Pelican Music Academy Welcomes the New Generation of Boundary-Pushing Chinese Musicians
Over the past year, there has been a noticeable influx of new bands and artists that are savvy in the ways of marketing themselves in the budding indie music scene around them. These aren’t bands that have been working the circuit for several years, steadily building a fanbase and attracting the attention of big shot labels, these are young bands, with one or two years under their belt, fermenting their potential and building a following through whatever means necessary. WeChat accounts, blogs, vlogs, networking ops, and brand collaborations are all being leveraged to attract the attention of both budding DIY-labels and yes, even bigger indie labels.
Whatever route you choose, gone are the days of playing the same two venues weekend after weekend, hoping to get noticed. The independent music scene is having a ball and everyone’s getting a piece of the pie. That will be no more obvious than during Pelican Music Academy Festival and Showcase. Running from Tuesday, Dec 17 to Saturday, Dec 21, and initiated by Merrie Music in collaboration with Indie Works and NetEase Cloud Music, the new generation of musicians will descend upon Gulou, giving audiences and music entrepreneurs an opportunity to soak in, evaluate, and link up with up and new bands, artists, and producers with a five-day musical bonanza.
The first three days take place at Yue Space under the tag "nihao nihao" with a focus on artists and bands across the whole musical spectrum, from the trip-hop infused indietronica to soulful contemporary R&B to sun-bleached noise rock. Night one (Dec 17) leans toward the singer-songwriters redefining electronic music, including Wuhan’s Shii, Xi’an’s West By West, and Kunming’s Zeming.
Night two (Dec 18), meanwhile, showcases some of the young bands causing waves outside of Beijing, including runaway successes Zoogazer out of Zhuhai, reverb-heavy noise-rockers Rejianbeishashou ("Hotkey Killer") out of Xiamen, and indie pop-rock outfit Hoo! out of Guangzhou. Come night three (Dec 19), it’s all about the sultry and buoyant urban flavors of Beijing’s alternative R&B singer Chen Jialin, Daliangshan neo-soul singer Li Dingding AKA MIA AIM, rising Chengdu rapper SwagKelly, and Beijing retro city pop slayers BowAsWell.
Over the weekend, the lesson shifts to the new and well-kitted guī club in the basement of M Woods in the newly renovated Longfusi Mumu Art Area, where eight upcoming producers will dabble in everything from live coding to dance installations. Night one (Dec 20) will welcome the mysterious and brooding dark techno producer R Ξ Π, Shanghai-based live coder Somehoax, visual artist and composer Wu Jing (pictured at top), as well as Hong Kong transplant and renegade producer Heta Uma. Night two (Dec 21) jumps further down the rabbit hole with some of Shanghai’s rising stars of the electronic world including genre-hopping producer Empress CC! and performer JIRUIN1L of Shanghai Community Radio; contemporary experimental guitarist JIN; the dynamic world-builder Laughing Ears; and offbeat avant-garde producer (and self-described "stylish elf") Yamashiro Koji.
With a desire to bring the independent music scene to the forefront, Pelican Music Academy is defining their own future, creating their own rules, and fueling a new generation of forward-thinking artists. We say all the more power to them, given that we lucky audiences also get a piece of the pie. The times are a-changing – why not take a bite?
Pelican Music Academy Festival and Showcase takes place Dec 17-21 at Yue Space and guī club. Find tickets and full details here.
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Images courtesy of Pelican Music Academy