Snapline Talk Long-Distance Recordings and Their New Album 'Shou Hua'

Snapline’s return to the stage this past August wasn’t just special because it marked the end of three-year performing hiatus. The Beijing post-punk band’s performance was also marked by vocalist Chen Xi’s presence, who had come all the way from his new home in Washington state to play some shows and record a new album with his bandmates.

Like any long-distance relationship, this new transcontinental arrangement has been tough for Chen Xi and his bandmates, guitarist Li Qing and bassist Li Weisi. However, Chen Xi tells the Beijinger that Snapline remain determined to keep trying, while also explaining why the big move was worth it, why penning a mere seven lyrics was sufficient for their new single “Tent” and more ahead of the release of their new album, Shou Hua (released Nov 30 via Maybe Mars).

You’re now based in Seattle. Why is that the case?
To be more precise – I live in a suburb of the greater Seattle area. That's simply because I work for Microsoft, and Microsoft is based in Redmond, WA, a small town not far from Seattle. I decided to move to the US mainly because I think it's a better place to raise my kids.

How has that big move challenged your band? And has it offered any unique advantages?
The challenge for the band is we're not physically near each other anymore. Our creative process heavily depends on the practices, where we play together and try different things. So since I moved it's very challenging, especially writing new songs.

We managed to write a couple of songs last summer when I was back, for the recording of the new album. There's a song that I wrote the lyrics for in the US, and they wrote the instrumental in Beijing. We didn't know what it would be like, but it happens to be a very beautiful song. However, this might be just a rare case and we need to figure out how to shift the collaboration process for new material.

So far I don't see any advantages for Snapline... yet...

What were some of the biggest inspirations for the song “Tent”?
I'm always obsessed with conflicted, awkward metaphors while working on Snapline songs. They're tricky and sometimes cheap.

When we were working on this song, the instrumental part was meant to pursue a status of repetitive riff with very subtle changes over time, like someone marching with exaggerated movements. So I tried to reflect that subtlety in the lyrics with conflicts like then we got "armed" but "gently, softly" instead of hard. If I were to visualize that it will be the porn of compilation scenes that they're "armed" in each frame but holistically they're blended and become gentle and soft warm noise signals.

I actually told Li Qing and Li Weisi about this visualization and they laughed saying “What's wrong with you!”

Why did you decide to have so few lyrics on “Tent”? And does it feel fun and exciting to challenge listeners a bit by not following a more conventional lyrical style?
It's not the first time for Snapline to have few words in a song. We have "Holy Comments” [from 2010’s Party is Over, Pornostar]  – it has even fewer words than this song. That's why I said it's sometimes cheap.

I don't really intend to challenge listeners. For Snapline, from the very beginning, we hold the principle that we make the music for ourselves, without caring about listeners. We feel super grateful that there's a group of people that love our music. We really, really appreciate that. But we don't really care about the listeners while writing the songs. It's more about self-approval.

Tell me more about the new album.
The recording process was very good to me. We recorded it in a great studio called GOK. I really enjoyed the two weeks where I took the subway to the studio every day, needing do line transfer in Shinjuku station. Just like commuting to work!

From my perspective, we consciously tried very hard to make this album sound raw – from the writings to arrangements and recording techniques. It's thoughtfully from nature and by nature of Snapline.

What’s next for Snapline, and for your own personal plans as a musician and artist?
As I mentioned, Snapline will explore how to collaborate from a distance and start working on new materials. And myself I do have new ideas for [side project] Late Troubles but it's still too early to say anything.

You can listen to Shou Hua in full via Snapline's Bandcamp page here.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: Ka Xiao Xi