Musical Multitaskers, Part 1: When Song and Design Align

Last week, Carsick Cars frontman Shouwang Zhang drew parallels between his photography and songwriting. That prompted us to start Musical Multitaskers, a month-long series exploring how Beijing's boldest musicians draw inspiration from other mediums and art forms. We kick things off below with Helen Feng and Liu Hao.

Does fashion have a rhythm? Can an outfit's threads hum like guitar frets? Could a sense of style enhance the substance of song?

The folks at Fake Music Media (FMM) think so. The Beijing music agency (which also runs local indie label FakeLoveMusic) is coordinating the first annual Music and Design (M.A.D.) festival this week (with their partner Kaiguan Culture) — a series of evening electro, disco tunes and dance punk gigs, coupled with daytime lectures from industry insiders. Those gurus will touch on everything from stage design to album artwork, from marketing tricks to fashion inspiration.

But when it comes to looks, not all local music vets are so intellectual. Liu Hao, former bassist of defunct punks Joyside and current owner of a second hand clothing boutique dubbed Underground Kidz, turned to fashion for survival. He gives us details below while Helen Feng (FMM co-founder and front lady of the agency’s flagship band Nova Heart, performing as part of M.A.D. on Oct 2 at Yugong Yishan), discusses why clothes can make the musician in today’s industry.

Helen, how is image an important part of your music?

Helen Feng: It's good if the clothes you wear help you convey the whole story of what you are doing. It's like any character on a stage, a visual matching the story you’re telling in the music. However, Beijing had a tendency in the last few years toward visual exaggeration, where what you wore was more important than the music itself. Outrageous costumes dominated, but I think that era is ending, and a more low-key artist is emerging. I am more interested in design as a whole, from stage design, to lighting design, to album cover art design. I think all the elements put together are what makes an experience complete, and I think the right combinations can create new trends in all of society. Fashion is just one small element of a much bigger concept.

Liu Hao, fashion wasn’t just a way to augment your music career – it replaced it. Tell us why.

Liu Hao: If you want to make your living only from a rock & roll band, it’s really hard. Ever since I was a kid, I loved how the Ramones looked, so once Joyside was done I decided to open a secondhand store and sell Ramones-style vintage leather jackets and jeans.

Helen, have you ever been inspired by fashion in the same way?

HF: If I had my choice, I would just sit around in sweatpants and a hoodie all day. That being said, once on stage you have to be aware of the audience’s visual experience. I'm currently working with some fashion designers who are friends. Their work gives me a new way of approaching mine, maybe a visual which helps me sound out something that I didn’t recognize before. But for now, nothing's finished, so I'm just going to keep wearing my thrift store finds.

Liu Hao, how can the ‘thrift store finds’ you sell be just as inspiring as high-end outfits?

LH: I like the culture of secondhand clothes – it’s very similar to rock and roll. When someone comes to my store, I can tell them the clothing’s history. I have a lot of military clothing from the US. It was made to last so long and go several years without breaking, even after the war. So it’s very strong, kind of like punk music.

Helen, do you see such similarities? If a designer were to use Nova Heart's music as a muse, how would the fabrics look?

HF: Rich, weird, transparent, amorphous lines that have both flow and structure – like lava. Maybe a few classic references, like some disco-era glam. That would be cool.

The M.A.D. Festival runs until Oct 5 and features performances from several bands, including Nova Heart at Yugong Yishan on Oct 2. The festival also features an exhibition called "Beijing Tribes," that details the history of the city’s underground music scene at Caochangdi. For more information, visit Musicanddesign.org.

You can find Liu Hao’s Underground Kidz vintage boutique at 69-2 Gulou Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (东城区鼓楼东大街69-2号). Call 8401 2346 or 136 1111 3460 for more information. Casino Demon, Liu Hao’s new band, will perform at MAO Livehouse on Oct 12.

Next Friday, Musical Multitaskers will shimmy away from the wardrobe to the stage, to break down the choreography between song and dance – burlesque dance, to be specific.