Another pool party in Beijing 14th of July 2018 @CITIC Hotel Beijing Airport
Catch Taiwanese indie act Smoking Area 25, rising EDM and alt-rock stars Nova Heart, kraut rock/post-punk act Faz, shoegaze group Last Goodbye, and rockers SNOS in concert with the Chicago indie band Chinese Football at Tango 3F on July 21st.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/54750
Bardi Johannsson, a tall Icelandic man, has been playing under the name Bang Gang since 1996. First came the very atmospheric You (2000), with surprisingly soft, vaporous outlines for someone with such a violent stage name. 2003 confirmed Bardi’s talent as a composer, performer and producer. Two simultaneous albums made him a major figure of musical melancholy: Something Wrong, Bang Gang’s second album, where the softness of the acoustic songs meets adventurous electronic explorations; and Lady & Bird, a side-project for an androgynous duo with the talented artist Keren Ann. Hot on the success of these two creations, but never over-confident, Bardi toured Europe, Japan and the USA before vanishing back to his anonymous activities, away from the limelight. He is a complete artist and devotes himself to an assortment of subjects and styles, always keeping the same aesthetic awareness: he admits to an inclination to both the roughest hard-rock and Ennio Morricone or Serge Gainsbourg, and says that limiting his artistic expression only to music would make him feel frustration and suffering. In the past five years, he has been anything but idle: he co–directed a short film (Red Death, screened at the Pompidou Centre in 2004), produced and wrote lyrics for several Icelandic artists, and composed a soundtracks (Haxan, 2005).
Nevertheless, and for our greatest pleasure, Bardi has returned to his first love: songwriting. For, once again, that is what this third album is: a collection of songs. Extremely well-written songs, full of melodic outbursts, the likes of which are rarely seen these days; with careful arrangements and coherence, but still diverse. From the pop manifest to the almost metallic influences of a hit, I Know You Sleep is an irresistible pop-rock track; the emotional crescendo and the almost mystical rise of the opera singer on Ghost from the Past will bring tears to your eyes; and Don’t Feel Ashamed is an ethereal delicacy, a sublime composition worthy of the best of The LotusEaters or The Cocteau Twins. Bardi proves here, if needed, the extent of his talent.
Bardi Johannsson loves mysteries and eclecticism; he is always ready to take the least expected detours. Like the spectres evoked in this third album, Ghosts from the Past, he sometimes disappears and reappears, but his music never cesses to haunt us.
For more information or to buy tickets to his Beijing show at Tango 3F on July 10th, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/55184
FKJ (French Kiwi Juice) is the alias of French multi-instrumentalist and singer Vincent Fenton. He released eponymous first album in 2017 and has brought his New French House mix to festivals like Coachella, Euphoria and Lightning in a Bottle. See him at Tango 3F on July 27th.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/57425
In 1996, Barât was studying for a drama degree at Brunel University at the Twickenham campus in St. Margarets, Twickenham. during that time he became well-acquainted with Peter Doherty's sister, Amy-Jo and through her, Barât met Doherty. They soon developed an intense friendship based on a shared interest in music and songwriting. After both dropped out of school, they formed The Libertines. The band in its final incarnation included bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell. Barât and Doherty were co-frontmen, sharing songwriting, vocal and guitar duties.
The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar).The band was part of the garage rock revival and spearheaded the movement in the UK. Their first single was a double A-side of " What a Waster " and "I Get Along", produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler .The single reached No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart. They won Best New Band at the NME Awards.
On 15 September 2005, it was announced that Barât was forming a new band named "Dirty Pretty Things".Their first studio recorded demo, "Bang Bang You're Dead", was released on their website in the form of a flash video. Its sound has been likened to that of the early Libertines', mixing punk and reggae influences. This song was released as their debut single on 24 April 2006 and reached number 5 in the UK single chart. This coincided with the latter part of their first tour of the United Kingdom, which spanned from 26 February to 24 May 2006. Their debut album, Waterloo to Anywhere, was released on 8 May 2006, and reached number 3 in the UK album chart. They have since released "Deadwood" and "Wondering".
He released his self-titled, first solo album on 4 October 2010. In an interview with C.B.Liddell of Metropolis magazine he described the album as "the first album I've done that is kind of introspective rather than escapist." In the same interview, he also talked about "stepping away from big loud guitars" as the album is stylistically more diverse and less rock-oriented than previous work. Besides his contribution on music, Barât and his friend, Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches appeared in a documentary following the pair on a night out in London. He also modelled for clothing brand J. Lindeberg, along with Juliette Lewis.In 2008, he featured as actor in the film Telstar in the role of Rock'n'Roll singer Gene Vincent. The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 25 October 2008 and was released on 19 June 2009.
This summer we are honored to invite Carl Barât to China with his band for the first time.For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/56839
Japanese pop-punk act TotalFat brings the true spirit of punk to the stage, challenging mainstream rock with simple melodies and intense emotions. Together since 1999 and influenced by bands like Avenge Sevenfold and Motley Crue, they stir the blood and soul at every show. See them at Tango 3F on July 6th.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/57039
Brazilian singer and composer Dani Gurgel brings her unique scatting syllables to Japan with her new solo album TUQTI, which will be released by Rambling Records in July 2018.
Dani Gurgel’s precise scatting combines a reed instrument with a Brazilian pandeiro. It is a mix of the percussive and syncopated sound of the Portuguese language with the swaying curves of English. "A fantastic syllabary", notes German newspaper Badische Zeitung, and "scatted vocal adventures" according to German magazine Jazzthetik. This Brazilian singer and composer puts together her experience as a big band saxophone player and rock band bassist in the same cauldron as her ongoing work as a music photographer and video director, stirred with diverse influences and poured as determination.
Born in São Paulo in 1985, Gurgel started her musical studies at the age of 3, at the children's program of Clam, a music academy run by bossa nova star Zimbo Trio. During the 15 years she attended, later becoming a monitor and side musician to her juniors, she studied instrumental music on the piano, flute, saxophone and electric bass. As a tenor and baritone saxophone player, she was also a member of two big bands, Domus and ULM, the latter one run by saxophonist Roberto Sion. At age 18 Dani started writing her own music – with lyrics–, which inspired her to take on a new and final instrument: her own voice. See her at Blue Note Beijing on July 19th and 20th.
For more information or for tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/57675
Saxophonist Steve Wilson joins pianist Nicholas Bouloukos and his trio at Blue Note Beijing for a night of jazz. Described as one of the best midrange and treble sax players of our time, he’s worked with artists like Chick Corea, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Bill Bruford, Gerald Wilson, and Maria Schneider.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/58063
Born in Paris in 1983 and raised in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts to jazz drummer Stephen McCraven (Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp) and Hungarian folk singer Agnes Zsigmondi, Makaya was exposed to broad ranges of influences from a young age. Makaya formulated his musical identity under the mentorship of jazz legends Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, and Yusef Lateef. In high school, McCraven cofounded Cold Duck Complex, a jazz hip hop band with a strong following in the Northeast through his years as a student at UMASS Amherst where he studied Jazz. At this time, Makaya played locally and opened for Wu-Tang Clan, Rhazel, Digable Planets, The Pharcyde, 50 Cent, Mixmaster Mike, and The Wailers.McCraven has played in some of the world’s best clubs, theaters, festivals and arenas. Makaya has shared the stage with a host of great artists such as Charles Neville, Lionel Louke, Soulive, Marcus Strickland, and Bernie Worrell. He has toured extensively, including a 52-city national tour opening for Steely Dan with The Bobby Broom OrganiSation. Makaya endorses Vic Firth sticks and Istanbul AGOP Cymbals.
Makaya McCraven layers his extensive experience with hip hop bands, African dance bands, Hungarian folk music, and indie rock on top of a deep history of “straight ahead” jazz, improvisation, and the avantgarde with beats, sampling, and electronics as a form of unique self expression. See him at Blue Note on July 14th and 15th.
For more information or for tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/57338
Reggie Workman, born in Philadelphia in 1937, has always been regarded as a bass player’s bass player. After proving himself in the house band in a hometown club, he moved east with Gigi Gryce’s group, Blakey, Miles, Monk, Lateef, Shepp, McLean, Roach, Murray, and on and on – he’s worked with everyone. I remember the first time I heard him (side one of John Coltrane, Live at the Village Vanguard) and the first time he stopped me in my tracks: the alto saxophone and bass duet on “Lost in the Stars,” from Gary Bartz’s Another Earth – I shouted, “Who is that?” One of his longest-running asso-iations has been with Andrew Cyrille, a rare New York musician who was actually born in New York, in 1939.
Andrew Cyrille studied at Juilliard and Hartnett (where he met Cecil Taylor and briefly played with him in 1958), then apprenticed with the full panoply of jazz musicians, from
abiding legends (Hawkins, Mary Lou Williams) to daring newcomers, including Bill Barron and Roland Kirk. In 1964, he began an historic 11-year association with Taylor, establishing himself as one of the most instinctively musical and inventive drummers of the era. I had the pleasure of producing a few Taylor events as an undergraduate in 1968, and a highlight was Andrew’s solo workshop, tracing the history of jazz percussion – a presentation he expanded in his remarkable video, Jazz Methodology in Drum Music (In & Out of Meter). In 1975, he organized Maono, one of the great ensembles of its time.
Oliver Lake, born in Marianna, Arkansas, in 1942, grew up in St. Louis, where he taught public school and played rhythm and blues before becoming a member of Black Artists Group. In the early ‘70s, he came to New York with a self-produced album on his own, still active label, Passin’ Thru. Along with Julius Hemphill (with whom he recorded the memorable Buster Bee), Anthony Braxton, and Arthur Blythe, he breathed a new life into the alto saxophone, and immediately became a central figure in the Loft Era, joining with Hemphill, David Murray, and Hamiett Bluiett to form the World Saxophone Quar-tet. He created the theatrical piece The Life Dance of Is, led simultaneous bands that ex-plored the legacies of Eric Dolphy and reggae (Jump Up), and worked as a prolific side-man, as on Reggie’s Trio Transition, in 1988, leading to Trio 3.
For more information or for tickets, visit: https://www.showstart.com/event/57235
