I regret missing this release from our friends at Nordic Notes! Barbora Xu is a Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist who explores local poetry, string instruments, and vocal techniques in her music. According to her official biography, “Her work is deeply inspired by nature, capturing the calmness, fragility, and softness found Continue Reading
China
No Posts Today
Thanks to a particular country I reside in stupidly blocking VPNs severely over an event that happened 36 years ago, there will be no posts today. Hopefully this problem will resolve itself soon.
Lao Dan (老丹) – 逐雲追夢 Going After Clouds and Dreams
Lao Dan is one of the most interesting improv artists operating in China at the moment. This release comes from Modern Sky World Music, based in my current home, Beijing. Going through their catalog, there is going to be more than a few releases getting featured on the blog soon Continue Reading
How the Chinese-Jamaican Community Influenced the Development of Classic Reggae
One of the hazards of teaching teenagers is that you have to deal with bored, unchallenged, spoiled children whose interests are base and crude at best. However, a few students are willing to stray out of their comfort zone and go exploring. The topic of reggae came up with one Continue Reading
Mamer 马木尔 – Awlaⱪta / Afar 离
Mamer 马木尔 is perhaps my favorite underground artists operating in China today. His work fuses Kazakh folk music with avant-garde music, bordering on experimental, even though he has a pedigree in working with record labels like Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records. It’s rare to see an authentic musician dig into Continue Reading
Various Artists – Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88)
An absolutely crucial release from Soundway Records covering Southeast Asian Pop Music from the mid-to-late 1970s: “Soundway Records delivers an exciting new compilation, diving ever deeper into South-East Asia. Ayo Ke Disco celebrates the musical identities emerging during the 1970s and 80s from the newly independent countries nestled around the Continue Reading
No Reviews Today – Travel Day
I will be traveling from Tokyo to Beijing today. What an experience that was!
Remembering China’s ‘Godfather of Jazz’
Read the original article by Cai Yiwen from Sixth Tone here. I occasionally run into some great articles on Chinese social media, mainly WeChat. If you aren’t afraid of being allegedly ‘bugged’ by the Chinese government (and you shouldn’t be, since the CIA go through your calls if you use Continue Reading
Science Noodles – Soothe Me
From an article in TimeOut Magazine: “Science Noodles is a self-described “Hong Kong-Taiwan mixed baby” that formed in the most 21st century way possible. While on a trip to Taiwan, vocalist/guitarist Yuet matched with vocalist Qing on Tinder, and the two bonded over their mutual love for Taiwanese indie band, Continue Reading
Various Artists – WEEDIAN: Trip to China
“As genres, Stoner, Sludge, Doom, and Heavy Psych are still new to the Chinese audience, but it has become a niche music scene that thrives on their uniqueness.” So quotes WEEDIAN, the record label who scours the globe looking for the most unique bands in the world who play doom Continue Reading