There is no Santa Claus and this just might be a good thing. Instead of being tucked in our beds this past December’s Friday 25th waiting for the fat man in the red suit, some of us were out on the town, taking in the sights and sounds of Shanghai. For me, I found myself over at YuYinTang among a crowd of a hundred or so Chinese, and a few dastardly wai guo ren, for a band that rolled in from Nan Chang City in Jiangxi going by the name of Cigarette Butts (烟头). What did this indie band bring to the stage? Actually, they brought a strange thing for the venue: emotion.
When Cigarette Butts takes the stage, the presence of the lead singer and guitarist A Bu (阿布) is all consuming. He’s quite tall, ruggedly handsome and sings his wrought-iron lyrics with a gaze and a tenor that is serious and poignantly soulful with husky undertones that make up for his somewhat limited range. When he met my eye from behind his microphone, his guitar slung across his shoulder like a toy, I had to look away, then peek back in hopes he had picked some one else to fix his dark pupils on.
Backing up Bu is the adorable keyboardist and vocalist Wang Ranran (王冉冉), who worked as a strange contrast to the expressionless Bu, due to her gleeful expressions that popped up during the songs as if she was surprised that they sounded so good. Ranran’s bubbly demeanor certainly seemed mismatched with the somber and haunting lyrics of Bu, which leave no room for such smiles. These songs are about break ups and leave takings, the emptiness of the existential foundation that sits at the base of all human relationships, those with others and those with ourselves. Not exactly anything to grin about.
Cigarette Butts has been playing together since 2002 and are currently on tour for the release of their first EP. They are essentially a duo and were backed up at this show by the players from Yu Guo (羽果), another band from Nan Chang, who opened the show. Playing with Cigarette Butts, drummer Xie Jun (谢俊) maintained steady rhythms that kick started the songs and drove them solidly to their finish while bassist Lu WenJian (吕文坚) thumbed along with such timing that I thought the two might be brothers. The star of the show, for me, was the lead guitarist Wan Mai (万劢), whose nuanced finger work and grimacing concentration formed the back bone of every song. At one point, his solo brought the crowd to hoops and hollers and even I whistled. Such cries from an audience might not be unexpected at a show at YuYinTang, however, this band’s sound is the type that you listen to while you contemplate whether it hurts to jump from the balcony on the 34th floor of your apartment building or after your lover leaves you and your measuring out sleeping pills. I don’t mean to harp on suicide but only to give the weight to Cigarette Butt’s music that it deservers. It’s contemplative, pensive and dangerously sincere.
You can listen to some songs from Cigarette Butt’s EP on their Douban page here and check out Yu Guo’s entire live album also on Douban.
I was at the last day of the Zhajiang Dream Factory mini-festival this past Friday night. This was the third year of this new and hopeful tradition here in Shanghai, an event that attempts to cross the cultures of Germany and China under the catchy, if sinister sounding, heading of “German Tunes for Chinese Ears.” The first two days of this burlesque carnival were given to the heavy metal and punk genres while the last day was saved for some multilingual indie pop. From Hamburg, Germany, Kira headlined the show gracefully with her tightly knit band and played some fantastic numbers from their new EP Deine Insel.
Before the show, vocalist and guitarist Kira (otherwise known as Janine Scholz) and I sat down in the plush lounge of the Dream Factory and had a chat.
“I first picked up a guitar when I was 16-years-old,” Kira tells me with a smile. “At that moment, I knew that I was going to be a star.”
The guitar was not Kira’s first venture into music. She began playing violin when she was 10-years-old and kept that up for six years, but it was the guitar that really grabbed her. Kira ended up dropping out of school in the twelfth grade and started writing songs. After some false starts, she was happily introduced to the founder of England-based label Grönland, Herbert Grönemeyer, who signed her to the label in 2002.
“For me, there has been no ‘one’ highlight to my music career,” she says smiling with her sweet perfume hanging in the air between us. “It’s always been the next show, the next song. Always the next.”
Kira’s first album Inauswendig was released in October of 2004 and she followed this up with another album, Goldfisch, in April of 2006. Her most recent release is her EP. The songs on the album and the sounds on the stage are composed of frontwoman Kira, keyboardist and producer Michael Hagel, guitarist Dirk Häfner, drummer Alexander Jezdinsky and bassist Ben Schadow.
Although Kira speaks English, she has chosen to write her songs in her native language.
“The audience might not understand one word, not a word, but I can truly express myself in my own language. At first, I wrote some songs in English because I knew that if I wanted to be [internationally] successful, then I’d have to, but I don’t want to be successful. There’s nothing special about my music. I sing about things that are common to everyone. Things from every day life.” She smiles and adds, “Most of my songs are about love.”
Kira hopes to release a new LP in the Spring of 2010.
This was her first time in Shanghai, but she has been to China on several occasions and she showed her knowledge of this country by writing a song and singing it in Chinese with the chorus of “I belong to you.” The crowd at the Dream Factory loved it and her as they swayed and danced.
Shanghai favorites, The Honeys, composed of vocalist and guitarist Yu Tian, guitarist Wang Zhe, bassist Dai Zhe and drummer He Zhen Hao, opened the Friday night show with their special blend of harmony and driving rhythms that are well-executed and, at times, almost epic. The Honeys were recently named The Best Domestic Band, and for good reason, but, apparently, the band itself was not too concerned.
“We [The Honeys] didn’t go to the award show,” frontman Yu Tian and drummer He Hao tell me. Apparently, the entire band was not invited to the award ceremony so the band decided not to go at all. “At first, we didn’t even know about the award and then we didn’t really care.”
For The Honeys, it’s not the acclaim but the audience that they care about. A number of the people that turned out for the Dream Factory show were certainly there to see this Shanghai favorite and, in return, The Honeys gave them the energy-infused music that they love.
“We try to avoid mainstream music, which is full of love songs, and to give the people more meaningful lyrics,” says Yu Tian. “Our music is more about human beings, about peace, about life in general. We hope to see a big change in the music in China. We want the music to be more meaningful, not so sweet.”
The Honeys have been together since 1997 and were the second Shanghainese band to release an album and the first band from Shanghai to be featured on a Shanghainese label. The list of their accomplishments and gigs is a long one including shows in the US at the famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go.
Their blend of pop and rock is tantalizing in English and Chinese and, at this show, they gave the audience a treat of their popular and catchy song “Yi Jiang Nan” and the rocking “Hello Bomb.”
Absolutely delicious.
Following The Honeys was Shanghai-based artist and social activist Zhong Chi with her bandmates guitarist Zhang Wei, bassist Chen Qi, keyboardist Jiayang Yixi and drummer Chen Song. This band has been making an impact on the music scene since the release of Easy World in December of 2007.
Zhong Chi’s music gives us not just great tunes, but a message.
“We’re all equal,” Zhong Chi tells me and it seems like such a simple message albeit an important one. “Most people don’t know what’s going on with the environment, pollution…I write lyrics about things like that.”
Zhong Chi grew up in Denmark and began getting interested in music when she was eighteen and met musician Jiayang Yixi who she collaborated with and has been playing with ever since. She has a strong presence on stage and this relatively young band is certainly an up-and-comer. This band’s music is lyrically driven and Zhong Chi’s steady and strong voice give her song’s stories the solid foundation to push the listener beyond listening and into thinking.
“Songs and language can give back,” Zhong Chi believes. “They let us speak out about what we think is important.”
If you missed the shows at the Dream Factory this year, then shame on you. Thankfully though, the movement will return next year for the 4th Annual German Music for Chinese Ears.
I recently caught a show from Life Journey, which hails from Liuzhou in Guangxi province, at YuYinTang on May 15th. The audience was primarily composed of female university students hopping up and down, singing along to the lyrics, and pumping their arms in the air. It was quite a scene, everyone swaying and screaming. I had the feeling that I was at a Beatle’s concert. I kept imagining that the five handsome manboys on stage were none other than the Eastern-version of the Monkees.
The bespectacled girls shouted for an encore at the end of Life Journey’s set while the lanky college boys and occasional foreigner looked on in grinning amazement.
This was a great show. It had that energy that pulsates with giddiness. It wasn’t heated sexuality, which is what a lot of Western “cute” boy bands offer, but, instead, more like a bubbly dreamy date with the band. Lead singer and guitarist Yann flirted with the audience, he snapped a few photographs during an instrumental section and slung a red electric guitar over his shoulder and joined in for a solo while keyboardist oldbanana (that’s his name) pulled a couple of girls and a guy onto the stage and began jumping with them.
The spotlight flickered as it switched over to guitarist Mali or bassist Paul Chu and finally landed on the vigorous drumming of David Duan.
In between songs, Yann and his wingman Mali would exchange little repartees to the absolute delight of the audience. I actually saw a girl swoon when Chu, Yann and Mali each swept the hair from their foreheads simultaneously.
After the encore, the girls clamored to the little table by the entrance where Life Journey’s first self-titled CD and new 4-track EP were up for sell. The problem was that there were very limited amounts. I counted 12 CDs available. The girls were packed against each other waving money over one another’s shoulders. It was like they were trying to jam themselves into a metro during rush hour.
I managed to work my way to the front and snagged a copy of the band’s debut album. I probably could have sold it for quadruple its value then and there, but I restrained myself.
It begins with the sound of a car’s engine starting, and then we start driving.
The neon lights pass by. The window is cracked and a cool wind comes through. No particular destination in mind.
One minute and thirty seconds into the third track, I was almost in love. The tracks continue to blend one into next with a simple fluidity throughout the albums 12 songs. The lyrics range from gibberish (Ba balabalabala Ba) and Chinese to English and French. Life Journey offers us danceable driving rhythms and lovingly simple acoustic ballads. Why haven’t I heard of them before? They’re virtually ready for Western radio.
My favorite track on the album is the eight-and-a-half-minute long “Dao Tian Jian,” which demonstrates the band’s Wilco influence, while the last track of the album, “Lonely Day,” hearkens back to the sounds of the 1960s with its gentle hand drum rhythm and simple melody.
Life Journey is great to listen to, but, for a straight male, it might become a little strange to listen to alone. Especially once you’ve seen them live and find yourself blushing along with the girls.
It’s bands like this, who give us decidedly original music, that demonstrate where music—in this sometimes backwards country—is heading.
Life Journey’s albums were released on Beijing-based Modern Sky Records and the band recently played at the Strawberry Music Festival. Find more information on the band at www.neocha.com/thelifejourney.
我喜爱。凡是能从目前作音乐的那些有利可图的垃圾中救出我来的事都算稀有和美好。来自北京的欲望之箭(Arrows Made of Desire)成为了在中国正在创立一种新颖的音乐的乐队之一。几年前中伟(Joewi Verhoeven)个人创作的他们的首张专辑《自私的鱼贩》(“Songs That Sell Fish”) 被泰格唱片发行，从此这支乐队收到了点儿兴趣，包括在Time Out 杂志上的一段文章和在City Weekend杂志上的中伟的一张帅气的封面图片。在北京中伟已演出了几十次音乐会，而且他们的第二张唱片”Songs That Sell Out”的发行日期确定为５月２９号。看来他们越来越红。
There’s so much music going on! Knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do could help you this weekend.
Live Dates
Layabozi on the net
We Are...
Layabozi is a web magazine about music in Shanghai today, with a sprinkle of the extra-mural and a tart sassiness—without ever being cloying. We take our inspiration from the snack which is both exotic (to us) and down home, and from which we take our name: Spicy Duck Necks.
The songs posted in this website are for analysis purposes only. We, the contributors, love - deeply - music and we work to support the artists we love by promoting and purchasing their work; it is our policy only to post what we own or what the artists/owners have authorized us to publish. Through this site, we're simply sharing music with others hoping they will also support these artists and appreciate the quality of their work. We encourage everyone to purchase music and concert tickets for the artists you feel deserve your money and energy. If you own the copyright to one of the songs posted on this website and would like it removed, please let us know we'll respond fast as a the wind. We do not keep an archive of our songs. And we do take obsessive care of our records, cassettes, cd's, dvd's, videos, books, autographs, photos and old tickets to concerts we loved.
Feel free to contact us if you are a band, label or distributor and think we'd be interested in your music. Same goes if you're playing a gig in either Shanghai, China, Asia, Gaia, or outer space and want us to come.
‘这就是一种自然的过程’中伟说。‘我１５－６岁的时候买了一把电吉他就开始玩儿乐队。不一会儿我们就在录音室里录音，但是我对结果并不满意。当时我有一些意见想进展，所以我买了一个录音机就开始个人录音。我录自己喜欢的音乐起来，这样就开始了。’
