An eight-hour New Year’s celebration

By He Jianwei

A deserted island is commonly invoked as a metaphor for a place where an individual or group finds itself cut off from others. Since 2009, big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have hosted a “deserted island concert” almost every month, with “deserted island” signifying a niche genre of songs that discuss social issues.

At the end of this year, the concert will feature at least 10 musicians and bands to celebrate New Year’s in eight hours at Yugongyishan.

The opening performance will be from Beijing indie rock band Fuzzy Mood. Bassist Liu Ke and vocalist Han Ai got to know each other on a rock online forum in the summer of 2006. Several months later, they began using the name “Fuzzy Mood” to cover songs by famous rock bands.

Two years later, Liu and Han studied abroad. When they returned to Beijing in 2009, they began to write their own songs. At the same time, guitarist Han Jian joined the band. In the last three months, they recorded the self-produced EP These Freezing Days.

It includes five English songs depicting the age of consumerism and loss of souls. In the second song, “F C,” they sing, “Everybody wants to be found / Strangers dance beside you when sickness is around / Everybody wants to get lost / Strangers lie beside you when sleeplessness is around / I’m here alone.”

This year, they were awarded a contract with one of the biggest indie labels in China, Modern Sky Records, and will release their debut full-length album in 2012.

The independent folk musician Shao Yibei will also play at the concert. She just released her second full-length album last month. Shao became an overnight sensation when her song about leftover women received more than 20 million hits online in 2009.

Unlike other popular online songs, hers do not romanticize love. Shao looks more critically at reality, and her songs depict the sorrow, confusion, hope and expectations of the young generation.

Convinience Store band 10th anniversary

Event information

Event name:便利商店 CONVENIENCE STORE BAND 10 YEARS ANNIVERSARY

Host:Yugong Yishan

Event typeMusic – Concert

Location3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng

Time & Place

Date:March 5, 2011

Time:20:00 – 2:00

Neighbourhood:东城区(Dongcheng) District

Phone:64042711

E-mail:info@yugongyishan.com

[GLORY & SPLENDOR]
CONVENIENCE STORE BAND 10 YEARS ANNIVERSARY LIVESHOW
GUEST: „A DECADE DREAM“

Since it’s formation in March 2001 in Beijing, Convenience Store became
an icon of China’s Brit-pop music. The enchantment of ‘Convenience Store’ could only be experienced in the incredible power of their live performance and the rich groove of their music. The “Glory and Splendor” 10 Years Anniversary Liveshow will be held at YuGongYiShan Club on 5th of March 2011.
Apart from more than twenty great hits, an amazing new song will be presented as well, which features A Decade Dream, including their friends and various artists who grew up together during the past 10 years.
This new song is a present as well a memorial for Convenience Store’s decade-long career and the friendship with their friends and fans.

Pm 8 // Rmb 100 / 80 (presale）

French Festival closes with concert and fashion show

Artists at the March Madness concert and fashion show in Hong Kong. Photo provided by Afbeijing.org

By Zhang Dongya

The annual French Festival will end with a concert and fashion show at Yugong Yishan Saturday.

The fashion show, themed French Culture and the Diversity of the French World, will feature pieces designed and modeled by students of the French Fashion University ESMOD in Beijing.

Four international bands and artists will turn up the sound and energy with electronic music, jazz and hip-hop: Trip In from Switzerland, Samian from Quebec, Al K Traxx from France and Labiur from Belgium.

The four-man band Trip In was started by a saxophonist and a rapper who shared a passion for jazz. Then came their desire to marry the genre with the energy of hip-hop, resulting in jazzy riffs flavored with rhyme.

Al K Traxx’s repertoire is a colorful mix of hip-hop, electronic music and rock. The group has played with popular French band ASSASSIN twice in 2009, and released its latest album in January.

Samian, a member of North America Algonquin aboriginal group, is the first Canadian rapper to perform in both French and Algonquin. His music talks about his experience as an Algonquin in Quebec and encourages dialogue between the Quebecois and Algonquins.

The finale will be given by Labiur, a French-speaking Belgain singer known for her electronic music shows. Last year, the 24-year-old released her debut CD, BIURTIFUL, which combined dance, electronic music, hip-hop and techno.

The 15th French Festival was organized by The French Alliance in Beijing, the embassies of Switzerland, Canada and Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Delegation in China), as well as the Quebecois offices in China. The Eric Paris Salon for hair and makeup is a co-sponsor.

March Madness Concert and Fashion Show
Where: YugongYishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: March 20, 7 pm
Tel: 6404 2711
Cost: Free
Note: Invitations available at the reception desk of the French Alliance office, but seating limited. For more information, visit afbeijing.org.cn or call 6553 2678 ext.  209 (French)

Friday, March 12

Exhibition

King of Chaos – Li Quanshan Solo Exhibition
Where: Dong Gallery, 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
When: Until April 3, daily except Monday, 10 am – 5 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 5978 9418

Movie

Pauline at the Beach (1986)
Where: China Film Archive, 3 Wenhuiyuan Lu, Xiaoxitian, Haidian District
When: 1 pm
Admission: 30 yuan
Tel: 8229 6153

Short Sharp Shock (1998)
Where: Broadway Cinematheque, 2/F Building 4, North section of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), 1 Xiangheyuan Lu, Dongcheng District
When: 7:30 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 8438 8258 ext. 8008

Nightlife

St. Vincent
Where: Yugongyishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: 9 pm
Admission: 120 yuan
Tel: 6404 2711

Arbor Day Party Celebrating Trees
Where: Weibozhiyan Club, Room 2308, 3/F North Building, SOHO Shangdu, 8 Dongdaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
When: 9 pm
Admission: 50 yuan
Tel: 5900 0969

(By He Jianwei)

Yugongyishan holds concert for Haiti quake victims

By Annie Wei

More than 400 people crowded into Yugongyishan Wednesday for Hope for Haiti, a charity concert that raised funds for Haiti’s earthquake victims .

Performers included bands The Verse, Afrokoko Roots, Skarving Orchestra, MeiWenti and Blackie & Slide. DJs also played powerful blends of Afro and Caribbean music like reggae, drum and bass, funk, soul and afrobeat.

Many of the attendees were foreigners. Alice Lyons, 35, a math teacher at an international school, said she found out about the event though email.

The concert was organized by Funk+Fever, a Beijing-based group with members from Germany, the US and the UK, which wants to bring more musical diversity to the Chinese capital by helping popularize music like funk and soul.

The 50-yuan entrance and 10 percent of the bar’s income for the evning was donated to Partners in Health, a nongovernment organization that has been working in Haiti for 20 years.

On January 12, a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit the Carribean nation, killing more than 200,000 and injuring 300,000, according to the latest government data.

Since the capital Port-au-Prince was hit by the devastating quake, many groups around Beijing have been helping raise money to support rehabilitation efforts in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

Saturday, January 30

Movie

L’une chante, l’autre pas (One Sings, the Other Doesn’t)
Where: Lady Book Saloon, 69 Chengfu Lu, Haidian District
When: 7 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 6270 1928

Obaba
Where: Lele Bar (50 meters east of Communication University of China’s north gate), Dingfuzhuang, Chaoyang Lu, Chaoyang District
When: 7 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 6576 5987

Exhibition

Photo Exhibition of Contemporary Artists
Where: Today Art Museum, Building 4, Pingod Community, 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang District
When: Until February 12, daily except Monday, 10 am – 6 pm
Admission: 20 yuan, 10 yuan for students
Tel: 5876 9804

Spring Dream – Liu Ren Solo Exhibition
Where: Dun Gallery, Building 1, Lakeview Place, Dragon Bay Villa, Yuyuan Lu, Houshayu Town, Shunyi District
When: Until March 21, daily except Monday, 10 am – 6 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 8042 2395

Nightlife

Andrew Bird 2010 China/Singapore Tour
Where: Yugongyishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: 7:30 pm
Admission: 150 yuan advance purchase, 180 yuan at the door
Tel: 8402 8477

(By He Jianwei)

Sunday, January 31

Exhibition

Fine Art Prints Joint Exhibition
Where: Ku Gallery, Daku Art Center, 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
When: Until March 5, daily except Monday, 10 am – 6 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 5978 9202

Traces of Life
Where: La Plantation Art Center, D Area, Art Base One, Hegezhuang Village, Cuigezhuang Township, Chaoyang District
When: Until February 21, daily except Monday, 10 am – 6 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 6433 6920

Nightlife

Passion of the Flame – Red Poppy Ladies’ Percussion Concert
Where: Star Live, 3/F Tango, 79 Heping Xi Jie, Dongcheng District
When: 8 pm
Admission: 80 yuan advance purchase, 100 yuan at the door, VIP 160 yuan
Tel: 6425 5677

Peppermoon
Where: Yugongyishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: January 29, 9 pm
Admission: 100 yuan advance purchase, 150 yuan at the door
Tel: 6404 2711

Movie

Krrish
Where: China Film Archive, 3 Wenhuiyuan Lu, Xiaoxitian, Haidian District
When: 1 pm
Admission: 30 yuan
Tel: 8229 6153

(By He Jianwei)

Modern Sky releases charity album featuring Yoko Ono

Queen Sea Big Shark's performed new songs at the album launch last Friday. Photos by Modern Sky

By Wang Yu

Yugongyishan hosted a rock concert last Friday for the launch of Sing for China, a three-CD album to raise funds for orphaned children with HIV.

The record, produced by Modern Sky Records, features dozens of artists from China and seven other countries, including John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono. Proceeds will go to the music label’s partner charity, the US-based China Aidsrphan Fund (CAOF), which works with orphaned children with HIV in central China.

Three of Beijing’s most popular bands – Queen Sea Big Sharks, Casino Demon and B-side Lovers – took the stage during the concert last day. It was the bands’ first show together since their successful joint US tour last September, and they wowed the audience by performing new songs.

“It’s such an honor that our music can help others,” Fu Han, leainger of Queen Sea Big Sharks, said.

The album is the brain child of Shen Lihui, Modern Sky Records’ CEO, who conceived of the project in mid 2008 as the Chinese version of US artists’ “We are the Word” campaignthe 1980s. He was inspired by the success of his first charity project, Resonance Fund, which raised funds for deaf children and involved media groups and IT giants such as Sina and Nokia.

“Resonance Fund was the firstcharity event I organized. Such activities were alien to me before I visited the deaf children,” Shen says. “As a musician, I could feel the pain of those kids because they cannot hear music, the most beautiful soundn the world.”

Only later did Shen realize that Sing for China was a tremendous work load for an independent music company. The record contains songs by 44 artists and bands, including Yoko Ono, Xiu Xiu, Phoenix and Great Northern.

“The artists belonged to various labels, which meant we had to negotiate with a huge number of music agents and managers. Then not all the music companies and artists were willing to share album copyright with us, so we had to talk to so many more people than those who appear on the song list just to ensure that the three CDs would happen,” he said.

Partnering with CAOF helped Modern Sky in their overseas negotiations: having a US charity as recipient helped secure a “yes” from foreign artists and helped open doors.

Yoko Ono, the Japanese artist and widow of John Lennon, wrote “We Are Dying” specifically for the project. Ono, whomhen admitted is a big selling point for the record, accepted Modern Sky’s invitation without hesitation. “The last time I was in New York, she was recording the song. Ono was so glad she could help the children. You st know that she’s 77 now. I just don’t know whether I will still have the passion for charity at that age,” he said with admiration.

The first production of Sing for China produced 2,000 copies. At a time when CDs are fast becoming history, Shen said he is not worried selling the album will be a problem. He said he believes that young Chinese music lovers have open hearts and hands for the needy.

“We have so many artists from everwhere in the world in the record. We expect the voice of charity to be heard by more people in the future,” Shen said.

Warm indie rock tunes from Montreal

By Wang Yu

Patrick Watson, a Canadian indie rock band, promises to warm up the winter when it performs in Yugongyishan on January 17. The Montreal-based group, which has performed with Feist, The Dears, Phillip Glass and James Brown, is often described as producing “cinematic” and “wildly eclectic” music.

The four-man band’s first album,Close to Paradise, released in September 2006, went gold in Canada and won numerous awards, including the Polaris Prize. Its international release the next year sold 100,000 copies and introduced Patrick Watson to a wider audience. Live shows followed in New York, London, Paris and Reykjavik, Amsterdam. The group has also created film scores and contributed to Cinematic Orchestra’s 2007 album, Ma Fleur.

The band’s 30-year-old singer, composer, songwrter and producer, from whom the group was named, made his first foray into music with a ska band in high school. In 2001, he released his debut solo album Waterproof9.

Guitarist Simon Angell, a fellow Quebecois whom Watson met when they were teenagers, complements Watson’s melodic compositions and gut-wrenching falsetto. Ukraine-born Mishka Stein and Swiss-Canadian Robbie Kuster, who met Watson in college, provide the band’s whoopingrhythms.

The band started when the four musicians were asked to create some music to accompany a book of photography. Having made a CD to go with all these images, they thought it would be fun to perform them live and it worked really well and people were stunned by the music.

Watson also says that they did not really think they were going be a band at that point but over a period of five or six years, they got to a point where it became very difficult to change the band’s name. “It was not easy to find a name that suited us especially as we had such an eclectic style,” he says.

More over, the band is also known for using unusual objects to create music. The artists incorporated a bicycle’s whirring sound in the song “Beijing” and used two spoons on an acoustic guitar to produce a tremolo picking effect for “Man Like You.”

Beijing fans will finally see the group live after having a free taste of its music online.

Patrick Watson Beijing Concert
Where: Yugongyishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: January 17, 8 pm
Admission: 80 yuan (advance), 100 yuan (at the door)
Tel: 6404 2711

Friday, January 1

Exhibition

60 Years of Sketches at China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)
Where: CAFA Art Museum, 8 Huajiadi Nan Jie, Chaoyang District
When: Until March 7, daily except Monday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Admission: 15 yuan
Tel: 6477 1575

Spiritual Love for China
Where: 798 Space, 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
When: Until January 20, daily except Monday, 10 am – 6 pm
Admission: Free
Tel: 5978 9180

Nightlife

New Year Concert
Where: Yugongyishan, 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu, Dongcheng District
When: 8 pm
Admission: 150 yuan
Tel: 400 680 6840

The Verse, Skarving, DH and Chinese Hellcats
Where: MAO Livehouse, 111 Gulou Dong Dajie, Dongcheng District
When: 9:30 pm
Admission: 60 yuan
Tel: 6402 5080

Movie

Crossing Dates
Where: Broadway Cinematheque, T4, North section of MOMA, 1 Xiangheyuan Lu, Dongcheng District
When: 7 pm
Admission: 20 yuan
Tel: 8438 8257 ext. 8008

(By Jackie Zhang)