Nugget Injects a Welcome Dose of DIY Vigor Into Beijing's Bar Scene

Nugget Injects a Welcome Dose of DIY Music Vigor Into Beijing's Bar Scene

Tom Arnstein | Jul 30, 2020 4:30 pm | 1 comment | 665 reads

These are easy times to become all the Ds – depressed, dispirited, and despondent – but even among the constant updates on new coronavirus cases set to the backdrop of the West's apparent self-inflicted demise, there are little glimmers of hope to remind us that the world has not stopped, this is just a hiccup, and progress is inevitable. Nugget, the new café, venue, music store, and recording studio just east of Beiluogu Xiang is just one tiny nudge towards normalcy in Beijing and is a testament to how downtime, even amid chaos, can be converted into something fun and productive in the true spirit of DIY.

Jen Rao and David Carey of Nugget Records have spent the past four months testing cocktails, recruiting bands, and searching for a venue to carve out their own music-driven nook. The result is an unassuming and clean space that serves as an outlet for the cassettes that they themselves record, cut, assemble, and release on their imprint as well as a hub for musicians and fans to escape the outside din of the world.

Patrons are greeted by a lightbox adorned with the label's insignia, a cartoon outline of their pug Baozi, that also runs throughout the shop. Those personal touches follow through to the cocktail menu, which is made up of a range of classics (all RMB 60), each with their own distinct twist as dictated by the band or element of Nugget Records that they represent. Take for example the After School Special: named for MFmachine's summery Japanese pop-infused rock release last year, it's an equally playful take on a dry daiquiri with a seductive mix of Cuban rum, Campari, passionfruit liqueur, and lime.

Meanwhile, the Soaked, named after Nugget's first-ever release by Wuhan's lo-fi pop duo Lost Memory Machine, is their answer to a blue margarita with a healthy splash of tequila, blue curacao, lime, and orange flower water. In less capable hands, these pairings may have come off as gimmicky, but there's not a dud in the lot and the care that has gone into balancing flavors shows. There's also a beer fridge stocked with a decent range of beers that cover all bases (RMB 25-45), while in the day the space serves as a café with a range of vegan desserts.

To the left of the bar sits the stage area which, when not playing host to intimate gigs, doubles as shelving for the label's releases, ready to be sampled via a tape player before you buy, as well as tapes from artists around China.

Finally, hidden in the back is the label's secret weapon: a fully soundproofed recording studio that can be rented by musicians when it's not being used by Nugget and its affiliated artists to lay down their latest releases. This in turn makes the venue a beautifully self-contained ecosystem streamlined specifically for music production by incorporating everything needed for bands to play live, record, produce, and eventually see their work materialize as a tape.

Even if you don't subscribe to the cassette revival movement, there's something for everyone here, whether it be a quiet space to work in the day, a venue to sip on creative cocktails and see intimate gigs in the evening, or just somewhere to hang out and play board games. For that reason, Nugget, on account of the obvious and creative DIY-driven effort that has been put into it, helps take the edge off what are otherwise pretty tumultuous times.