Fanzui Xiangfa – Discography 2006-2014 – 3rd January 2015

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Cat #: 164TZM

Coming at ya fast & heavy from Beijing (via Wuhan, Umea, Bonn, wherever else): FANZUI XIANGFA. First of all: you have to respect the grind (literally) of a band whose eight-year discography spins from start to finish in 35 minutes. That’s a lot of months per one-minute track. Recommended for fans of: late ‘80s American hardcore, very fast tempos, RIGHTEOUS FURY. Multinational corporations, racism, nuclear proliferation, the state apparatus, fitting in… these guys hate it all! I’m pretty mellow but these four have a knack for rekindling the angry fires of my youth. I can’t listen to this discography while walking down the street without sorta moshing and non-verbally daring everyone I see to confront me for being me so I can “Use [My] Fists” (gotta keep a lid on it though, ‘cause I’d lose). I swear I’ve listened to “I Am Not Like You!” so many times, my brain has blisters that will never heal. In a country just now getting into the whole mindless consumerism trip (and on a much, much more massive scale than ever before in human history), FZXF has been one of the loudest voices to say, “Fuck You”, “Fuck Your Flag!”, “Kill Your Television” and — here’s the real lesson, kids — “Destroy!”

FANZUI XIANGFA: polluting the Red Dream from within since 2006 with an alternative nightmare blacker than the guitarist’s t-shirt collection. Keep raging, boys. The New China and its smiling criminal minds are far too kind.

FANZUI XIANGFA is

狂骂 / Kuang Ma – Drums
逆反 / Ni Fan – Guitar
毛病 / Mao Bing – Bass / Vocals
冲撞 / Chong Zhuang – Guitar
六六 / Liu Liu – Lead Vocals

*活闹 / Huo Nao – Lead Vocals
**傻蛋 / Sha Dan – Lead Vocals

split 7” with Bad Nerve [2014]

Recorded and mixed by Hou Likao at Jishengchong Studio. Vocals recorded by Deng Chenglong and Tan Hang.

Fanzui Xiangfa 7” [2011]

Additional vocals by Robin. Backing vocals by Fanzui Xiangfa & Robin. Recorded and mixed by Huo Likao at Jishengchong Studio. Vocals recorded by Wang Meng.

split 7” with SS20 [2010]

Additional vocals by Fen Lie & Torbjöm. Backing vocals by Fanzui Xiangfa & Torbjöm. Recorded and mixed by Huo Likao in the summer and fall of 2009 at Jishengcheong Studio. Vocals recorded by Wang Meng & Jan Hansson.

split 7” with Daighila [2010]*

Additional guitar and bass by Kuang Ma and Huo Likao. Backing vocals by Jan Hansson, Mark and Fanzui Xiangfa. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Huo Likao at Jishengchong Studio in the summer and fall 2009.

Criminal Minds CD [2006]**

Recorded in Beijing, China. Additional guitar by Kuang Ma. Mixed and mastered by Huo Likao at Jishengchong Studio.

All music and lyrics by Fanzui Xiangfa.
Discography LP mastered by Fredrik Lyxzen.
Artwork by 猴子xvx

Thanks to: Fredrik, Hou Likao, Glenn, Bibi, Rico, SS20, Daighila, Bad Nerve, D-22, Mark, Alice, our friends and families, Genjing Records and all the other labels that have released us, everyone that has helped and supported us along the way and our previous singers Hou Nao and Sha Dan. Tack som fan! 真他妈的谢谢!

GR039
genjingrecords.com

Wang Wen – Eight Horses – 3rd January 2015

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Cat #: 163TZM

Wistful, dreamy, romantic, visceral and truly eclectic, Wang Wen, is the diamond in the rough. If there was ever a Chinese language inflected band that proves western-influenced post-rock is spreading throughout the world like wild fire, it is this quintet from the unlikeliest of locals, the heart of PRC shipping mecca, Dalian. Led by singer/ principal songwriter/ guitarist/ laptop maestro/ antiquated electronics aficionado Xie Yugang, Wang Wen formed in 1999. Six albums and one EP later, they haven’t looked back since.

The Eight Horses double LP, Wang Wen’s first for Genjing Records, runs like thick melancholic molasses peppered with progressive indie-rock sensibilities, while consistently flowing and soaring with the beauty of a dream. “There is a Chinese saying, which goes, ‘When I start to move, I can be faster than a rabbit: when I come to a rest I am like a sleeping baby,” elaborates Xie Yugang. “Our music is like this. We want to make fast music that wakes people up, that moves people. Yet again, we want to make calm music that makes people dream like a newborn child.” Sung in contemporary Mandarin with an extremely modern twist, Xie Yugang is true to his word. Check out the drawn-out, melancholic rock eruption that is “Escape From Mother Earth ” and the cathartically concise melancholy of opener “Northern North”.

Is it odd that a band from China could appeal to western audiences? Not according to Xie Yugang, “We all have the same longings and desires,” he says. “Music is the one thing that transcends cultural boundaries. It’s a language that can be understood all over the world.” 

Written and Performed by Wang Wen

Recorded by An Jiguo at Echo Library, Dalian, China in March 2014

Mixed by
Wouter Vlaeminck (The Last Journey, Welcome to Utopia)
Yang Haisong (Sky of Dalian, Ten Thousand Buddhas, Dionysus)
Wang Yanan (Northern North, Escape from Mother Universe)
An Jiguo (The Eight Layer of Hell)

Wang Wen are
Xie Yugang – Guitar & Vocals
Geng Xin – Guitar
Xu Zengzheng – Bass
Zhang Yanfeng – Piano, Strings Arrangement, Melodica
Zhou Lianjiang – Drums
Huang Kai – Trumpet & Alto Horn

Additional Musicians
Qu Ruining and Wang Yanan from Which Park

汤姆克鲁斯和凯蒂霍尔姆斯 Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes – 你不爱我 – 7th August 2014

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Cat #: 160TZM

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. What happened with those two? Why name your band after them? Are they a totem of the 21st-century relationship? The infuriating alienation and slow-burning pain of failed love? Nah. Maybe. “You Don’t Love Me (你不爱我)” rails against the inevitable for about four minutes before yielding to the feral chaos underlying human nature, love, celebrity, the sounds of the words themselves. After the heart’s fires burn out there’s just swirling ash, granules too small to be individually seen but jagged enough to sting your eyes long after the light and warmth are gone.

The flip side is an extended remix of another Tom & Katie tearjerker,
“After Leaving (离开后),” by Huashun Unit. H.U. is one of many aliases for one-man Shanghai doom drone crusader Nahash, née Laura Ingalls (not his real name), and his partner in crime, Clement Pony. In this studio trip, he basically takes one open guitar chord and a few disembodied vocal fragments from Tom and Kate respectively and transmutes them into a lush gestalt that sounds like it was written and performed by Enya’s evil twin for some kind of nefarious ritual. If you’ve never been to Shanghai, let me tell you: this track sounds exactly like how it feels to walk into a bomb shelter dance club choked with cut-rate cigarette smoke and the stink of unmoored pheromones at 5 in the morning. Love blinds.

Recorded and mixed by The Horses at Studio Poney, Shanghai China.
Mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Studios

汤姆克鲁斯和凯蒂霍尔姆斯 are:
Cee Q – vocals, keyboards
小中 – guitar, keyboards
tomlovedkatie@gmail.com
tcakh.bandcamp.com
huashanrecords.bandcamp.com

Licensed from Genjing Records for release in Australia.

The Fallacy – Painkiller – 5th August 2014

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Cat #: 162TZM

Take everything you know about the burgeoning “underground” Chinese punk scene, put it in an ornate, hand crafted box, lock that box and throw it into the deepest pool of the 68o Yangfu Mountain Hot Spring! This is the beer soaked sound of the Henan suburbs circa 2014: three young men from Xinxiang relaying their day-to-day experiences via the medium of tightly wound hooks, post-punk exhibitionism and the drive time ferocity of ’77 punk, all filtered through the lens of (producer/PK 14 frontman) Yang Haisong’s Psychic Kong studio. Handsomely packaged, featuring cover art by up and coming visual artist extraordinaire Xu Jiacun, the Painkiller 7″ is a third tier city curio you’re definitely going to want in your ever expanding collection of China-centric wax platters.

THE FALLACY are:

Wang Xubo – Vocals / Guitar
Zhang Nan – Bass
Da Li – Drums

Recorded by Yang Haisong at Psychic Kong, Beijing 2013
Mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Studios, USA
Paintings by Xu Jiacun
Designed by Ksama of Dooo Design Studio

Licensed from Genjing Records for release in Australia

Eggs Benedict – 27th June 2014

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Facebook post:

Today I took our leftover food to a group of homeless guys in Belmore Park where one offered thanks and another cheekily asked how they were going to reheat it.

Later we had some more food that was used for menu photos and was left over. There was another homeless guy crashed out around the corner so he ended with a nice eggs benedict on toast. I said I’d help him out if he was around and if I had the chance. He requested assistance with a wife and house. Cheeky fuck.

Apparently, it’s something or other ‘week’ ie help someone in need or some such. But what about the rest of the time?

What’s Cool and Unusual – 24th June 2014

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Call out!

The Red Rattler’s Management Committee is on the hunt for some new Directors. This is your chance to get directly involved in the management of this community-run space – hands-on and fully intimate.

We are looking for individuals with skills or knowledge in at least one of the following areas:
Finance
Law
Not-for-profit organisations
Governance and compliance
Event management
Risk assessment processes
Program and Project Development
Social Media
Contemporary arts and culture
A commitment to planning for the long-term viability of this non-profit venue
A commitment to implementation of The Red Rattler eco-sustainability plan
A passion for arts and politics
A commitment to build a space where racism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism are not welcome.
Find full details on submitting your Expression of Interest online or contact Director Kat Roma Greer on kat@redrattler.org.

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Another call out!

Want to Smash Jura Books?
With a Hammer

Ever wanted to take a sledgehammer to Jura Books? Well, now’s your chance. We’re doing renovations to our library to make it a bigger, better space for talks and gigs. We need your help to destroy a wall (and rebuild the room). We also need a certified electrician to do about a day’s work on the wiring. We can afford to pay the sparky, although mates rates would be appreciated! Please get in touch if you are a friendly sparky or know of one.
• Working bee, 12-5pm, Sat 5 July
• Working bee, 12-5pm, Sat 12 July

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Sat 28

Red Rattler, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville
8pm

LAKES/FOUR DOOR/LUCY CLICHE/ORION

The follow up single to last year’s well-received ‘Blood of the Grove’ LP from Melbourne based musician Sean Bailey under the moniker of LAKES. Post punk meets dark folk delivered with military-like precision, for fans of DEATH IN JUNE and THE MOB. Mixing bleak pop with an underlying aggression, delivering stark melodies with understated power.

17th Aug 2021 – As far as I can tell, after 7 or so years of weekly posts, this was the last newsletter sent out. As I had lost my job earlier in this year, I wasn’t going out too much so not so much in the loop of things. Also, Facebook had really taken over as the communication tool of choice, leaving this list feeling a little redundant. Jeremy Chunn valiantly helped out for the last 12 months or so but even his enthusiasm couldn’t motivate me to keep going. This was a special time in Sydney with a lot of motivated people trying to create things outside regular bar venues. Places like The Pitz, Maggotville, Dirty Shirlows and many many more became legendary for a while there.

What’s Cool and Unusual – 18th June 2014

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Wed 18

Lamps, level 4, 342 Elizabeth St, Sydney
$5/$10 ALL AGES

Laura Altman
Evan Dorrian with Andrew Fedorovitch
Luiz Gabriel Gubeissi with Mel Herbert, Jim Denley and Bonnie Stewart

  • special guests

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Fri 20

Birdrib, Tempe
9pm

ACHE, SOLIS , VEX MACHINA , HACKED TO CHUNKS , FRAME 313

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Fri 20

Black Wire, 219 Parramatta Rd, Annandale
7pm ALL AGES

LAST CHAOS (Bris) / THORAX / CANINE / MANDATE

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Sun 22

107 Projects, 107 Redfern St, Redfern
6pm $10/8 ALL AGES

Pretty Gritty #7
assault and bassery

Cat Hope
Defektro
Knife Crimes