Music

Happy to announce that one of our favourite ladies will take over our stage for a beautiful music Saturday filled with original compositions straight after her European tour comeback!

Canadian born and Beijing based artist Ember Swift started writing songs at the age of nine, stage performing year later and released 12 albums and 1 DVD project since 1996.

Since she fluently speaks Mandarin and once was a student of Chinese language and culture, her music also melds these two traditions. It features lyrics in Mandarin, English and French and the arrangements feature both Western and Eastern instrumentation.

Specifically known for her unique, jazz-influenced guitar playing and elastic vocals, additional styles include folk, jazz, swing, R&B, funk, pop, folk-rock, and blues.

Her band, assembled in Beijing, includes Anthony Vancore from US on the drums, the UK’s Jack Lecomber on bass, Israel’s Yoav Volansky on keys, and China’s Wang Ya Qi on the erhu. They are five people who come from four different parts of the world but who have chosen Beijing as their current homes proving, once again, that Beijing is truly a global magnet.

The Hunters are one of Beijing’s best foreign cover bands and their talent on stage will blow you away. They continue to receive the accolades of the music scene by combing old school Funk, Soul, and Rock classics with modern hits, all mixed and served in an intoxicating and action packed delivery.

Loved and admired as few other bands have ever been at Modernista, the amazing Uighur Sama Band, formerly known by the name of Akbar, is one of those that keep bringing month after month the energetic sounds of Xinjiang to China´s capital.

A mixture of traditional arabic songs and lively Spanish rumba classics, and with lyrics both in English and Uighur, the band has entertained and impressed audiences for the past years, gathering a loyal crowd for each of their performances.

Get ready to dance, sing along and drink a lot!

Happy to announce that MADEMOISELLE ET SON ORCHESTRE - a six piece band based in Beijing - is again with us for a proper summer music bash! They are the only group in China offering a unique repertoire of French songs. The band has played since 2004 throughout China in many events for the promotion of French culture. Their music is party inspired by Gypsy Jazz: a style invented in France in the 1930s by Stefan Rappelli and Django Reinhardt. Using the Gypsy Jazz style, Mademoiselle et son Orchestre re-invents the classic songs by Piaf, Brassens, Gainsbourg, and many others. Their own tunes are spiced with humours and imaginative lyrics, which bring the audience into the surreal dream world of Mademoiselle ...

The Rebel 5 consists of Delilah on vocals, Fan Zhai on guitar, Joel on bass, Roy Sun on keyboards, and Fareed "Dojo Shaolin" on drums. Formerly known as The Rotten 5, is a soul, r&b and funk music emsemble covering some of the greatest songs of all times. Definetely, The Rebel 5 are one of Beijing's finest groups to get you moving on the dance floor.

FREE from 10PM!

Born in Osaka Japan, the guitarist, Hideaki Tokunaga came to the United States in 1985 and settled in New York, playing with an organization called Music Under New York (MUNY), which arranged for musicians to play in subways. In 1990 he moved to Southern California and started attending Calfornia Institute of the Arts through the Charlie Mingus Scholarship Program. In 1998 he graduated from CalArts with his Master's Degree. During his school years the 18th Annual Down Beat Magazine Student Music Awards gave one of three Best USA Jazz Instrumental Soloist-College Awards to Hideaki Tokunaga. "The Awards," explains CalArts Jazz Program director, pianist David Roitstein, "bring a lot of competition. Students in high schools, colleges and universities all over the world submit their work and pieces are judged by internationally known musicians who know what they are listening to. There is a high level of competition and winning an award is a big honor." After receiving this award, Tokunaga contracted with Moo/MIDI Records. His debut cd "The Wind Told Me" was released in 1997 and the second album "Midnight Rainbow" was released in 1998. On "Midnight Rainbow" the core band features the Hammond B3 playing of Greg Kustin and the drums of legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins. This trio is augmented by a string quartet as they swing through a program of Hideaki's own music and eclectic jazz standards. Jazz Program founder, bassist Charlie Haden said " Some people think that only musicians who grew up in this country can play jazz. I totally disagree with it. Listen to how Django Reinhardt used to improvise on his guitar. He really digged jazz theory. And Hideaki is another example, if I close my eyes to listen to how he plays bebop, I would think he was from Brooklyn." As a matter fact, he lived in Brooklyn when he met his wife, and followed her to Los Angeles. His warm, beautiful, solid and grooving guitar sound has been capturing the hearts of every Jazz fan and this time he is coming with new ensemble.

Join us for a laid back Sunday evening while treating yourself with our newly launched summer tapas menu plus artisanal cocktails, and enjoying original Jazz tunes by the Italian master Simone Schirru and his crew.

ENTRANCE IS FREE but please try to book your tables in advance!

The Basement band members met in Beijing as a students. They united through serendipity and the love of music!
Remember those two New Years Eve bashes at Modernista? Well, they proved themselves quite well! Dont miss them this Saturday night. FREE from 10PM!

We couldn't be more happier to have them back, even for a short time, to share again the fun with all those who were there when Zhege magic was founded, and show this incredible band to our new friends as well!

Zhege is a band made up of foreigners who met in Beijing.

Drawing inspiration from the popular music from their respective countries, combined efforts seem to produce what appears to be Brit-Pop and R&B, with a satirical twist.

Their music is like life, sometimes funny, sometimes sad. Sometime you’ll want to dance, and sometimes you just want to have deep thoughts while waiting for a taxi on your way home... or sipping a Bloody Mary.

With three albums under their belt, and a half year hiatus Zhege is excited to showcase their music to their fans all over the world! For this special Modernista appearance they are also bringing amazing Da Wei and The Social Poets!!!

时间/Time: 2018年7月11日 21:00

门票/Ticket: 50(presale)/60(door)

地点/Venue: 黄昏黎明俱乐部 (DDC)

地址/ADD: 北京市东城区美术馆后街山老胡同14号

Shanlao Hutong NO. 14, Dongcheng District

电话/Tel: 010-64078969

邮箱/Mail: DuskDawnClub@gmail.com

Line-up:

沙乐琴：Sayak Barua

舞蹈：于菲菲

西塔琴：刘慧媛

塔布拉鼓：庄静

Sayak Barua is a musician from India playing traditional instrumental music of India. After receiving a Master’s in instrumental music at Rabindrabharati University, Sayak was appointed to a prestigious position of Junior Research Fellow for the sarode by the Indian Ministry of Culture. His passion for education and music has led him to tour extensively throughout India, performing his ragas in diverse and remote regions of the country. In an expansive and heterogeneous country, Sayak’s soothing and meditative drones bridge ethnic and social divides.

A graded artist for the All India Radio, Sayak was selected as an Onebeat fellow (OneBeatSM is an international cultural exchange that celebrates the transformative power of the arts through the creation of original, inventive music, and people-to-people diplomacy OneBeatSM is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation. OneBeat builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy. It embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to bring people, especially youth, together for greater understanding) to tour the US for a month.

Sayak took part in the 9th International music festival 2013 held at Samarkand, Uzbekistan and was part of the Grand Prix winning Indian contingent.

Sayak has toured twice to Afghanistan, Kabul as a teacher and performer along with his wife Moumita to teach at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. Presently he is a resident of Beijing with his wife Moumita Mitra who is the vocal music teacher at the Indian embassy.

Presently, Sayak and Moumita are working in promotion of Indian Traditional Music.

Yu Feifei, Master of dance study, graduated from Beijing Dance Academy. She started professional dance training at 11, At 18, she was enrolled in the Oriental Dance Department of Beijing Dance Academy, where she was provided with an opportunity to generally learn about the traditional dances of Asian countries. During her study in the Academy, she focused on Indian dance under the instruction of Professor Zhang Jun, who was named as the Hsuan Tsang of India Dance In China.

Yu Feifei was enrolled as a postgraduate after her undergraduate course, majoring in the comparison and relation study on Classic Dance of India and China. To be specific, Yu Feifei majored in Bharatnatyam during her undergraduate course, and Kathak and Odissi during her postgraduate course. She took part in the Sino-India Interactions held by Indian Embassy to China, Peking University and Central Conservatory of Music for several times. From Jul., 2006 to Jul., 2007, Yu Feifei, as a part of the Sino-India Scholarship Exchange Program of China Scholarship Council, was given with a chance to have a further study on Indian Classic Dance in India. Since Sep. 2008, she has been learning Kathak in Indian Embassy to China.

刘慧媛

本科毕业于天津市音乐学院，扬琴专业。

研究生毕业于印度德里大学。

师从印度西塔琴大师得布(Pandit Debuchaudhuri)，学习印度古典乐器西塔琴。

曾工作于天津师范大学音乐与影视学院，开设课程《世界民族音乐文化》、《东方音乐文化》。

现任课于中央音乐学院，开设课程《印度音乐文化—西塔琴演奏》。

庄静

中央民族大学教师、中央音乐学院世界音乐方向博士，导师陈自明研究员。学习、研究塔布拉鼓10年，2006年在国内随梁昊、Azalea Birch、Pandit Keshaji学习塔布拉鼓演奏。后多次赴印度，师从当地知名音乐家Ustaad Akram Khan，进行塔布拉鼓演奏的深造。2014年出版国内第一部塔布拉鼓的专著——《轮回中的韵律——北印度塔布拉鼓探微》。自2010年起，多次在印度使馆文化交流中心、中央音乐学院演奏厅、国家大剧院演出及交流，合作过的乐团包括中央民族乐团、中央音乐学院民乐团、北京歌舞团等。