https://www.scmp.com/rss/324434/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com In November 2013, a humanoid civilisation called the Arcturians made “first contact” with the earth. They had fled from the Andromeda galaxy 2.5 million light years away following a sweeping ban on parties on their home planet, and having roamed around space in search of fun, eventually made for China. At least, that is the narrative that accompanied the debut of the Storm Festival in Shanghai. The two-day electronic dance music (EDM) festival featured dancers and stilt walkers in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2111696/how-edm-festival-storm-leading-chinas-live-dance-music-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2111696/how-edm-festival-storm-leading-chinas-live-dance-music-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Sep 2017 05:00:47 +0000 Name changes, headliner no-shows and torrential downpours. As it approaches its third year, Shanghai’s Concrete & Grass Music Festival may still be in its infancy, but already it’s had a colourful history within the context of mainland China’s general climate of censorship and uncertainty surrounding live music events. Yet organisers Split Works are determined to make the festival take root, and so on the weekend of September 16-17, Concrete & Grass returns to the Shanghai Rugby Football Club... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2109774/princess-nokia-thurston-moore-eclectic-line-shanghai-concrete-glass?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2109774/princess-nokia-thurston-moore-eclectic-line-shanghai-concrete-glass?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2017 05:03:57 +0000 Chinese indie-rock fans could be forgiven for doing a double take last week when the full line-up for this year’s Concrete & Grass Music Festival in Shanghai was released. Featured on the bill for the mid-September festival are a trio of surprise reunions: the Beijing folk collective Glamorous Pharmacy, Shanghai rock act Boys Climbing Ropes and – chief among them – the original Carsick Cars line-up, playing together for the first time in almost six years. “It’s not a normal show,” says Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2109085/beijing-indie-rock-band-carsick-cars-reform-shanghai-music-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2109085/beijing-indie-rock-band-carsick-cars-reform-shanghai-music-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Aug 2017 10:01:24 +0000 A key election took place in Shanghai last weekend – at least as far as Mandopop fans are concerned. SNH48, mainland China’s first “idol group”, and its three sister units held their fourth annual election to decide the top-ranking idols. The process saw nearly 300 girls from across the country perform for baying fans at Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena as part of a marathon six-hour event on July 29. Hip hop in China bounces back as new show gives next-gen rappers mainstream appeal, despite... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2105126/election-chinese-idol-group-snh48-spin-japans-akb48-draws-record?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2105126/election-chinese-idol-group-snh48-spin-japans-akb48-draws-record?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Aug 2017 00:00:54 +0000 From bars that aim to recapture the city’s 1920s and ’30s jazz heyday, to dive-bar live houses hosting regular rock shows, Shanghai has plenty to offer when it comes to live music. Here are some of the city’s best spots for gig goers. Modern Sky Lab “Soft-opened” in mid-May, Modern Sky Lab is the new kid on the Shanghai live house block. Set for a big “grand opening” in August, the venue in a Hongkou shopping mall is the latest venture from Beijing-based record label and promoters Modern Sky.... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2098226/its-live-your-guide-shanghais-best-gig-venues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2098226/its-live-your-guide-shanghais-best-gig-venues?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jun 2017 02:50:33 +0000 Chinese audiences have been inundated with music festivals in recent years. Dozens of new festival brands have joined the fight for attention in established markets such as Shanghai, while relatively long-running events such as Midi and Modern Sky’s Strawberry have increasingly gone in search of new markets, heading into second- and third tier-cities such as Changchun in China’s northeast and Mianyang in the southwest, and in the case of Midi even into a cave complex in Hubei... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2094545/china-music-festival-out-raise-bar-doubans-wetware-festival-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2094545/china-music-festival-out-raise-bar-doubans-wetware-festival-event?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 May 2017 00:01:42 +0000