As one person(and one person only) responded to my call for comments in last weeks MP3-centric post, I figured I'd keep it going for at least another week. 

 As usual, this week's selections come from artists who's talents will be on display here in Chongqing sometime in the near future, beginning with a band that will be performing tonight(5/19) at Nuts Club.  Hailing from Beijing, but originally from Hebei, Rustic, have been making waves in the Chinese music scene for the past couple of years, most notably winning the 2009 Global Battle of the Bands.  Having since signed with pioneering Chinese indie record label Maybe Mars, Rustic are amidst their first full-scale tour of China promoting their first album 'City of Heartbreak'N Horror.'  Though having been described as "all flash, and no smash," the band continues to pick up steam, and as head of Maybe Mars' creative team Nevin Domer says, they "fill a spot that is lacking in the Chinese scene. That is a place for highly charismatic performers [and] rock stars.”
Below is the track "Rock & Roll for Money and Sex," a fitting title for a band who if not in sound, than certainly look, have been heavily inspired by the 80's Los Angeles glam-metal scene.

Our second selection comes courtesy of dJP aka Ya Boy, who will be DJing a 'power-hour'(60 songs, 1 hour) set at "Hot as Balls: a Summer Party," this Friday night at Chongqing's newest dive bar Da Rasta, in Shapingba.  Below is a sample, or 'teaser' of what you might expect to hear  from Ya Boy at the aptly named Hot as Balls, which kicks off at 21:00.  20 RMB gets you in the door and includes a beer.

Starting tonight(Wed., May 18) at 20:00, Chongqing's Tank Loft Contemporary Art Center will play host to The Interactive Mirror Image, an exhibit of works by the artist Wang Guangyi(王广义).  Known as the leader of the Chinese contemporary art movement that "erupted" out of China in 1989, Wang gained international acclaim for his 'Political Pop' paintings, juxtaposing government issued communist propaganda imagery, with iconic global brand names such as Coke and BMW.  Having been displayed in galleries and art fairs around the world, including the prestigious Saatchi Gallery, and Art Basel in Switzerland, a selection of Wang's works have made their way to Chongqing for the next three weeks, with the exhibit culminating on Friday, June 10.  

Opening: 20:00, Wed. May 18
Duration: May 19 - June 10
Venue: Tank Loft - Chongqing Contemporary Art Center (Huang Jue Ping)
 - to get there, walk through the campus of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute(四川美术学院) a.k.a. 'chuan mei,' and turn right in front of the brick building(hotel).  Continue roughly 100 meters and the Tank Loft will be down a flight of stairs.  if any problems feel free to give me a call 13608367114

Its been a while since I've posted any music on here, so I figured I'd revive what was once a weekly occurrence (even if it just this once).  

The reason for the revival coincides with the reception of a recent mix sent to us by 'local' DJ the Kalakuta Kid, whom we interviewed here a few weeks back, and the upcoming party "Swing High,"  this Saturday night at Nuts Club.  I could go on about the Kalakuta Kid, and his unparalleled(in CQ at least) abilities and overall exquisit taste in music, but I'd rather let the music do the talking, so download the CQSCENE exclusive mix Melted Pot below, and make sure to head over to Nuts Club in Shapingba Saturday night!

if you're a fan of "huMP3 day" or receiving free music from CQSCENE.com in general, please let us know in the comments.

Over the past five weeks, the Mobile Institute, a Belgium 'based' artists' organization has been in Chongqing working on it's latest project of "site-specific installations and performances, creating a narrative in the city of Chongqing."

Last Friday(5/6), marked the opening of Dam' Gorgeous- Walk Through the City Stream, a collaborative work(s) by artists from throughout Europe, as well as two(Ren Hui & Chen Yizhong) from Chongqing who,  

 according to the Mobile Institute's Jonathan Sullam, "have brought a lot of energy and great ideas" to the project.  Located in(an around) the Organhau gallery  in  Huang Jue Ping's 501 Art Center, the project will be on display through this Wednesday, May 11.  They've also created a tumblr feed covering the time they've spent here which is definitely worth checking out here.

Address：Organhaus and Himalaya Art Space 
501 warehouse first floor and negative first floor, Huangjueping, Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, China 
地址：重庆市九龙坡区黄桷坪501艺术基地一楼与负一楼，器•Haus及喜马拉雅艺术空间. 

As any North American will tell you(not sure about Canadians), this Thursday, May 5, is one of those holidays we've adopted as an excuse to drink excessively.  May 5, or Cinco De Mayo as the holiday is known marks the defeat of French forces by the under dog Mexican Army, and is held as a celebration of Mexican culture, which in-turn means drinking tequila, margaritas, and Mexican beer.  Being that the holiday was first celebrated by Mexicans living in California, there's no better way to celebrate than with a band hailing from the same region.  

Los Angeles California's The Morlocks will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Chongqing for what promises to be one hell of a fiesta.  Cityweekend Shanghai writer Dan Shapiro posed 8 questions to the band ahead of their upcoming shows, which you can read here.  But there's no better way to get to know the band, and a bit of American culture, than this Thursday at Nuts Club.  50 RMB get you in the door and includes all you can drink beer, access to unbeatable 10 RMB tequila shots, and a latin music dance-party late into the night!

I recently came across Swiss photographer Ferit Kuyas' project 'City of Ambition' while browsing 'round the webs.  Published back in 2009, the images give a unique look at the city, and typically its development, with the fog/smog that constantly plagues our city as a theme throughout.  

As I mentioned here, a few days back, the May, National Day holiday has become synonymous with music festivals throughout China.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, was that Chongqing has jumped on the bandwagon with the first ever Ancient Town Music Festival.  

From Friday night through Monday, the 16 Bystreet Music Club in Ciqikou will play host to a handful of underground bands and DJs of varying styles.  Though most of the artist performing are little known to Chinese and foreigners alike, there are a few whom we recommend.  Namely, CQSCENE favorites The Deep Green Sea,  local indie rockers Narrenschiff(acoustic set), Chongqing's only blues band The Lucky Peace, and the Jolly Fellow Ukelele Band.

SIngle day tickets are 50 RMB, and a 4 day pass is 120RMB.  Music starts at 20:30 on Friday night, and 16:00 Saturday-Monday.  You can view the full schedule(in Chinese) here, and a very rough map of the location here.  For any questions or concerns please feel free to give me a call 13608367114, or you can call the venue directly at 1361824900.

Owners of Iphones, Ipads, and Ipod touches rejoice!  For getting around Chongqing has never been easier.  Over the past couple of years "Taxi-Books" have been floating around Chongqing, allowing anyone with a purse, or the willingness to walk around with an extra cigarette-pack sized bulge in their pocket, to get to a number of popular destinations with relative ease (open taxi-book, find desired location, show taxi driver).  However, as fashion trends have begun to move toward slimmer fitting pants, and away from the once fashionable man purse, that extra bulge has become not only uncomfortable, but inconvenient, and getting around town usually results to struggling to give directions in broken chinese, or calling/texting your one local friend to have them deal with the Chongqinghua slurring cabi.  

Struggle no longer my friends, as a savior is upon us... well, some of us(unfortunately not me).  In true Darwinian fashion, the fine folks behind the aforementioned Taxi-Book, have got with the times and created the Chongqing Taxi-Book application(available here).  Not only does "Chongqing Taxi-Book - The App." have over 300 locations for you to choose from, broken down into 10 separate categories, from Nightlife + Entertainment, to Healthcare + Education, but it also offers text-speech pronunciation of said locations(incase your cab driver can't read. trust me, it happens), and a 12,000 word english-chinese dictionary.  So now you can keep the skinny jeans, forget the man-purse, and still get where you need to go!  And for a few faithful readers, you can do so for free... 

***CQSCENE.COM and Taxi-Book are giving away free downloads of Chongqing Taxi-Book - The App.  to the first 3 people to leave a comment, telling us your favorite destination in Chongqing.***

This Saturday at CiCi Park will be the second installment of What the Funk?, a party organized by local Frenchman/DJ The Kalakuta Kid.  We had a few words with out favorite purveyor of eclectic beats prior to what promises to be a funk-filled...soirée.  

CQSCENE: First off, can you tell us who the Kalakuta Kid is?

The whole story of Kalakuta Kid is told on my Douban page but I'll make it straight to the point for this interview. Kalakuta Kid is the dj name I chose in respectful memory of "The Black President" - Barack Obama ?!- NO! Fela Kuti, the nigerian saxophonist, godfather of Afrobeat and one of the most fascinating character I've read about (see the story of Kalakuta Republic). Using Kalakuta and Kid together is both a mark of respect and irony because some may think about Kid Koala... and they souldn't...

CQSCENE: How long been in CQ?  Has CQ had an influence on your DJing style?
 
I've been living here for one year and a half now. To make a not so long story short, I've been observing that Chongqing music scene was more or less divided in three main poles: the electronic scene- promoted by Cici Park-, the punk-rock scene -promoted by Nuts Club-, and the mainsteam soup  in mainstreams clubs.
I guess i have been more influenced by electro music since I arrived in Chongqing... I hope so !
 
CQSCENE: In your opinion, what does CQ need, that it doesn't already have?
 
It needs more adventurous people.Daring people to make it not only an economic but also a cultural lighthouse. If you considere the size of the "monster", Chongqing definitely lack of cultural infrastructures.It needs a decent french restaurant too !

CQSCENE:  What are your musical influences, and how would u describe your DJ style?
 
I've been mainly influenced by african, african-american and caribbean musical expressions.I actually grew up  listening strictly to classic hip hop. Hip hop was the window to a fantastic musical journey. It brigded the gap to jazz, blues, soul and funk.
In parallel I had an intense passion for Jamaican music, afrobeat came to me, ethiojazz too...
So on a normal basis, when I'm  mixing, I try to make all those influences sit around at the same table and have a civilized conversation! I would finally describe it as a grooving melting pot ...or salad bowl ! 
 
 
CQSCENE: And finally, what the Funk?I'd like to know too... Godfathers knows...be @Cici satruday night, you might find an anwer.


What the Funk?, this Saturday, 4/16 @ CiCi Park.  22:00-late.

In two recent news reports, one Chongqing school has put an end to Tai-Chi, while another is making an attempt to end touching.  

This little article reports that Duping elementary school in CQ municipality, has traded in the tradition of teaching tai-chi exercises to it's students during recess, for something a bit more modern.  Instead of learning how to relax, and do things like, channel their 'chi' energy, the kids will now be taught how to grab their crotch, and thrust their pelvis, just like Michael Jackson.  
And purveyors of 'truthiness,' The Global Times reports here, that Chongqing University of Posts & Telecommunications, has assembled a group of student volunteers to crack-down on students' "uncivilized behavior," which includes littering, trampling grassy areas, and forms of touching such as kissing and hugging.  

Is it just me, or should the kids being taught to emulate MJ, also be the ones who are taught not to inappropriately  touch?