Before the Wooozy.cn team set off for Guangzhou to launch their first ever festival, they published an interview with DIY collective Full Label. The original article is a lot of fun, with the guys cracking jokes at pretty much every question. But a few interesting insights came out which we’d like to share in English.
The collective formed at the end of 2006, with a lineup of members who were known to frequent the same fish ball rice noodle restaurant (named Fuli). As far as bands go, members of the Full Label collective claim to have 1min Band, Die!ChiwawaDie! (D!CD!), Wu Gaochao (无高潮), Pikaqiu (比卡超), and yourboyfriendsucks! under their wings, with each band often sharing members.
Though they call themselves Full Label, they are better described as a collective of DIY musicians and designers who are dedicated toward promoting indie culture. They focus on organizing live shows, and apparently haven’t officially signed a single act. Members of Full Label are part of the projects they rep, so more than anything it’s a group of creatives sharing their skills and swapping ideas. Influences include punk, hardcore, shoegaze, math rock, and they quote artists and labels including Guiguisuisui, Pairs, Genjing Records, Harbour Records, xNoBBQx’s label Break Dance the Dawn and Groove Bunny Records as being key influences.
When asked what they thought of free music and illegal downloading, most of the members supported it, claiming they too often download music, or to paraphrase, when surfing Bandcamp, the most exciting thing is to see a “name your price” option. One member claimed to have bought less than 10 CDs to date, and others feel the law doesn’t protect anything, so it’s ok for them to do what they want. As you’d expect, their music is for the most part free, and they encourage downloading for the sake of benefiting from more exposure. At the end one member added that they are not against getting music legally.
The only major difference in the Guangzhou scene now compared to 5 years ago is that the number of metal bands is more than the number of ironmongeries. On a more serious note, one member said ticket prices have roughly doubled. They only hope to encourage more people to join in, and say everyone is working hard. Two of their acts – Wu Gaochao (无高潮) and yourboyfriendsucks! – played amazing shows at the Wooozy Weekender.
Guangzhou has never really been considered as a center of Chinese indie rock music, but maybe this is the reason why Full Label has been able to grow up in the city, uninhibited and free from any particular standards or expectations. Promising stuff.
