Beijing Underground • Steim, Amsterdam
by EZ
Upcoming concert at Steim, Amsterdam’s incubator of eclectic electronic aesthetics.
for more on the Chinese scene: http://www.chinesenewear.com/ear/links.html
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STEIM@40! presents: BEIJING UNDERGROUND
Yan Jun / electronics and voice
Wu Na / guqin
Xiao He / guitar and voice
Zhang Jian / laptop
Thursday, Dec 10 2009
Time: 20:30
Door open: 20:00
Charge: 5 Euros
YAN JUN personifies the Chinese musical underground, or sub-underground – just listen to his multimedia poem “Against All Organized Deception” (http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/yanjun.htm). He promoted the DIY reuse of the Western surplus saw-cut CDs flooding China, which led to an explosion of styles. WU NA will challenge Yan’s sub-post-modernity’s with the sliding overtones of the ancient guqin/zither.
Experimental music is an offshoot of China’s recent explosion of styles—and FM3 are at its frontier. Half of FM3, keyboardist ZHANG JIAN recorded at Staalplaat and struck gold with the Buddha Machine (www.fm3buddhamachine.com).
On his latest double album “The Performance of Identity” XIAO HE combines acoustic guitar with unlikely guttural vocal sounds. Live he creates intricate multi-layered soundscapes, or plays a Peking Opera clown.
Update, documentation (Lumix LX3 HD):