This is part of our China's 2015 Year in Review series. Keep track of our Best Albums list here. See albums 21-30 here, 31-40 here and 41-50 here.
Loved by some, missed by many – here’s a list of our favorite Mainland albums from 2015. What started three years ago as a last-minute attempt to fill empty magazine pages has turned into a growing tip of a hat to a thriving music scene.
Indeed 2015 was a big year for the professionalization of China's music scene. Budding monoliths like Modern Sky, JZ and MAO Livehouse built livehouses across the nation, new media giants like Douban jumped into the record business and even more domestic stalwarts toured or signed deals overseas. With the recent government mandated crackdown on unlicensed music online, things are only looking up for artists.
In 2013, we made note of a few of the year's Notable Albums. Last year, we debuted our Top 25 list. This year, we're going deep into this thing with our Top 50 Mainland Records of 2015. Before we start, special acknowledgement must be given to Live Beijing Music and their weekly William Griffith-penned New Releases column, which are absolutely essential for anyone interested in Mainland music.
20. Sa Dingding: The Butterfly Dream
萨顶顶: 周梦蝶集
(Universal)
Genre: Electronic World Pop
Buy: iTunes, Spotify, Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao.
Follow: Weibo, Facebook and Twitter.
No VPN? Listen on QQ Music.
Dubbed by the London Times as “Asia’s Björk,” Sa Dingding is a bonafide world music star. As an 18-year-old, she won a TV contest as China’s dance pop queen. Years later, she emerged with a sound that ecompassed traditional instruments, beats and Sa’s penchant for singing in Mandarin, Sanskrit, Tibetan, the near extinct Langhu language and another self-created one. For The Butterfly Dream, she goes to India, recording with Sting and Norah Jones producer Karsh Kale for the tabla-driven fourth chapter in what's turning into a stellar discography. For more, check out That's Shanghai's feature on Sa Dingding.
19. Damacha: Perfume/Tu Hao Jin/Grindstuff (with Pete Chen)
(self-released/SVBKVLT/Groove Bunny)
Genre: Cloud/Footwork/Breakbeats
Buy: Pefume (Bandcamp), TuHaoJin (Bandcamp), Grindstuff (Bandcamp)
Follow: Douban, Soundcloud and Facebook.
It was a big year for the Shanghai-based producer from America. The self-released luxurious Perfume EP set the table for the opus, TuHaoJin. A tribute to the country's uncouthed rich, Damacha builds frenetic footwork tracks from samples of disco and pop records commonly sold by street vendors. He followed the SVBKVLT released disc by linking up with Groove Bunny's savant hip hop producer Pete Chen for a split release beat tape of busted up boom bap beats.
18. Horse Radio: Horse Radio
走马电台: 走马电台
(self-released)
Genre: Mongolian fusion
Buy/Stream: iTunes and Xiami
Follow: Douban and Facebook
Not in China or is your VPN on? Watch Horse Radio live on YouTube.
Ever since Hanggai burst out of Beijing and onto the international scene with their rocking take on traditional Mongolian songs, the city has been teeming with acts following in their steppes. We never thought we'd ever be unimpressed by a horsehead fiddle, but here we are. However, acts like Horse Radio shows that there's still new terrain to explore in the grasslands genre. Comprised of members of the Oirat minority in Inner Mongolia, the band has been rocking the capital city with their rootsy take on traditional songs.
17. itsogoo: It’s No Good
(self-released)
Genre: Hip hop
Buy: Xiami and Taobao
Follow: Douban, Weibo and Soundcloud
Since 2008, the collective of Alienkey, Jiaming and Snareloop have been a fixture in Beijing’s hip hop scene. Their jazz influenced sound instantly resonates with any Native Tongues fan, but their sophomore disc shows they’re no shanzai act. After a smooth piano opening intro, itsogoo exchange hard-hitting flows over stellar beats, from the guitar-driven ‘金库党 (The Treasury)’ to the menacing ‘布鲁斯星布鲁斯 (Bruce Bruce).’
16. iimune: Ocean
(D-Force)
Genre: Indietronica
Buy: Bandcamp, Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao
Follow: Douban, Soundcloud and Facebook
Best known as the guitarist for Beijing post rock favorites Glow Curve, Hsing Jiangbo’s electronic project may soon be his calling card. Released on Douban’s D-Force label, Ocean is an opus of warm indietronica. Its titular opening song sounds like a victory lap in slow motion, and that triumphant feel continues over 12 tracks like the aural equivalent of a high five. The disc is part of the new media giant’s impressive first year as a label, with records by roster mates Duck Fight Goose, DOC (formerly Doc Talk Shock) and MHP expected to come in 2016.
15. P.K.14: Music for an Exhibition
P.K.14: 金蝉脱壳：为展览而作的音乐
(Maybe Mars)
Genre: Literally art rock
Buy: Bandcamp, Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao
Follow: Douban and Facebook
For over 15 years, P.K.14 has been blazing trails inspiring a national indie music. So for their first live album, they of course throw a curveball. With label mates Alpine Decline and Zoomin Nights kingpin Zhu Wenbo along for the ride, they’ve created their first experimental record. Over a long form mix of modular synths, horns, feedback and noise, they soundtrak artist artist Sun Qiuchen’s exhibition at UCCA Theater while crafting a musical interpretation of the idiom 金蝉脱壳 (‘the cicada sheds its shell. Imaginastically; the real thing is gone but the husk remains’). For more, check out That's Beijing's feature on P.K.14.
14. Soulspeak: Ghost Echoes/Flux
Flash Beats Bone: Flash Beats Bone
(Ran Music)
Genre: Instrumental Rap
Buy/Stream: Soulspeak (Xiami and Soundcloud)/Flash Beat Bones (Xiami and Soundcloud)
Follow Ran Music: Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud and official website
No VPN? Listen to Soulspeak on Xiami.
No VPN? Listen to Flesh Beat Bones on Xiami.
Best known as one-half of the instrumental hip hop bonanza Wordy Soulspeak, the Beijing by way of LA producer enjoyed a wickedly prolofic 2015. He was one of the premiere first signees to Shen Lijia's new Ran music label and promptly delivered with a pair of brusing solo EPs, Ghost Echoes and Flux. Even more exciting is the debut release of Flash Beat Bones, a supergroup comprised of the producer and several of China's top jazz musicians that have crafted a sound equally indebted to funk and Afro-beat. There's no rest for Soulspeak, who is working on a collaborative disc with the Shanghai based, Australian trumpeter Toby Mak's TTechmak electronic project. Oh and Soulspeak still has one more appearance to make on this Best Albums list.
13. AM444: Dark Show
Hamacide + ChaCha: 30 Hours
(Kaiguan/self-released)
Genre: Trip-hop
Buy: Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, Xiami and QQ Music
Follow: Douban, Facebook, Twitter and their official website
When producer Jay Soul returned to Amsterdam, the standout Shanghai trip-hop duo AM444 seemed in peril. While Guizhou born singer Cha Cha linked up with her old cohort, Tokyo based producer Hamacide for the ethereal EP Thirty Hours, it's the latest AM444 EP that had everyone buzzing. While Shanghai's musical graveyard is littered with bands ripped up by members moving away, AM444 has only grown stronger. They toured stadiums across Europe with French pop star M, landed songs on the soundtracks to NBA2K15 and Michael Mann's Black Hat. More importantly, their noirish sound has evolved into something nastier, with Cha Cha commandingly flowing over buzzing beats. For more, check out That's Shanghai's feature on AM444.
12. Li Xiaoluo: The Land of Many Pots
李晓珞: 丰饶之锅
(Mammoth Studios)
Genre: Chamber pop
Buy: Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao
Follow: Weibo
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Changsha studied dance in Japan as a child, was immersed in Europe’s avant-garde scene as a student and is a protege of musician/poet/dramatist Zhang Guangtian. She experty mixes all of her artistic influences to create eccentric, yet melodic chamber pop. Over sparse arrangements, she weaves a web of odd traditional instrumentation held together by the Golden Melody nominated singer’s commanding vocals and poetic bent.
11. Huzi: Island
虎子: 岛
(Modern Sky)
Genre: Electronic
Buy: Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao.
Follow: Douban
VPN on or not in China? Watch The Island videos on YouTube.
What happens when some of China’s top underground musicians are lost in Thailand? Modern Sky finds out with this collaborative disc overseen by producer Huzi. Recorded over 40 days in Phuket, Island features contributions from Diva Li, Huzi's Pet Conspiracy cohort Edo (watch above), and members of RE:TROS and Supermarket. Filmmakers documented the experience while crafting striking music videos. Intended as a cross-cultural East Asian excursion, Island soaks in the tropical influences of one of the world’s most naturally beautiful paradises, while capturing the melancholy of life in what has become an over-stuffed tourist destination.
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