Same as the band EVILTHORN in the photo above, we are currently applying the last corpse paint on CORE IN CHINA. What does that mean?
Well, except having ended the official submission deadline, we have finalized the band and song selection for CORE IN CHINA. We have chosen 20 outstanding songs from all over China to be part of the compilation representing the new Chinese Metal underground on a global scale. And when we say represent on a global scale, then we mean global scale, because we are not lazy, but have started talking to magazines and webzines in Germany, South America, France, the USA, India and a couple of other countries whether they would like to review or feature the compilation. Unsurprisingly the feedback so far is very open-minded and we expected to be able to send out download links to most of our contacts.
If you have any contacts or friends or know someone that we should contact and forward the compilation (once it’s finished), tell us! Either send us an email to AZCHAEL AT ROCKINCHINA DOT COM or just post your comments here! We love to hear from you!
Another participant of the CORE IN CHINA project has answered our tidious questions about metal and the Chengdu scene: Post hardcore band Raving Jokes.
Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band RAVING JOKES?
Raving Jokes: My name is Huang Yao, currently serving as the band lead guitarist position. Our band was formed very rough, in the process of 2 years which replaced many times musicians, only I was the oldest member, now our team members are college students. The band members are metalcore fan, love of core music, so everyone together to rehearse what are more understanding.
Azchael: Have you guys signed with any record label? Raving Jokes: Now we band also did not sign the record company, there is no fixed brand, adding some band union.
Azchael: What is the scene in Chengdu like? Are there many metalcore bands? Raving Jokes: Now the Chengdu underground rock development is very optimistic, in Chengdu what style of music have, Chengdu people to the atmosphere! I now know Chengdu metalcore band may have more than 10 branches!
Azchael: What is metalcore for you? Raving Jokes: The metalcore is let me one’s blood boils with indignation. Can proceed without hesitation, a kind of energy, cause whatever I do will have the power of fire.
Azchael: Is your music and your way of life accepted by your parents? Raving Jokes: The present situation of rock this way I can not go on, but I will adhere to not go now, but I will not erase the love of rock. My parents are very much against it, but we take part in some large-scale music festival, parents see my efforts, gradually changed the original attitude, as long as I do not delay the study they are all for me to go.
Azchael: In 2011, you went through a tour of Yunnan. What do you think of the scene there? Are there many metalcore fans? Raving Jokes: Last year’s Yunnan tour is the first tour of our band, is unforgettable tour, although each acting out of many people, but in the tour process, we made a lot of local band musicians, exchange a lot of experience, processing a lot in the tour occurred during a temporary problem, let our tour the band’s each people more profound feelings, the first Yunnan tour gave us a lot of valuable experience.
Azchael: How do you promote your music? Do you promote overseas? Raving Jokes: We want to put our own original DEMO recorded for the end of the year, after the issuance of the band ‘s first EP. At present we have not to overseas to promote our own music.
Azchael: What is underground for you? Are you underground? Raving Jokes: I think the ground like a mine, wait for others to mining, while the band is the various types of various condition of ore. Our band is a mine which is slowly evolving ore.
Azchael: What do you think of Rock in China? Raving Jokes: I think Rock in China is a way to the mine, or Rock in China is a rock bridge connecting with overseas. All in all I think Rock in China must exist!
Azchael: Thanks for the interview. Raving Jokes: THANKS A LOT！
Having been surprised about Beijing Post-Rock, here is a band that is originally from Shijiazhuang: The Grinding Ear. Now basically home in Beijing, they are around since 2002 and have released three records in total. The following songs are from their 2005 CD called “Make It Dirty“.
Update: A word for the wise, the music below is from 2005 and as such in the early stages of The Grinding Ear. Slight musical diversions from the path of “pure” post rock are most likely and welcome.
Pangbianr has done it again! They have made good quality music available for free for interested listeners worldwide! In their own words:
This year’s compilation documents fresh-born newcomers, the deepening maturity of the Beijing 20-something noise set, and new moves from the Old Guard. In the last year, new bands like Mr. Ray (Beijing) and Stalin Gardens(Shanghai) have sprung up to say, “I see that weird post-punk shit you’re doing and we can do it too, and better, and younger!” In the last year the college-age-ish crowd around D-22′s Zoomin’ Night came into their own, reaching a peak just in time for the last ever Zoomin’ Night in January, mourning & celebrating the end of D-22‘s near 6-year life. The Zoomin’ kids have caught the attention of their forerunners, prompting scene godfatherYan Jun to include some of the young bucks in his recent “improv committees.”
2. Stalin Gardens – “Osteosarcoma”
demo track from new Shanghai band: site.douban.com/sg
3. 1/2 Heavy Korean – “乃哥的歌 (Joe’s Song)”
practice room recording, April 2011. more here: soundcloud.com/halfhk
4. MeiZhiYong (梅志勇) – “Good swing”
new, unreleased track from Northeastern China’s MeiZhiYong. check out his cassette label, Fuzz Tape: fuzztape.com
5. Xiao Hong Yu Xiao Xiao Hong (小红与小小红) – “未命名 (unnamed song)”
live @ D-22′s final Zoomin’ Night, 10 January 2012. recorded by Zhu Wenbo.site.douban.com/xhyxxh
6. Mr. Ray – “鱼 (fish)”
live at D-22′s Zoomin’ Night, 11 October 2011. recorded by Zhu Wenbo.site.douban.com/mystery
7. Carsick Cars + Li Qing + Yang Fan – “Fishing”
studio outtake, 17 February 2012
9. Soviet Pop – “System * System”
Live recording of Soviet Pop`s “System * System” performance at Three Shadows Photography Gallery in Beijing, 24 April 2011. They used one 4-track recorder, two cassette players, and two modular synths. They recorded 4 different tracks of sound at different speeds. The samples are from Stockhausen and Tenjo Sajiki. more info on Soviet Pop:site.douban.com/sovietpop
10. Vagus Nerve (迷走神经) – “A Recurrence of 3600 Years”
Vagus Nerve is Li Jianhong and Vavabond. This is the last track on the unreleased Vagus Nerve album “Go Back to the Sirus.”
11. Ad Hoc Improv Committee (临时即兴委员会) – “Half-Animal workshop (excerpt)”
Ad Hoc Improv Committee plays at Half-Animal workshop (music as field recording), 1 March 2012, The Pavilion, Beijing. artists: Yan Jun, Olaf Hochherz, Yan Yulong, Zhang Shouwang, Li Zenghui, Li Qing, Shi Yang, VAVABOND, Iku Sakan. workshop concept by: Olaf Hochherz.
Our call to arms has even reached Inner Mongolia! Baotou metalcore band Mary Dolls had responded and participated in the song submission. Here is our take with them about the metalcore scene of Inner Mongolia.
Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band? Kun: My name is Zhai shuaiqin, but my friends usually call me Kun, I am the vocalist of Mary Dolls. Our band was founded in March 2010. The members of our band are all my friends, we have knew each other for many years. There are five members in our band, three of them have married, guitarist Wang Le, drummer Han Feng and me. The other members Wen and Ma are very young, we all living in Baotou , so our band is very stable.
Azchael: What instruments are you playing in the band? Which brand? Kun: I’m using SHURE-sm58 microphone, guitars are SCHECTER made in Korea , and ESP made in Japan . Bass is WARWICK .
Azchael: Can you please describe the metal and metalcore scene in Baotou and in the rest of the Inner Mongolia? Kun: Metal music was very popular in 2000, but it began to decline after that, the most important reason was we don’t have a stable place to perform, then our band was begin to conduct many rock performance since 2010, metal band in Baotou has increased to six from only one. Metal music in Inner Mongolia is very good now there are many bands in the rest of Inner Mongolia , and they all play very well.
Azchael: Are there a lot of bands in Inner Mongolia? A lot of venues? Kun: Yes, there are many bands in Inner Mongolia , and there are many styles, metalcore, hardcore, punk, blues, and so on. They usually perform in a bar, there is only one live house in Inner Mongolia, it’s Ning Live House, in Hohhot . Many band performed in Ning, and there will be a new place to perform in Baotou in May, kind of a live house.
Azchael: Why did you choose to play metalcore? Kun: We were all interested in metal music, and metalcore is more new, so we choose metal core.
Azchael: What is underground for you? Are you underground? Kun: I think the indie band that did not controlled by money is underground, and they play music just for their dreams. I think we are underground.
Azchael: You have performed on the Asia Metal Festival? How was the performance? Kun: Yes, in October 2011, we went to Beijing to take part in the Asian Metal Festival. We feel pretty good, the performance was very successful, we all feel relaxed.
Azchael: Do your parents accept the music you make? Kun: They can’t accept our music at first, but after a lot of communication, they began to accept, I think communication is very important.
Azchael: How do you promote your music? Kun: We don’t good at promote, we just make music, perform, and website such as weibo, douban, that’s all.
Azchael: What do you think of Rock in China? Kun: It seems like Rock In China had conducted a lot of rock performance, I think it’s a good thing, rock music in China is not very popular, many people still can’t accept this kind of music, so I think Rock In China helps a lot to promote rock music in China .
Today is March 15th 2012 and today is the last day for submission of songs for the CORE IN CHINA project. Hereby the submission is closed and we are very thankful for your songs! Over 20 bands from all over China have participated and send us their musical creations.
From now on Rock in China is coordinating with all bands to fix the band biographies, interviews (if not already happened), song lyrics and final version of the songs (good quality mp3). Everything considered, May 2012 is only one-and-a-half months away and there is a lot to be done! Let’s do it!
It seems the Chinese scene is slowly waking up and producing some fine free music online compilations dedicated to introducing Chinese music to the Western world. First there was “We Are Shanghai” and now there is “Beijing Post Rock“. Interestingly enough for me for I did not know too many Post Rock bands from the capital.
In the past mostly No Beijing-derived rock bands were mentioned in the media, especially with attendance of this years SXSW festival in the USA. Download the compilation from bandcamp, share it, forward it and send it to blogs in Europe! Spread the word! And prepare your sound system for another assault coming in May: CORE IN CHINA.
Our first official confirmation for CORE IN CHINA had been Henan metalcore band WHY LAZY. And while submission is hereby closed as March 15th 2012 has been reached, Rock in China is currently evaluating all submitted songs and reaching out to the bands for interviews and further information. Here is the interview with Why Lazy:
Azchael: Hi folks, I would like to interview you.
WL: Great! Its our pleasure to have the interview with Rock In China.
Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band?
WL: We formed in 2007 with Nu-metal style,and then transferred
to metalcore, post-hardcore. Anyway, u can still find nu-metal feeling in our music a little bit.
Azchael: What instruments are you using? What brand?
WL: In our opinion,the instrument is serving for musician.W e try to work out the best effect in the limited condition is always fun.
GUITAR1:LTD PD-1,distortion IBANEZ TK999,overdrive IBANEZ ts-9,delay biyang ad10,denoise BOSS NS-2
guitar2: cort m600,distortion Blackstar ht-5,overdrive MAXON OD808,delay MXR M169,denoise BOSS NS-2,reverberation EH Holy Grail Nano.
bass:fender 013 6760,preceding stage MXR m80,compress MXR M132
drum:Pearl,dw9002,zidjian
Azchael: How is the metal scene in Zhengzhou? What are the livehouses like? How many people come to the gigs there?
WL: It was amazing in pasting time.but most of nice bands have been dismissed.7 Live House is the most professional venue in henan,the number of the audience is still growing.because different style can attract different fans,so its diffcult to estimate it.
Azchael: With most of China’s metal acts located in Beijing, is it difficult for you to play your music in Zhengzhou?
WL: Frankly,everywhere is the same.But the attitude is most essential.making music at my hometown can make us feel more light from the pressure of economy,but the scene of it or the opportunity will worse than in beijing.
Azchael: You are going on tour this year through a number of China’s cities. What are your expectations?
WL: we hope to contribute something for this heavy music market,and try to let more people know the new school core music.let it into a good development is essential.To sum up,i hope every city can rock our hearts!
Azchael: What do you think are the influences for post hardcore in China? Which foreign bands impress you most?
WL:The Falling and Multi-Ego do impact on us domestically.and our favourite is THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA ,OF MICE & MEN ,miss may i oversea.they are wonderful.
Azchael: Your EP Precipitation was released by Mort Productions last year. How did you get discovered by Mort Productions?
WL:we just wanna release it ourselvs at first,but the boss of mort productions found us in douban.com,and then we sign the recording contract with them,and all u can know is the coming happened.
Azchael: How do you promote your music? Do you also do promotion overseas?
WL: we do the promotion by douban.com ,myspace.cn or something website else more often.but we still have no plan to promote overseas
Azchael: What is underground for you? Are you underground?
WL: underground is an attitude for us,in chinese rock music scene,the model of development has been changed a lot.to the major groups,we are still underground.
Azchael: What do you think of Rock in China? WL:RIC is greatful to china,different rock bands can promote themselves to the people have no idea of chinese rock n’roll in such a medium.RIC is an useful promoter for china to the world.
Azchael: Thanks for the interview! WL: Its our honor to accept the interview from you!thanks!
Rock in China is proud to announce that also a band from Macau joined the CORE IN CHINA compilation project and submitted a song. Here is our interview with them about the Macau scene and metalcore. Azchael for Rock in China.
Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band? Villain: Villain is the only metalcore band in Macau at this moment. The band was formed in 2009 by five locals: Lone (vocal), Celestino and Jerry (guitars), Fernando (bass) and Meatball (drum).
Azchael: Which instruments are you using, which brand? Villain: Celestino – Gibson SG Standard (replaced the original pickups with EMG 81/85), Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier and Line 6 POD HD500.
Jerry – Jackson DK2 (replaced the bridge pickup with Seymour Duncan JB), Engl Powerball and Tech21-Sansamp GT2 (for gigs outside of Macau).
Fernando – Ibanez SR505, Hartke HA500 and MXR Bass D.I.+.
Azchael: Macau is a fairly small scene and city, compared to Beijing or Wuhan. Can you describe the music environment in Macau? Villain: The music scene in Macau is very weak. Most of the bands in Macau are pop rock bands; and there are some bands playing other kinds of music such as post-rock, alternative rock, electro, etc. You may like to check the bands like Why Ocean, Forget the G, L.A.V.Y., Scamper and Evade, etc….
Azchael: What is the reception of metalcore music in Macau? It certainly isn’t mainstream, so how big is the scene? Villain: Most people may find Metalcore more “acceptable” compared to other kinds of metal, so it will be easier for Metalcore to gain popularity among the young people. Like I said, we are the only metalcore band here in Macau. We used to have some good metal bands in the past like De-Aqua and Uni-k, but they stopped playing for some reasons.
Azchael: As I see that you have played in various cities in the Pearl River Delta, including Zhuhai and Hongkong, what was the reception of the audiences there to your music? Villain: Undoubtedly, the audiences in Hong Kong and Mainland China are much more enthusiastic than those in the Macau. They never fail to show a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm in every concert they attend. We have had so many great experiences performing onstage in Hong Kong and Mainland China as we were thoroughly encouraged by the way the audiences supported us. In contrast, Macau people are generally passive and quiet. Can you imagine there are only 5 or 6 out of 150 audience doing mosh pit in the gig and the rest just stand there with their arms folded? Fortunately, the audiences in Macau are becoming more involved and we definitely look forward to a bigger scene in the future. We also hope that Macau will have more bands playing different kinds of music other than pop rock. We have enough pop-rock bands here.
Azchael: Have you ever thought about touring in China? Villain: Sure, but we would like to record an EP before the tour and we hope we can do that.
Azchael: What do you see as the major influences in metalcore for your band and the current Chinese scene? Villain: As metal is still not very popular within Macau’s music circle, we believe that Metalcore is a good starting point to draw people’s interest in it. For those who just have their first encounter with heavy music, Metalcore is more “acceptable” and relatively “softer”. Once the audiences have got used to metalcore, they will go for something heavier.
Azchael: Do you have plans to release a CD or EP anytime soon?
Villain: Yes, we are trying to produce an EP in near future.
Azchael: How do you promote your music? Being in Macau, do you rely on Douban or Facebook?
