Postcard from Seaside: Xie Yugang sets Wang Wen for a muse

"The past is more melodic, because it's abstract and exaggerated. "

I've always thought lyrics are not indispensable (except for folk music and hip-hop of course), listening to post-rock group Wang Wen (惘闻)'s fifth album L&R reinforced my stubbornness on that - it's the classic ambient of reaching for a sound pinnacle with guitar strums and steady drumbeats, while added instruments can always take you by surprise, making all words losing their power of speech.

It's a bit difficult to find many post-rock bands in Beijing, considering it's not a popular genre anywhere in the world, so this Saturday would be a nice treat from these Dalian rockers. Out with the album, Wang Wen are now on the road for a tour of scheduled seventeen cities across the country. For a band in the age of a decade, lead guitarist and founder Xie Yugang has something to share with us.

the Beijinger: How did Wang Wen come together?
Xie Yugang: It happened more than ten years ago. I'd always wanted to start a band and make music, so did the other guys in Wang Wen. It was the year of 1999, we were still in college, so none of us had any thoughts on how to make the band better besides taking it as something fun to do outside the class. The five-piece line-up now was finalized in 2003, some of us had day jobs, and some were unemployed. All we had in common was the passion and energy for the music we love.

tbj: How did you find music back then?
XYG: Through dakou (meaning "make a hole"). Basically people in the West overproduce CDs and they knock a hole on them, which destroys one or two songs but the whole CD is still listenable. Somebody smuggled them into China, and that was how we were connected with Western music in the first place. Just right now, I can still recall how we were wandering around bookstores looking for those.

tbj: Describe your songwriting process.
XYG: We start with improvising, then fix the details after that.

tbj: Which aspect of post-rock do you like the most?
XYG: I love all music that I can response to, and the ones can clash with my emotional world. In particular with post-rock, because it's mostly instrumental with almost no lyrics, so it sets the musical part free.

Wang Wen play live in 2008. Video courtesy of S.Dummy of Tudou

tbj: I love the hand drum and pianica in L&R, they suit perfectly for a sunny afternoon. Since your music is quite instrumental, I'm interested to find out between the past and the present, which is more melodic to you?
XYG: Bit of both, but I'd say the past is more melodic, because it's abstract and exaggerated.

tbj: Have you ever thought of moving to Beijing?
XYG: Not really. Beijing is a metropolis for fun because it's big and diverse, but it's not the everyday life we want. Dalian is smaller, but we feel more comfortable and familiar living there.

tbj: Your favorite post-rock bands?
XYG: There aren't that many post-rock bands in China, but we do like Hua Lun (花伦), Maze (迷宫), 48V and The Swamp (沼泽). As for foreign bands, I'm quite into Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai, Mono and Tortoise.

tbj: What is the greatest benefit of being instrumental vs. being vocal?
XYG: They both have their own advantages, but we are better at taking command of instruments. So for us, the greatest benefit of being instrumental is that we can save all the talking and focus on how to make good music.

tbj: What are the biggest difference between L&R and Wang Wen's previous work?
XYG: That's for you to decide.

tbj: Among all seventeen cities, which one do you expect the most?
XYG: We've been to most of these cities before, and we like them all. But I'm personally looking forward to visiting Guilin and Kunming since I've never been.

tbj: It's been ten years for Wang Wen, how big of an effect do you think time has on your life?
XYG: We all have our own lives outside music, and that's the part have changed a lot. But I have to say, every time when we play music as a band, I can't feel anything different with how we were ten years ago. The sign of time only appears when it changes the way you think, and your life will certainly change with it.

Wang Wen release their fifth studio album L&R at Mao Livehouse on April 10 (Saturday), supported by Maze. RMB 60, RMB 50 (students). 9pm. 111 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (6402 5080) 东城区鼓楼东大街111号