▶▷ east impressions

established in 2002 by Sulumi (remember the chiptune?), Shanshui Records is, in their words, a "simple gathering place for electronic music" - an idea that is embodied in (what will be?*) their biggest release to date, a 4-disc compilation to celebrate their 10th anniversary. they've released previews for all 40 tracks on their SoundCloud.

the cover art for the previews has holes punched through each of the artist names like the dakou CDs (cut CDs) that introduced Western music to Chinese urban youth in the 90s. the holes render some parts of the CDs unlistenable, but you can still hear parts of them, like these previews. in that sense, the preview cover art is like a veiled homage to the musical globalization that's given life to this eclectic compilation. C: 

it features both Chinese and foreign artists, with sounds ranging from the pleasant twinkly haze of Beijing's me:mo and Japan's Poplamb to the slow-stomping chiptune of Sweden's Covox. they also haven't forgotten to include tracks from China's bigger electronic names in the mix - Sulumi's experimentation with bass, Dead J's unsettling minimalism, and B6's watery ambience. give it a try!

some of you might've noticed that I returned briefly after submitting early college apps in early November and then went radio silent. I have to apologize again for that. it's been a very hectic time for me, especially since I've been working on regular college apps while trying to keep up in school and extracurriculars. (hope for the best but prepare for the worst!)

I'm still waiting for my early admissions decision, which will be out in a few days. whether or not I'm accepted could make or break the rest of my December in terms of working on regular apps, so I'm hesitant to say I'll be going on hiatus for a while - but I will still be inactive until next Monday. 

I will come back, though! I've been trying to keep up with new Chinese music with that in mind. (I also got Laure Shang's new album as a gift. hm...I'll make a longer post about it later.) I'm also hoping to do a giveaway since I have an extra album. so I'm looking forward to returning! :) 

also, thanks to those who wished me luck last time!

EDIT:

Holiday / 好乐Day by Wang Rong / 王蓉

when I first heard the song and saw the video, I couldn't decide if she was a) pandering to the audience and therefore selling out or b) making a statement with her panty-flashing ("I don't care about what's considered morally upright and good - or anything, really!"). but these two things don't have to be exclusive. Wang Rong does both: while wearing Playboy Bunny-esque ears - exemplifying the notion that she's pandering - she smiles at the viewer and lifts up her skirt. in other scenes, she's dancing in bright summer clothes, singing, "no work no learn / love 谁谁 / crazy crazy ok ok" before flashing her panties (again). 

speaking of the lyrics, they consist entirely of Chinese mixed with Chinglish phrases, which carry a silly connotation. Wang Rong says about the song: "nowadays there are a lot of office workers who are busy every day with work and life, facing a lot of pressure from their work and home. I hope when everyone listens to this song that they can truly achieve relaxation…even if they don't have time to take a vacation. they can still sing songs and listen to music to unwind; they don't need to think much about anything else." this isn't a song to be taken seriously. she wants the audience to have a little fun, to not have to care about stuffy suits and salaries. sure, the song and the video are crass, especially compared to an emotionally sensitive song like "Father and Mother", and once you realize that she's in her mid-forties, it all seems a little ridiculous, like she's trying too hard to be a twenty-something again. but Wang Rong knows what she's doing. 

"Rose-Coloured", the opening track of Deserts Zhang's 2012 album, is a long, drawn-out crescendo, starting from the piano of a lonely guitar strum and steadily building to the forte of hefty piano chords and drums. it's an epic tribute to social movements, but I imagine Zhang sings it with a bittersweet smile, tired from the weight of the world: 

at this moment, you are the most naive person

you're not holding a magic flute, but just a raggedy flag

you're waving it like a crown; you play games, and unafraid of getting dirty

you look exhausted but you have yet to stop

I love you so

the obstinate you, the rose-coloured you

here's a chilly, dream-like track from Shanghainese producer Swimful Buterfly - he essentially loops one part of Ai Otsuka's "Kingyo Hanabi" for the entire song, while occasionally layering on older Chinese music (according to NeochaEDGE, "samples of vintage Shanghainese female singers"). 

the title is presumably based off of the 1937 Chinese film Street Angel. it would make a lot of sense if the song was sampling the film's music, but having never watched it, I can't say for sure.

When the Wind Blows / 风起来的时光 by Zhou Ziyan / 周子琰

adorable. xiaoqingxin. I don't really know what else to say.

HK electro-pop duo PixelToy does well in cultivating an otherworldly sound in this song through the shimmery, metallic effects and Ho Shan's voice strained through computerized filters. but the highlight is (of course) Candy Wu's lilting vocals, reaching out like a siren as the chorus ends: "亲爱的 / 再来一场欢喜"*

the title is actually a converse play on the idiom 同床异梦 ("same bed, different dreams"), which refers to two people who seem to get along but have different personal plans and interests. 

(also, PixelToy has abandoned CDs for free music downloads! just click on "PixelToy" and the download for the EP should automatically begin.)

*my way of awkwardly translating this to English would be: "beloved / let's go for another round of happiness/ecstasy"

on their 2008 album is Demerit's punk anthem of homesickness ("oh mama, mama / tell me where can I sleep tonight"), which makes sense considering the band was originally formed in Qingdao before they relocated to Beijing. this song is (probably) to Demerit as writing/exercising/other cathartic activity is to non-punk-rockers.

on a different note, something interesting that this review by Morgan Short on SmartShanghai points out is that it's a response to Beijing punk band Brain Failure's song, Coming Down to Beijing.

热水澡 / Hot Shower by 蛋堡 / Soft Lipa, from his album 收敛水 / Lotion

I'm a little late with the news, but folk rockers Second Hand Rose are back with a new album! they're known for fusing rock with Chinese traditional instruments and influences, especially 二人转 - a form of local "story-telling" folk dance and song from Northeast China - which you can hear in lead singer Liang Long's way of singing. fun fact: they're also known for Liang Long's penchant for cross-dressing..but only on stage.

'Fairy', the first single off the album, has some really lush, sweeping arrangements of traditional instruments (dizi! guzheng flourishes! there's also a great suona player!) combined with good old guitar/bass/drums, plus the occasional falsetto opera cry. fitting, I think, for a song with a name like 'Fairy'. 

whooo more people starting to notice the mainland indie scene \o/ 

thanks for liking my blog!! honestly, I'm still feeling my way around too, so I recommend you check out the Resources page if you want to read stuff by people who are actually close to / part of the mainland indie scene or other people who also really like Chinese music. 

that reminds me, I should update that page with these additions: 

Pangbianr

Beijing Gig Guide

Beijing Daze

you will be hard-pressed to find her songs anywhere in English..at least, until she releases an actual album. I did find her song with Harlem Yu plus her live performances from The Voice of China in the Canadian iTunes store, but since you mentioned her two solo songs, I'm assuming those aren't what you're looking for. 

I downloaded/"bought" one of her solo songs from Xiami. you have to make an account in Chinese, and then you can buy Xiami's virtual currency (for example, through Paypal) which you can use to download a song. when I registered, I did some kind of tutorial-esque thing that rewarded me with points that weren't the currency but could still be used to download songs. I'm not sure if that's changed though.. also, you need to download free software from Xiami to download the songs. I haven't had any problems with it, but to be fair, I haven't downloaded anything as of late. 

YinYueTai (music video site) lets you download their music videos, but it looks like it has a somewhat similar model to Xiami? you need to register for an account and download their software, and it looks like you need some kind of points to download a video. I've never tried this though.

sorry, this isn't that great of an answer, but I hope you can find a way!