Shanghai’s musical graveyard is littered with great bands ripped apart by emigration. So when producer Jay Soul returned to Amsterdam two years ago, it seemed to spell the end for the city’s standouts AM444. However, the duo continues to thrive, eager to show off their evolution on their new Dark Show EP and a June 27 show at Yuyintang.
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“Dark Show is very different from what we’ve done before, with all new beats by Jay,” frontwoman ChaCha explains. “We felt free experimenting with many things. Some people are really into it and others have no idea how to respond. We’re really happy with that.”
Released across China and Europe in April, Dark Show moves away from the sultry trip-hop sound that AM444 had previously established. Written last year, it was fine-tuned following a European tour with French pop star M.
“We come from the underground where our venues are clubs, so playing to 10,000 people at festivals was like, ‘oh my god!’” ChaCha recalls.
“I only sing in Chinese, so I was nervous that audiences wouldn’t understand, but they really felt the music. Surprisingly, there are loads of French people studying Chinese who are really into our songs. It gave me the feeling that language won’t be a big issue anymore. It’s a global world, now.”
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In addition with collaborating with M on the single, ‘Détache Toi, Shen Jing Mo Shao,’ the group praises the tour for bolstering their live show.
“As a band, the best practice is on stage,” she says, noting AM444 rarely performed live in their early years. “We’ve learned how to interact better with each other and the audience on stage, as well as a lot about lighting and visuals. It was a big growth for us as musicians.”
They’re eager to show off what they learned for their hometown crowd – this is the band’s first official Shanghai show in a year, and ChaCha has big plans.
“In my head, we have [standout Guangzhou hip-hop producer] Pete Chen opening with a live set. MC Amine will guest on a song, and we will have another musician sitting in on a few tracks,” she says.
Unused footage from their past music videos will be incorporated, and an after-party is scheduled at The Shelter, with DJ sets by Jay Soul and close friends like Alan Shanyinde and Garry Wang.
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It was the subterranean club that first brought Jay Soul and ChaCha together. As the first Mainland artist to attend the Red Bull Music Academy, the Guizhou-born singer was firmly established as a fierce talent, able to comfortably flow over reggae (Uprooted Sunshine), hip hop (WordySoulspeak) and dubstep (Kode9).
When the Dutch producer got an opportunity to perform a set comprised solely of his original productions, he asked ChaCha to guest.
“I was supposed to do a couple songs, but ended up freestyling the whole set,” she recalls. “I was so into it that I couldn’t stop. The next day, he sent over 50 of his old productions, which is where the Eye Wonder EP comes from.”
The duo has big plans for the year. In July, they’re playing festival dates in Switzerland, Rotterdam and Russia. They’re eyeing a more extensive tour of the continent in the winter, followed by performances across the Mainland.
ChaCha says to watch out for a new single, music video and a remix record throughout the year. While they aspire to start working on a full-length follow-up to 2012’s Rooms, she admits that the realities of living on two separate continents might delay things.
However, she promises, “we will definitely keep making music. We believe in our stuff and that it’s an interesting mix of our backgrounds.”
“With each release, we’re planting seeds that will grow. We don’t know when or where, but we’re still receiving great feedback from our first EP today.”
// June 27, 9pm-late, RMB60-80 (with free entry to the after party at The Shelter). Yuyintang.
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