Nov 22, 2010 | Sports, Youth
I just had the pleasure of visiting the newly-minted Woodward Beijing skateboard and freestyle BMX park that opened its doors to China this summer. Although it is a pain in the ass to get down to the southern sixth ring road, Woodward Beijing truly is a state of the art facility and will hopefully nurture a new wave of talented skateboarders and freestyle BMX riders in China. These sports are just taking hold in cities and major brands like Vans, who sponsored the evening by driving down two busloads of kids for free, can only see rising interest amongst the growing pool of urban hipsters and punks around the country. Even though I didn’t get in on the action myself, I was greatly intrigued by the possibilities of the giant foam box pit that freestyle BMX riders used for practicing aerials. Next time I might find myself rocketing skyward on a bike. For now the only problem I can foresee is consistently getting kids that far outside the city to partake in everything Woodward Beijing has to offer. On the up side, large-scale summer camps are being planned which is the real bread and butter for Woodward in other locations around the world.
Oct 19, 2010 | Music, Youth
The Kill Club China Tour 2010 rolled through Beijing earlier this month and served up an exquisite night of chiptune dance music. Headlined by Sulumi, China’s preeminent electronic artist who also founded Shanshui Records, the tour knocked up six cities around China and featured an international cast of button punchers including USK and Covox. For those of you not in the know, chiptune musicians utilize synthesized sounds created by low-fi sound chips (usually 8-bit) from outdated computers or video game consoles. With special software loaded on cartridges, songs can even be composed live using handheld devices such as the Gameboy. The sound textures and melodies generated produce a unique tone that resonates deeply with anyone who was raised on early terminals such as Atari video game consoles or Commodore personal computers. I am a big fan and even attended the first Blip Festival in New York City back in 2006 which Sulumi also performed at in 2008. Check out the video below for live performances from Sulumi (China), Usk (Japan), and Covox (Sweden).
Oct 11, 2010 | Music, Youth
Guaili / 怪力 are definitely one of my favorite bands in Beijing. I am secretly obsessed with their lead singer Wen Jun who throws her angular, almost skeletal body around stage during performances all while chain smoking cigarettes and rocking out an incredibly powerful voice. This September they went on a 14-city “Hell Tour” around China in support of their first album, Flight of Delusion, which they released with Maybe Mars. I have listened to it a few times and even though it might not be as wild as their performances in dive bars around the city, there are definitely some gems. You can purchase the CD at the usual suspects around Beijing including D-22 and most music stores around Guloudong Dajie. Hopefully there will be a way to purchase it online soon.
Oct 6, 2010 | Sports, Youth
I attended the Baby Dragon Skateboarding Competition finals in Hangzhou last weekend. Sponsored by the government and major international clothing brands, the national contest sought to raise awareness for the sport and develop better skills amongst China’s practitioners. Han Minjie, often considered the godfather of China’s skateboarding community, estimates that there are only 40,000 to 50,000 active skateboarders in China. Still, urban street culture is on the rise and considerably more rebellious youth are looking to skateboarding and the tight-knit circle of friends the sport engenders as a social outlet. Lots of pundits also tie the rise of skateboarding to hip hop which continues to be a burgeoning musical form in China. The biggest development for skateboarding in Beijing, however, was the opening of the Woodward skate park on the outskirts of Beijing this summer. Although its facilities are top notch, it still remains to be scene if it will work economically. Some skateboarding insiders in Beijing feel that the money would have been better spent building smaller skate parks closer to the city center. Be sure to check out KickerClub, Skatehere and Funboxx for more information on skateboarding in China. The skateboarders pictured above were Baby Dragon Skateboarding Competition finalists while the three below were female skateboarders participating in the open sessions that also take place during the contest.
Oct 1, 2010 | Youth
This post must start with a disclaimer. I do not in any way believe in or support the acts performed in this video. I can only hope for greater understanding and congenial relations between China and Japan in the future. This act of flag burning was filmed purely for documentary reasons. The event occurred on the first night of the 2010 Zhenjiang MIDI Festival after a particular rousing performance by a death metal band. The kids are singing the Chinese national anthem while burning the Japanese flag. The first night of the festival also landed on October 1 which is China’s National Holiday. It goes without saying that tensions between China and Japan have peaked in the past week thanks to the standoff over sovereignty issues regarding the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing boat on disputed waters in the East China Sea by Japan’s coast guard. This friction and general hatred of the Japanese runs deep and dates back to the brutal and humiliating treatment suffered in China at the hands of the Japanese during World War II. Even though the Chinese captain in question has since been released, the incident ignited the embers amongst China’s increasingly nationalistic youth.
Sep 15, 2010 | Music, Portraits, Youth
The Generation 6 concert at Yugong Yishan featured all the young bucks in Beijing’s rock underground including Residence A, Lazy Camels, Me Guan Me, Mr. Graceless, Rustic, Birdstriking, and Flyx. Musicians in Beijing refer to a wave of new bands from a certain age group as a generation. The first came with China’s godfather of rock, Cui Jian, while the sixth generation is the youngest and still cutting their teeth. This was definitely a culmination point for many of them in so far as they are becoming the defining bands from a fresh crop of performers around the city. Rustic came in with the most momentum after securing the Global Battle of the Bands crown earlier this year – a major triumph for everyone involved in the Beijing rock and punk scene. Otherwise Lazy Camels and Mr. Graceless put on strong sets. The following videos feature outtakes from Lazy Camels, Me Guan Me, Mr. Graceless, and Birdstriking along with a full track from Rustic. Enjoy.
