We’ve been busy, really, really busy. Posting hasn’t been very frequent, or up to date: yes, we still have reviews of KAMA Love and MESH to post. We’re not sure if we will ever get back to the same level of posting as we have for the last few years, because there are so many other sites covering the same topics now. When we started in 2007, it was China Music Radar and that was about it in terms of China Music specific websites. Now there are the ever excellent Beijing Daze, Beijing Gig Guide, Shanghai 24/7, Kungfuology and lots of other bits and pieces around including the SmartShanghai Wire and of course the expat rags are picking up their game, particularly online.
We’re not going away though, and this fine Monday morning (the rain has finally stopped in Shanghai) here are a couple of things that are eating up the bandwidth:
- The Cowboy Junkies recently headed to China to co-headline the Love Festival in Beijing. They wrote a bit about their experience over at their website HERE. It’s quite an interesting look in from the outside into the way the licensing process works here, how much trouble you can get into with certain artists, how early in their development most festivals are from an operational and logistical perspective, and how important festivals are in the future of youth culture in China.
- There is a nice little debate raging over at Beijing Daze regarding some rather spurious claims by an expat who has written a book and claims (or his publishers did) that he was a pretty big deal in China, hence the title of his book (which may or may not be tongue in cheek): Big in China. Head over and see what Alan Paul and the haters have to say for themselves.
- There was some sad news over at Timeout HK with the news that Hong Kong’s only real underground venue was facing closure. A stark reminder that it is not only here in China that underground music faces an ongoing struggle. In our other life, we have worked with the guys at Hidden Agenda, and we wish them well in their fight.
- Did anyone hear about the Eels debacle? You can read more about it at Shanghai 247’s opinion page. We’re not completely down with Ivan, who claims that E should have borrowed some instruments, done an acoustic set, but maybe that’s because we were privy to the mood in the dressing room. The whole of their tour was a disaster and losing their gear was just the final straw. They have a complicated (very complicated) set up and were headlining a high priced, well hyped show. They were coming to the end of an extremely taxing experience and of course, there is no small amount of artistic temperament involved. The sad conclusion is that we have lost an artist forever that previously had a lot of interest in China. This is China, and things go wrong, but everyone needs to take more care. Touring in China is already mud with most of the international music industry and experiences like this only add fuel to the fire.