Be the Life of the Party: Most Girls Smell Good to Host Master Class at Dada on Thursday

Mary Kate White | Oct 31, 2017 8:30 am | Add a comment | 1257 reads

To many of us (especially for us here at the Beijinger), Beijing can feel a bit like Vegas – in a city of twenty-something million people, entertainment and parties are never far off, and they are often far more extravagant than those going down in our rural hometowns.

But these parties don't grow on trees. It takes time, money, and know-how to pull off an impressive and mind-blowing party. And now you can get in on the action, with the launch of a new party promotions brand, Most Girls Smell Good, being celebrated at Dada on Thursday with a masterclass taught by local party maestro (and full disclosure: a Beijinger employee) Mu aka Dirty Dishes on the art of party promotion.

According to the event organizer and founder of Most Girls Smell Good, Syd Sidwaba: "This event aims to provide a platform for attendees to learn more about music promotion and to showcase leading female and female-identifying talent in Beijing."

Sidwaba founded Most Girls Smell Good in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013 with a focus on "curating events that showcase leading, existing and aspiring female and female-identifying music talent." At the end of 2015, Sidwaba decided to take the show on the road, hoping to "live in five countries in five years," and started the journey in Seoul, South Korea.

Being an active member of the East Asian music and party circuit, her attention was drawn to the growing influence and opportunities of Beijing – the next stop on her personal five-year tour. Due to China's uniquely segregated online sphere, she wasn't sure what the Beijing scene entailed.

"However, what I did notice is that a lot of the underground acts that would play in Seoul most likely ended up playing Shanghai or Dada. So I started taking note of the promoters that would bring particular artists out such as Gaika, Zut Zut. Mexican Jihad, etc," she said.

Since arriving in Beijing, Syd and her brand have hit the ground running, hosting a DJ workshop taught by Beijing-native DJ Wildwata at Fruityspace earlier this month. Perhaps it was that event's warm reception that caught the attention of Thursday's performers: Mu aka Dirty Dishes, Luxixi, Missy, and Sun Meng.

Drawn to Mu's work with her own promotion brand, Street Kids, which often uses proceeds from events to benefit children in the community and around the country, and then introduced by mutual friends, Syd asked Mu to lead a master class on music production or promotion. Both women hope to draw more passionate individuals, regardless of experience level, into the local nightlife.

According to Mu, "She asked me to join the event and have a talk, and I think it’s a very positive, good project. Beijing needs more platforms like this to gather people who have similar passions and interests to network and share their ideas and experience, to build a better, stronger music community and to have everyone support each other and grow ... It’s all about love and support."

The masterclass will also feature a video hangout with Colleen Balchin aka Rosie Parade, founder of Johannesburg party brand Pussy Party, on the Johannesburg electronic music scene. Following the class, everyone is invited to celebrate the official launch of the brand with music from a stellar lineup of some of the city's finest underground performers:

Mu aka Dirty Dishes
Mu aka Dirty Dishes, has been active as a nightlife promoter, blogger, and participant since 2006. In 2010, she founded her own underground party brand called Street Kids, which works to "bring out new sounds and create fun nightlife experiences in Beijing," the proceeds of which are often donated to charitable causes, benefitting children around the country. As a promoter (primarily of bass music and artists), she has worked with the likes of DJ Zinc (UK), Goth-Trad (Japan), Swindle (UK), Nguzunguzu (US), Dave Luxe (Belgium), Mochipet (Taiwan), and more, winning her Time Out Beijing's "Best Promoter of the Year" award. She will share tips on music promotion and insights into the Beijing underground music scene, before taking to the decks herself during the launch party.

Luxixi
Currently based in Beijing, Luxixi is "a collector of eccentric sounds and an up-and-coming staple of Beijing's underground club scene." Formerly a professional dancer, Luxixi uses her innate understanding of rhythm and movement to shape her work with grime, club trax, riddim, and UK bass. She believes that "music is a medium where sentiments are saved." Her sets are best known for their unorthodox beats and surrealistic soundscapes.

Sun Meng
Sun Meng will spin her favorite hip-hop, tech house, deep house, and nu-disco tracks late into the night. She embodies China's rising generation of beautiful, powerful DJs, having spent years working and traveling the world as a model. In 2012, she traveled to Switzerland and Germany to gain a better understanding of the European electronic music and party scene.

Missy
Missy from Beijing is a female rapper that started writing songs in 2012. Since her debut in 2012, she has maintained her place in the local hip-hop scene, participating in the tenth anniversary of monthly hip-hop party Section6, the regular hip-hop and reggae showcase Natual Flavor, Chinese underground hip-hop music festivals, and other performances with Modern Sky and Undaloop. Hip-hop music has always been her passion.