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

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 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.

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.

Neither a band, nor a single man, Sighborg takes on as many incarnations as the possible spelling of its name.  Some times SIghhhhhhborg, others ssiigghhbboorrgg, the one thing that remains constant is the order in which the letters fall.  Fitting for a band...er...artist...er...uhhh... music making entity, who'm  is as likely to improvise, as it is to make music.  

Prior to next week's Nuts Club performance(Monday, 4/4), we had the opportunity to talk with Sean Maylone, the man behind Sighbooooorg about, Sighhhhhhborg, cyborgs, and "nerd rage."

CQSCENE: Can you explain a little bit what sighborg is all about?


Sighborg: Ripping tunes in a stand-out fashion tween the rock vibe and computer vibe, with an incomplete of either tradition.

CQSCENE: Listening to your music, particularly the 8-bit elements, it would seem that you draw inspiration from video games.  What game(s) have had the most impact on you and your music?

Sighborg: All the mega mans are really good spazz jazz stuff. A lot of games have fun calypso kinda styles i like. the final fantasy series had a few heartbreak sound tracks before declining into self-satirizingly awful,  batshit insane JRPG reality. No one but nerds might know what i mean by that, and nerds tend to forgive/overlook, but seriously, google final fantasy and you'll see just ridiculous stuff, guys with 12 foot long swords and wearing 5 or 6 belts. nerd rage!

CQSCENE: Do you get a lot of the cos-play kids to your shows? I imagine they might dig it.

Sighborg: There is a masquerade style of fan that dig it

CQSCENE: Does sighborg dream of electric sheep?
Sighborg:  I can cuss things on fire. I can cuss so bad, fires start.

CQSCENE: So. are you taking responsibility for the roof?

Sighborg: "my lips are seals"

CQSCENE: Who's the better cyborg? Van Dam(via Cyborg), Shwarzneggar(via Terminator), or Robo-cop?

Sighborg: Robocop is the tin man, he's got a heart in there! arnold is rad though. with james cameron's help they both created the suspension of disbelief that the future would need to send buffed-out cyborgs back in time wearing sunglasses and that actually SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF US!

CQSCENE: Musically,  which of history's many cyborgs best personifies Sighboorg?

Sighborg: Probably the six million dollar man. by the way, i just thought- do cyborgs use the expression "pre-op/post-op", like people who undergo sex changes?

CQSCENE:  I read somewhere that your shows often take on themes.  Have anything planned for the Chongqing show, or China tour in General?

Sighborg: We've been doing improv work that shapes out via sampling in the room and also the tone of the line-up. there are always a few punky songs, and IDM-style jams, but the set can go in other directions with the room. also different masks/vibes we choose after watching the collaborating bands. we like to jam with interesting local types on the fly at times too.

Sighborg plays Nuts Club, Monday, April 4, 20:30(30 rmb)

As 2010 comes to an end, I'm left to reflect on the year that was.  Doing so evokes memories of events, and changes Chongqing has seen in the past year; CQ beer festival, legitimate western food, an Irish Pub, and main-stream media coverage. But what stick out in my mind most of all is the music.  For 2010 was a great year for music in a city often referred to as a cultural desert.
 And as I look out my window into a thick haze of urbanization, I try to recall where, for me, the year started.  Of course I could say January 1, or February 14(Chinese lunar new year), but anyone who's been here as long as I have knows that due to the perma-grey skies, and bone chilling weather December through February,  new year's  day in Chongqing might as well be March 1.  Or in my case, March 13.

March 13 is when I was blown away by Shanghai via Guizhou singer/MC ChaCha at Nuts Club, where many of my fondest memories form 2010 took place.  Not to mention a mere few days later when I had a night out with the infamous Dead Elvis, which included a vomitus high schooler, and a tranny-bar. Or on April first when a Norwegian Jazz trio played, featuring one of the sick-nastiest drummers I'd ever seen.  And later that spring when, 2 of China's best producers of electronic music, Liman and Sulumi(particularly Liman) rocked CiCi Park, Carsick Cars(in its original line-up) and 24Hours, played great high-energy sets at a near empty Nuts Club, Reptile Retard taking the energy through the roof with their unique style of "techno-soul," and Maybe Mars' return to Chongqing with Ourself Beside Me before the lull of summer.
And as the weather started to drop, the calendar began to fill-up, beginning in September with three nights of non-stop music from bands both foreign and local to celebrate Nuts Club's 3rd anniversary, featuring Chongqing's best Narrenschiff, BendT., The Wheels, and The Deep Green Sea.  As well as spectacular performances by Seattle freak-folksters the Cave Singers, and 'psycho-billy' band Knuckle Bone Oscar from Denmark.  October saw the return of ChaCha, this time with the entire Uprooted Sunshine Soundsystem, as well as legendary reggae producer Clive Chin. And later that fall when, recently named 'best band in China' Miserable Faith played to a packed house, Beijing up-and-comers Guai Li made their Chongqing debut and American instrumentalist Daniel Hart  pulled off an excellent rendition of 'One Night in Beijing,' with his violin and dance-pad.  Before the year was rounded out by two of my favorite bands from China's east coast, Dalian's Wang Wen, and Boys Climbing Ropes from Shanghai.  

Its hard to believe so much has happened in so little time.  It was no more than a year and half ago when Chongqing's live music options were limited to the odd show in a dark, dank, basement of a youth hostel, and the even more rare occurrence of 'dance' or 'electronic-music' parties.  And to think, the above is a mere selection from the artists' performances that stick out in my mind, having left out acclaimed artist, both foreign and domestic.  

The aforementioned local band The Deep Green Sea celebrated their 8th anniversary on New Year's day.  Having seen them a dozen or so times, I was once again captivated by their somewhat eerie, somewhat funky, chilled-out sound.  And if Chongqing's first 2011 show is anything to go buy, we should be in for yet another great year music, in what may be the only 'desert' in the world that is not expanding, but shrinking. 

Last Spring, Shanghai indie-rock band Boys Climbing Ropes, was scheduled to play a show in Chongqing.  For one reason or another the show was cancelled, but not before we asked band members Jordan Small and Morgan Short a few questions.

CQSCENE:  First of all, I have to ask, does your name have anything to do with erect penises and/or Wayne's World?

Jordan Small:  That's the beauty of all three (erect penises, waynes world, boysclimbing ropes), they are up to anyone's interpretation.

Morgan Short:   Ah, it's going to be one of these interviews... we're going to get into a fuckin joust here.  Alright, alright.  Let's get crazy.  Let's get witty.


CQ:  You're clearly annoyed by the interview format, what about it bothers you?    

MS:  Oh no. Not annoyed.  Elated. It's rare that we get an "erect penis" question right off the bat.  Too bad little punk isn't around to throw in her two cents. 

CQ:  One of the most popular songs from the album is Whale Song.  Was it in any way inspired by Star Trek IV?

JS:  It has been far too long since I watched that brilliant film for it to have had any impact on the content of that song. It's actually about the death of a loved one. It is kind of a depressing celebration of a song.

CQ:  With the exception of some African cultures death and celebration usually don't go hand in hand, what is it about death/the passing of a loved one does this song celebrate?

JS:  It is not a celebration of death itself but more about the coming together of those alive.  The sharing in an inexpressibly human time of reflection and psychological turmoil.  It is something that is built out of loss.  I suppose it can be reckless, chaotic connections that people make when reaching out for something impossible to get back.  The music expresses a lightness, while the lyrics are a little darker and disconnected. 

MS: All the other songs are inspired by Star Track IV and to a lesser extent, Star Track Voyager, and in the most minor way Data's struggle to comprehend 'what it means to be human.'  Also a bit of Warf trying to negotiate a life between two cultures.   
There's also a lot of 'with great power, comes great responsibility' and 'be yourself' and 'fuck George Bush'.

CQ:  and how do you negotiate a life between two cultures?  

MS:  Well, I don't know if Security Chief Warf ever managed to do it.  He always seemed torn between two worlds.  It was his cross to bear.

CQ:  Has living in China/Shanghai had an influence on your music?  In what way?

JS: We are defined by our surroundings and the controlled accessibilty to its nouns and verbs. Shanghai has played a major role in building our sound. This city is restless, to the point of anxiety. These songs are like buildings stirring under the weight of pollution.

CQ: Your music however doesn't sound restless or anxious, so where/how does that anxiety come into play?

JS: Hmmm. Guess that's just our personalities...

MS: Musically I think we draw on influences the same way everyone else does in this late, late period in modern life: you try to steal the best shit you grew up with and then you steal the best shit of what everyone else around you is doing.  Everyone around us happens to be in Shanghai and in China in general, so we steal from them.  
But we're only a band because we live in Shanghai (we met here), and we've lived here for 1,000,000 years, so the city and the malaise of the city is a frequent inspiration for all our chart toppers, perceptive and insightful that they are.      

CQ:  Can you give me an example of some of the shit you've stolen?  

MS:  The whole, guitar, bass, drummer, singer thing -- that was someone else's idea.  We just moved right into it.  Passed it off as our own.  I think some of our songs have choruses as well, which is not really a concept we came up with ourselves.
 
CQ:  As this is your first Chongqing show, is there anything in particular about the city you're looking forward to?

JS:  Its sheer population density

MS:  Actually, we're looking forward to this Nuts Club, which we've heard a lot about.  We heard it's fucking nuts.  We've been to Wuhan a few times and we understand there is a bit of a Wuhan connection there with the people who run it.  Maybe I'm wrong about that.  But we're looking forward to getting blitzed in a new city, which is the core aesthetics of the band.  We're looking forward to making new friends in Chongqing and selling them shitty merch to fuel our larger designs on wealth and fame.  Maybe we'll fit in a temple or two.

CQ:  Finaly, what can an unacquainted audience expect from the show?  

MS:  Hmm.  I would say, it's a lot of sweat and people jumping around, it's pretty loud, lots of bangs and explosions, and there is a lot of opportunity to think about life and the world and your fellow man.  In the end, we all overcome evil and live to fight on another day.

BCR plays Nuts Club Saturday 12/4,  20:30. 
30 RMB

This Saturday, the Chongqing Conquerors rugby club will host teams from Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu for the 2nd annual Blue Cow Cup.  Bon Bon restaurant will be on hand grilling and selling burgers, and if 10+ people RSVP to this post, in the comments or by email: sidewalkspew@cqscene.com, CQSCENE.com as a proud sponsor of the CQCRFC will provide 2-3 kegs of free beer for fans. 

When: Sat. 12/4. 12:00 - 18:00
Where: Chongqing University B Campus
重庆大学B区（沙坪坝校区）