Research and Other Investigations from China

Queen Sea Big Shark / 后海大鲨鱼 Making Waves

Oct 2, 2011 | Music, Youth

Fuhan, lead singer of Queen Sing Big Shark, strikes a pose in UCCA during The Creators Projects

Queen Sea Big Shark/后海大鲨鱼 is so, like, HOT right now. I mean, for real. This past year they were featured in both V Magazine and the Vogue September issue where Mario Testino cued up on them for a big spread. Lead singer, Fu Han/付菡, is now the electronic dance rock fashion diva of China. During her packed show at Tango in Beijing earlier this month, she went through at least four different outfits in the course of the evening. More power to her. I still have a big soft spot for Queen Sea Big Shark, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the haute couture pop direction she is taking with the band. They still rock it out, and their early surf rock influences make an appearance here and there. I luckily caught Fuhan at UCCA during the Creators Project where I took a few photos and video footage for fun. Check the video below for some recent concert material as well. They are getting into very elaborate stage setups for the big concerts. Otherwise, here are some recent music videos for Let’s Play, Glow in the Dark and an awesome promotional video for their sophomore album Wave.

Handsome Furs Rock Out New Sound Kapital

Aug 12, 2011 | Music

Earlier this year Alexei Perry Cox of the Handsome Furs contacted me out of the blue about using the name of my book, Sound Kapital, as the name of their new album. Since most of the songs were related to their experiences in China, she thought it would be a cool way to pay homage to the alternative music scene and further their connection to the Middle Kingdom. I quickly consented, of course, after which Alexei made a further request to include my photography in the album design. She proposed to juxtapose my blueish Tuanjiehu waterpark series with an orangish nightfall Portland series photographed by Bradley Sellers. The results are quite stunning. Moreover, the music is great and getting solid reviews by Pitchfork and Spin. This is the first time I contributed to album art outside of Chinese bands, and I am proud to have provided the name of my book to their own musical ventures. The Handsome Furs are touring like mad right now in support of their new album. I am lucky enough to catch them on August 18 at the Bowery Ballroom. Rock it out if you can.

2011 Strawberry Festival: Chinese Hipster Gathering and Related Controversy

Jun 30, 2011 | Fashion, Music, Youth

The audience flips out for Miserable Faith the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of Beijing

You might be able to tell by now, but I am way behind on my posts. These shots were all taken during the second day of the 2011 Strawberry Festival on May 1. Whoops. Anyway, better late than never. The rise of the Chinese hipster brought much controversy this past year. There were naysayers calling them hacks and shallow followers, others too clueless to know where to look in the first place, while some dug deeper and provided taxonomies or even tracked Chinese überhipsters (trans-identity-meta-hipster-awesomeness). So, despite the general lack of irony and fixed-gear bikes in China, I still stand behind my previous assertions of the importance of this new wave of urban youth trying to stand out from the crowd and make it on there own. Identity in urban china is an ever-mutating beast, but there is no denying that people are trying to reach deeper and tap into more creative currents. Alternative lifestyles, especially in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Guangzhou are on the rise and need to be celebrated. Here are a few of those who are visually standing out for better or worse.

Hipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of BeijingHipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of BeijingHipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of Beijing

Hipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of BeijingHipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of BeijingHipsters and freaks rock out at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of Beijing

The audience waits for Hedgehog to come on stage at the 2011 Strawberry Festival at the Tongzhou Canal Park outside of Beijing

China Cultural Corporatism: CK1 Touts Far East Movement

Jun 6, 2011 | Consumerism, Music

An urbane crowd packs into Tango for a ck1 branded concert and party in Beijing

Beijing is chock-full of branded events these days. Whether it’s Diane von Furstenberg at Pace Gallery or Louis Vuitton at the National Museum of China, many fashion houses and luxury brands are trying to wedge themselves into the lucrative Chinese consumer market by pairing up with “legitimate” cultural institutions. Calvin Klein was no different when they rolled into Beijing and threw a party at Club Tango featuring performances by New Pants/新裤子 from Beijing and Far East Movement from Los Angeles. New Pants played a very short set including my current favorite “Sex, Drugs, Internet” while the Far East Movement rocked the energetic crowd with their “Like a G6” hit – see videos below. Otherwise, one corner of the dance floor was dominated by a specially constructed mini-studio where people could be videotaped dancing around a white room in the same manner as recent Calvin Klein advertisements. The only caveat was that anyone entering the box signed away their rights to the video in hopes of being selected for a future Calvin Klein campaign or web feature. People around the mini-studio could also watch live feeds of the antics occurring inside via flatscreens built into the siding. Overall it was a rather ingenious ploy to get people to freely relinquish rights to their personal images for commercial purposes. Events like this occur every few days in Beijing as international corporations continue to drum up a consumer frenzy throughout China.

CK1 party attendees dance in a specially built studio intended to resemble CK1 advertisements at Club Tango in BeijingCK1 party attendees dance in a specially built studio intended to resemble CK1 advertisements at Club Tango in Beijing

CK1 party attendees dance in a specially built studio intended to resemble CK1 advertisements at Club Tango in BeijingCK1 party attendees dance in a specially built studio intended to resemble CK1 advertisements at Club Tango in Beijing

China Vogue Music Feature: Bringing Rock to the Masses

May 29, 2011 | Clippings, Fashion, Music, Portraits

A portrait of Cui Jian/崔健 at D-22

Thanks to my new friend Alex Chao, who just arrived in Beijing to take over art direction at China Vogue, I was able to contribute for the first time to China Vogue this month. It was also a perfect match since the magazine was running a big music issue and decided to let me cue up on some of the old school rockers in China including Cui Jian/崔健 (the godfather of Chinese rock), Shen Lihui/沈黎辉 (general rocker and founder of Modern Sky) and Zhang Youdai/张有待 (the DJ who introduced rock to the masses). First of all, I was very excited to get a chance to shoot Cui Jian on the D-22 red wall. He really is a pillar in the history of Chinese rock and greatly influenced a whole generation of China with his anthem “Nothing to My Name” which became a rallying song for students in China during the 1980s. Although I might not be the biggest fan of some of Shen Lihui’s music, his importance as the founder of the Modern Sky music label and festival production company is undisputed. When other record companies refused to release his music in 1997, he went his own way and founded Modern Sky to support a new generation of Chinese rockers and then continued to take this music to larger audiences with the Modern Sky Music Festival and Strawberry Music Festival. Shen Lihui will undoubtably be a force in the future of alternative music in China for some time to come. Although I had never heard of Zhang Youdai before, he seems to be an instrumental character in the history of rock in China as well. He became a DJ and host on Beijing Music Radio back in 1993 and introduced a wide range of music to youth across China. He is a true shaker in China’s emerging entertainment market and is rocking out to an Eric Clapton LP in the China Vogue portrait. Mad respect.

A China Vogue clipping of Zhang Youdai/张有待

A China Vogue clipping of Cui Jian/崔健

A China Vogue clipping of Shen Lihui/沈黎辉

Wordy Soulspeak Album Release: Dirty Beijing Hip Hop

May 25, 2011 | Music, Youth

DJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studioDJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studioDJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studio

DJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studioDJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studioDJ Wordy and Soulspeak kicking it in the studio

Over the first half of this year it’s been my pleasure to hang out with DJ Wordy in his Sanlitun studio as he collaborated with Soulspeak on the aptly named Wordy Soulspeak instrumental album. The release party is this Friday, May 27 at Yugong Yishan – be there or be square. All I can say is that the beats are DOPE, and many of the tracks are getting lots of play on my iPod (check out this posting for shootouts for the album from Pete Rock, RZA, Kidd Koala and more). DJ Wordy and Soulspeak are really trying to step up the quality of hip hop production in China. This album is a great first step in the direction of trying to get together the best producers with the best MCs in the country. Hopefully there will be a remix of some sort with all the Beijing heads spitting rhymes over it. Right now I feel the big thing holding back hip hop in China is the lack of collaboration between the beat makers and the freestylers as well as a lack of impetus to get things out on a consistent basis. People are starting to wake up though, and I hope to see a bunch of new hip hop albums released this year. Check out the Wordy Soulspeak video promo I put together below, complete with interview and studio tour. Stay tuned for more.