Some of China's Biggest Indie and Experimental Acts Converge to Toast Two Label Heavyweights

This weekend, the underground music scene raises a glass to two of its most robust labels – Badhead Records and Maybe Mars – who have in many ways spearheaded the indie rock and experimental music scenes in China, respectively.

Over the coming days, both will celebrate their anniversaries with a platter of gigs and high-wire sounds across Gulou. Take a look at what to expect as well as some aural highlights from each roster.

Badhead

Despite working in the shadow of the more widely known Modern Sky, sub-label Badhead has had a no less illustrious record of releasing some of the underground music scene’s most mesmerizing and downright esoteric sounds for two decades – a deluge of experimental, noise, folk, improv, and other deviant sounds.

For the upcoming festivities, the label will set up residency at Yue Space starting Thursday, Oct 31, inviting new avant-garde world music supergroup Bande, made from the skin and bones of Xinjiang Kazakh musical genius Mamer, to showcase the latter's thrumming voice against nerve-racking layers of instrumentation.

Then, on Sunday, Nov 3, the label invites Guangzhou-based outfit Mercader, whose bewildering mix post-punk, no wave, and indie rock acts a vessel for the band's brand of "pessimistic optimism."

However, the crème de la crème is most certainly saved for Friday, Nov 1 where some of the label’s most prolific and unconventional artists will gather. Besides two of Mamer’s other two projects – IZ and Mekrop – which lean more into chainsawed industrial funk chaos (trust me on that description), the night will also feature notable acts like guitar improv guru Li Jianhong, free improv saxophonists Li Zenghui and Lao Dan, and freewheeling percussionists Deng Boyu and Zhang Dong, a man who’s not averse to performing on industrial-grade fans.

Organizers have warned readers that the evening will "test the participants' eardrums and physical strength." A better way to put it – expect nothing less than a warpath of noise, a free impromptu marathon to throw you into the deep end of static and hiss. 

Maybe Mars

Maybe Mars – the Beijing-based label seen more often than not as the quintessential independent label of underground music in China – has cultivated their sound for 12 years, drawing in hordes of disenfranchised youth and renegade rockers. Whether it’s angular post-punk anthems or sweeping rhythmic psychedelic jams, the label has carved out its own little world of dangerously alluring indie rock. The results have not only caught the attention of budding music fans here but helped expose China's youthful energy to the rest of the world.

For their 12th birthday bash, the label has put together a wild 'n' out lineup over at School Bar on Friday, Nov 1, featuring both the label's new and old guard, including flagship noise-rockers Carsick Cars (pictured at top), spastic cock-eyed punk favorites Dirty Fingers, psychedelic-groovers Run Run Run, new signees Plastic, out of Kunming, and reformed Xi’an post-punk outfit Jumping Goat, whose latest Walking On The Ice just dropped a week back.

And for those who don’t have the fortitude to sweat it out in what will surely be a packed house, you can always swing by Yue Space on Saturday, Nov 2, where seminal noise-rockers Birdstriking, one of the label's finest, will celebrate an anniversary of their own: an admirable 10 years on the scene. They’ve just returned from a stint in Australia with new track "一体" in tow (listen above), which boasts the band’s sound to almost arena rock levels all the while maintaining their sincere noise-punk roots.

So, do yourself a favor this weekend and pay your respects to two of the most important Chinese labels out there, each of which has gone above and beyond to nurture homegrown talent and bring their weird noises to China and beyond.

Read the full Maybe Mars anniversary roster here or the Badhead line-up here.

Perhaps you're hungry for China's most popular autumnal foodstuff instead?

Photos: SCMP, Live Beijing Music, courtesy of the bands