I gave away some free tickets to the show on the forum and headed over with friends around 10pm. I had heard about this DJ before, Liman from Beijing, but hadn’t seen him perform before. He was playing alongside DJ Tomu from Tokyo and Chengdu’s D3F crew, but Liman stole the show with great stage presence. He climbed atop the DJ table, gestured to the crowd all night, and came in a studded leather jacket and punk rock persona. If you weren’t there, you missed out.

But even if you did, the good news is that Xiong Mao, three weeks after hosting DJ Shadow, is doing well and drawing a crowd. Catch me and friends there next week at Disco Death on Friday October 28th with DJ JCC. Come in a costume and get in for free.

Disco Death, Friday Oct 28th at Xiong Mao

Xiong Mao with DJ Liman Photos

Disco Death flyer: click for larger

Read a few articles on Chengdu Living and you’ll see that despite controversy over a number of recent topics (hotpot oil, spy networks, and Google), we have  a strong affinity to Chengdu. We’re attracted to the rich culture, the people that make up the city and the exciting things that are happening here. In our opinion, it’s a great place to be.

Missing the Music

One thing that almost all of us miss though, is the music and performance culture of our home countries. As a musician and DJ of more than ten years, I miss the DJ and music culture of the United States, under which I learned and was nurtured to create my own contributions. Unfortunately, Chengdu entirely lacks such a DJ culture, but in its place stands a bevvy of dance clubs which cater to a cast of China’s new-rich looking for a place to flash their yuan. We seek to change that, by bringing world class DJ’s to Chengdu on a regular basis.

Disco Death

Enter Disco Death. Six months ago we started on the idea of hosting a regular event in Chengdu at a solid venue (good sound, real equipment and suitable dancefloor) with world class DJ’s. Five months later we’ve already hosted some of the biggest and most influential DJ’s in this region of Asia:

• In January we hosted experimental hip hop producer and DJ YAO
• February saw DJ Enso join us, the man behind Hong Kong’s best party (according to Time Out Magazine) Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy
• In March, the Drum & Bass queen of China, DJ SIESTA came and rocked the house
• Just as the spring arrived in April, HEAVY CREW from Hong Kong headlined Disco Death

Tomorrow’s Disco Death at Panda

And that brings us to this month, April. Tomorrow night, Friday the 28th of April, DJ Blaise is playing at Disco Death. Hailing from Switzerland, DJ Blaise is well known among China’s DJ elite for his role in one of the country’s biggest parties: Uprooted Sunshine. If you haven’t heard of it, it takes place at the most notorious club venue in all of China: Shelter. Aside from being someone people in Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming have been telling me about, DJ Blaise is the first Disco Death guest who I haven’t seen perform before. I’m very much looking forward to it.

Join us tomorrow for a chance to see Blaise in Chengdu for the first time. Opening for him are Jovian and myself.

Damaged Reputation

Left: Smiling lip-syncher, Right: Actual singer

This news traces back to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While the Opening Ceremony impressed the world, the performance included a notable snag: a young Chinese girl who mimed  the “Hymn to the Motherland” song. When it was revealed that the actual girl actually singing couldn’t be revealed because of her physical appearance, the was an uproar which led to China passing a new law. “No lip-synching your performances” says the law, which has just claimed its first two victims. The Ministry of Culture tells promoters they should find “real singers” who perform songs with “healthy lyrics”.

Although many international pop stars are guilty of lip-synching, we’ve seen the potential for damage, no matter how big or small the clout you carry on stage is. Remember Milli Vanilli, one of the biggest international hits of the late 80′s? They fell from Grammy-winning heights to death-by-drug-overdose lows after they were revealed to be lip synching. For most performers, this is a serious charge that leads to a devastating and credibility-destroying end.

What Do They Have to Say For Themselves?

The two singers profess their innocence by claiming they were backup singers for Huang Shengyi, who they also performed with:

It’s really unfair. We were only back-up singers but we still have to pay 50,000 Yuan. We’ve begged the authorities to let us pay 25,000 Yuan now and then we will pay the rest in installments over the next two years.

One of the singers performing on stage

But in the end, they broke the law, as silly and heavy-handed as it might be. Should the Ministry of Culture continue to pursue lip-synchers, this could mean that actual musicians (like the suppressed Beijing Olympics singer) might get a chance to actually perform in front of an audience. Unless this is a scheme, which is not terribly unlikely, it would appear that China is willing to sacrifice its good looks in the name of its artistic integrity. Speaking as someone who would choose a great singer over a miming beauty if given those choices, this is a step in the right direction. A shift in China’s music industry doesn’t seem impossible given the attention that this scandal has already incurred.

Reactions

The reaction among online Chinese appears mixed so far, but many are expressing contempt over the fact that mainstream stars (like Zhang Ziyi)  haven’t been charged although they’re supposedly also guilty of lip-synched performances. The story goes that for whatever reason, these two are being unfairly singled out among an entire industry of fake singers.

Actual Chinese superstars like Zhang Ziyi should know better than to break the law, even if she considers herself untouchable. I would be surprised to see the Ministry of Culture smite one of the country’s biggest pop-culture ambassadors, but you have to start somewhere.

What do you think of this news? Were Fang Ziyuan and Yin Youcan unfairly charged, or is this a legitimate effort to gain some respect and clean up an industry full of fakers?

#5. What is Zebra Music Festival?

Last summer in Chengdu tens of thousands of music fans came from near and far to attend the Zebra Music Festival (ZMF, or 热波音乐节) which instantly earned hipster credit among the burgeoning Chinese youth. For three days at the beginning of May, ZMF will host its annual event and will undoubtedly draw a massive crowd back to the familiar fields on the outskirts of Chengdu.

#4. What’s the Music Like?

The full lineup hasn’t been released yet, but that doesn’t seem to dampen the excitement of the thousands who have already announced their attendance on Douban (among other social networks) which are buzzing with the recent announcement. However, judging by the previous year, we have a good idea of what to expect.

Last year, more than 60 performances (local, domestic, and international) were spread across three stages, and although the main stage dwarfed the rest, they all had their own character and style. Even though last year’s main stage was dominated by the kind of pop music that makes you picture waving glowsticks, it was a blast. The main area is absolutely massive and is awe inspiring in both its size and design.

The Xiong Mao (Panda Club) Electronic stage, with its dirt dance floor, was sandwiched by 5-meter high speaker stacks and the familiar and much-missed “熊猫“ logo printed proudly at the top like a star atop a Christmas Tree. The Panda stage featured local and foreign DJ’s (including myself as Just Charlie) playing a variety of electronic music including everything from Trance to Drum & Bass.

Unfortunately, the future of the Xiong Mao stage at this years festival is in question. (When I have concerete info on this, I’ll update this part)

#3. Where Does the Festival Take Place?

ZMF is taking place in the same place as last year, which is Tulip Park in the Xindu district. The name os the park is Tulips Flora Park (Yujinxiang Huahui Gongyuan 郁金香花卉公园) and it’s close to the Panda Research Base which is a major local landmark. There are buses that run to the festival location in conjunction with Zebra, or taxi fare will cost you about 30 yuan.

#2. How Much Does Zebra Cost? How Do I Buy Tickets?

The price has been raised this year (to the displeasure of a small minority) to 80 yuan per day or 198 yuan for three days.

Much of the crowd spends the day wandering between stages with friends, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere until it ends with a headliner closing out the main stage at midnight: so bring money for extra expenses. Meals, snacks, drinks in a backpack. There’s a wide selection of food and drink available at reasonable prices.

You can book tickets for Zebra online here or call the Chengdu Ticket Hotline: 028-65920088 or 65920099

#1. Why Should I Go?

This is your only chance to enjoy anything even close to this for a year until this happens again. Seize the opportunity to see some of China’s most popular and breakthrough artists, and even if the music isn’t always great by the standards of most Westerners, the experience itself is a blast. This picture describes it pretty well:

Zebra Music Festival 2010 Lineup

Saturday, May 1st

Main Stage:

15:40 龙神道 Dragon Tao (rock)
17:00 马赛克 Mosaic (Indie pop, dance rock)
18:20 Asaf Avidan& the Mojos (indie rock , Israel)
19:40 宠物同谋 pet conspiracy (electronic rock)
21:00 猴子飞行员 Monkey Pilot (rock, Taiwan)
21:30 热狗 MC Hot Dog (rap, Taiwan)
22:00 张震岳 Zhang zhen yue (pop rock , Taiwan)
22:30 DJ (To be announced)

Sky Stage:

15:00 育婴堂 Yuyintang (melodic metal)
16:20 Falling Cookies (rock)
17:40 马老板 Boss Ma (Jazz)
19:00 童党 Tongdang (rock, emo)
20:20 愚人船 Foolish boat (Post Punk Alternative)
21:30 变色蝴蝶 Proximity Butterfly (Psychedelic Rock )

Sunday, May 2nd

Main Stage:

15:40 咖啡因 Caffeine (Pop punk, ska)
17:00 小护士 La Petite Nurse (indie rock, Taiwan)
18:20 阿修罗 Asura (pop punk)
19:40 谭维维 Tan wei wei (Pop star, Supergirl)
21:00 张杰 Zhangjie (Pop star, Happyboy)
22:00 Does it offend you, yeah (electronic rock from Britain)
22:30 DJ (to be announced)

Sky Stage:

15:00 自然而燃 Zi ran er ran (new metal)
16:20 鱼尾纹 Crow’s-feet (indie pop)
17:40 降临 Widerfahren (black metal)
19:00 深绿海 The Deep Green Sea (indie pop, trip-hop )
20:20 太阳飞船 Sun spaceship (alternative)
21:30 热超波 Re chao bo (Ska Reggae Punk)

Monday, May 3rd

Main Stage:

15:40 未来脚踏车 Futuristic Push-bike (indie alternative rock)
17:00 海龟先生 Turtle (Punk, Reggae, Ska, Vintage)
18:20 Reptile and Retard (electro rock, Denmark )
19:40 痛苦的信仰 Miserable Faith (hardcore, reggae, metal)
21:00 Exile Parade (Brit pop)
22:00 苏打绿 Sodagreen (pop, Taiwan）
22:30 DJ (to be announced)

Sky Stage:

15:00 大象迷 elephant fan (folk )
15:40 吴卓玲 Wu zhuo ling (Indie Acoustic Folk Electronica Soundtrack Ambient)
16:20 树子 Tree (pop,folk)
17:40 赵牧阳 Zhao mu yang (folk)
19:00 两只手枪 2 pistols (folk)
20:20 小河 Xiao he (folk ,experiment)
21:30 周云蓬 Zhou yun peng (folk)

The first time I met Fu Qiang, he was sitting in a dusty bar in South Chengdu rolling up a smoke. We shared a quick appraising glance and then I went to sit down next to him. That was more than eight years ago.

Painting a Picture

Born in the 1960s, “Fu” is an old school Chengdu cat – somewhere north of 40 years old, and an encyclopedia of avant garde Chinese music and traditional Sichuan customs. There is something about his generation that gave birth to a cutting-edge type of observer that also acts as a repository of culture and etiquette that the younger kids have a hard time reproducing.

Fu remembers the old days when heroin flooded the streets of second tier cities and Cui Jian was at the center of a musical revolution. In those days, before the State was able to grasp what was going on, people like Fu had access to a whole range of information and media. It was a time of unsurpassed freedom and unchained energy, the 1980′s were, and when that spirit was crushed in 1989 guys like Fu found themselves a bit adrift. Society turned away from the deeper, spiritual consequences of Opening Up and focused on material gains and national cohesion. Fu and his repository hibernated in self-imposed exile.

Fu cracks a smile in his shop

But Fu never went away completely and neither did his philosophical peers. Their influence grew as society became more self-aware, more willing to seek out the “real things” in life. Nowadays, its en vogue to listen to music via pirate sites (back then it was pirate radio and satellite broadcasts), drink good tea and play Go. The mainstream discovered that combining traditional Han culture with modern sensibilities is the thing to do.

After years of exile in Chongqing, where the chaos of that crazy city served as the backdrop for his art and music business, Fu relocated to Lijiang. The insanity of the Mountain City finally got to him and he needed a break. Chongqing really is one of those towns that never sleeps and thrives off of the jet fuel regurgitated by China’s rocket rise out of the rag heap, but that’s another essay for another time. In Lijiang, Fu as able to relax for once, take a load off, ease the pressure valve a bit and soak in the sun. The Ba-Shu region’s foggy sky had left him with a pallor and he needed some of that Yunnan altitude to re-charge his batteries.

For two years, Fu sold his paintings and his music in Lijiang and finally had some of the success a man of his passion and determination deserves. You have to understand, Fu was trying to sell good music to KTVs and discos long before the likes of Panda Club showed up in Chengdu. He went through some skinny-dog days when only friends in the know would stop by his shop, drink a pot of pu’er and buy one of his mixes.

In Lijiang, business was good and he also met a lady. When his energy level was up again, he decided to finally return home, to Chengdu, the city he swore he would never settle in. Every exile longs to return home, eventually.

Triumphant Return to Chengdu

Fu Qiang’s new shop is in the old tattoo parlor next to the Little Bar on Yulin Road West (玉林西路). He sells a large assortment of paintings and mix CDs.

The entrance to Fu's shop in the Yulin neighborhood is adorned with numerous paintings for sale

The images he sells are actual photographs or paintings that he manipulates with software then prints out and frames. Fu has is own style and he spends most of his days tweeking an image to make it just right or customizing a picture a customer has brought in.

The mixes he puts together cross all genres. He has Latin, Chinese, Burmese, old Thai, French pop, Funk and Soul and everything else you can find in the vast Internet, hidden in your friends’ hard drives and lying around your average underground CD shop selling pirated goods. Fu has a very hands off, laid-back approach to his mixes and lets the songs just blend naturally. He’s all about the music — the type of guy who will stop mid sentence, smile distractedly and tap out the tempo with his finger in the air before continuing on with the conversation.

Fu is All Chengdu, serving up universal goods in his little shop in Yulin. Go check it out.