Noise Pollution: Kagero, Gum Bleed, WestByWest, WHAI, Mark Whitfield Trio, Safia

Will Griffith | Dec 14, 2018 8:30 am | Add a comment | 1707 reads

You ready for some mayhem? Delightfully rambunctious good times deep in the heart of Beijing’s swelling underground music scene? Cause this weekend is a scorcher of good tunes as bands from Xi’an, Japan, Wuhan, and Australia descend upon the capital looking to kick-start your weekend and lead you to nirvana. So take the leap and indulge yourself for once. Here’s your weekend update.

Friday, Dec 14

Kagero (JP), Wonder Sea, By Dream at School
Hailing from Japan, indie rock outfit Kagero have been tearing up the scene years now with their jazz, punk, and metal musings mixed into a post-rock product. With two US tours under their belt already, they're closing out their Asia tour tonight at School Bar with the help of a couple of Beijing's best post-rock ensembles, post-emo kids Wonder Sea and more traditional post-rock vibes of By Dream. RMB 80

Gum Bleed, Xiao Wang, Pizza Face at Temple
Anti-establishment punk veterans Gum Bleed, one of Beijing’s most reliable acts bring their profound and fist-pumping worthy rock and roll to Temple Bar alongside tow of this year’s hottest punk bands – Xiao Wang and Pizza Face – for a highly charged evening of tunes. FREE

Talentune, Bow As Well, DancRan at fRUITYSPACE
A trio of electronic acts from The Academy of Fine Arts take stage bringing with them their experimental, acid-laced, lo-fi, and offbeat soundscapes – including Talentune, Bow As Well, and DancRan. RMB 50

Samaga at Jianghu Bar
Considered by many as one of Beijing’s most underrated musical acts, world music act Samaga has been infiltrating venues across Beijing with their happy marriage of musical traditions from India, the Middle East, and more, utilizing the sitar, the oud, and other Middle Eastern percussion instruments in new and captivating ways. They’re joined by tribal bellydancer Inko tonight. RMB 100

Swarrm, Acid Accident, Pure at DDC
Rock and roll at its finest tonight with these cold-blooded killers tearing up a storm including post-metal instrumentalists Swarrm, post-rock groovers Acid Accident, and grunge pranksters Pure. Delightfully good times await. RMB 80

General Huge, Rawhx Van Marley, King Lion Miguel, DJ Sowl at Soi Baochao
Get your reggae on with this good vibing lineup featuring the scene’s highest contenders including DB Bros Records co-founder and dancehall singer General Huge, Cameroonian singer-songwriter King Lion Miguel, hip-hop artist Rawhx Van Marley, and much much more. RMB 70

Kc, FrankiD, G.G, at Yue Space
Rising hip-hop star Kc brings swagger and devilish swift rhymes full of jazzy charm to Yue Space in support of his new release with the help of FrankiD and G.G. RMB 150

Click #15 at T-House
Get your fill of funky glam jivy Prince-esque vibes with the Ricky Sixx led trio Click#15 as they party like its 1989 at T-House at Tuanjiehu. RMB 100

A-Mac, Monarchy, DJ Baker, The FEEX, Eclipse, Jiji at 13 Club
Wudaokou’s 13 Club gets in on the hip-hop craze with a stacked lineup of rap’s fiercest rappers in support of new label Red Kid. RMB 120

The Hunters at Modernista
Beijing’s hottest crowd-pleasing outfit One of Beijing’s best foreign cover bands The Hunters combine old school funk, soul, and rock classics with intoxicating delivery. FREE

Prototype at Caravan
Prototype, the new jazz supergroup with some of Beijing's most talented jazz musicians including Edward Barroetabena on drums, Pierre Pradat on keys, Daren Burns on bass and Zhang Jing on guitar explore new sonic boundaries tonight. RMB 60

Colleen Andrea Quartet at The Bricks
Known for her command of Latin rhythms, pop, dance or modern music Colombian Colleen is a versatile singer, with a powerful voice – tonight she presents her latest concept – a mixture between the jazz and the folkloric of her home. FREE

Liu Donghong at Mogu Space
Liu Donghong, dusty blues singer of Sand, China’s first ‘cold rock’ band, and a scene player for over twenty years gives an intimate performance in Xizhimen. RMB 80

Xu Jun at Pink Moon
Xu Jun of the Qin style rock band Che Nian Po performs solo at the cozy Pink Moon. RMB 66

Mu He Fu La at Aotu Studio
An illuminating evening of music with MuHeFuLa, whose Xinjiang-inspired, reggae-tinted rhythms will seize inattentive heartbeats. One note is all it takes. Strong words there. RMB 100

Eric Allen Woodshed at Blue Stream Bar
Eric Allen and his band Woodshed bring the sounds of Americana to Blue Stream combining a rocky style with authentic American Chicago, Texas, & Mississippi Delta blues. FREE

Saturday, Dec 15

WestByWest, Cod New, Nocturnes at DDC
Live Beijing Music hosts Xi’an trip-hop duo WestByWest who blew up this year with her sensual debut – evoking a rigid cold serving of haunting beauty and resonating lyricism that lingers long after. They’ll join Wuhan trio Cod New who find the perfect balance between electronic samples, experimental instrumentation, and post-rock heft and all its possibilities within there, only to then break them down and restructure them into the real world. Rounding out the bill are local indietronic duo Nocturnes who have been on a tear since they dropped their LP last year. Read our interview with singer and guitarist Wang Xixi here. RMB 80

Nekroma, Bang Bang Mary, Great Buffalo Blues at Temple
Haunting art-rock supergroup Nekroma – an atmospheric carnival of sounds that blends vocals, skateboard guitar, drums, bass, electronic samples, and synths across an array of mystifying characters take the stage at Temple alongside fellow rockers Bang Bang Mary and Great Buffalo Blues. FREE

Baihu at Yue Space
The ethereal psychedelic supergroup Baihu – made up of members of some of Beijing’s most delectable indie rock groups kick off their nationwide tour bringing their intoxicating arrangements and alluring blend of sprawling psychedelic soundscapes and wistful daydreaming to Yue Space. RMB 90

Zhege, Hugh Reed & The electric Shadows at Modernista
Modernista gets playful tonight as multi-national pop-rock troupe Zhege whose mischievous sounds touches upon everything from Britpop to R&B joins the equally rambunctious Hugh Reed and The Electric Shadows. FREE

Jager Music Competition Finals at School
Jager has been holding a competition across China to discover the best new bands, and tonight the finals are held at School Bar. So jump into the unknown, cringe at the shot of Jager coming your way, and just perhaps caught a sighting of the rock scene’s next big thing. FREE

Lord of the Lost (Germany) at Omni Space
Hamburg’s metal act Lord of the Lost plays who describes their sound as a mix of HIM and Rammstein, and have also been compared to Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and early Roxette, bring their beautifully orchestrated mayhem to Omni Space. RMB 380

Nathan Borofka, echoloop, Endless Square, Zhou Caodi at Soi Baochao
The Kaleido series continues their blend of poetry, improvisational music, and more with sets from Nathan Borofka, Endless Square, echoloop, and Zhou Caodi. FREE

WHAI at Mogu Space
Everyone’s favorite prog-rock group WHAI, fresh off their new EP, who have been together since 2012, have committed themselves to their heavy, offbeat brand of psychedelic rock and roll and now find refuge in Xizhimen’s Mogu Space. Read our recent interview with frontman Zhang Wei here. RMB 80

The Mark Whitfield Trio at Blue Note
Once dubbed “The Best Young Guitarist in the Business,” New Yorker Mark Whitfield has performed with just about everyone –Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, you name it – before starting the Whitfield Family Band whose 2017 release ‘Grace’ debuted to rave reviews. Catch the maestro this weekend at Blue Note. RMB 120-360

Left Behind Children, Cha, All Unknown, Bobby’s Satellite, DaLeiYin, FomalhauT at BSP Livehouse
Picking up a bit of the slack it seems – BSP Livehouse in Chaoyangmen has to offer a pretty appetizing bill featuring a bit of something for everyone – from pop punk outfit All Unknown to grunge rockers Cha, Qin rockers FomalhauT, and more. 5.30pm start. RMB 100

Saso feat. Spirit Rebellious at Caravan
Formed of members from various parts of Africa but blending the music of all cultures Saso and the Spirit Rebellious look to bring a good time to Caravan tonight. RMB 50

Ball (TW) at Mao Livehouse
Taiwanese Mando-pop singer Ball brings her array of chart-topping uber-cute pop songs to Mao Livehouse. RMB 200

GMT+6, Hayrul, Monarchy, St.B, 2z, Sun Xu at 13 Club
13 Club continues its descent into hip-hop madness with a second dosing of rap and hip-hop for all you trending kids out there – just look at that cast of names above (GMT+6 is a pretty awesome name I must admit) and try not to get excited. RMB 120

Panda 4et at The Bricks
Panda 4et is a project founded by the Italian drummer Antonio Fusco together with three excellent musicians of the Beijing Jazz scene including Zhang Jing and Simone Schirru on guitar, and Dan Callaghan on bass. FREE

Soulpella at Jianghu Bar
A combination of pop, R&B, jazz, soul, and more, the large Acappella troupes take on a variety of styles to amplify their vocal talents. RMB 80

Dan Zengga, Steve Blaque at Pink Moon
Tibetan folk-rocker Dan Zengga joins American artist and producer Steve Blanque tonight. RMB 66

More Feel, Li Qin Zhan at FM Live
Indie synth-pop duo More Feel share as you can imagine their feelings over in Wudaokou alongside singer-songwriter Li Qin Zhan. RMB 66

Sunday, Dec 16

Safia (AUS) at Omni Space
Australian three-piece electronica/indie pop band Safia who hail from Canberra are an unlikely but then-burgeoning source of new music from down under. Formed in 2012 and initially consisting of two bedroom producers, the now trio jokingly describe their sound as "Skrillex and James Blake making sweet, tender love." Intriguing. RMB 200

Wu Hongfei at DDC
DDC hosts one of Beijing’s most esteemed folk artists – Wu Hongfei – who has been integrating electronica, triphop and her Dong minority ethnicity (from Guangxi province) more and more into her music. She’s even invited the Dong Ethnic Music Trope to accompany her. RMB 120

Heartland, Dong Nao, Autism, BlaiRy, Kui, I Don't Know Where to Go at School
Local promoters FanZui TuanHuo fry up an evening of up-and-coming young college bands to end the weekend on an energetic and high note – joined by special guest band Heartland, who have been rocking the Chinese music scene for over a decade, on the adolescent bill this evening are Dong Nao, Autism, BlaiRy, Kui, and I Don't Know Where to Go. 7pm start. RMB 60

Wicked Bones, Strong Shell, 4U, Malnutrition, Buliao, Starry Echo at BSP Livehouse
Picking up a bit of the slack it seems – BSP Livehouse in Chaoyangmen has to offer a pretty appetizing bill featuring a bit of something for everyone – from pop-punk outfit Strong Shell, to indie pop kids 4U, hard rockers Wicked Bones, and much more. 6.30pm start. RMB 100

Su Yunying at Tango
Su "Sue" Yunying brings her infectious brand of folk-pop to Tango as the rising star, who hails from Sanya, Hainan celebrates the release of her breezy, delightful offbeat new album entitled Fairy Land. RMB 260

Hao, Feline, Brickleberry, Ban Band at Yue Space
MTA presents the Road to Supernova, featuring retro rocker Hao, indie rockers Feline, dance and synth rockers Brickleberry, and romantic indie rockers Ban Band. RMB 80