Outward Motions: Recent Developments in the Export of Chinese Bands

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There has been interesting news recently relating to the slow but promising trickle of indie acts that have made their way out of China’s borders. Vice China started things off mid-month, posting about Mentha Project – a crew based in Europe that helps Chinese bands book shows over there. Mentha was formed by some young Chinese students – they work online remotely with each other, and that sounds just about the way great things begin. They’ve worked with Re-TROS, Birdstriking, Chui Wan (吹万), Wang Wen (惘聞) and others. The original article is here.

This was preceded by an article out in late December 2014 via MTV Iggy, which explored how Ricky Maymi (the guitarist of the Brian Jonestown Massacre) became enchanted by the sounds coming out of China. His newfound passion for the likes of Birdstriking played an instrumental role in helping to both open dialogue between China’s indie record labels (who also tend to manage their roster) and the west, and also make connections between foreign bands and local talent which as reported, helped Skip Skip Ben Ben secure an opening show for My Bloody Valentine.

Birdstriking and Carsick Cars are now being repped by X-ray Touring so it does seem that sporadic activity is slowly developing into an export market (for more on this theme see here). To keep on top of the flows, you should check out the panel at Sounds Of The Xity Beijing entitled “Support Structures for Music Export” (16:05) which is followed by “How Can Chinese Musicians Succeed Overseas?” (17:05). Both take place today – see more here.

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