|
Chinese Rock Goes North... To Mongolia
Shanghai garage rockers Banana Monkey took part in the second annual Rock Naadam tour of Mongolia earlier this month
正在与国际接轨的中国音乐
现如今中国的音乐产业已经逐步与国际音乐接轨。最近，上海的摇滚乐队"Dabei"在受邀在今夏日本音乐节表演；以北京为据点的“Maybe Mars"乐队则受邀到美国以及奥地利表演。尽管越来越多的中国乐队走向世界各地演出，只有一个中国乐队得到了去到一个从未有过国际乐队表演的地方进行表演，他们就是来自上海的”香蕉猴子“乐队。他们曾参加过第二届蒙古国的摇滚那达慕巡演。摇滚那达慕是一个每年的在中国与内蒙古国之间的进行的，音乐与慈善的交换巡演。虽然此前曾因缺少设备器材，两国人民之间的紧张关系，以及高昂的旅费而使巡演一度陷入困难，但最近经过各方面的努力使得巡演取得了巨大的成功。”香蕉猴子“在一个叫做”Ulaanbaatar“的地方举行了他们在蒙古国的一场俱乐部秀。来自蒙古的低音歌手Enerelt表示这是今年来第一场真正的摇滚表演。巡演得到了蒙古大众的支持，我也正在做与日后在蒙古表演相关的跟进工作。
Much of the focus of the music community in China's relationship with the international music community is connecting it with more established markets. Recently, Shanghai hard rockers Dabei have been scheduled to play the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan; Beijing-based label Maybe Mars bands were represented at South by Southwest in Austin, USA; and numerous DJs based in mainland China have performed in Hong Kong.
And while the music industry in China is only recently getting widespread media attention and more consistently attracting internationally touring acts, one Chinese band recently had the opportunity to perform somwhere that gets almost no exposure from international acts. In fact, they were the first group of Chinese nationals to perform in that country.
The band in question is Shanghai garage rockers Banana Monkey, who took part in the second annual Rock Naadam tour of Mongolia earlier this month.
Rock Naadam is an annual music and philanthropy exchange between China and Mongolia I started last year to promote, among other things, the Mongolian music community's promotion and exposure to the China-based music community in Mongolia. Obstacles have included the previously mentioned lack of infrastructure, surprisingly high travel expenses, and lingering tensions between Chinese and Mongolian peoples that go back about 800 years ago, when Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) supposedly told his followers to keep their eyes on the Chinese.
Both Rock Naadam tours of Mongolia have been successes. In the most recent tour, Banana Monkey played a club show in Ulaanbaatar that the bassist Enerelt for Mongolian band Mohanik described as the first real rock show of the year. In person and on social media, Mongolians expressed appreciation that an international band, especially one from China, would play in their country. I'm currently working with promoters in Mongolia on follow-up projects.
While there is a certain prestige organizing and playing in high profile and established locales all over the world, promoters and performers in China shouldn't forget that less established markets might be just as happy to see Chinese artists, maybe even more so.
Banana Monkey is currently working on their debut album. Brian Offenther/DJ B.O will perform the first DJ shows in North Korea in August.
Related MusicDish e-Journal Articles:
» Mongolian Metal Night @ INFERNO in Shanghai, June 22 - Mongolian Metal Night @ INFERNO in Shanghai, June 22 to raise money for Rock Naadam II (2012-06-07)
» Can I Have Some Mohanik? Mongol Garage Rock Tours China - Mongolian garage rockers will be touring China January 12th through 15th, playing Hohhot, Beijing, Ningbo, and Shanghai (2012-01-05)
back
| top
|
