2011 Nov 09 New Hope: Residence A Dreams Big
Nowadays in Beijing, a lot of young rockers are eager to dive into the flow of the market, hoping to catch a big wave. Then you have the boys from Residence A, who for two years have simply been making the music that their heart tells them to – and the result is a seriously promising young band.
To meet them, I went beyond the end of Batong Line, and walked down dirt roads past overgrown grass and a deserted factory, into a school for handicapped children. Through the broken glass windows I heard a few crumbling echoes of modern British punk in a hysterical loop, which brought me to Residence A’s ragged practice chamber. (Ten steps away is where Re-Tros practices.)
Why haven’t you signed to a label yet?
Maybe Mars wanted to sign us last year. But we want to try doing something ourselves first and see if we can do any better. We will release our first album very soon. We’ve already finished recording, but haven’t been able to come up with a suitable design for it.
What concept are you aiming for?
Please use your body to break free from desire and escape.
How big do you want to be?
Which band do you think is the best band in the world? Tell us a name – we want to be better than them. Every band wants to be big, no matter how underground they claim to be.
How has it been playing with bands from other countries?
Once we played at D-22 and a band from France was scheduled to play after us, but most of the audience left after we finished. That made us kind of happy.
How do you feel about studio recordings? I think you sound better live.
We feel the same. We’re quite crazy and loud live, but the recordings we’ve done have a completely different feeling. When we listen to the recordings, they’re so peaceful that you can almost fall asleep to it, which is also nice.
If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would you want to play?
Chen Shao (the bassist) wants to play at big international music festivals and have all the foreigners singing along with us in Chinese. Zhaozhao (vocals) wants to play in Mexico. He wants to play at a hot place that makes him excited and sweat a lot.
Check out Residence A at D-22 on Nov 11 and Yugong Yishan on Nov 16.
Click here to see the November issue of the Beijinger in full.
Photos courtesy of the organizers
You might also be interested in :
Last Orders: Ignace Lecleir, General Manager of Temple
“Last Orders” is a regular magazine column in which we ask noteworthy Beijingers to imagine their final meal before leaving the city for good. This month’s host: Ignace Lecleir, general manager at Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB).
The venue
Preferably, the feast would begin at 11am in the morning, if not at dawn, and last all the way until midnight. I’d want to have the focus on the Chinese cuisine I’ve grown to love over the years. The menu will contain a selection of Chinese and Western dishes that would awaken my taste memory. I’d like to have my entire team, some friends and family to join me. The venue of my choice will be Temple Restaurant Beijing, where I’m currently working.Atelier: Daniel Meller
Daniel Meller runs online contests to discover untapped talent around China, prints their designs on quality T-shirts and unleashes them on the public. His CreativCulture platform has been met with much public enthusiasm – so much so that he has set up a three-month pop-up shop at The Stumble Inn, with sights set on a more permanent location for later this year. We pressed Meller to reveal the inner workings of a burgeoning Chinese brand.
Playdate: Jun Trinh, Capoeirista
He staggers forward, dances back and then, sweeping his arms all the while, slides under his opponent’s legs and whips out a measured kick from the other side.
The movements are haunting and entrancing to watch. There is a certain elegance that defines capoeiristas – the official term for those committed to this Afro-Brazilian form of martial arts – and chef and TV personality Jun Trinh is no exception.
Pomodoro Progress: Darren Potter Is Shaking Up Ciro's
Canadian Darren Potter has just taken over as manager at Ciro’s Pomodoro. We spoke to him about the challenges for Ciro’s and how he narrowly missed breaking a world record.
Which of the following jobs is most like being a restaurant manager: orchestra conductor, firefighter or babysitter?
Orchestra conductor. If you can keep everyone flowing together, you can make sweet delicious music – or in my case, food!Is This Beijing's Brainiest Bartender? Thierry de Dobbeleer
“Mastermind” is a regular magazine column in which we quiz Beijing’s barkeeps on general knowledge as well as on a subject in which they consider themselves to be a specialist.
CONTESTANT: Thierry De Dobbeleer, Beer Mania
SPECIALIST SUBJECT: Beer
