After nearly a decade as the go-to, late-night hangout for musicians, artists and travelers alike, Chengdu’s beloved bar and venue Steam Hostel has closed its doors for the last time. Another one bites the dust — Steam is the latest casualty to fall to the pressure of prolonged business closures and wilting tourism, just weeksContinueContinue reading “Farewell, Steam Hostel”
Category Archives: Music
Album Review: Another Shore – Wu Zhuoling
A chameleonic pioneer at the forefront of Chengdu’s live electronic counterculture – Wu Zhuoling’s zen-spaced new album sends chillwaves to the head and the heart. Our planet rose towards the sky – its fragile core enveloped by layers of slow-forming crust. As midnight rolled by, we watched the paint dry. Plastering a gigantic balloon with whiteContinueContinue reading “Album Review: Another Shore – Wu Zhuoling”
Kaishandao’s Debut EP + China Tour Dates 2021
Homeland is the debut EP from Chengdu-based producer Kaishandao, aka Kristen Ng, six tracks that explore the places, spaces, and people we call home. During a period of reflection and uncertainty, the first rough sketches for Homeland emerged from bedroom jam sessions in Kaishandao’s adopted hometown of Chengdu. With no way in or outContinueContinue reading “Kaishandao’s Debut EP + China Tour Dates 2021”
The Return of Chun You 2021
Following a year of Covid-induced hiatus, Chengdu’s favourite outdoor music festival Chun You returns for its eighth edition, 17-18 April 2021! Since arriving in Chengdu several months after the birth of the first Chun You, the festival has become engrained in my heart. Chun You offers the grassroots vibes and sense of belonging we liveContinueContinue reading “The Return of Chun You 2021”
SYNC 4.0 – Chengdu’s Annual Live Synthesiser Collaboration
With club parties and DJs every night, post-Covid Chengdu continues her reign as the party capital of China. The appetite for nightlife is insatiable — electronic music is the sound of Chengdu’s beating heart (and pounding hangover.) But what lies beyond the dancefloor? What kind of sounds are being made here? How are those sounds created?ContinueContinue reading “SYNC 4.0 – Chengdu’s Annual Live Synthesiser Collaboration”
Review: Hiperson – Live at Zhenghuo, Chengdu
Review: Hiperson – Live at Zhenghuo Art Space, Chengdu Saturday 25 October 2020 *** There’s something special about seeing a local band play a packed out show on home turf, and in Chengdu, few are more beloved than five-piece rock band Hiperson 海朋森. The atmosphere surrounding Hiperson’s homecoming show in Chengdu last Saturday was suitablyContinueContinue reading “Review: Hiperson – Live at Zhenghuo, Chengdu”
blazing up, earth underfoot: rest in peace, Reuben Winter
It has sadly been announced that Auckland musician Reuben Winter a.k.a. Totems died by suicide last Thursday. The news has sent shockwaves through the Aotearoa music community and tributes are flowing from friends, fans and loved ones across social media. I was lucky to see Reuben perform in various guises over the years, mostly throughContinueContinue reading “blazing up, earth underfoot: rest in peace, Reuben Winter”
Hiperson Reconstruct Narratives on Bildungsroman
On their third full-length album Bildungsroman, released last month via Beijing tastemakers Maybe Mars—Hiperson’s incisive, kinetic reconstructions of post-punk, art rock and noise manifest with bright, new sonic self-awareness. “We want to discuss the urgency of now,” says Chen Sijiang, lead singer of Hiperson. We’re sitting in the courtyard of Yishan, a long-running retro antiquesContinueContinue reading “Hiperson Reconstruct Narratives on Bildungsroman”
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