Even though it's a band I only recently came across, they're one of the oldest in Modern Sky releasing their first album in the early days of the company opening with Shen Li-hui participating himself.
Official:
Other Previews:
咖啡胡椒 (Coffee Pepper)
在灿烂的夜空下 (Under the Brilliant Night Sky)
壹 (One)
SUBS A true punk new rock band of Beijing. SUBS was formed in the cold Beijing winter of 2002 by vocalist Kang Mao, guitarist Wu Hao, drummer Shi Xudong and bass player Sun Xia, but the band would have to wait a few months until the present bass player, Zhu Lei came along and finalized the line-up. SUBS gathers inspiration for their screaming punk rock pleasures from bands such as the Hives, Fugazi and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, while at the same time making their own distinct mark on the world of rock. Meanwhile, at home, Subs self-produced and -released two albums: Subs Life EP (2004) that quickly sold out, and, in September 2006, the seven-track Down. The band has been on several extensive China tours and has been crowd favorites at each of the annual Midi Music Festivals at which they have performed. In January 2007, they were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone (China).
Official: http://subs.blogcn.com/
Other Previews:
Down
Brother
Drew The Line
果味VC (Super VC) This British indie-rock band has been together since 1993. Their debut album Double Life was produced by Zhang Ya Dong, a renowned producer for Faye Wong. Now that vocalist Sun Lingsheng is currently studying in England, the band is active whenever he returns to China during vacations. They were awarded China’s Gold Disk Award for Best Group in 2006. A snippet of review about "A Gift from SuperVC": A wall of sound with thick, multi-layered guitars and subdued vocals, never overwhelms their strong sense of melody. All said, Super VC are no clones; hey, they even include one song, “Amy & Betty” in French.
Official:
SuperVC - A Gift from SuperVC
Release Date: August 08, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. C调哀歌
02. 优雅
03. Kiss me
04. 海岸
05. 零下
06. 北极冰川
07. 叁壹陆
08. 降落
09. 石像
10. 最后的诗
11. Amy & Betty
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [37.8MB @ 192kbps]
與非門 (Yu Fei Men) One of my other favourites. A mix of electropop with a traditional Chinese twist, or as some prefer to put it Indietronica. The debuted in 2001 and their first albums gained much attention and critical acclaim, making the group; Jiangfan (vocalist), Sanshao (composer, vocalist) and A-qing (guitar) well known among even mainstreamers. Not exactly Jay Chou vs. Leehom Chinese modern R&B twist, more like Major Theory vs. The Chinese Orchestra - mixed with the vocals, it gives off a ethereal, nearly hauting feel.
Official: http://www.yfm.cn/
Yu Fei Men - A Luo Ji
Release Date: October 20, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 舊話
02. 1061
03. I Want My TV
04. Singing Machine
05. 改變
06. 風起雲湧 (Instrumental Version)
07. 樂園
08. Happy Girl
09. 夢蝶
10. 風起雲湧
11. 王菲的回眸
Download: Megaupload // 4shared [52.3MB @ 192kbps]
So what do you think? Like anything? Want to hear more from who? Over the two posts I think I've named around 50 artists, so I do hope you find at least something you've liked. And I've pretty much squeezed out all my indie stuff so don't be expecting any more posts like this. Because I've now had enough of Chinese indie we're moving back the Korean music, and I'll be throwing in some Japanese stuff.