INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE INDIE-POP-ROCK-ACOUSTIC
Because someone asked me to upload more Chinese indie this post came about. When I see many popular indie names which people seem to enjoy I feel you should check out many others -- some even better, even though they've achieved less commercial success.
This post contains a little info on more than 25 Chinese indie/pop/rock/acoustic artists - from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. I do have albums from all these artists but I got lazy finding/uploading some of them so only for a few I enjoy more I've included full albums but all have previews and recommended tracks which you can listen to. You can preview all the music at Box.net just by clicking on the links and the "PLAY" button, a new window with a music player will open up - but if possible please refrain downloading those with albums because bandwidth kills. Or if you prefer - there's a widget playlist at the bottom of the post for you listen through to all/selected songs (just click the little speaker thing). If you would like to hear more from a specific artist (or for me to upload a full album) and maybe ask me questions feel free to, although sometimes I won't be able to help as there's limited information and I've already included official website/blog links.
As for personal favourites I would start with Tizzy Bac (band), Cheer Chen (female solo), Natural Q (disbanded), Hopscotch (duo) and Peggy Hsu (female solo).
ღ Please COMMENT if you're taking ♥ and for all previous updates, remember to check the Community Tags and/or the Masterlist first and if you come across a dead link, then request for a reupload. For higher quality album art, click the thumbnail(s). This post will be public for a few days and I'll tag this properly when I have time
929 An acoustic indie duo with simple and pure relaxing tunes, perfect for a Sunday lying in. They have so far released one full studio album (which has sold out on YA) but continuously produce new tracks for compilations and EP's.
Official: http://929.agoodday.com/
929; 929 (Self Titled Debut)
Release Date: April 26, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 渺小
02. 什么都不做 (Do Nothing)
03. 飞翔
04. 下游的老人
05. 简单的方式
06. 夏天 (Summer)
07. 简单的方式 (海边版)
Download: Megaupload [41.1MB @ 192kbps]
Other Previews:
01.也许像星星 (Maybe Just Like A Star)
有耳非文 (Arumimihifumi) Dubbed as the indie queen of Hong Kong, singer-songwriter Arumimihifumi thinks of herself as a one-woman band, and indeed her music provides enough innovative sounds and sincere music to put many multi-membered Hong Kong groups to shame. At the age of 19 she came to K to study backstage management and at the same time released several quite successful indie albums. In order to further improve her dance technique, during 2006 she went to New York Broadway to attend dance classes, auditions & performances there. Her most popular hit to date would be from her sophomore major label release, which includes the themesong to Tokyo Tower, Hong Kong release.
Official: --
Preview:
01. 黑衣人 (Black Coat Guy)
at17 Originated from Hong Kong, the female duo brings a indie-pop to mainstream music. at 17 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. Wikipedia describes their music style as "Folktronica".
Official:http://www.peoplemountainpeoplesea.com/at17/
Preview:
01. 请你不要睡好吗 (Please Don't Fall Asleep)
曹方 (Cao Fang) And no, not the Chinese historical Emperor. Cao Fang is among the favourite indie female vocalists out there. Her voice is just so relaxing and touching, avnd even more when you pair it up with the guitar and piano strings. There really is no way to describe her music except pure beauty to the ears. For years, Cao Fang has been making headway as a fixture in China's indie music scene. Her first album, Black Perfume, was highly regarded by critics for melding Chinese pop sensibilities with alternative rock arrangements but had little commercial success. Her second album, Meet Me, was released in 2005 and went on to sell over 100,000 copies, a strong sales showing for an indie musician. She then went on to release a five track EP under her own independant label, promoting against illegal downloading. Her words: "You can download my music, but you can't download my life" - which is why she packed part of her "life" into this EP, in the form of a personal diary during the whole EP recording process.
Official: http://www.caofang.net/
Cao Fang; Farther Than They Sky
Release Date: November 06, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 夜晚 (Night)
02. 比天空还远 (Farther Than the Sky)
03. 最小的海 (Smallest Ocean)
04. 忽略
05. 夏末的萨克斯手
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [27.2MB @ 192kbps]
Other Previews:
01. 黑色香水 (Black Perfume)
卡奇社 (Carrchy)Indie-Pop duo from China - their musical style can described as melodic electro-pop. Singer/songwriter Keli and Fly have been based in Beijing for the past several years and since released a debut album, Sunshine all over the City, which was very well received by both indie and mainstream listeners.
Official: http://www.thecarrchy.com/
Carrchy; Sunshine All Over The City
Release Date: 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 日光傾城
02. 唯蟲
03. 遊園驚夢
04. 假面舞會
05. DIDADI
06. 讓我睡著吧
07. 吸血鬼
08. 壞唇味
09. 紅色
10. 日光傾城 (伴奏)
11. 遊園驚夢 (伴奏)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [66.1MB @ 192kbps]
陳綺貞 (Cheer Chen) Cheer is an popular indie-pop, singer-songwriter from Taiwan - her other skills include playing the guitar and piano. She writes most of her own music and lyrics, and has produced several of her recordings independently. In 2006, Chen won the Best Music Album Producer and Best Music Video awards at the 17th Golden Melody Awards. During that same year, she was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Album of the Year. Her music is a mix of everything, earlier on she focused more on folk but now has progressed to rock, bossanova, pop and even splashes in some classical influences. She takes her time to produce her albums, keeping fans on the edge of their seats - her earlier albums, Groupies, shows a more softer Cheer with sweet, refreshing vocals accompanied by her acoustic guitar. One of her later studio albums (uploaded below), Magnificent Adventure, shows a slightly more rock side - the songs are more strong and heavy. To her earlier fans it may seem as a slight dissapointment, but you can feel Cheer growing with her music and after a few listens, you'll be hooked.
Official: http://www.cheerego.com/
Cheer Chen; Magnificent Adventure
Release Date: December 16, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 旅行的意义 (Significance of Traveling)
02. 腐朽 (Decay)
03. Sentimental Kills
04. 华丽的冒险 (Magnificent Adventure)
05. 太多 (Too Much)
06. 花的姿态 (Posture of Flower)
07. Self
08. 80%完美的日子 (Days of 80% Perfection)
09. 表面的和平 (Peace on the Surface)
10. 静静的生活 (Living Peacefully)
11. 最初的起点 (The Beginning)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [77.5MB @ 256VBR]
Other Previews:
01. 小步舞曲 (A Little Step) [Acoustic Live Version]
02. 女明星 (Super Star) [Cheer Chen Live Version]
03. 女明星 (Super Star) [Karena Lam Version]
04. 还是会寂寞 (Lonely Without You) [Cover by Selina of S.H.E]
05. After17
櫻桃幫 (Cherry Boom) Formed in 2003, Cherry Boom is a Taiwanese rock band, that consists of Zha Zha (vocalist), Xiao Qian (bassist), Gua (guitarist) and Da Tian (drummer). Signed on by Universal Music in 2006, the quartet released their first album, Dear Prince that same year. They started off as four students of Fu-Jen Catholic University, a university also previously attended by famous mando-pop singer Jolin Tsai and F.I.R. band vocalist Faye. They are now a talented group (of females) that compose their own songs and play their own instruments - with two highly success albums under their belt.
Official: http://www.umusic.com.tw/Microsite/cherryboom/
Cheery Boom; My Dear Prince
Release Date: July 13, 2006
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 清新的早晨 (Sweet Morning)
02. 親愛的王子 (My Dear Prince)
03. 秘密花園 (Secret Garden)
04. 再見我的愛 (Good-bye My Love)
05. 蝕月 (Eclipse of the Moon)
06. I Wanna Rock
07. 我的空氣 (The Air of My Breath)
08. 小丑世界 (The World Full of Clowns)
09. 不對也要愛 (Must Love Though It's Not Right)
10. 黑夜來臨 (The Coming of the Dark)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [60.5MB @ 192kbps]
冷酷仙境 (Cold Fairyland) 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. An epic tale of a young girls journey to understand her place in a strange and harsh land as she travels to an arranged marriage. It encompasses more of the traditional Chinese music spectrum on record than the heavier live versions.
Official: http://www.coldfairyland.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/coldfairyland
Preview:
01. 地上的种子 (Seeds on the Ground)
02. 光影游戏
03. Cold Fairytale - 缭乱
便利商店 (Convenience Store) 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 - Convenience Store has solidified themselves as one of the best and widely respected Brit-pop bands around.
Official: http://www.modernsky.com/bands/store/store_index.htm
Preview:
01. 世界 (World)
02. Silent Day
coverpeople I can find close to nothing on this band -- and even in Chinese. All I know is it's a band, recently turned to major music label to release their debut, uploaded below. You might recognise the name from a preivous indie Best of Album I uploaded a while ago.
Official: --
coverpeople; Us
Release Date: October 30, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 我们 (Us)
02. 九月 (September)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [11.5MB @ 192kbps]
深绿海 (The Deep Green Sea) Before being signed on under independant music label, Orange, the members had been together for five years. They have been named as one of the top ten major newcomers. Their first live performances date back to 2002 in Chongqing where they brought a new unique music exchange to fans, five years on and they are still experimenting different directions, mixing in indie, post-rock, brit-pop and trip-hop as well as previously explored alternative folk and electronic styles. In April, the debuted with a long awaited album in which all members participated in production -- and their attack on music started. Their moto has always been "Listen to music, enjoy music and enjoy life", so if you live by the same philosophy, their music is for you.
Official: --
The Deep Green Sea; DEEP
Release Date:
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Twenty-fiveminutes
02. Bluemoon
03. Freedom (Folk Version)
04. Thesaddestsmile
05. Traveler's Diary
06. Freedom
07. Bluemoon(Trip-hop Version)
08. Nooneulb
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [68.3MB @ 320kbps]
張懸 (Deserts Zhang) I'm sure many who keep up with the indie scene are familar with Deserts Zhang who signed onto major label, SONY BMG -- at first many fans were worried, we all know wat mainstream producing can lead to, and many indie artists start to lose their original style. But Deserts never made that mistake. Her album release is more of a plus side to her music, not a release to try and establish a place in music, and many consider her to be one of the leading alternative musicians in the Chinese music industry - actually her debut contains her music written between the ages of 13 and 19. Her presence in the alternative music scene was demonstrated in the 18th Golden Melody Awards, where she received four award nominations. Her debut album was nominated for Best Mandarin Album along with mainstream musicians such as Jolin Tsai. It was previously considered unthinkable for a high-profile Chinese language music awards show to nominate independent artists in its major categories. The singer's growing popularity in both Taiwan and mainland China also grew. At the 7th Chinese Music Media Awards in Hong Kong, Chang received the award for Best New Mandarin Artist.
Her voice is beautiful and unique, it's sort of sweet and glossy but at the same time deep and sexy, very haunting (in a good way). I think the favourite description I came across would be; "She smokes, drinks and swears, and is unlike the cutesy mass-market acts that dominate the Mando-pop industry."
Official: http://www.sonymusic.com.tw/pop/deserts/
Deserts Zhang; My Life Will...
Release Date: June 09, 2006
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Scream
02. 寶貝 [In the Night] (Baby)
03. 迷惑 (Confused)
04. So?!
05. Ain't My Man
06. My Life Will
07. 酒館300秒 (Scatter 300 Seconds)
08. 新任的樣子 (New Appearance)
09. 無狀態 (Unstately)
10. 馬來貘 (Ma Lai Mo)
11. 寶貝 [In the Day] (Baby)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [41.5MB @ 192kbps]
Other Previews:
01. 親愛的 (Dear)
02. 討人厭的字 (Most Hated Word)
03. 模樣 (Apperance)
回聲樂團 (Echo) An indie pop/rock band formed in Tzing-Hua University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan in 1998. Their uniquely mixing of modern Chinese poetic lyrics and Neo-Psychedelia Rock style music let them soon became the most popular band in the indie music community. After one year of live performing, Echo were signed to Crystal Records, and released their debut album “Sensual Drive” in 2002. It earned recommendations by tens of musicians and media, and achieved a rarely success in Taiwan indie music industry. At the same year, the band won the Chinese Pop Music Media Awards for “Best New Band” in China. After making experimental flim soundtracks in 2003, the band released the concept EP “The Last Journey of Youth” in Dec. 2004, and began a Great China tour in 2005.
Official: http://www.echoband.com/
Echo; Bastille Day
Release Date: July 23, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 巴士底之日 (Changlish Version)
02. 鐘聲行進
03. 被溺愛的渴望
04. 佛陀
05. 爸爸歌
06. 夢歌
07. Love to Go
08. 新世紀的你和我
09. 地震歌
10. Please Stay
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [93.1MB @ 256kbps]
Other Previews:
01. 木雕轮盘 (Wood-Carved Disk)
楊乃文 (Faith Yang) Faith is a rock musician and fashion model. Born in Taiwan, but she grew up in Sydney, Australia and studied biology and genetics at Sydney University. After graduating from Sydney University Faith returned to Taiwan to start a music career. Her first two albums are heavily influenced by the Australian pub rock style, with a gothic undertone noticeable in tracks such as "Silence", "Fear" and "Monster", while her third album has a lighter pop style, with only hints of the anger evident in the first two recordings. All three albums were huge hits in Taiwan and in 2000 Faith won the Taiwan Golden Music awards for Best Female Performer and Best Album. Faith did not renew her contract with Magicstone, claiming the label had become too commercial for her style of music. In 2004 it was reported that she had signed with Sony label Silver Fish Records, but no new albums have been produced so far.
Official: http://www.faithyang.com/
Faith Yang; Continuation
Release Date: December 01, 2006
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 女爵 (Dame)
02. 我離開我自己 (I'm Leaving Myself)
03. 分開 (Split)
04. 懂還是不懂 (Understand or Not)
05. 今天清晨 (Early This Morning)
06. 微笑著揮手 (A Smile and A Wave)
07. 之前 (After)
08. 電視機 (Television)
09. 沙塵暴 (Sandstorm)
10. 繼續 (Continue)
11. Be in love + Hidden Track
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [72.7MB @ 256kbps]
Other Previews:
Hopscotch Established in 2000, Hopscotch is made up of two members: main vocalist Tian Yuan and guitarist Li Tao. Originally formed by Li Tao and another fellow, the band only began to shine after a high school girl joined in-that was Tian Yuan. Upon the release of their first album A Wishful Way in 2003, the main vocalist was only 17. However, the murky and sophisticated way of singing this vocalist brings to the band doesn't quite match her age. Tian Yuan's haunting, sensitive and even slightly hypnotic voice becomes an attraction. The first album was influenced by trip-hop and indie rock, and well received by some critics and general public in China due to its fresh sound. Tian Yuan's singing career paused temporarily when a contract dispute occurred between her and Modernsky. Tian Yuan is now recording her first solo album under a new label, Dong Music. A Wishful Way was released in 2003, and was an immediate surprise. Its release marked the first time an English album was released on the Chinese mainland by a domestic band. And their style was so very different from the monotony of mainstream music. They were also different from any of the angry underground metal bands around. More appreciable by young intellectuals, Hopscotch used a mix of Indie-rock and trip-hop.
Official: http://www.modernsky.com/bands/hopscotch/hopscotch_index.htm
Preview:
01. She
02. A Wishful Way
黃雅莉 (Huang Ya Li) Coming out 6th place (losing out to the likes of Jane Zhang and Bibi Zhou) in the Super Girls 2005 singing contest Ya Li's debut produced cute and fun pop/rock sounding music with the ever popluar mixing of Chinese elements.
Official Blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/huangyali
Preview:
01. 蝴蝶泉边 (By the Butterfly Spring)
王菀之 (Ivana Wong)
Ivana is actually quite (actually, make that very) mainstream, but as a Cantonese originating singer/songwriter, she brings something slightly different and has a great soft voice as well as being able to perform live on the piano. She signed for Universal Music n 2004 as an all-round artist (composer, lyricist and singer). On 5 October 2004, she sang with Jacky Cheung in his live performance and this gained her recognition. Other than writing songs for herself, Wong has also composed several songs for various artists, including names like Jacky Cheung, Sammi Cheng and Jolin Tsai.
Official: http://www.umg.com.hk/profile/profile.php?profile_no=46
Preview:
01. Follow You
02. 愛與奇異果 (Love vs. Kiwi Fruit)
王若琳 (Joanna Wang) Taiwan singer Joanna Wang, gifted with unique jazz vocals, Wang earned her applause in her early teens; and when she was 18, she entered the music scene with her first studio album (containing mainly English tracks), Start From Here. It includes three self-penned songs by Joanna and renditions of classics like Spandau Ballet's TRUE, Billy Joel's New York State of Mind and I Love You, Joanna's take on David Tao's popular ballad "Love is Simple". Adored by her followers as the Queen of Midnight, Joanna's amazing voice has indeed helped to relax tired spirits.
Official:
Joanna Wang; Start From Here
Release Date: January 18, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
Disc 1 (English):
01. Let's Start From Here
02. Lost In Paradise
03. As Love Begins to Mend
04. Bada Bada
05. Lost Taipei
06. The Best Mistake I've Ever Made
07. I Love You
08. For No Reason
09. Stages of Flying
10. Now
11. True
12. New York State of Mind
Disc 2 (Chinese):
01. 迷宮 (Maze)
02. 有你的快樂 (Happiness of Having You)
03. Now
04. 因為你愛我 (Because You Love Me)
05. For No Reason
Download: (Disc 1) Megaupload // Sendspace [67.6MB @ 192kbps]
Download: (Disc 2) Megaupload // Sendspace [25.8MB]
旅行团 (The Life Journey) Newly signed on a contract with one of the biggest Indie music labels, Modern Sky, in 2005. Their sound is a mix of pop-rock and acoustic indie - a fresh, calming, plesant sound.
Official:
The Life Journey; Lai Fu Jiao Ni
Release Date: May 08, 2008
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Intro
02. 回到巴巴拉拉的城堡
03. The Story Of Sun & I (Album Edition)
04. 罗马假日
05. My Desert
06. Panda
07. Take Me Away
08. 稻田间
09. 全世界都在水里游
10. Dog Dog Dogs
11. 中央花园
12. Lonely Day
Download: Sendspace [95.3MB @ 320kbps]
拜金小姐 (Material Girls) Not much on this band except it's an indie-pop duo fronted by Sandee Cheng (Taiwan) and Veroncia Lee (Hong Kong). Sandee Cheng is an acclaimed indie/rock artist/songwriter/producer has taken away many prestigious music awards -- recently including Best Album and Album Producer at the 16th Golden Melody Awards beating out competition like Jay Chou and Leehom (this is the reason I love awards like Golden Melody -- they actually take into account the MUSIC).
Official: http://material-girls.com/
Preview:
01. 蝶恋花 (Butterfly Loves Flowers)
范曉萱 (Mavis Fan)
A Taiwanese pop singer who also plays flute and piano.
She started off at 17 years old singing bubblegum pop children's songs, but in the late 1990s she rebelled against everything she did and adopted a more mature image, singing in a variety of pop/rock/jazz styles for a more general audience. Now she sings for herself -- to enjoy what she wants, to express what she wants and she most certainly does what she wants.
Official: http://www.willlin.com/artists_mavis.htm
Preview:
01. 战 (Battle)
02. 幸福合作社 (Happiness And Harmony Group)
牛奶@咖啡 (milk@coffee) A Chinese indie-pop duo consisting of female singer Kiki (originally a fashion magazine paitner) and Ge Fei (a game player) on keyboard and guitar. They were discovered by a music company early in 2004. After a year of preparation, they began distribution of their first album. Soon after the success they went on to reveal their sophomore album. Gefei take in charge of production work while Kiki take the melody and lyrics parts. Their special thoughts and life attitude mixed different music style. You will never feel fickleness when you listen to milk@coffee's music because they have a firm belief in life and creativity.
Official:
Preview:
01. 我不是Rock N'Roll (I'm Not Rock N'Roll)
02. 越长大越孤单 (More Grown Up, More Lonely)
03. 穿越珊瑚海 (Across The Coral Sea)
04. 燃烧吧！小宇宙 (Burning! Little Universe)
My Little Airport My Little Airport is a Hong Kong-based indie pop band (second to no other than THE PANCAKES). Their lyrics are marked by spelling, grammar, and rhythm inflected by Hong Kong English. P (Lam Pang) plays the guitar and Nicole (Nicole Au Kin-ying) sings. The band got its start while the two were students at Hong Kong Shue Yan College, writing songs in both English and Chinese. After making the top ten on Hong Kong's Cantopop-obsessed mainstream charts, My Little Airport sparked increased interest in the city's indie music scene. They established Harbour Records with four other indie bands from Hong Kong, and on it released their 2004 debut album "The OK Thing to Do on Sunday Afternoon Is to Toddle in the Zoo". In 2006 they joined Elefant Records, hoping to gain distribution beyond Hong Kong's small indie fanbase. The duo is also notable for their quirky song titles, often addressed to friends ("Leo, Are You Still Jumping Out of Windows in Expensive Clothes?", "Victor, Fly Me to Stafford") and celebrities ("Gigi Leung Is Dead", "Faye Wong, About Your Eyebrows"). As well as that they have great album covers -- all of them tell of an innocent day in life on the front, but the back would normally tell a different story. Although not crazily hiliarous or ridiculously perverted -- they just add a dash of what My Little Airport is. A duo who are different to all those other guitar pop bands of Hong Kong.
Official: http://www.mylittleairport.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mylittleairport
My Little Airport;
We Can't Stop Smoking In The Vicious And Blue Summer
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. j'ai peur
02. japan實瓜
03. 我愛官恩娜，都不及愛你的哨牙 (I Love Ella Koon, But Not as Much as I Love Your Buckteeth
04. 馬田的心事 (Martin's Mind)
05. 讓我搭一班會爆炸的飛機 (Let Me Take a Plane That Will Explode)
06. indie悲歌 (Indie Sad Song)
07. 奇人的離職 (Separation of Two Strange People)
08. frankie wants to be alone
09. 悲傷的採購 (Sad Shopping)
10. 荔枝角公園 (Lai Chi Kok Park)
11. je pense a toi
12. 畢業變成失業 (Graduation Means Unemployment)
13. 美孚根斯堡與白田珍堡金
14. 和陳五msn (MSN with Chan)
15. Debbie, don't send this song to others
16. dolly and bb will not wake up anymore
17. my little k and j
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [50.3MB @ 128kbps]
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.
Official: http://naturalq.agoodday.com
Natural Q; A Good Day
Release Date: March 3, 2005
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 天气晴 (The Weather is Clear)
02. 下雨了 (It's Raining)
Download: Megaupload // Sendspace [11.1MB @ 192kbps]
許哲珮 (Peggy Hsu) A Taiwanese singer/songwriter in her early years, but she has so much talent I can't wait to see her future releases. Rising to fame with her debut album, Ballons, Peggy has received much recognition including awards Best Newcomer (2002), Top 10 Song (Balloons), Top Lyricist (2003) and more recently Best Album Producer (2007) which her up the top of the table along with the likes of Jay Chou, Tanya Chua etc. She's actually more pop/ballad with slight influences of bossanova, jazz but her tunes are calming and relaxing. I was going to hit myself that I didn't know she released a second album in 2007 - it was during that time I had no Internet and I didn't both tracking back. This would have been in my top 2007 Chinese albums.
YesAsia [Wish Box]: Taiwanese singer/songwriter Peggy Hsu shot to fame through her 2001 debut "Balloon", for which she received numerous music awards. Now she unveils her talent again on her latest highly anticipated album, "Peggy's Wish Box". It features numerous music elements including jazz, Bossa Nova, synthesizer rhythms, and rock. Music lovers can look forward to the principal track "Lunatic" whose 3-D animation music video cost the tremendous sum of one million Taiwanese dollars. Loaded with ample romantic imagination, the sound on Peggy's all new release promises to sweep her listeners off their feet.
Official: http://www.peggyhsu.com/
Peggy Hsu; Wish Box
Release Date: May 10, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 夢境 - INTRO
02. 永遠在一起
03. Finding Neverland
04. 白日夢飛行
05. 皇宮前的手風琴 - INTERLUDE I
06. 德國下雪了
07. Pink Dress
08. Angel Man
09. 玻璃鞋
10. 瘋子
11. 水晶球
12. 音樂盒 - INTERLUDE II
13. 芭蕾舞者
14. Spinning Accordion - INTERLUDE III
15. 永遠在一起了
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01. 汽球 (Balloon)
02. 一個人浪漫 (One Person's Romance)
PixelToy PixelToy was formed by Ho Shan and lead singer Candy Wu in the summer of 2001. The two music lovers studied in the same university, and discovered in a conversation that they shared the same taste in music so much that they had to form their own band. They invited a friend to be a guitarist and participated in the annual "Teenage Band Competition" organised by Warehouse, in which they won the "Best Adapted Song" Award and started to be noticed. PixelToy has since become a patron in performances in schools or indie music scenes. Apart from enhancing their performing experience, they also actively plugged their music to all indie record labels. In 2002, PixelToy released three songs in three collective albums produced by the indie label "89268". Amongst them, "Happy X Festival" has once climbed up to the 18th rank on the CR2 903 Billboard, the most important music chart in Hong Kong. Both of the PixelToy members are true all-rounded artistes. They both take part in melody composition of their songs, while Ho Shan focuses on music arrangement and producing, Candy is mainly the lyricist apart from being the lead singer. In addition, Candy herself is a Graphic Designer and the designer of PixelToy's Official Web site, while Ho Shan acted as a MV Director for some of their own songs. In May 2005 they released their first album, "The Science of Love". The album was critically acclaimed and has a satisfactory sales performance. Two years on, they went to release their second album, O...Oh with a selection of Mandarin songs.
Official: http://www.pixeltoy.org/
Preview:
01. 写一首诗 (Write a Poem)
02. 一流 (Top Brand)
03. 说说看 (Hear and See)
声音玩具 (Sound Toy) SoundToy is a post-rock/indie/folk band based in Chengdu. Sound Toy's front man, a former teacher, founded the band and is its lead vocalist. The astounishing diversity in their play, the richness of their sounds and the emotions they awake in their listeners are just a few of Sound Toy's features that make every show unique and an experience of its own. Using all different kind of instruments up to the big emperor drums, Sound Toy's songs reach deep into the souls and hearts of those that listen and tell stories of forgotten times and lost loves. Surplusing their emotional sounds with a partly melancholic, partly flowing voice, Sound Toy's music is more of a poem woven into the air, more a piece of art, a painting in all colors of the rainbow, then plain tones and notes. The band Soundtoy was founded in July 2001, after being renamed from 朝聖者的背叛楽隊 (Chaoshengzhe de Beipan), the starting members had been Qu Bo, Li Hun and Huang Jin. In April 2002, Li Hun left the band, and guitarist Xiulu was the replacement.
Official: http://www.soundtoy.net/
Preview:
01. 星期天大街 (Sunday Street)
02. 未来 (Future)
03. 秘密的爱 (Secret Love)
孫燕姿 (Stefanie Sun) Stefanie is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, as a diva of the mainstream music industry she is actually one of the best and one you shoudl try out. She has sold over 10 million copies of her albums during the span of her career thus far. Her first two albums achieved reat commercial success and her third out sold them both. From all this success in 2003, she took a break from music, believing that she needs to recover her lost sense of direction in her career. She came back with new confidence and released a self-titled album marking the new Stefanie. Stefanie has always mentioned before that her priority is to make quality music, instead of over-commercialized products that sell well but have a lower level of artistic quality. So when her next album wasn't as commercially successful she never gave up and instead worked on her next album. The 10th album, Against The Light, has been a major success in Asia. In Taiwan, it sold over 60,000 copies in the first 3 days it was released. In addition, over 500,000 copies were sold within a week in Mainland China.
Official: http://www.emimusic.com.tw/artist/info/530
Stefanie Sun; Stefanie
Release Date: October 28, 2004
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 奔 (Run)
02. 我的愛 (My Love)
03. 祝你開心 (Wish you Happiness)
04. 我也很想他 (I Miss Him Too)
05. 聽見 (Heard)
06. 慢慢來 (Take It Easy)
07. 同類 (Same Kind)
08. 種 (Species)
09. 反過來走走 (Turn The Way Around)
10. Stefanie
11. Let's Vino
12. 未知的精彩 (Unknown Brilliance)
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雷光夏 (Summer Lei) Her music is like a story into her life. Her lyrics are pure and simple and she sings about her friends, family and life in general. She has a deep, graceful voice that fuses with her relaxing, soft piano and string melodies.
Official: http://www.cizoo.com/summer/
Preview:
01. 我的80年代 (Our 80's)
02. 黑暗之光 (The Light of Darkness)
蔡健雅 (Tanya Chua) Tanya, a Singaporean singer is now a renowned name in Asia but she actually started off releasing an English album before she joined Universal Music Taiwan in 1998 to release her Mandarin debut. She is hailed as the "Sheryl Crow" of the chinese music scene
and cites the likes of Joni Mitchell and Ella Fitzgerald as her musical influences. As accomplished singer, composer and songwriter her music would be more folk rock mixed in with acoustic and pop-rock - and her music is demand from many top names.
Official: http://www.tanyachuamusic.com/
Preview:
01. 如果你愛我 (If You Love Me)
02. 當你離開的時候 (When You Are Leaving)
03. 達爾文 (Darwin)
Tizzy Bac Tizzy Bac is Chen Hui Ting (piano, vocals, keyboards, melodica), Hsu Chu Yu (bass) and Lin Chien Yuan (drums) - forming one of my favourite indie-rock bands. The Taiwanese trio of keyboards, bass and beats has been playing gigs and making music since 1999, in between swotting for university exams and performing at music festivals. These have included Taiwan's Spring Scream , Formoz Festival ,Simple Life and Japan's Fuji Rock Festival 2005. The band has released two EPs and, most recently, a well-received compilation album Tizzy Bac: Unplugged (2007), in addition to two wholly-original albums - Anything Can Tempt Me (2003) and the multi-award-winning It's All My Fault (2006). More edgy than cute, yet more upbeat than rock, the music of Tizzy Bac is maybe best described as eclectic, melodic, keyboard-led indie-pop with a dose of sparkly electronica and pensive cheer, expressing wry 20-something musings about life, love and music, among other things. Why is Tizzy Bac special you ask. It's because it can do one thing a great musician should always be able to achieve - produce a follow up album of even higher quality.
Official: http://www.tizzybac.com.tw/
Tizzy Bac; It's All My Fault
Release Date: April 20, 2006
Tracklist & Previews:
01. Sideshow Bob
02. 我不小心 (I Wasn't Careful)
03. 田納西恰恰
04. 瘋狂的豬
05. 我又再度依戀上昨天
06. 安東尼
07. 灰燼
08. 七年 (Seven Years)
09. Bad Dream, Holy Tears
10. 查理布朗與露西
11. Tissue Time
12. 鞋貓夫人，Madame!!!
13. You’ll See
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魏如萱 (Wei Ru Xuan) Wei Ru Xuan, better known as Waa from the Taiwanese indie group Natural Q, makes her solo debut with La Dolce Vita. Singing about the sweet life in her clear, sweet voice, Waa's new album is as outstanding as the work she did with Natural Q, mixing indie pop and Brit-rock with a bright, light tempo. I would say her style is still very close to Natural Q -- with a little more jazz added to it. Her debut also includes the Mandarin themesong of jmove Rainbow Song.
Official: --
Preview:
01. 花王 (Flower King)
02. 世界末日的某个角落 (Some Place at the End of the World)
Zarahn Zarahn is a Hong Kong pop-rock band fronted by Endy Chow. Endy Chow who earlier released a solo album with much success, got married, became a father and got back together with his band members and released more new music. Zarahn as a group has composed more than 100 songs and have been together since the age of 15.
YesAsia: [Zarahn Tales] After the success of 12A and 12A Acoustic, pop rock band Zarahn, fronted by Endy Chow, has some new tunes and tales to tell. Their latest release Zarahn Tales revolves around the concept of adult fairy tales, with songs that evoke fanciful imagery of a world ruled by demons. As the title implies, this is only the first release in a series, because the band is actually planning on creating a Zarahn Tales trilogy. One of the few rock acts to make a dent in Hong Kong's mainstream music scene, Zarahn continues to push music and originality with their new album.
Official: http://www.zarahn.com.hk/
Endy Chow: http://www.endy-chow.com.hk/
Zarahn; Zarahn Tales
Release Date: September 28, 2007
Tracklist & Previews:
01. 如果感覺有顏色 (It Feels Like Color)
02. Road Trip
03. 怪誕城之夜 (Strange City Night)
04. Too Late
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