Tag Music

I’ve started a Substack

Jake Newby Leave a comment

It’s called Concrete Avalanche and is about music from China.

It’s a work in progress, but so far it’s been shared by Taylor Lorenz, Chaoyang Trap and Bill Bishop (of Sinocism) and been highlighted in Semafor’s ‘London Review of Substacks’.

The hope is it’ll help keep you up to date on new releases from China and/or introduce you to new music and artists you might not have found otherwise.

I had reservations about starting this newsletter. In addition to the usual concerns about whether I’ll be able to sustain it etc, I want artists from China to be judged on their music rather than where they’re from. Yet at the same time, there is a real lack of coverage of those artists in English and it can be difficult for non-Chinese readers to find extensive information about new music from the country.

So here we are. Concrete Avalanche is still new and still finding its feet so please be patient with it, but I welcome any feedback, tips, questions or Bandcamp subsidies.

Find the first issue here and the latest one here.

hualun the wire

“We’d like to be able to reach people in far off corners of the world”

Jake Newby Leave a comment

I profiled Hualun for issue 450 of The Wire, ‘the world’s greatest print and online music magazine‘.

I spoke to the band about their journey from leading China’s early post-rock scene to exploring ambient soundscapes, via soundtrack work for the likes of An Elephant Sitting Still.

They also told me about the significance of creating the music for Wuhan Wuhan, a documentary on the early outbreak of Covid-19, after the pandemic locked down the city where they formed and trapped them in their nearby hometown of Yichang.

Read the full story in issue 450 of The Wire ($).

Photo: Li Zhengde for The Wire

Pop star Lexie Liu: “I broke out of my own vocal range”

Jake Newby Leave a comment

The K/DA idol and influential pop singer talks about her new direction, making music for the gaming world, and exploring Gregorian chants

It’s been two and half years since RADII first interviewed Lexie Liu. Back then she was a 19-year-old contestant on The Rap of China. Today, she’s an established star. And while her new EP is entitled Gone Gold for other reasons (more on those below), it’s a name that fits well with her ascent to the upper echelons of Mandopop.

Rap of China, where she made the final four, may have helped propel her towards stardom, but she’s never really been a rapper. Even backstage at the show she told us, “Rap is not my main thing to do. I’m more focused on the R&B side,” before listing Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga as her main stylistic references.

After a stream of sleek R&B tracks, Liu’s latest single — “ALGTR,” which dropped on January 11 — saw another change of direction. Gone was the sultry, slow-burn swagger of her 2019 album Meta Ego. In its place was high-energy electro-pop.

“When it came to making this EP, I was already dissatisfied with what I’d done before,” she says. “I was tired of singing those songs. With ‘ALGTR,’ I gave myself really high requirements and was in the studio for four days; I switched up my timbre and broke out of my own vocal range.”

Read the full article at RADII.

Behind the scenes with Chinese idol group SNH48, unauthorised AKB48 spin-off

Jake Newby Leave a comment

Having controversially split from their Japanese founding partners, the Chinese management of SNH48, BEJ48, GNZ48, SHY48 – and soon CKG48 – seem set on creating a lucrative idol universe of epic proportions

A key election took place in Shanghai last weekend – at least as far as Mandopop fans are concerned.

SNH48, mainland China’s first “idol group”, and its three sister units held their fourth annual election to decide the top-ranking idols. The process saw nearly 300 girls from across the country perform for baying fans at Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena as part of a marathon six-hour event on July 29.

In the end, the top three positions in the massive popularity contest went to the same three girls who finished top of the pile last year. But there was still plenty of melodrama along the way, while the concert confirms the growing confidence of the Star48 Group, which manages all four idol units, since a controversial split from its Japanese founders.

Read the full article at South China Morning Post.