Meng Qi (Mengite) is a young self-taught Chinese electronic-music artist, an expert in beats that directly affect the part of the brain which controls headshakes and hip-swinging. Call it drum ‘n bass, drill ‘n bass, break-beat, chiptune (music synthesized in real-time by sound chips) or psychedelic trance; categorization is futile here. Though Meng has no professional training, he clearly loves music; indeed, he began to play electronic music at age 14. So far, he’s completed more than a thousand musical works, influenced by British electronic-music artists such as Squarepusher, Roni Size and Aphex Twin. With that many recordings, he dramatically increased the odds that he would be noticed. Such was the case in 2004, when one of his demo albums, Vernal Rain, attracted the attention of music moguls. That same year, Meng and French electronic musician Naibu produced the single Cong Lin, which was played over European electronic-music radio stations. In 2005, he signed with the Muzicolor record company and started his own sub-label Mengite, producing and promoting electronic works – and he’s not even 20 yet! The highly-gifted Meng spent the following six months polishing this, his official debut album, Landscape in Love, a smooth drum-and-bass release with melodic hooks and mesmerizing loops.
Mengite/Muzicolor/available at http://www.muzicolor.com

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue