Chinese independent and experimental music may be looked upon as something of an oddity in its homeland. And to Western ears, it may sound odder still. But that hasn’t stopped Yan Hun, the founder (in 2000) of the Sub Jam label, and one of the pioneers in China’s experimental music scene, from doing what he does best. Which is just about everything. Yan is involved in many arts: poetry, music, film and literature. But his most lasting accomplishment may be that he has proved that the fusion of electronic sounds with poetry works. Last year, Sub Jam released Nowise Assault, a 60-minute CD of made-in-China electronica, more specifically ‘leftfield electronic music’ blending artificial sounds with spirituality and poetic ambience. In this entry, 718, aka Sun Lei, a central figure in the experimental scene, offers ambient music and down tempo beats featuring ethnic or/and industrial influences. “Taoism or Calm” intermingles drum solos into a spiritual atmosphere; while “Over and Over” provides more than seven minutes of noise with an industrial edge. “Aluminum” is a straight piece performed on the piano, the crystalline purity of which is at one point corrupted by lowfi noise. Say what you will, this is highly addictive, hypnotic music.
Sub Jam/available at http://www.subjam.org/

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



(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue