Playlist: Will Griffith AKA Live Beijing Music, Beijing’s Principal Music Documentarian

Tom Arnstein | Dec 21, 2016 5:30 pm | Add a comment | 1138 reads

Will Griffith has been steadily churning out photography and video as well as unparalleled weekly coverage of Beijing’s music scene for the past five years via his website LiveBeijingMusic.com (WeChat: livebeijingmusic).

He's also the man behind our weekly Weekend Gig Guide and has ensured that he certainly won't be resting over the holiday period with a gig this Friday (Dec 23) at DDC, featuring OOC, december3am, Backspace, The Glamour Manifesto, and a very special secret guest band, as well as a New Year's bash at Hot Cat Club on December 30, including sets from Panic Worm, The Sino Hearts, The Dice!, Usisi, and Backspace.

If you’ve been to a Gulou-side gig this year then you’ll undoubtedly have seen him, either with a camera in his hand or getting sweaty in the pit. Below we talk to him about the music that saw him land the position of one of Beijing’s premium aural mavens.

Firstly, what have you been up to as of late?
We just released a few cassettes on Beijing-based Nasty Wizard Recordings, including a split between Wuhan emo up-and-comers Chinese Football and Aussie noise rockers Thug Mills, and a split between Beijing’s own Lobekraft and Canada’s Holy Hum. Also, I’ll be hosting a special Christmas Live Beijing Music showcase at DDC and probably a few other gigs about town in December – keep your eyes peeled on the website and WeChat account.

Ok, now to the nitty-gritty. What was the first record you ever bought?
Bought may not be the appropriate word here – more so borrowed indefinitely from my friends. And that would be the CD for Green Day’s Dookie. Though I have vivid memories of receiving Boyz II Men’s II on cassette and then immediately demanding it in CD format, ‘cause it’s friggin’ Boyz II Men.

What was the first song you heard from Beijing?
Pet Conspiracy’s ‘Don’t Move,’ back in the days when Helen Feng was still in the band. Remember taking a date to LAN Club (remember that place!) to see Holy Ghost! and being gobsmacked by Pet Conspiracy’s opening set.

What is your favorite cover version of a song?
The best are the ones you don’t even realize are covers until the covers are already engrained into your brain. Case in point: Talking Heads’ ‘Take Me To The River’ – in university I used to try to dance with a lamp like David Byrne with my roommate whilst blasting Stop Making Sense.

If you could meet one musician, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
David Bowie causes he seems like a dude that wouldn’t reminisce too much.

What’s your favorite Chinese song, and why?
Residence A’s ‘送春 Farewell Spring’ – an anthem for Beijing if I ever heard one – it’s essentially the ‘Hey Jude’ of Beijing. This was the song that kinda got me entrenched and obsessed in the music scene here in the first place.

What is your favorite active singer or band in Beijing right now?
There are too many to choose from, but as of late, I’ve been obsessed with december3am, the new drum and bass duo consisting of Lao Du and Dala, who both used to perform with Horse Radio. If we’re talking about the big guns – I gotta go with someone like Second Hand Rose, who are operating on a whole other level.

Five-Song Playlist