Interview with Stalin Gardens | Shanghai Black Pop Rock

Continuing our coverage of the Shanghai scene, we have taken Shanghai black pop band Stalin Gardens to an interview who just released their latest record called Shanghai Void on Douban.

Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band Stalin Gardens?
Stalin Gardens: We’re Stalin Gardens. Our first show was the 18th of December 2011, we were invited by Pairs to open for them. We’d only managed to write four songs at that point, two of them were early versions of Osteosarcoma and Sex Bomb. Elsa already was on bass, another dude on guitar and some psychotic 40-year old on drums. After many lineup changes we played again, at Uptown on the 17th of March 2012, opening for Alpine Decline that we’d invited from Beijing. Big deal: Opening for DFG on the 1st of April 2012 at YYT. There were tons of people, at that point we had a steady lineup, with Vic of NYL on drums. 11th of May 2012, last lineup change, we played our first show with our current drummer Gomez, opening for X is Y at 696. According to Gomez’s dad, the show sucked. June 23 we did the Maybe Mars gig, no one showed up during our set and we played like mentally handicapped seals. Two weeks of practice later we started recording our self-titled LP (that many people prefer to call Shanghai Void for some obscure reason), which was done in 3 days, about 12 hours, at Postape studios. Mixing was done by Brad Ferguson.

Azchael: What instruments are you using in the band, which brand?
Stalin Gardens: Bass, guitar, drums, that’s it. We believe you could just as well make great music with the shittiest of guitars than with a Gibson Les Paul or whatever. It’ll just be different. Let’s just say you can make good music with anything. Even a banana. Our next album will have a song played entirely with a banana-split sundae.

Azchael: What is the Shanghai sound for you? Do you think Shanghai has a particular sound?
Stalin Gardens: NO, there is absolutely nothing. Because there is everything. It’s so fractured. It’s like you took a solid and cohesive music scene and dropped it on the floor. It’ll blow into pieces, all over the place, become incoherent and useless. That’s the Shanghai scene, all over the fucking music spectrum.

Azchael: How does the Shanghai scene look like in 2012? What venues are there? Who are the real newcomers in your opinion?
Stalin Gardens: Almost every fucking week we hear of a new band that seems pretty interesting, but they pretty often disappear without leaving a trace. I guess that’s what you should expect from a scene largely depending on expat input.

Azchael: What is the message of Stalin Gardens? in one sentence?
Stalin Gardens: Have sex with things.

Azchael: How do you promote your music? What are the most effective ways as per your experience?
Stalin Gardens: Since we’ve stopped shows to focus on studying for our final exams this year, we’ll keep on spamming the douban music community with free dl links to our LP. It’s always a great way to get people talking, though they usually talk about what a bunch of annoying jackasses we are.

Azchael: Do you think being in a band and being students at the same time helps you to get laid more often?
Stalin Gardens: That’s funny. Seeing as some of the biggest perverts in Shanghai are currently members of this group, it’s not like these factors affect how often we get laid in any way.

Azchael: Do you actively promote your music overseas? If or if not, do you get any feedback from overseas?
Stalin Gardens: This is very hard, we’ve sent many demos to labels in the US (such as Sacred Bones) and we’ve been rejected every time. I guess every scene is too absorbed with itself to pay any attention to what’s going on next door. It’s a shame, I think Chui Wan and Mr Ray and Stalin Gardens are as good as and maybe better than many bands, but it’s almost like we’re invisible from elsewhere. When people from outside China talk about the music scene, they usually blabber on and on about Carsick Cars and PK14, maybe Retros. But these bands are a weak copy of your average american indie-rock band, so they are of no special interest, other than that they’re from China. Chui Wan, however, have this elusive ingredient that makes them original, that makes them cutting-edge, they deserve to be talked about more than PK14. But quasi-nil.

Azchael: Why do think that people see Carsick Cars or PK 14 as being “Chinese rock music” but not Stalin Gardens? What can other bands learn from them?
Stalin Gardens: Probably because people don’t actually see Stalin Gardens. We’re a pretty ”low-profile” group as of today. About PK14 and Carsick Cars, we can learn from these bands that the music game isn’t about the music as much as it is about how you promote the music. Maybe not Carsick Cars, they’re pretty passionate about what they do, promotion-wise as much as music-wise. But PK14… They’re like a watered-down version of Fugazi. Maybe that’s why they’re so popular. Cause they’re such a ”safe” band to like. Hearing their songs creates an impression of deja-vu, which reassures the many people that fear to witness the death (or evolution) of their beloved rock’n'roll. But hey, wake up you retards. This is 2012. The real Fugazi disappeared decades ago. The rock playground now belongs to a new generation of bands like White Suns, Chui Wan, Stalin Gardens, iceage, The Men, Liturgy, Sexdrome, and Ride For Revenge. These recent acts are twisting and torturing rock into something totally new. Get up and be a part of it. Either get over the nostalgia or use it to make something different.

Azchael: What do you think are the biggest obstacles for being in a band in Shanghai?
Stalin Gardens: The fucking homework and final exams. Everything else like booking shows, rehearsal time, studio time, etc is extremely easy compared to other countries like France. We’re lucky being here at this time.

Azchael: What do you think of bands joining up with major brands such as Vans, Converse or Ray Ban in order to promote their music? Do you think that is a sell-out?
Stalin Gardens: A sell-out is a band that modifies its sound to be more appealing to the masses, in order to gain money. As long as you don’t tinker with your sound, you could even play your song in a toilet paper ad, it wouldn’t be selling out because you’d still be sonically pure.

Azchael: What is underground for you? Are you underground?
Stalin Gardens: Underground and mainstream are pretty easily confused today compared to back in the 90s, and that probably has to do with the Internet. Bands that used to be so underground no one would know of them then can today float back up to the surface and reach an audience through internet. Every band today can have their international audience, if they promote themselves right. We’re underground. Why not, I mean we’ve once been to the Shelter, I guess that makes us edgy and cool, right?

Azchael: What are your plans for the next year? Will there be a “The World is coming to an end” show in December?
Stalin Gardens: Things are looking pretty grim for us next year, we’re passing our final exams and will be studying during every major fucking holidays so it’ll be hard to find time to record, not to mention we’re all going to die. The main goal is still to record the second LP, that is already half-written, before we break-up.

Azchael: Why do you sell your songs for 1000 USD or 600 USD on bandcamp?
Stalin Gardens: That’s a joke, you can get them all free on our Soundcloud.

Azchael: Thanks for the interview!

Interview with Stegosaurus? | Shanghai… Jurassic Rock!

Just in time for National Day 2012, Shanghai self-entitled jurassic rock band Stegosaurus? answered to our call for an interview, especially after the depressing outlook of the Shanghai scene offered by Xiao Zhong of Pairs. We were lucky enough to get both Bren and Josh to spend a little time with Azchael.

Azchael: Can you please introduce yourself and the band Stegosaurus?
Bren: We’re Stegosaurus? We’re not really even sure who we are….hence the question mark.
Josh: Yeah, I am Josh, the midget one. We have Bren, the balding one. Tyler, the glasses one. And finally, Levi, the only one with any real talent in the band. There are a lot of ones in this band. We’re racist against twos. No twos allowed. Twos can go sit in the back of the bus.

Azchael: What instruments are you using in the band, which brand?
Bren: We’re using a variety of things. An Ibanez bass…it’s black.
Josh: We use whatever we can afford after feeding our alcohol and sheep dependency. Mostly, it’s cheap knock-offs found on Jinling Lu (music street).

Azchael: What is the Shanghai sound for you? Do you think Shanghai has a particular sound?
Bren: The Shanghai sound for me is sometimes awesome, sometimes redundant, sometimes powerful, sometimes crap, sometimes boring, but always alive. I think as far as a particular sound goes, you can’t really pick a sound for Shanghai. A lot of Beijing bands have a very “Beijing” sound. I don’t think you can pick a band in Shanghai and say, “That sounds so Shanghai.”

Azchael: How does the Shanghai scene look like in 2012? What venues are there? Who are the real newcomers in your opinion?
Bren: Honestly, it feels like a slow year to me. Probably because I haven’t been going out as much.
Josh: Shanghai has some fun venues. I personally like Yuyintang, Livebar, 696 Live and Songjiang Corner Bar. There are some cool bands new and old. Even if I don’t particularly like the style of music a certain band plays, I respect them for getting out, playing show, recording, spending money, printing CDs, flyers, ect and getting hardly any of it back. China’s not a place to make money as a band and I’m happy to see so many bands still doing it.

Azchael: Why do you think that China is not the right place for a band to make money?
Bren: Because the market for rock music isn’t big enough. Either it’s not big enough, or when people are interested, the big boys shut stuff down. It’s not allowed to freely spread, so the market just isn’t going to expand in way conducive to making a living on music. Not for a “laowai” band anyways.
Josh: If you look closely at us, very closely, you’ll see that we don’t resemble Jay Chou or Jolin. We’re getting fat, wrinkly and bald. People don’t wanna see us on ads, TV or large events. We need to be hot, young and muscular to be featured on anything. When that happens, maybe more people will be open to take indie music seriously here.

Azchael: What would have to change so bands can actively survive in your opinion?
Bren: Better marketing. More quality venues. More listeners and show goers. Ohh, and daily foot massages. Those are essential.
Josh: Shanghai is an ever growing, ever changing city. I think if people stopped getting married or having babies, if people stopped moving away, stopped living their dreams, then we could have a decent band stay for a long period of time! Actually, some bands still play music despite marriage and babies: Rhys from Pairs has like five kids now! Zack from Friend or Foe has his third coming now. Top Floor Circus actually bring their babies to their concerts! I respect that.

Azchael: What do you think of bands joining up with major brands such as Vans, Converse or Ray Ban in order to promote their music? Do you think that is a sell-out?
Bren: Up with the man I say! I think it’s a personal decision. It’s definitely a way to get potential new fans that wouldn’t have heard you before. It’s not a sell out. Just another excuse for somebody to complain, “I liked them better before they sold out.” Whatever.
Josh: Hell, if a company offered us money to sing Britney Spears covers and dress up like Justin Beiber, I’d do it! Money is everything in life! Actually, yeah, we are actively trying to sell out before we all break up and go our separate ways.

Azchael: What is the message of Stegosaurus? in one sentence?
Bren: We love to laugh so laugh with us or at us……..

Azchael: How do you promote your music? What are the most effective ways as per your experience?
Bren: Mostly the Internet. We’ve tried getting some things up on a few sites, still a work in progress though. Douban used to be super useful. Apparently Weibo is the big thing now, but I don’t like it that much.
Josh: I usually ask some homeless people to pass out our flyers in the Shanghai Metro. Hey! That’s a great idea, Josh. Thanks for the info!

Azchael: Do you actively promote your music overseas? If or if not, do you get any feedback from overseas?
Bren: Actively, not a whole lot. Most overseas activity happens on Facebook, and it’s mostly friends of ours…
Josh: I try to add two new “likers” to Facebook every year. It’s a worthy goal and most of the time, I’m proud to say, we reach that goal. Actually, we successfully made Claypool Cellars (Les Claypool (Primus)) a “liker” of us. It’s a funny story, really. I’ll have to include it on the next interview.

Azchael: What do you think are the biggest obstacles for being in a band in Shanghai?
Bren: The traveling lives of foreigners. We’ve had to pass on a bunch of shows because somebody wasn’t going to be here.
Josh: Yeah, people coming and going, getting married and leaving, people acquiring AIDS and dying, popping out babies and crying. Look for those lyrics in our next album.

Azchael: What is underground for you? Are you underground?
Bren: Underground for me is practicing at 0093 (an actual underground studio). So yeah, sometimes we are underground.
Josh: Underground for me is practicing at 009….oh wait, Bren already said that. I think most people who don’t play pop music in China are underground. Although I have read that some Beijing rock bands have been used for ads and some folk bands are getting offers too! If people can hear something else besides a famous pop star on an ad or whatever, that’s great, in my opinion. Introduce something new to the people. Get something besides pop music above ground.

Azchael: What are your plans for the next year? Will there be a “The World is coming to an end” show in December?
Bren: We plan to play some shows. We’d like to play another festival someday. We don’t have the proper connections though. It’s ok. It’s fun to live in dreams. Oh, and the secret is out, the worlds not coming to an end. It’s just a hoax.
Josh: We hope that more than three people will listen to our music this year. It’s a noble goal, but with Rock In China’s help, we can reach it. Listen and download for FREE our three albums at STEGOSAURUS.BANDCAMP.COM.

Azchael: Your three recent albums are all up on bandcamp and available for free. Why? Don’t you think you deserve money for the music you make?
Bren: Because we’re just nice like that. We hope the “free” tag will attract more listeners. Do we deserve money? I don’t know. But if somebody enjoys the music and wants to donate a bit for it, we won’t stop you.
Josh: Well, we’ve had two purchases in total for our new album. We mostly make music for fun. Our concerts actually almost paid for Purple Pachyderm in whole, recording, mixing, mastering, printing… Since I download music for free online, why not give our album for free?

Azchael: What are the stories behind the three records?
Bren: Record one, self titled Stegosaurus?, was born of songs written long ago. Some that had aged like fine wine and others that didn’t yet quite reach their full maturation level before being released on the public. In any case, it set the ground work for the mixed up sounds that leave question marks in the ears of listeners. “What just happened there?”

Record two, Our Songs B-side You, was brought upon by the excess of songs that were meant to create a second album. We made this album up of the more fun and playful childlike songs. It’ll make you laugh and cry and kiss your 30 minutes goodbye. It’s like a warm up for our third album released just a month after this one.

Purple Pachyderm, record number three. You think the name is ridiculous don’t you? Well, that’s how we like it. Ridiculous. This was originally going to be called ‘Story Time’ and we were going to have a book of short stories to go along with the CD. The stories would have been contributed by other people. The idea wasn’t hashing out as planned and we got bored of the idea and moved on to bigger and better things that are getting very little to no coverage. Yay for interwebs! So now we’re sitting on our hands keeping them warm for winter. I don’t know what that means.

Azchael: Thanks a lot for the interview!

Interview with Pairs (2012) | The End of the World …

Pairs‘ Xiao Zhong is a pretty outgoing and extrovert character with his own history of controversial statements and expressive interviews. Once upon a time Xiao Zhong had talked with Rock in China about the Shanghai music scene and now we are following up on his earlier remarks, just in time before the world as we know it is coming to a timely end in December this year.

Listen to one of their new songs:

Azchael of Rock in China and Xiao Zhong for Pairs on September 23^rd 2012, ten o’clock in the morning, and yes, that is on a Sunday! Talking about the proposed end of the world this December, the Shanghai band scene and Pairs new record.

Azchael: Welcome to the end of the world? What are your plans before December?

Pairs: Personally, to make it through this working year, it been a bit of hell ride and I expect it to be so later on as well.

For the band, we have two releases scheduled. One in October and one in November. The October one is an 8-track record called Grandparent, and in November we have a double vinyl coming out on Metal Postcard Records calls If This Cockroach Doesn’t Die, I will. Thereafter we are heading for a tour in December in Singapore and Malaysia and then, well, we are dead.

Azchael: Why are you going to release two records in such a short time?

Pairs: The October record is the one we produced with one guy who came over from LA. We wrote a few songs and it just took forever to get out. We had thought it was going to be ready in March, but its only ready now and we wanted it to be released before the double vinyl.

Azchael: Thatguy is Manny from LA, or?

Pairs: Yeah.

Azchael: Being confronted with the dawn of civilization, what should we leave behind for Aliens to discover?

Pairs: Certainly not any of our releases (laughs). That’s a hard question for a Sunday morning. I would say the WTF podcast by Marc Maron. That is really something, he has over 300 podcasts interviewing comedians, celebrities, musicians, writers and so on. And he is doing that in a very honest, open and raw way. So his podcasts should be left behind for Aliens to discover.

Azchael: We have established that the world is going to end and what we are going to leave behind. How do you think the world is coming to an end? Will it be Aliens, Meteors or the Dinosaurs returning? What’s your bet?

Pairs: I think it will be people turning on each other and fucking eating each other. People are fighting for all reasons but mostly no real reason. People are pretty dumb, so I think the world will come to an end one way or another by people fighting each other.

Azchael: So how is Shanghai doing in that respect?

Pairs: Yeah, fuck yeah, I’m sure you’ve read about what’s been happening here. But even at work we are already fighting each other. You know, it’s interesting to work in China and working with Chinese. At the beginning everything is fine, but then people start to turn on each other in really vindictive ways so to feel like they are getting ahead, which they aren’t. Just like two days ago in a work meeting I saw a very blatant attempt to hurt someone on our team.

Azchael: So how about Shanghai music scene? Is there also a lot of fighting happening? Or is there a big unity?

Pairs: If there is fighting I am probably the guy causing it! In terms of unity, I don’t see it a whole lot, but Twin Horizon and Zhang Nan have brought a few things together. But I see a few bands riding on coattails and that kind of jive. But that may be me projecting and being too jaded.  I think in the scene we are kind on our own at the moment. It’s my fault. Well no super close ties with one band or one group. We drift along.

Azchael: So what should change?

Pairs: We had that interview last year where I already complained a lot. This is a city of fucking 22 million people and there is just a handful of places to play. People shit on each here – myself included, the bookers are so unorganized, -I mean, they don’t send out emails asking for bands, they wait for the bands to contact them and the bands wait for bookers to come to them. They are so lazy. Nothing has changed since last year! Be great if we had one big night a month, something that could become a tradition or just a cool momentum, but venues aren’t really up for the growing pains thing. They want instant success, and that’s understandable when your dealing with something as fickle as business in China, but still, it’s all about the short term.

Azchael: After our interview, the compilation We Are Shanghai was released including a song of Pairs. Why did you participate?

Pairs: The organizers behind the compilation are really nice guys, and we were not super aware of the foreign heavy lineup. For us it was sending a 50 seconds song. It took me 3 minutes to attach it to an email, so there was no effort involved.

Azchael: They are planning a “We Are Shanghai 2”, will you participate again?

Pairs: They don’t want to have repeat bands on the compilation, but yes, if there is no effort involved, like in the first compilation, we would participate. Good things came from the first compilation, people listening to our song and contacting us for more. So, yeah. But if they wanted a new, un released song, then nope.

Azchael: Are there any other projects like this happening in Shanghai at the moment?

Pairs: Probably but nothing that I can think of off the top of my head; no one is so organized. And even the We Are Shanghai didn’t get out of China much. We brought it to New Zealand, Rainbow Danger Club brought a few copies to the USA, but then I think it’s mostly a bandcamp page.

Azchael: You brought it to Australia via tenzenmen?

Pairs: Yes, he is a mad man.

Azchael: I saw him shipping mostly Maybe Mars records, right?

Pairs: Yes, he gets them probably from Nevin now. In the beginning we have helped him to get the CDs. We ordered them from taobao and then to him, but we have stopped doing too much on Taobao and now he gets them directly from Maybe Mars. Makes more sense, I guess.

Azchael: Now, in terms of going international, you mentioned that you are heading for Malaysia and Singapore in December. Are you organizing that by yourself DIY or via a tour company.

Pairs: Cher at 7X07X7 is helping us to get everything sorted. They are great! They are dedicated, loyal and organized and they have a system that supports you. It’s really a joy working with them and they are much better than the fucking bookers in Shanghai.

Azchael: For me Pairs is a DIY and now you say that you are using a tour company instead of doing it yourself, isn’t that contradictory?

Pairs: Contradictory in your thoughts but not in mine! 7X07X7  is a DIY group, they don’t make real money with that, that I’m aware of. It’s more like a group that has a system in place, something like if a band contacts you and asks for help in Macau, then you would know the right contacts, right? So we have not talked money yet, but I will not pay money directly and I don’t think they are expecting anything.

Azchael: How you got to know them?

Pairs: Via a friend, Dostav, as it usually happens, someone knows someone and refers that to us.

Azchael: Why are Shanghai bands not using that?

Pairs: Shanghai bands are pretty happy in Shanghai, I guess, plus the occasional trip to Beijing and Wuhan. They should get to Malaysia though, I heard it’s an awesome scene there with a small shack  of 50 kids, screaming, dancing and stage diving. Great venues there.

Azchael: So what venues are there in Shanghai right now?

Pairs: Live Bar, Lune, YYT, Melting Pot, 696, Beedes 390, Harley’s, Mao, Corner Bar in Songjiang, D Club… That’s about it.

Azchael: Last year we had an interview that I think many regarding as rant on Shanghai. Any new things to rant about?

Pairs: Fuck man, it’s still the same, nothing has changed. You know, just recently we were booked with another band and the date got changed. So I contact their bassist and asked if that is cool for them. He didn’t reply. I went ahead and added the new date on weibo, changed the poster, etc. A week later I check with him again, so he says “oh yeah, it’s cool with me, but I don’t know about the other two band members”, then 5 minutes later he comes back and says “our drummer can’t make that date”. That is pretty fucking dumb! There is no communication. That guy knows for a week about the date but can’t check with his guys even though it only takes 5 minutes for him! Dealing with things of this nature almost weekly, if not daily – that’s one of the reasons that our new record is so full of frustration!

Azchael: Can we have a preview song of the new record?

Pairs: Sure no issue, I can send you the song that I did screaming about the Shanghai bands, I think that catches the frustration pretty nice.

Azchael: What’s that song about?

Pairs: I wrote the song one night and it’s all about my feeling towards the Shanghai band scene on that particular night. I don’t name anyone in particular but if you see the lyrics I guess a lot of people will recognize themselves somehow in that. Probably see me on the end of a lot of drunken ‘who is that about?’ conversations.

Azchael: When I check your facebook, I often see photos of e.g. Pairs and comments about Pairs being nominated for the Oscars, etc. What is that supposed to mean?

Pairs: That’s just some bullshit about a shit eating expat magazine here They only know 4 bands and as I am a white guy and speak English and am in constant contact with the English media, we get somehow on those “best band” etc. lists. They have no idea about the scene and no real interest in supporting it, except their new person, Kat is awesome! However, we were nominated for Best DJ’s one year.  Man, I don’t know if I really belong in Shanghai.

Azchael: So where do you belong to?

Pairs: Nepal? They have a good scene there, I heard!

Azchael: Any last words?

Pairs: Congratulations on reaching 10 million visitors at Rock in China!

Layabozi turns 4!

Not many words to write. Layabozi turns 4! Come! Enjoy! Rock!

We Are Shanghai Vol. 2 – Call For Artists

The WE ARE SHANGHAI compilation is a free online compilation of Chinese artists released to be a snapshot of the scene and to represent Shanghai. Now, the makers of this compilation make their plans true: Vol. 2 is going to be released. Here is their call for Shanghai artists:

Music-Makers of Shanghai,

It’s time to begin working on the next installment of We Are Shanghai!  We’re inviting you to submit a song for Volume 2, to be released later this year.  Volume 1 was well-received, and we’re looking forward to putting together a stellar lineup of bands and artists for the next one.

Here’s the deal: You have until the end of June to submit to us a high-quality .wav file of a song of yours.  We’d prefer it if songs were under 5 minutes in length, but that’s not a hard and fast rule.  Last time, we had more submissions than we could use, and we’re really hoping to get even more this time around.  We’re looking for good songs from a wide spectrum of genres. We want songs and artists that represent what’s happening in Shanghai and who are actively shaping the city’s music scene.

While all tracks are welcome, this compilation is a great opportunity for you to showcase new music.  As such, we hope that you’ll provide us with something that was recorded relatively recently, if not a new song altogether.  If you guys need help, JC and Nichols may be available for mixing and other recording assistance.

Also, if you are a graphic artist and would like to contribute to the cover art, let us know! Please send your submissions and other questions to jc@twinhorizon.com.

Thanks,
Bren, Nichols, Adam, JC and Ivan

上海的音乐人，侬好

差不多是要准备下一张《We Are Shanghai》的时候了！在此我们邀请你们为即将在今年底发布的合集第二弹贡献提交一首歌。第一弹反响特别好，所以我们期待再次集结一批闪亮耀眼的乐队和艺人。

你们所需要做的就是，在六月底前提交给我们一首高质量wav版本的作品。若非必不得已，时长五分钟以内为好。去年，我们所有的提交作品远比我们最终录用的多得多，期待今年能够收到更多优秀作品。我们不限定曲风，欢迎任何歌曲和艺人来展现上海现今活跃的音乐氛围。

我们欢迎任何歌曲，也正因如此，加入这张合集也是为你展示新歌的好机会。所以如果你们没有录制任何新歌，我们希望你能提供给我们一首相对较新的作品。如果你们需要任何帮助，JC和Nichols可以为你们混音或者帮助你们录音。

最后，如果你是个平面艺术家并且乐意贡献给我们一张图片座位封面，请告诉我们！请发你的歌或者任何问题给jc@twinhorizon.com.

谢谢,

Bren，Nichols，Adam，JC和Ivan

A call to the Shanghai scene

Reading about Shanghai metal band Must be Red on Andy’s blog pleases me and makes me sad at the same time. Because on the one hand it shows that the Shanghai metal scene is active and alive, however on the other it is disturbing to see that no Shanghai band wants to apply for the CORE IN CHINA compilation we are bringing out in May this year.

We had bands from Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Taipei, Macau, Beijing, Hongkong and Changchun sending in mails and songs, but sadly enough not from Shanghai. Hey guys, what’s up over there? Get up and show us and the world that Shanghai has metal!!!

Free Music from Shanghai | Next Year’s Love | Noisy Rock

Straight outta Shanghai and with a pretty cool cover comes noise rock band Next Year’s Love and their latest self-titled EP.

Andy Best pointed them out to me, when I visited him in Shanghai and we had the chance to seem the live! Three young energetic girls playing noisy music for noisy people.

Next Year’s Love a video by Azchael on Flickr.

And now they have released their record with the help of Andy and his Qu Records record label. Kuddos to that and thanks for sharing the music on bandcamp. Interested in what others said? Read a review on Pangbianr and Smart Shanghai.

Interview with Friend or Foe | Shanghainese Aliens playing Rock, Punk, Dance music

Rock in China interviewed Shanghai rock band Friend or Foe via modern technology wonder Skype. Azchael for Rock in China.

Azchael: Can you introduce yourself and the band?

Friend or Foe: Hi, I am Rabshaka Shakalaka, singer & guitarist and I am an alien observing human behavior and broadcasting it with my transmissions to space.

Hi, I am Mahanandan Hamana, drummer of the band and also an alien.

We also have another transmissioner, Bob. Originally it was Bill, but we killed Bill and now we have Bob.

Azchael: What kind of human behaviour do you transmit?

Friend or Foe: Anything, like we have a song called “Double Down” which is about a degenerate gambler who wants to win that one big hand and has totally ruined his life chasing it. But he keeps stepping up to the table and losing.

Our songs are often about inexplainable behaviour, about things that we think are weird or just oddly humourus from an alien’s point of view.

Azchael: So what inexplainable behaviour have you observed in Shanghai?

Friend or Foe: Pyjamas on the streets!

The Shanghainese are still inscrutable to aliens. Maybe we should make a record about it, called “Shanghai Degenerate”.

Azchael: On the one hand you are aliens, on the other you are on a compilation record saying “We are Shanghai“. How did you get on it?

Friend or Foe: We are friends with the compilers and one of them (Dennis Nichols from Rainbow Danger Club [rainbowdangerclub.com]) helped us to arrange the tracks. Another (Adam Gaensler from Luwan Rock [luwanrock.com]) actually had already helped us to record our demo. And Ivan Belcic from Twin Horizon [twinhorizon.com] did the art for the awesome comic book that comes with our album. That is 3 of the 4 guys who put the compilation together, so we were in from the start.

Azchael: But who are you? Aliens or “We Are Shanghai”?

Friend or Foe: Well, we are aliens who live in Shanghai.

Azchael: So, do you think you represent the Shanghai sound?

Friend or Foe: No! Not at all!

We have no interest in representing anything except what is sounds cool or interesting to us.

And I don’t think that Shanghai has one cohesive sound, I mean, there are so many types, e.g. Moon Tyrant is different than us, Duck Fight Goose, Candy Shop, Rainbow Danger Club, Sonnet etc., are all different from us.

Besides the metal people and the electronic there is not much cohesive sound in Shanghai. In the rock scene there are not too many bands that sound the same, which I think is cool. When you go out to see a rock show you see 4 very different bands.

Azchael: Have you also played outside of Shanghai?
Friend or Foe: Yes, we have played Beijing twice, D22 both times and next time we gonna hit 2 Kolegas for JUE Festival in March.

We played at the Midi festival in Rizhao, outside of Qingdao and we plan to break out at weekends in Spring, maybe to Wuhan, Nanjing or Hangzhou.

Azchael: I recently talked to Androsace and they mentioned that they are heading out for a Spring tour, are you joining them?

Friend or Foe: Aren’t they already touring? We know them well and discussed going on some shows with them. We need to follow up on that shit! Actually for our touring, we all have day jobs so we can only get out on weekends.

Azchael: A question I always ask in interviews: What is underground? Are you underground?

Friend or Foe: Well, one thing for sure, we are not fuckin’ mainstream. I don’t really care about labels but if you look at the classic definition of underground, it would mean that you do things yourself.

For us, nobody is paying for our shit, we are self-promoted and to me underground implies. If you want a gig you email people and set it up yourself. If you are recording an album, you book the time and finance it yourself. And you choose how you want to sound and what you want to do.

Take the mainstream: You meet up with a bunch of guys and they do it for you, or tell you how you should be doing it.

Azchael: How do you promote your music? Do you promote only in China or also overseas?

Friend or Foe: We focus more on China as we are looking for tours in China. As such we use Weibo, Douban, Twitter, Bandcamp, interviews with bloggers, with rockinchina.com, print magazines, etc. We got a good amount of coverage for our release…

Azchael: How active are you on Weibo on Douban? Is it just a passive platform or do you actively find fans?

Friend or Foe: Douban is ok, but I do more in Twitter and Weibo, so if you wanna do us a favor get to Weibo and love Friend or Foe. If you go to Weibo right now you will see a new video from or CD release show at Yuyintang.

Our album is available for free download on Bandcamp  and we have it on Douban for streaming.

Azchael: Do you go out and try to get your album reviewed?

Friend or Foe: Not too much as we are not really aware of many international blogs. We got some reviews though, e.g. in Beijing and it’s actually a good idea, but we are not reading a lot on music, more listening to it. Not really hanging around music blog websites, but if you have any ideas, tell us.

Azchael: Except Spring touring, what is your plan for 2012?

Friend or Foe: Definitely writing our next album, though we will not be recording for a little bit. We usually write at a quick pace, so by the end of summer we should have a bunch of new songs.

We are also working on a remix album where DJs and producers remix our songs. It will be titled “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY CLAW!?” so right now we are working on finding the right people.

We also try not to take too many shows and to focus on writing, though somehow in Shanghai it seems like that in spring and fall there are a lot of shows. We try not to fill up too many weekends as we want to get out a little.

Azchael: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any further transmission about the human behaviour you wanna shoot out?

Friend or Foe: Thanks a lot for the interview. Shout out to people who helped with the album, particularly the The Horses who produced the thing.

Interview with Moon Tyrant | Shanghai Rock/Metal

Rock in China interviewed Shanghai rock band MOON TYRANT about their previous touring, WE ARE SHANGHAI and a couple of other things. Azchael for Rock in China, “I:” for Ivan, JC for JC, “M:” for Murray and “J:” for Jaret, otherwise Moon Tyrant for Moon Tyrant.

Azchael: Can you briefly introduce yourself and the band?
Moon Tyrant: Moon Tyrant is Cincinatti chili. Jaret’s the chili, Murray’s the spaghetti, JC’s the beans, and Ivan’s the cheese.
M: layer upon layer of delicious, heartwarming flavor, and vicious to the asshole come morning.
Azchael: What kind of instruments are you using? Which brand?
JC: Jaret plays whatever we have at the venue, plus Ivan’s cymbals and his snare.
I: Zildjian and Paiste cymbals
JC: I play an Epiphone bass. It’s the signature model of one of my favorite bassists, Allen Woody, although it sounds nothing like what he played. I bought it in haste when my original bass had a forced retiring the week before Mongolia. There’s no bridge pick-up, so it’s all low end, which feels great live, but I’ll likely try and borrow a bass from someone to record.
M: Hamer USA Standard Custom. Also bought in haste after the unexpected demise of its predecessor. A decision well made though. It’s divine.

Azchael: Moon Tyrant was included in the recent “We Are Shanghai” compilation record. How did you get on the compilation?
Moon Tyrant: We cheated. Well, it was Ivan’s idea. And I was one of the other key organizers. Does that count as cheating? All of us put our own bands on the comp, but I don’t know if it was out of place. We’ve all been very active bands within the scene, and all of our recordings were done DIY. Those were two of the big themes for the compilation.

Azchael: Titled “We Are Shanghai”, what does that sentence mean for you?
Moon Tyrant: Someone once tried to frame a question to us under the guise of Moon Tyrant being a diverse band and I ended up treating the rest of the interview as a bit of a joke. Murray might come from Tasmania, but I never there was anything especially diverse about us.
We’ve all been here a few years now. In a lot ways, I don’t think of us a foreign band; I think of us as a Shanghai band.
M: Our individual tastes and styles differ so broadly that if it wasn’t for our meeting in Shanghai, Moon Tyrant surely wouldn’t have happened.

JC: All the promotion we do is bi-lingual, and we try to play every show with at least one band from outside our laowai circle. That kind of internationalism is really special to our city. Also, we look down on people from the countryside.
M: And believe without exception that true love comes from the heart, if the heart is full of cash.

Azchael: When you play in other Chinese cities, e.g. Wuhan or Suzhou, do you try to represent the Shanghai scene or do you try to establish yourself as an artist independent of Shanghai?
Moon Tyrant: We always have “Shanghai” on the poster if we have a say. We went to Beijing last week and brought out more “We Are Shanghai” CDs than Moon Tyrant ones. There are a few people here who promote themselves as a foreign act, but that’s ridiculous. You can’t call yourself a foreign band if you’ve never played a show outside China.

Azchael: How many other cities have you played in and what do you think is the major difference to Shanghai?
Moon Tyrant: Four within China, plus two in Mongolia. I’d like us to get out more this year. Our schedules have been one factor, and we haven’t really made as big an effort as we should have. Playing at home is great, but you get tired of having the same people pat you on the back after every show. There is definitely a different energy to crowds outside of Shanghai, where four clowns rocking out in silver face paint is considered a novelty. We’ve played in Hangzhou twice, Wuhan twice, Suzhou, Beijing, and best of all, Hefei. Ask Super Sophia about that one sometime.

Azchael: Which one of your songs gets you the best feedback at shows?
Moon Tyrant: Our newest song we’ve been playing live, “Patterns”  has been getting good feedback. I certainly don’t ask people what they think. Actually, the song that got the best reaction, both recorded and live, is one we don’t ever play any more. It’s our “Rosalita”. Maybe after we break up and get back together in 20 years, we’ll make it the encore for shows at New New Giants Stadium. It was the only of our songs that I ever started to dislike playing, and I wrote it. We tried playing it in practice a month or two back when we wanted to mix up our set a bit, but we didn’t make it past half-way through.

Azchael: Do you think you are underground? What is “underground” for you?
Moon Tyrant: Yeah, we are. At least in Shanghai, there isn’t really “over-ground”, unless you count Sonnet gigging at the Apple Store or some of that nonsense. Plus, we’re the heaviest band in the laowai circuit, and the metal scene is really local. We don’t really fit in with either, even though we play within both. To me, underground isn’t an aesthetic or an ideal. It’s a status. I would love it if mainstream Chinese media accepted us and we weren’t this hidden part of local culture. I get especially annoyed when I hear locals refer to Yuyintang as a laowai bar. When my parents listen to cooler current music than teenagers here do, that says a lot about the state of a place’s rock scene.

Azchael: Being a four-foreigner band you have received a fair share of media coverage in English-language blogs and webzines. How much attention do you get in Chinese-language newspapers, magazines or blogs?
Moon Tyrant: What Chinese-language press? We’ve gotten some Weibo love, but a dismaying amount is “This foreigner speaks great Chinese!”. Woozy just taped a video interview with Bren (from Stegosaurus?) and I about the compilation CD. Maybe it’s just Shanghai, but what Chinese-language rock media is there really? If you’ve got any contacts, I’d be glad to reach out.

Azchael: Touring in China is time-intensive and depending on distance can cost quite some money. How do you cope financially? Do all your gigs pay you off for what you invest?
Moon Tyrant: It’s an expensive hobby. I have no idea how much we’ve spent over the past two years. Both Murray and I had to buy new instruments after tragic transportation incidents, and Jaret’s bought new gear, too. Plus, I’ve invested in a bunch of recording gear. And practice. I think only two of our road gigs have earned us anything. Our Shanghai gigs pay for a month or so of practice. Actually, everything we earn goes into a drawer in my room and gets funneled pretty much directly to Wujun, who owns the practice space. We’re totally not-for-profit.

Azchael: Do you have merchandize available? E.g. T-Shirts or other stuff? If yes, where can I get it?
Moon Tyrant: We are going to have t-shirts soon as part of the Twin Horizon project. Our friend Clem did the drawing for it, since Ivan didn’t want to draw his own band’s shirt. We’ve got older shirts that will probably ruin your laundry, even though I promise we washed them four times before we gave them out to people. Those are free. Just ask. They’re only in one size, though. They fit my girlfriend quite nicely.
Stickers are free. Our CD is usually free, too, if you want it. It’s on Bandcamp perhaps you’ll refer to your earlier question when you make the decision to download it. And we’re not hard to get in touch with (Facebook, Douban, Weibo). Just ask, man. Better yet, come to a show!

Azchael: What is your plan for 2012? What is your next big step?
Moon Tyrant: We’re writing. We take forever to write stuff, but we really want to record something new for the summer. Our sound has changed so much since the first record, and we want to really show that off. We’ve got three new tracks that are done, and Murray’s sitting beside me with a guitar working on another. Then we’ll break them down and hone special arrangements for recording. And as I said before, I’d like to get out of town a bit more often.

Azchael: Thanks for the interview.
Moon Tyrant: Any time. Moon Tyrant is not known for shyness, or for an unwillingness to offend fellow scenesters.

Interview with Zang Nan Recording | Shanghai Indie Music Label

On January 18th 2012, Azchael of Rock in China and Nichols of Zang Nan Recordings exchanged an email interview about the record label, the Shanghai music scene and their compilation “We Are Shanghai“.

Azchael: Can you briefly introduce yourself and Zang Nan Recordings and what you do?

Nichols: My name is Nichols (五毛). I am bassist/vocalist/producer for two bands, Rainbow Danger Club and Death to Giants. Along with Bren (bassist and vocalist for Stegosaurus?), I am co-founder of Zang Nan Recordings which, right now, is “whatever it needs to be” in order to help the Shanghai music scene grow. Our mission is geared more towards nurturing the scene and encouraging more people to to get involved (go to shows, start a band, record, etc.). We are also a label and albums by Rainbow Danger Club, Stegosaurus? and Friend or Foe have released albums under the ZN flag. We are also event organizers and we focus on spreading a net outside of our comfort zone of scene stalwarts (ex. free college shows, working with local comedians). We aren’t the only ones doing what we do and we don’t claim to have anything really figured out, and that is part of the fun. It’s something we enjoy doing and hope to make a mark in Shanghai in the process.

Azchael: You have recently released the compilation “We Are Shanghai”, what was the greatest difficulty to overcome while creating the compilation?

Nichols: Twin Horizon, an art/fashion collective, brought us on to help with mobilizing bands, organization, and being overall collaborators. The most difficult part was just compiling all the infomation for the website and CD printing. God love em, a lot of musicians are slackers and don’t reply to emails and phone calls. Who would have thunk it?

Azchael: What is the “Shanghai Sound” for you?

Nichols: Construction, car horns, loud people, drinking, eating, partying. Its in the music. Aesthetically, there’s a lot of energy and excess reflected in the sound. But, stylistically, there is no one dominant sound. This might have to do with the fact that a lot of people in Shanghai are from outside of Shanghai (another province or another country) and they all grew up on different

Azchael: As mentioned in another interview by Ivan, you plan to include more metal bands on the second compilation that is still in the future but planned. Which bands do you see on the forefront of Shanghai metal?

Nichols: I love metal, but Ivan is the resident metalhead of our group so i concede to him to figure that one out. My personal mission is to include more electronic acts and young chinese artists. Conrank, Uprooted Sunshine, and Naohai are just three groups that I respect and might want on the next comp.

Azchael: On your catalogue I recognize mostly foreigner-driven bands, are you also open for Chinese only bands? What are your selection criteria for promotion?

Nichols: I hope we are only a few years away from labelling bands by their ethnicity. haha. But, selection criteria is “Do we like the music?” and “Do you want to be on the compilation?” It’s pretty simple. I’ve actually offered to mix a few young chinese bands’ demos for free if they are willing to put the time and effort into recording. Hopefully you’ll see that in 2012.

Azchael: How much tour promotion do you do for bands from Shanghai in other cities?

Nichols: Our model is to be “Whatever we need to be” and we do things out of neccesity. RDC will be touring the states this summer, so i imagine we’ll be doing some stuff with that. We are also organizing a China tour for a band from Austin, Texas (The Noise Revival Orchestra) in May and June of this year. That’ll be the first ZN-organized tour. We’ve organized a few excursions of our own outside of Shanghai, but our current goals are more introspective. We want to help develop a really strong homegrown scene first and foremost.

Azchael: Are you interested in band exchange concerts, e.g. with Hongkong bands to raise awareness of Shanghai creativity in Hongkong, where everybody only sees Beijing as rock capital of China?

Nichols: Absolutely! That goes for any city in the world!

Azchael: Having most of your records on Bandcamp for free, what is the value of music for you?

Nichols: The value of music for me to very personal. I love creating and showing off my creations. I am a bit of narcissist, as are most people who gravitate towards music performance. I don’t make net profit from music and maybe never will. Making money is second-place to that personal love and good feeling I get from people liking what I do. Music is most valuable when its authentic and comes from the heart of the creator. I want more people to listen and not put up barriers (aka costs).

And, what is the point in ever charging for a download when its so easy to get it for free elsewhere? There is so much music out there (some of it really good) that its damn-near impossible for John Doe’s Garage Band to get heard even if they put their polished album out for free on bandcamp. Monetarily, there is no value to MUSIC itself. As Helen Feng once told me, music is a vehicle for which a band can sell itself because a band is a brand. You have to be willing to sell yourself to make any money off of music. You have to have ambition. Those who thrive in the music industry today and in the future will be the ones that can balance artistic integrity and authenticity with hard work and ambition.

Azchael: Where do you see the future of labels like Zang Nan Recordings in the digital age and how do you try to monetarize from that?

Nichols: Labels like ours are fueled by a labor of love and an abundance of energy. These things have a way of running out eventually and I hope that by the end of our journey, we will have made a mark on the Shanghai scene, or perhaps even handed it off to a new generation to do even greater things. I don’t have any current plans to monetize Zang Nan. Our goals are simple and we do what we can when we can to improve the local scene.

Azchael: How do you try to promote Shanghai music overseas? Which promotion paths do you choose?

Nichols: Like I said, ZN is more introspective. We want people within Shanghai and within China invested in local independent music made right here. We are definitely interested in teaming up with an organization that is better at promoting Shanghai/China bands internationally.

Left to our own devices though, it’s contacting music blogs and sinophile college communities aross the globe as well as promoting within our own networks of musical friends abroad and social media. I think Music Videos are next. I still don’t think we’ve hit our stride in getting all that to work. We aren’t professionals mind you. We are still figuring it all out. If you have any suggestions, please contact me immediately!!!!

Azchael: What recording equipment do you use?

Nichols: With RDC, we prefer to use an old Roland Multitrack recorder because we like being able to record on our own schedule and whenever inspiration hits. Sounds cheap, but when coupled with a good vocal mic and decent pre-amps/compressors, you can get a good clean sound with minimal post-production EQing. With recording Friend or Foe, we got a lot of technical know-how by Acid Pony Club. They also brought expensive pre-amps and guitar amp simulators. I felt like a kid in a candy store scrolling through those presets. At the end of the day, Ableton is the best editing suite for my tastes though lately I have been experimenting with open-source software. My final peice of equipment comes in the form of my go to mastering professional Adam Gaensler (Luwan Rock). If producing a song is like remodelling a car, I repair the engine, clean it up and made it work, but he waxes it and makes it shiny and beautiful.

Azchael: Thanks a lot for the interview.

Nichols: Thank you for making Rock in China WIKI exist!