Hefei's Indie Rockers Trip Fuel Come to Kick It at DDC's Summer Nostalgia Fest, Jun 30

When Beijing-based record label Cao Tai released the second part of their stellar Nerd Noise compilation, which shines a spotlight on up and coming bands in the indie rock scene, in December of last year, one band stuck out – Hefei’s Trip Fuel. The four-piece covers quite a bit of ground – everything from twisted math rock to post-rock intrigue with splashes of shoegaze introversion, and emo angst thrown in for good measure – but what stands out most is the band’s unwillingness to stick to the script. Now the band is headed for Beijing with a new double A-side cassette release with Wuhan’s Wild Records (home to such bands as Chinese Football) under their belt.

We spoke to vocalist and guitarist Chen Zoumei (陈经理) ahead of Trip Fuel's DDC gig this Saturday, Jun 30, about the band’s origins, his stint in Australia, and getting the opportunity to follow your dreams. 

TBJ: There’s are a lot of interesting things going on in your sound – what bands did you grow up listening to? When and who turned you onto to them? Do they still inspire you today or have you found new musicians and bands to look up to?  
Chen Zoumei: Thank you so much for highlighting all the sounds we try to present here. It’s a bit embarrassing that I actually grew up with Mandarin pop songs, however, a compilation called 断弦的耳朵 released by 音乐天堂 enlightened me when I was 17. I was so touched by Sparklehorse, Spiritualized, and Eels – melodically and lyrically – that that’s pretty much where the journey began. 

I’ve listened to bands like Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Sonic Youth a million times over the last 10 years. I guess I’ve been influenced by Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins the most. Some Aussie bands have inspired me a lot as well, like Tame Impala, POND, Snakadaktal, and so forth. They continue to inspire me to this day, and there are also plenty of up and comers popping up out there: St. Vincent, Alt-J, Beach Fossils, are probably the ones I like the most.

You spent quite a bit of time in Melbourne – and even played in a band while you were there. How was that experience? Any good stories you can share? 
Well, I completed both my bachelor's and master's degrees in Australia a few years ago. I did my bachelor degree in Perth – people call it the most isolated place on the planet (maybe it’s not that bad!), and that's also where Tame Impala and POND come from. This wonderland did inspire me in both physical and mental ways. The band I had, Lennox, was based in Melbourne where I was doing my master's degree. I formed it with three other guys (guitar: William, bass: sususu, drums: White Wu) who were all also in other bands, and they are all super talented.

It was really a special experience for me to have a band as an international student there. I mean, it used to be a dream of mine to play original songs in front of local Australians as an Asian and somehow it came true. I was shaking the entire time we first played at Revolver Bandroom on Chapel Street in Melbourne, and my guitar sounded terrible that night, but it was super exciting. I can’t tell you how wonderful the feeling was and I think I remember every single second of that night. Unfortunately, Lennox was only a short-term project as we were all unstable students there. 

I’ve only heard awful things about Hefei? What’s the deal – is it really that bad? Give me one good reason (or more) folks should stop by the Anhui capital?
It used to be good around 10 years ago, when the frontman of Duck Fight Goose was here playing in a band called Lava|Ox|Sea, and there was a label called Miniless Records also run by them at that time. It’s not that bad, but not great, for sure. Compared to other cities, the market for indie culture here limits the way it grows. I mean, not many people here are interested in cultural stuff at the moment. People are more concerned about how much money they can make, how to make more of it, and how many apartments they can purchase – these sort of things rather than what bands are playing in the city, or who else is touring or coming to play. I’m sure it’ll slowly get better as it’s already nearly time for a new generation to come up. Does coming to see us play count? [Laughs]. You guys should come visit the Yellow mountain here though.

Since the release of the band’s first single ‘Let’s Catch The Sun Within 44 Beats And Fxxk It’ the band has gone through quite a few changes – what’s the current lineup look like now? How has the sound evolved since then? 
Exactly. I joined Trip Fuel in March last year. We’ve changed quite a lot since October when the single was recorded. We’re now settled though. The current lineup is bassist little Zhou (小周), drummer Yu Zhen (阵雨), guitarist Da Xiong (大雄), and myself on vocals/guitar. No matter where the line-up goes, our process pretty much remains the same – mainly I will come up with materials and directions, then we work it out together and shape it in rehearsals. Currently, we're slowing ourselves down quite a bit down to focus on each new song in order to get it as close to the sound we set out to make. 

There seems to be a resurgence of grassroots music platforms here in China, with crops of smaller labels popping up around the country. What does it look like to you? Do you think it’s become easier for bands with niche sounds or from smaller cities to be heard? 
Well, in regards to the current scenario of indie culture in China, it’s good to get more people involved and receive much more attention – so for sure everything’s getting better. It has definitely become easier for bands to get heard, we are kinda lucky to take advantage of that. However, it won’t be as easy to meet all the demands out there at once – talent and proper opportunities are still the key factors for us, which leads to conflicts in smaller cities like Hefei. I guess we’ll take what we can get.

You just released a double A-side cassette tape with Wild Records out of Wuhan. That’s some good company there. How are they to work with? Can we expect a full-length release by the end of the year? 
Yes, to be able to work with Wild Records has exceeded our expectations. It’s a pretty cool label, we found we match a lot, and we all like Chinese Football, the label’s flagship band. They’ve been very nice to us, even if we haven’t talked to them in person yet. They’re very professional. We’re actually working on our first official EP right now, which should be out in September. It's set up as an EP, but you could take it as a full-length album as our songs are all pretty long [laughs].

Will this be your first show in Beijing? How’s it feel? What are you looking forward to most?
Yes, it is the very first time for all of us to play in Beijing (thank you Live Beijing Music for having us). We’re super excited, and of course, a bit scared. Fear always comes along with this, doesn’t it? We want to know what it feels like to play in the capital of our country, and to play in one of the most influential livehouses in Beijing was another dream of mine when I was around 20 years old. Honestly, we don't expect that much as we feel we have just gotten on the right track this past year. Hopefully, we won’t be too nervous and screw up our first gig and let the people who come for us down. We're looking forward to seeing you guys there!

Trip Fuel will play alongside SNSOS, Acid Accident, and Last Goodbye as part of Live Beijing Music's Summer Nostalgia Fest at DDC on Saturday, Jun 30 at 9pm. Tickets cost RMB 80 at the door or RMB 60 presale.

Images courtesy of Live Beijing Music