Tag: indie music

Chui Wan – White Night – 12th February 2013

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 128TZM

Chui Wan get their name from Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi’s “Qi Wu Lun”, a mystical work on the relationship between nature and human life. The spirit of Zhuangzi’s thought is reflected in the modern Chinese idiom “When the wind blows, every sound may be heard therein.”

Inspired by this concept of seeking the infinite from the mundane, the core of Chui Wan’s sound is formed by the improvisational compositions of multi-instrumentalist Yan Yulong and guitarist Liu Xinyu. Their lush arrangements of guitar, keyboard, viola, other assorted instruments and random sound samples often eschew reliable melodies and vocal harmonies in favour of occasional passages of minimal drone or maximal sonic layerings.

Alternative China – 1st February 2013

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Alternative China tumblr

Sub Jam, Yan Jun, Jonathan Campbell, The Instigation, No Class, Smart Shanghai, Morgan Short, Howie, Guangzhou, Skip Skip Ben Ben, Blouinartinfo, Layabozi, Birdstriking, Far East Vibes, Pairs, Idiotec, Metal Postcard, Round Eye, Craig England, Dos Kolegas, Temple Bar, Jean-Sebastian Hery, Josh Feola, Muscidish, The Amazing Insurance Salesmen, Pangbianr, Modern Sky, Guo Cheng

Mr Graceless – The Tree Ever Green – 19th November 2012

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 125TZM

Mr.Graceless’ album “The Tree Ever Green” is the account of their youth’s mood, a part of this era’s memory of the voice of youth.

This record is not merely their music it is their farewell to years past. In the midst of this golden time’s echo we hear those yet unchanged sounds hovering by our ears, the first thumping of a trembling heartbeat, the first tightening grasp of a fist, their hearty laughter on afternoons filled with sunlight continuously pours in.

Nowadays those easily destroyed colors have all been scattered in different directions and the declaration made after yesterday’s fighting has not yet entered into the detached multitudes.

Young girls’ faces have become laden with dust and every memory of the age of youth is now locked. Not a word can push you out the door.

These three seem like withdrawn, inelegant gentleman in the face of everyone while attempting to record everlasting time using simple sounds.

The sweetness and vexation of maturing, the tumult and hot blood of adolescence, these things do not lose the pounding power of melody to leave an aftertaste of those flying ashes and smoldering smoke, winking, and can perhaps take you to…  more

Chen Yuli, the sound manager of the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies and Zhang Yimou’s movie soundtracks, devoted his talents to the cutting and shaping of these recordings and postproduction. This is the promise of this album’s quality.

白+ – White + – 19th November 2012

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 124TZM

White+ traveled to Germany in 2011 to record their first album at the celebrated Anderebaustelle Studio, where Blixa Bargeld, frontman of Einstürzende Neubauten, had produced White’s album in 2007. PK14’s Yang Haisong along with Marco Paschke, a frequent collaborator with EN, handled the mixing for White+’s debut album while its cover was designed by Fu Han, the vocalist of Queen Sea Big Shark. One of the most original moments of the album comes at the very end with the acclaimed Beijing musician Han Lei rapping to the theme “reD.”

The album reflects White+’s influences, from German avant-garde music to minimalism. Shouwang’s spare vocal line provides an ethereal accompaniment to the the swelling web of effects and melodies, while WangXu’s drumbeats are the driving pulse that propel the songs forward.

The songs on “White+” are all named after colours, breaking the album down into tracks like light through a prism. Layer those different colors of light back together, and as a whole, they form White+.

Dying Livers/Secular – Quiet Steps – 15th November 2012

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 116TZM

Credits for Dying Livers:
Recorded at Sun Distortion Studios in mid 2012. Mastered by Carl Staff. Art and Design by Errol Hoffman.

Credits for Secular:
Recorded by David Williams at Wavelength Recording Studio and VIA Studios. Mixed by David Williams. Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, New Windsor, NY.

Performed by Leon Perkin, Robb Perkin & Joshua Strange. Additional instrumentation by David Williams and vocals by Rob Schlegel in the track ‘Secular’.

Thanks to all our families, friends, partners, bands we’ve played with, Shaun Tenzenmen, Chris Brownbill and Errol Hoffman.