16th Floor and Rising: Beijing Post-Rockers End Debut Tour at Mao Livehouse This Sunday
There’s no doubt about it. China digs post-rock. The genre, known for its sweeping and swirling soundscapes, has been igniting the music scene across the country for years, drawing in legions of listeners and at the same time inspiring emerging generations of musicians to tackle the atmospheric world of sound. And while it’s becoming more and more difficult to stick out of the crowd, when one does, people take notice.
Enter Beijing’s The 16th Floor (listen here), the post-rock band that’s been steadily building its sound since their formation in 2015. Treating every track like a one-act play or dream-like movement, the band checks off all the boxes required for a satisfying post-rock romp – injecting rich emotions as they lead listeners through peaks and valleys of atmospheric tension, before abrasive bursts of catharsis. Meticulously assembled and dense in its sound, they envelop one’s eardrums and seemingly stop time itself as they take universal themes and emotions and splashes them onto a larger canvas.
The band, which includes Zhao "Jasmin" Siman on drums, Zheng Huahua on bass, Wang Xiaodong and Guo Hai on guitar, are fresh off their gripping debut 鹿亦微灯 (a homonym for 路易威登 lù yì wēi dēng, the transliteration of luxury brand Louis Vuitton), which was released on label Modern Sky. They have been on a nationwide tour for most of this month and on Sunday, Sep 22 they'll return home to Mao Livehouse. In anticipation of their return, we spoke to Zhao Siman about all things post-rock.
How did the band form? What brought you together?
I started to listen to post-rock when I was in college. I met the guitarist (Wang Xiaodong) four years ago and we decided to form a band together. At that time, we lived on the 16th floor, so that’s where our name comes from.
Who are some of your favorite post-rock bands?
Sigur Rós. I fell in love with “All alright” the first time I heard it. I don't know why Icelanders can write such beautiful songs, it makes me so full of longing for Iceland. I love traveling, so the next place I have to go to is Iceland – to see the Northern Lights and to listen to a Sigur Rós concert. If the man I love proposed to me in Iceland, I would marry him in an instant.
On both the album cover and in your music video you use the image of clowns. Could you explain what clowns represent in your music?
Clowns look very funny, but behind the mask are all kinds of expressions – maybe sad, maybe happy, maybe simply expressionless. As in society, everyone is hiding their true selves, including us.
Post-rock doesn’t have the same appeal as a punk band or an indie-pop band. What drew you to the genre?
Post-rock is a magical musical style, which isn’t tethered to a circle by the lyrics. There’s no pogos, no moshing – just using music to spread and share our emotions.
What’s the most difficult part about being in a post-rock band? The easiest?
The hardest part is how to maximize the emotion you want to express. The easiest part is that we just happen to be in tune with each other, so we can easily frame a song.
How long does a song take to form? Where does it usually begin? When do you know you're at the finish line? Is there always an urge to add more and more to a track?
Our songs are very true to life. For example, "Polar Bear Smile 北极熊的微笑" – it’s a rallying call for environmental protection – about the ecological collapse caused by climate warming. We arrange and compose our instrumental music according to the emotions we hope to express.
How has the tour been going so far? Any highlights?
So far our shows have gone well. A little tiring due to our age, but we’re enjoying ourselves. We like meeting fans in different cities and of course eating all the delicious food the country has to offer too.
Never miss a gig: click here for a huge list of live shows in the city, updated daily.
Photos courtesy of 16th Floor
