MIX: Experimental Sound from China

As my own contribution to World Listening Day (tomorrow, July 18 2013), and at the invitation of Jason Coburn at 8trk radio, I’ve put together a mix of recent work by some experimental musicians and sound artists in China. The sounds require a commitment of time and patience, but I hope you can take an hour out of your day to listen, as this selection rewards sustained listening!

Track list:

  1. 01, V0, by Yan Jun (2011) (performance at Observatori Festival in Valencia, 2011, taken from the CD v, released on Kwanyin Records http://www.subjam.org/archives/1401)
  2. Solo at D22, by Sheng Jie (2010) (unreleased) http://sgogoj.com/
  3. 系统的二次方_三影堂现场录音, by Soviet Pop (2013) (unreleased) http://sovietpopbeijing.bandcamp.com/
  4. KG, by Li Jianhong (2012) (taken from the CD compilation Noise, released on Kwanyin Records http://www.subjam.org/archives/2193)
  5. Sedna, by VAVABOND (2011) (taken from the CD Yellow, released on Kwanyin Records http://www.subjam.org/archives/1208)
  6. 03, by Yang Tao (2010) (unreleased)
  7. 001, by Damage Blanket (2013) (unreleased, includes a sample from Breathe by Holly Herndon) https://soundcloud.com/damageblanket
  8. OP27, by jfi (2012) (unreleased) http://www.douban.com/people/jfi/

8trk.15 Guest Mix by Edward Sanderson (China Experimental) by 8trkradio on Mixcloud

GIG: Miji Concert No.12 at 2kolegas

Yan Jun introducing Miji Concert No.12 at 2kolegas

Yan Jun introducing Miji Concert No.12 at 2kolegas

A good selection of artists played last night at 2kolegas bar, as part of SubJam label’s Miji Concert series. Organised by Yan Jun, the evening began with him playing his electronics and feedback in a trio with Liu Xinyu on electronics and Yan Yulong on violin, performing some harsh noise improvisation.

Yan Jun and co. were followed by Soviet Pop, about whom I had heard good things. They focus on playing a set of analogue synthesizers, and their sound is characteristically softer and more organic than the previous set. While I liked what they were doing, and how they were doing it (very understated, almost aggressively geeky), it bothered me that it was really difficult to get beyond the cliché’d sounds of these instruments, harking back to Forbidden Planet-type tonal music.

Lastly, Tim Blechmann on laptop and Conny Zenk on visuals developed an apparently simple set of gradually building drones. At first I was sceptical, thinking that these endless cycles would be swiftly boring, but an interesting thing happened. Starting very quietly, the musicians seemed to be struggling against the background noise of the bar and a typically talkative audience. Yet as the drones gained in pitch and depth, these extraneous sounds were gradually smothered, leaving the drones to dominate. The visuals had a similar struggle, being projected against the heavily textured brick wall of the venue. This meant that much of the subtlety of the flickering lines being generated was lost, yet after a while watching for the small changes that stood out against the peaks and crevices of the brick became quite fascinating, not completely losing itself against the surface, and complementing the sounds well. In a way quite simple and not particularly original, but—in this setting—effective nonetheless.

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