#dohits

Lofimaker is a Chinese musician based in Shijiazhuang. His distinctive sound is characterised by the innovative way in which he combines traditional Chinese folk music with thoroughly modern production. Through his beats you can feel the evolution of one country, from its roots to its adaptation to modern life; a film soundtrack of an artist trying to connect the past and the future. Lofimaker spoke to us below.

What does Lofimaker mean?

Lofimaker is my artist name, ‘LOFI’ means low-fidelity – it’s kind of self-mockery that I’m making rough music.

Which music were you exposed to when you grew up?

When I was a teenager I listened to some pop music or hip-hop music and like most young kids I listened to groups like Linkin Park or Eminem and many Chinese pop singers. But there is a lot of traditional Chinese music I was exposed to which my parents and my grandparent listened to.

Why electronic music instead of organic music?

Actually I haven’t received any professional music education. I only had a PC when I started creating music. Electronic music is convenient as software can make most sounds that I want to use in my primary stage. Secondly, I think electronic music gives more freedom of expression than organic music.

How has your local area influenced your music?

I live in Shijiazhuang, a city near Beijing. But unlike Beijing my city doesn’t have a long and splendid history. it’s built in an industrial area. For this reason, this place lacks some traditional culture. However it also has an advantage, which is I can assimilate everything good in China. Nobody asks ‘Why don’t you do some stuff to represent your city?’ because this city has a open mind.

Which things inspire you most?

I think music can bring me a lot of joyful moments in my life.

What equipment do you use?

A Macbook, headphones, soundcard, midi keyboard, voice recorder, LP player, etc.

How would you define your music?

Electronic music with Chinese traditional folk and world music I think. But it’s hard to define, I’ll try every style I like.

Who are your biggest influences nowadays?

Howie Lee, Guzz, Zaliva-D, Jason Hou. They are best Chinese electronic music producers.

How’s the music industry situation in China?

In an electronic music sense, more and more major labels want to get some benefit. They host a lot of music festivals, sign contracts with many producers. Making money is good for musicians, it can encourage them to create. But most companies make musicians make songs which will sell a lot. They sound similar. Recently I’ve heard many young producers’ songs, no matter if they doing good or not, it’s important that they try to be different.

What do you hope the future of music will be like?

I hope that people can accept all kinds of electronic music, not just EDM. Independent labels would have more opportunities to perform.

Shanghai’s ZEAN is one of the new touchstones of the Chinese underground, a producer whose mastery of everything from grime to future beats has seen him recently receiving plays on Rinse FM. Having released on labels like Beijing’s superlative Dohits and DJ Shadow’s Liquid Amber (alongside his mentor Conrank), it’s clear that ZEAN is on the up and up. We got in touch to find out a little more…

Tell us about your artist name…

Zean is my surname in Korean, my grandparents moved to China from South Korea before I was born and luckily I can speak it fluently.

What sort of music were you exposed to when you were growing up?

I think old school hip-hop is the one.

When did you start making your own music and what was it like?

I didn’t study anything about music or an instrument, I wish I did study it before so I could be better now. I was a beatboxer for 7 years and I moved on to producing. I started to write beats in 2012, but from the summer of 2013 I started take it seriously.

What equipment do you use now?

I used to produce on Logic Pro and I moved to Ableton Live recently, but I’m still using Logic Pro for mixing and mastering.

What fuels your creativity?

Interesting sounds, impressive rhythms, special visuals, etc.

What do you think the future of music is going to be like?

I’m not very sure, I guess it will be more mixed, like multiple producers working together and mixing different genres together to make it better each time. Everyone knows unity is better 🙂 I hope it will be more open and people will continually exchange ideas, then it would be truly global I think!

Does your local area influence the music you make?

Yes, it does. The things that I hear or I see, and those emotions I can feel influenced by my local area, they affect my mind when producing.

Who’s your biggest local musical influence, past and/or present?

Hyph11E.

What are the top things you’d suggest visitors to your city should go and see/do?

Hahaha… Hardest question for me, I spend most of my time in my room. Clubs are the main reason for me to go out. But maybe you can go and try the foot massages with your own whisky like me and my friends do!

#Shanghai's @its_zean brings us this beautiful #ViewFromMyWindow #LiquidAmber @dohits 🇨🇳 Link to full interview in bio 👉🏻

A post shared by MusicMap (@musicmapglobal) on Feb 19, 2017 at 3:07am PST

What’s the biggest challenge facing musicians in China?

Hmm… There are a few issues, for example China has blocked a lot websites including SoundCloud/Facebook/Twitter… It makes it harder for Chinese people to know what’s going on with music, and it’s difficult to promo your own music to bigger places. Less people understand electronic music because of the closed circumstance, and it makes it difficult for musicians to improve their income. Ahh a lot to say but yeah… right now we need more people to open their mind.

What are the best music venues and record shops in your city?

My favourite music venue is The Shelter. My favourite record shop is Uptown Records. It’s the best place to pick up new records with inexpensive drinks, it’s the place that we hold our live stream event ‘Meat & Bone’ also.

Where in the world would you most like to perform?