Tag: D-22

Snapline – Party Is Over, Pornostar – 1st April 2010

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 038TZM

Snapline have become Beijing’s fastest rising young band and recently they have taken on an identity all of their own, earned full page interviews in the local media and released their first 7” single in the US. 

When producer and ex-PIL drummer Martin Atkins came to Beijing to check on the local scene, he was delighted with dozens of bands, but wholly awestruck by Snapline’s uniquely weird melodies, and immediately insisted on producing their first CD. Within weeks they had laid down the tracks in Beijing and over the next few months began the mixing process in Chicago, at one point flying vocalist Chen Xi to Chicago to add additional tracks. 

As snippets of the recording filtered through the scene in China, the band’s shows started drawing larger crowds, and they soon began to develop a very strong following. A series of concerts at D22 established them as one of the central bands in the scene, much loved by critics and musicians, although difficult at times for audiences to follow. 

The subject of many articles in the Chinese press, the band was listed in That’sBeijing as one of the ten best bands in China and in an article in Rolling Stone Li Qing was listed as one of China’s four major guitar innovators.

Ourself Beside Me & The Gar – 1st July 2009

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Cat #: 020TZM

Ourself Beside Me were first formed in 2003 by former Hang On The Box guitarist Yang Fan. Their line-up changed several times throughout the years until Yang Fan (the main vocalist and guitarist) met the then-still-a-drummer Xie Han through the internet in fall 2005, thanks to a shared interest in the British band, Television Personalities. They bonded immediately and started writing songs together. Xie Han started playing the bass and in 2007, through a mutual friend, EMI (who hails from Japan) was introduced into the group as the drummer. It wasn’t until the second half of 2007 that this trio began performing regularly, first at D-22 and then at other clubs in Beijing. Touted almost from the beginning by D-22 regulars as one of the most exciting and innovative bands to emerge from the Beijing scene, these three hard-charging ladies have swept everything before to become among the most admired and inspiring bands in China. 

It is hard to describe their sound. They claim their inspirations began with the sounds from old 60’s and 70’s bands such as the Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett, Can, Tom Waits, Soft Machine and the Fall. There is no denying these influences but they are also heavily influenced by New York’s East Village bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s but with a very Chinese obliqueness to their harmonies and musical approach and the typical Beijinger’s bluntness. They combine the rhythmic sophistica- tion of bands like ESG and Bush Tetras with the eerie but jangly, sinuous guitar lines of Bush Tetra guitarist Pat Place and the strange harmonics of DNA. Amid their drawn-out sessions you can even sometimes hear the long, druggy patterns of the Doors. This is a band extremely sure of its sound and wholly dismissive of any attempts to mold their image or sound into a more pleasing outline. 

Cat #: 022TZM

Gar’s music is some of the purest Chinese rock ‘n’ roll. Mixing the beautiful and sophisticated melodic structures typical of the best Chinese music with basic harmonies and a delight in shifting textures, their songs achieve the shimmering quality of folk-rock but with the hard edge that life in Beijing, with its rapid changes, destruction and reconstruction, has imposed on most of its artists. 

The three members of Gar are guitarist/lead vocalist Zhan Pan, bassist Wen Jie, and drummer Wang Xu. Their standard power-trio format, ordinary equipment, graceful Chinese lyrics, and complete lack of stage posturing and fancy gimmicks make them different from most of the other bands in the scene. On the surface they seem very ordinary, but their shows are full of energy and intelligence. In recent years, a number of alternative genres have been expanding the definitions of indie music and rock ‘n’ roll for Chinese audiences, and along with it there have been changes in trends and fashion, but Gar have refused to follow any of the trends, continuing to explore their own sense of real music based on individual experiences. These are classic songs about youth and time, appealing to every generation and era. While the Chinese indie music environment gets louder, more challenging, and wilder, Gar continues singing their hearts out for their very own generation.

What’s Cool and Unusual – 1st July 2009

in case you haven’t heard, paint it black has moved out of 86 enmore rd and looking for alternative accommodation

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thu 2

red rattler, 6 faversham st, marrickville
6.30 $15

Kino Kabaret

Kino Kabaret is a series of 2 day filmmaking marathons, screenings and parties taking place across Sydney 29 June – 4 July. Each session gives the participants only 48hrs to write, shoot and edit short films and culminates in a screening and party. Come and see the results of this mad filmmaking experiment at The Red Rattler Thursday 2 July!

Just $15 at the door gets you in to see brand spanking new short films made in under 48 hours, live performances, snacks, Coopers Pale Ale and Jamesons Irish Whiskey. The night will also feature music by Sydney based duo MA and installations courtesy of Punk Monk Propaganda.
Dress code for the night is: Fire Walk With Lynch! Eraserheads, Amnesiacs and Elephant Men – prizes for best dressed!

Doors open 6.30pm

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fri 3

Black & Blue Gallery
302/267-271 Cleveland Street
Redfern NSW 2016

Opening Fri 3rd July
3 July – 18 July

I HATE YOUR GUTS!
Raquel Welch

Gallery hours Thurs to Sat 11 – 6pm
Other times by appointment

W www.blackandbluegallery.com.au

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fri 3

red rattler, 6 faversham st, marrickville

Femme Guild present HANKY PANKY – Hanky Code Party

Hanky Panky is a harking back to queer sub-cultures of the past as we delve into the rich history of queer semiotics & the socio-political reasons behind it. The party will be both fun & educational as we teach, learn (and unlearn) the ways we express our sexuality through gesture and dress.

Hanky-theme performances by Ginger Snaps, Zahra Stardust & Glittertrash.
Hankilicious DJs Tokyo Pink & Fisty Cuffs
Go-Go Dancers, Hanky Demonstrations and the very cheeky Dirty Little Slide Show, as well as Emergency Hankies for all you forgetful folk.

We invite all our guests to come flagging on the night for a bit of sex-positive fun whether you have one favourite colour hanky or a whole string of them you whip out magician-style from your bottomless back pocket.

Pre-sale tickets available exclusively from MaXXX Black, 1/264 King St, Newtown – $15/$20. We encourage you to pre-purchase your tickets as only a very limited number will be available on the night.

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sat 4

dirty shirlows, 32 Shirlow St, marrickville
7pm $5

b.i.n.t. , maladroit, dislasystem, null object, sado, killjoy + more

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sat 4

Serial Space, 33 Wellington St, Chippendale
midday

Hey Folks

I’ll be doing a wee showing of what I’ve been up to at Serial Space over the last couple of weeks on this Saturday July 4 from midday. Mostly I’ve been working on the wheelie bin…

For some time I’ve been interested in sound system cultures, particularly around the Caribbean and in South and Central America. Looking to build one locally, it occurred to me that a unique version already exists. John Jacobs <http://patchwrangler.net/> designed and built the original Wheely Good Sound System in the early nineties for use in urban actions/interventions such as Reclaim The Streets.

As part of my residency at Serial Space, I’m hoping to get all the systems in Sydney together. If you do have one, or any kind of portable sound system, mobile-robo disco unit please swing by around on Saturday July 4 at 2pm for some kind of enthusiasts meet / sound clash / road jam – we’ll take it to the streets, yes?

Sven Simulacrum
Please fwd on to anyone you think might be interested

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sat 4

Bandwidth
Clan Analogue Festival
Red Rattler Theatre
6 Faversham St, Marrickville
4PM-late, $7

Clan Analogue is Australia’s oldest electronic music/audio-visual collective. Over its history, many of Australia’s foremost proponents of electronic-based music and visual arts have contributed but, in recent times, the collective has become a little dormant on the public front. While it has never actually gone away, the Sydney chapter of Clan Analogue is preparing to relaunch its public face with a mini-festival of live music, DJ-ing and VJ-ing.

Bandwidth features some long-term members as well as younger groups who have been diversifying the aesthetics of the collective. With some of Sydney’s best underground live acts in their ranks, such as Bleepin’ J Squawkins, Lunar Module, Karoshi, Telafonica, Valley Forge and Kate Carr, along with DJs such as Tigerlily and the godfather of Australian electronic music, Andy Rantzen, the re-emergence of Clan Analogue in Sydney’s music scene is placed to be wildly varied and exciting.

Clan Analogue was birthed in the early 90s warehouse scene and so is proud to be working with Red Rattler Theatre and its ideals of artist run initiatives, community creativity and its D.I.Y. ethos.

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sat 4

The Lock Up, 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle
5:00pm – 9:00pm

The team behind the brand new ARThive studio/gallery complex at 111 Hunter Street are hosting a sweet party at THE LOCK UP to raise some funds to put into the upcoming exhibition program, and to pay for essential items like hooks, lights, paint, etc.
Come show some support, get behind a brand new Newcastle art space.

The Party will feature an ART RAFFLE consisting of new works donated by Simone Sheridan, Angus Crowley, Grant Hunter, Shane Westernhagen, Nicole Chaffey, Anthony Ferris, Jake Penn-Cullen, Sam Hughes, Hayley Wheaton, Emily Roberts, and Michael Randall. This could be your opportunity to walk away with some amazing art for only a donation.

BEN KENNING will be performing an art piece in one of the infamous prison cells of The Lock Up museum.

Live Music will be provided in the Lock Up exercise yard by CRAB SMASHER, SCISSOR LOCK, and MART BRENNAN.

This Event has been kindly sponsored by Nextra Marketown, The Lock Up, and Renew Newcastle.

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sat 4

Kick Start Studios
6-8 Ralph Black Drive,
North Wollongong.
2-5pm, Gold coin donation.

Mary Jane Kelly, Epitomes + 1 or 2 more TBA soon

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sun 5

Sydney Park, cnr Princess Hwy & Sydney Pk rd
11:00am – 6:00pm

RULES FOR DJ-ING SUNDAY DUB CLUB

1.0………. FIRST RULE OF DUB CLUB, YOU WILL DISCUSS DUB CLUB

1.1………. YOU WILL ABIDE BY RULES OF DJ-ING SUNDAY DUB CLUB

1.2………. NOBODY CARES IF YOU DON’T TURN UP TO DUB CLUB SO ONLY SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT BRUCE, JOEY (if not barred) AND WALLY HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF ACTING LIKE GOOD SORTS ON DUB DAYS

2.0………. SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT BRUCE. JOEY (if not barred) AND WALLY EXPECT TO BE BRIBED AND GENERALLY SUCKED UP TO FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF DJ-ING AT SUNDAY DUB CLUB

2.1………. SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO
a………. TAKE OVER THE DJ-ING FROM ANY VISITING DJ AT ANY TIME
b………. REFUSE ENTRY TO BEHIND THE DECKS IF VISITING DJ(s) ARE ACTING LIKE TWATS
c………. GIVE ANY VISITING DJs A HARD TIME DUE TO POOR MUSIC CHOICE, GAPS IN SOUND OR IF MANAGEMENT IS JUST FEELING IN A SHIT STIRRING MOOD
(points 2.1(a)(b)and(c)are often in direct proportion to how well you adhere to point 2.0)

3.0………. IF SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT BRUCE, JOEY (if not barred) AND WALLY DECIDE THAT THERE ARE TO MANY DJs ON ANY GIVEN DUB DAY
a………. MANAGEMENT WILL DECIDE WHO WILL PLAY AND WHO WILL MISS OUT ON THAT DAY
b………. DJs THAT DO MISS OUT DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO GO ON LIKE GOOD SORTS OR HARASS MANAGEMENT OR SLAG OFF MANAGEMENT TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC BUT SHOULD GO BACK AND RE-READ POINT 2.0

4.0………. SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT BRUCE, JOEY (if not barred) AND WALLY HAVE THE RIGHT AT ANY GIVEN TIME TO AMEND THIS DOCUMENT VERBALLY OR IN WRITING WITHOUT WARNING TO VISITING DJs WHERE OR WHEN EVER THEY FEEL FIT OR CAN GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT.

WHEN YOU HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF DJ-ING SUNDAY DUB CLUB, DUB DAY, WITH OR WITHOUT PRIOR READING OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THIS DOCUMENT YOU ARE STILL BOUND TO ADHERE TO ALL POINTS AND ANY AMENDMENTS. THE CRY OF NOBODY TOLD ME OR I DIDN’T KNOW THAT, DOSE NOT WORK HERE.

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS DOCUMENT OR SUNDAY DUB CLUB MANAGEMENT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RE-READ POINT 1.2
AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

YOURS FAITHFULLY
S.D.C MANAGEMENT

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sun 5

red rattler, 6 faversham st, marrickville
1-5pm

Rock and Writers – Winter of our Discotheque

Sydney writers and bands in a rocking, pulp fiction freakout!

Featuring – The Men from UNCLE, the LangLangs, the Dead Rabids, Ned Alphabet, Darrin Baker and King Wally Otto – direct from the Sound Proof Booth!

“Now is the winter of our discotheque
Made summer by a mad few who, forsaking dignity for glorious folly
Lay plans to freak out both swain and maiden
At the Rock n Writers gig, Red Rattler Marrickville,
Perchance there you may waylay them.”

shaun/tenzenmen
++  i’ll either be at these events or wishing i was there  ++

Facebook posts:

06:45 – Wishes there was more humanity!
13:45 – Good luck Mat

11th Jul 2025 – Mat Norr is a friend and punk rock compatriot in Kuala Lumpur. He had been diagnosed with a life threatening situation (I think it was cancer, but don’t quite remember now) and because he was so desperately poor he would’ve passed away from it. Joe Kidd and friends put the word out and many folks around the world funded his treatment. I saw him a couple of years later, working in a DIY punk store in KL and congratulated him, joking that I had saved his life and he owed me money.

Music Feeds – 25th November 2008

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/2351/tenzenmen/

From local Sydney music press Music Feeds. We only seem to be on a surname basis tho – pretty appropriate considering the Chinese releases 🙂

By James Armstrong

Starting out as a noise project some 15 years ago, tenzenmen has evolved to the point where Hemsley is now using it as a catchall umbrella for all of his ‘crazy schemes’. With a motto of “do something”, Hemsley has involved himself heavily in the DIY scene for many years, helping not only local bands, but international acts find ways to circumvent the standard tour circuit and take the road less travelled.

With his roots in the late 70’s and early 80’s punk scene in the UK, Hemsley grew up with the DIY ethos. When he began taking a larger role in the Sydney underground, it was natural for him to explore the option of warehouse and arts space shows, where actually putting on a good show took precedence over making money.

In the past, Hemsley has brought out bands from Southeast Asia, but with his keen interest in Chinese history and culture, it was natural that tenzenmen would become involved with something from that region (though Hemsley says that he plans on continuing to work with SE Asian bands).

Having travelled to Beijing on several occasions and made friends with bands at local club D22, Hemsley became fascinated with the vitality of the emerging music scene in China.. Part of this scene was a record label started as an offshoot of the D22 club, Maybe Mars, which tenzenmen now licenses for release in Australia.

With the release of the Maybe Mars series, tenzenmen is exploring the world of underground Chinese music, ranging from melodic hardcore with English lyrics to noise rock sung in the band’s local dialect. The ambitious scope and variety of this project is nothing new for Hemsley, who has been running a wide variety of music-related projects as a labour of love, with no thought of material profit.

With minimal help from the media, the Maybe Mars series and, indeed, tenzenmen, are focused on getting the word out on the street, building a catalogue and seeing what will happen.

“I have every confidence in the music I’m releasing so feel it could just be a matter of time before people’s curiosity is piqued and they start investigating,” says Hemsley.

Hemsley goes on to say that the goal of these releases is just to get some great music out for people to enjoy, and to contribute to something bigger, in a holistic sense.

With the difficulty of getting the Maybe Mars bands over to Australia to tour (it’s hard to get a visa and there are some insane ‘money in the bank’ requirements to guarantee that the bands will actually head back to China at the end of their tour), for the time being, the best way to hear this music is to grab a copy of one of the releases, which have faced their own difficulties in being released in their homeland.

“For any artist in China wishing to release a CD, lyrics must be submitted to the government for approval. I believe this is a requirement from the CD factories to protect them against possible closure for inappropriate material. However, considering these restrictions, some of Demerit’s lyrics are quite critical of life in China, and other bands can cleverly conceal other meanings in more poetic lyrics (PK-14, in particular, are well respected among the more scholarly kids in this sense),” explains Hemsley.

With a new release coming out every six weeks, get in on this – it’s vital, with a spark that may be enough to reinvigorate the most jaded ‘punk.’

“In the West, we already have a historical rebellious musical background to draw upon.  China has just discovered all this music – and all at once.  So influences can be drawn from many different fields and filtered through into what are hopefully new and exciting sounds. Bands like Mafeisan and Muscle Snog are really pushing boundaries even on Western terms.”

Carsick Cars – Album – 1st September 2008

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 017TZM

Carsick Cars consists of Shou Wang (22) on vocals, guitar, and loops, Li Qing (23) on percussion, and Li Weisi (22) on bass guitar. The band was formed in March, 2005, when Shou Wang, a student at the Beijing Institute of Technology, met Li Weisi and Li Qing at the rehearsal space of mutual friends. By May they had performed their first concert at a party for a small group of friends and by the end of the year were performing in Beijing clubs. Their first CD was recorded in the spring of 2007 and was produced by legendary P.K.14 frontman Yang Haisong. 

Their sound, influenced by the drone of Velvet Underground, Suicide and Sonic Youth as well as by the textures and structures of Steve Reich and Glenn Branca, is a combination of brilliantly-textured roar and hard open chords that are used to explore and tear apart their beautifully crafted songs. Amidst the explosive noise and feedback it sometimes takes a while to realize how well they write songs, although this has not been lost on the many Beijing musicians who are their fans – Carsick Cars is probably the underground band in China whose songs are most often performed by other local bands. 

As befits what is one of the most admired Chinese underground bands in the world, Carsick Cars has performed widely in China and abroad. They have filled clubs in all the major cities in China and, in August and September of 2007, Sonic Youth, who has called them their favorite band in China, asked Carsick Cars to tour with them in Europe. Following their London show, the band was invited to perform at the Steirischer Herbst Festival in Austria in October 2007, and at All Tomorrow’s Parties in London in May 2008. 

Along with their band, the members of Carsick Cars have been very active in a number of other music projects. Shou Wang is a founding member of experimental duo White, whose first CD was produced by Einstürzende Neubauten founder Blixa Bargeld in Berlin in May 2007. In February 2006 he performed on the recording of Glenn Branca’s Sym- phony 13, and has performed several times with composers Elliott Sharp and Alvin Curran. In July 2007 after performing at a festival in New York he was asked to join These are Powers in the recording of their second CD. Li Qing and Li Weisi are founding members of rock trio Snapline, whose debut album was produced by PiL drummer Martin Atkins for his Invisible Records label. They have both performed with Pigface and as part of White. In addition Li Qing has performed with Elliott Sharp. 

The band has been extensively written up in the Chinese, English, Ger- man, Swedish and American press and has been featured in television shows in the US, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. In September 2007 they were listed by That’s Beijing as one of the top ten bands in China, and Shou Wang was listed in a June 2007, Rolling Stone China article as one of the country’s four most innovative guitarists. 

Pimping – 21st July 2008

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I’m pimping Chinese street punk this afternoon.

4th Nov 2023 – This involved working with a distribution and production company, pushing the first releases of Chinese music on tenzenmen. In particular, Demerit’s album Bastards of the Nation which I wanted to be released on the 8th of August 2008 (the opening of the Olympics in Beijing and an auspicious date in China due to it being 8/8/08). I can’t remember the name of the distribution company now but they operated as part of TITLE Music in Surry Hills. A quick search leads me to believe it was Inertia. The guy I dealt with there was called Ian, I remember that. He was pleasant and helpful for me though I didn’t feel he was particularly enthused about what I was doing. Especially when he compared The Gar to Boston!

Is this the default D-22 website and forum these days?

4th Nov 2023 – The tenzenmen and my personal Facebook pages were busy with discussions about Chinese independent music around this time. This was also a slight dig at Charles at Maybe Mars to get his act together with official sites for D-22 and Maybe Mars which weren’t yet available.