Introducing... Some TING! 听 (tīng, 'to listen') sharing independent music from both China and Nu Zilland. This week we've got Carsick Cars and Ghost Wave. Jangly guitars, surf rock, sunglasses and cigarettes. >>>>>Carsick Cars are a guitar-bass-drum trio from Beijing that formed back in 2005. Despite a few line-up changes in recent years, the band have retained the catchy, guitar-driven melodies that haveContinue reading "Some TING! 听 #001: Carsick Cars & Ghost Wave"
Falun Dafuq?
I have been agonizing over whether or not to write about Shen Yun. Now, a month on, here is the result of said agony. I attended the second of two shows back in April at the St James with my friend Rosa, out of strong curiosity and desire for $60 worth of entertainment. The postersContinue reading "Falun Dafuq?"
Quit punkin’ around: Interview with John Lake
What happens when a Wellingtonian photographer resides in Beijing for three months with a camera, no Mandarin and a passion for punk music? Kiwese caught up with John Lake of Up the Punks down at his current BEIJING DAZE exhibition in Newtown. Hey John! Favourite punk bands in Wellington at the moment? The Johos, Johnny and the Felchers,Continue reading "Quit punkin’ around: Interview with John Lake"
Flat White Cafe and the Rickshaw Roasters: a Wellington-Beijing Coffee Crew
To live in Beijing is to give oneself to the incredible push and pull of constant human traffic. For a Wellingtonian, sometimes you just need a form of escapism from the urban madness of a city home to 20 million people... and the Flat White Cafes and Rickshaw Roasters coffee havens provide just that. IContinue reading "Flat White Cafe and the Rickshaw Roasters: a Wellington-Beijing Coffee Crew"
High Times with Shanren
Back in January, Kiwese hung out with the boys from Shanren 山人 (mountain men) in Beijing to chat about ethnic music fusions, tourism development in Yunnan and their upcoming trip to New Zealand for WOMAD. Shanren are a band from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the south-west of China, where the mountains are tall and majestic, theContinue reading "High Times with Shanren"
Chinese Rock Royalty: Tang Dynasty in New Zealand
Tang Dynasty, 唐朝乐队, are often hailed as China’s first heavy metal band and are a household name to many in a country of more than a billion people. Kiwese met up with these members of Chinese rock royalty while they were in Wellington. Tang Dynasty came to New Zealand to play at a variety of Chinese culturalContinue reading "Chinese Rock Royalty: Tang Dynasty in New Zealand"
Haere Mai Nevin Domer: Getting Genjing and Maybe Mars bands to NZ
From heading DIY record labels, playing in punk bands, averting lyrical censorship, booking dozens of tours and crowd surfing on them, to speaking on music panels, Nevin Domer is one of the most dedicated people in the Beijing underground today. Kiwese caught up with him to see if there's anything in store for us over in New Zealand.Continue reading "Haere Mai Nevin Domer: Getting Genjing and Maybe Mars bands to NZ"
Time to reflect with Disasteradio
Kiwese caught up with Luke Rowell aka Disasteradio for some reflection time about his sizzlingly sweaty 13-date tour of China back in 2012. With Camp A Low Hum now at a close, it feels only right to take some time to reflect with Disasteradio. I've seen Disasteradio play in a bunch of weird places -Continue reading "Time to reflect with Disasteradio"
KIWESE 