Sainkho Namtschylak, The Hormones, and Yuck Among 47 Acts at This Year's Sound of the Xity (Apr 11-14)

Will Griffith | Apr 11, 2018 1:00 pm | Add a comment | 1882 reads

Despite taking a big hit last year when the ‘don’t call us a festival or we’ll get in trouble’ Sound of the Xity was forced to move all of its acts to Tango over a two-day period, the Modern Sky backed city-wide fest and music industry conference, one of the city’s largest, is back and looking to shake up Beijing once again. Now technically China’s International Music Industry Conference & Showcases’, the festival (which takes place from Apr 11-14) looks leaner and meaner than ever with a firm focus on the crop of new bands that have enraptured the Chinese underground music scene over the past couple years.

It’s clear the pratfalls of last year have forced the event to reevaluate itself, and tighten its focus – which looks to give industry folks from around the world, including bookers from Glastonbury, Primavera, EXIT, and Clockmnflap, among many others, as well as distribution companies like Sentric Music Publishing and The Orchard, a chance to taste the wide variety of acts and styles that is our music scene. While that doesn't exactly excite the average concert goer, it’s arguably a smart move on Modern Sky’s part – removing the fat and excess of most industry conferences and giving international booking agencies, promoters, and labels a closer, more intimate view of the Chinese music scene as we’ve come to know it.

So what exactly does that mean for us regular gig goers? Well in simple numbers - 47 bands over 12 showcases in six venues over the week – with some serious stellar lineups. While UK noise rock favorites Yuck (who seem to make a stop to Beijing just about every year), and renowned experimental Tuva singer Sainkho Namtschylak may be the biggest names that the festival has to offer, if you look closely you’ll find some of China’s best talent on display. Highlights include Guizhou world music torchbearers Mabang, Inner Mongolian avant-garde Captain Beefheart riffing Hao Qing, the new electronic sitar and synth duo Cosmin Project, female Chengdu post punk stalwarts The Hormones (who’ll be joining Gang Gang Dance’s Tim DeWit), and Guangzhou folk rock sensations Wu Tiao Ren. Each of the showcases are a hearty grab bag of genres and styles, so take a deep dive into the lineup and find what suits you.

Apr 11
Sainkho Namtschylak(RU), PAPA U-Gee, MaBang, SanDuoJiao @ Omni Space (RMB 150/200)

Apr 12
Macondo, INXU, Glow Curve, Whale Circus, The Sparrow @ Yugong Yishan (RMB 80/120)

L+R, Su & The Paramecia, Ajinai, WuTiaoRen @ Yue Space (RMB 100/120)

Mayuanshiren, The Peppercorns, The Nocturnes, Rolling Bowling @ DDC (RMB 60/80)

The Secret Club, White Paper, GhettoBlaster, The Diagon Alley @ School (RMB 50/70)

Apr 13
Yuck (UK), The Slow Reader Clubs (UK) @ Tango (RMB 150/200)

Mohanik, Hai Qing, WHAI, Default, Heat Mark, Brickleberry @ Yugong Yishan (RMB 80/120)

Cosmic Project, No Trace, Swarrm, Little Six, DaWei Social Poetry @ DDC (RMB 60/80)

SNSOS, White Paper, Wasted Laika, New Generation @ School (RMB 60/80)

Apr 14
The Hormones, Tim DeWit (US) @ Yugong Yishan (RMB 80/120)

Residence A, Backspace, Acid Accident, Li Xingyu @ Yue Space (RMB 80/100)

Scare The Children, Pacalolo, The Diagon Alley @ School (RMB 60/100)

For more information about tickets, click here.

Photos: Courtesy of the organizers