With Record Store Day celebrated across the world this weekend, we chat with 18 of China's finest indie labels about what label life is like in 2016. And don't forget to grab some of these records at shops like Shanghai's Uptown Records, Beijing's fruityshop and more.
Increased online streaming regulation? A budding national touring circuit? Glastonbury Festival appearances and DJ Shadow collaborations? For years a paradoxical joke, does the future actually hold hope for China’s indie labels? We surveyed some of the country’s best and they answered a resounding 'yes.' In this three-part series, they share their thoughts and their 2016 plans with us. In this chapter, we chat with five of the country's biggest indie labels.
Modern Sky
Established: 1997
Follow: www.modernsky.com
With a vast empire that includes music festivals, clothing lines and the Modernsky Lab in Beijing’s Galaxy SOHO, it’s hard to fathom that Modern Sky simply started as a way for Shen Lihui to release his band Sober’s debut album, as well as releases by his university mates, New Pants and Supermarket.
While those bands remain pillars of the label’s impressive roster, Shen has since traded the guitar for the boardroom where he’s been dubbed 'China’s Richard Branson.' He recalls surviving the lean years where Internet piracy ran rampant, rebounding with the resounding success of the Strawberry Music Festival.
He admits, “The biggest challenge now is that we have no reference for doing what we want to do because we are exploring a lot of uncharted areas.” They’ve already established a national touring circuit and held sold-out music festivals in New York’s Central Park.
With over 100 album releases spanning abrasive noise to ear-pleasing urban folk, Shen promises there will “be a lot of music festivals, more than 100 concerts and about 30 records to be released” this year, including the long awaited sophomore disc by Casino Demon.
Maybe Mars
Established: 2007
Follow: downloads.maybemars.org
Inching closer to a decade in the game, Maybe Mars enjoys the most hallowed international reputation of any Chinese label. Founded and financed by economic analyst Michael Pettis with P.K. 14 frontman Yang Haisong serving as CEO, the label has more than lived up to Yang’s early goal of “showing the world that Beijing has really good rock bands.”
Unlike other labels venturing into festivals, Maybe Mars remains resolutely artist driven, often going into the red to “make high quality recordings that sound good a decade later.” The artistic accolades make it all worth it.
With a roster handpicked by Pettis and mentored by Yang, Maybe Mars has crafted their hallowed vision of Chinese art-rock. Their acts work with international icons like Sonic Youth, Steve Albini and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
The label’s reputation is so esteemed that young acts like Hiperson make it an early goal to sign with them. Although new releases by Dear Eloise, Skip Skip Ben Ben and The Fuzz have all come out in the past three months, there’s no rest for the label. Tentatively scheduled for release this year are new albums by Alpine Decline, Demerit, Birdstriking and SMZB, as well as debut discs by Run Run Run, Gate to Otherside and The Eat.
Tree Records
Est. 2004
Follow: treemusic.com.cn
Starting out with the goal of being the Mainland equivalent of England’s revered 4AD Records, Tree is now the second largest domestic indie label with over 100 releases spanning urban folk (Wild Children), livetronica (CNdY), Britpop (Elenore) and celtic-rock (Blackwater).
While they have releases planned this year for their popular folk artists like Liu Dongming, Sharon Long of Tree Music admits that the current climate can be difficult for artists.
As a result, Tree Music organizes festivals like the Beijing Sonic Electronic Music Festival, Beijing Jazz Week and the touring MOMA Music Festival as an avenue to promote their acts. Long notes that “they are committed to improving copyright protection and overseas business development,” while remaining optimistic that respect for intellectual property rights in China’s music industry will eventually match that in the West fostering a healthier enviornment for artists.
D Force
Established: 2015
Follow: site.douban.com/dforcerecords.com, DForceRecords [WeChat]
Founded by the people behind Douban Music/Douban Artists, D Force had an impressive first year with releases spanning dark new wave (Stolen) and hip hop (J-Fever & Soulspeak). While the label’s publicity director Zhao Yue admits that “it might look weird in this Internet-everything era that we are a website that has gone retro to become a more traditional-looking record label,” D Force boasts numerous advantages that make them a heavyweight contender.
Established as a vital platform for Chinese indie bands, Douban has already established a paid-per-stream structure for indie musicians. Their Pianbei Music publishing service is “designed to help as many musicians as possible with digital distribution domestically and globally.”
“Since last year, online streaming has been much better regulated and we’ve seen more and more successful cases of earning money with online streaming,” Zhao adds. Still beaming after January’s anniversary Shanghai showcase “where a line formed around the street corner,” according to the label, D Force has a jam-packed 2016.
April features releases by Shanghai techno star MHP and Tianjin electro duo Wanderlust. The summer brings Duck Fight Goose’s scifi concept album and the debut by Dalian’s DOC (formerly Doc Talk Shock). P.K. 14 guitarist Xu Bo and Snapline singer Chen Xi’s electro supergroup L.O.B.I. will record an album, as will new folk rock signings Uncle Hu.
Pest Productions
Est. 2006
Follow: pestpro.com, pestproductions.bandcamp.com
Pest Productions may be “bigger overseas than in China,” according to founder, Eight, but it’s hard to ignore. The leading purveyors of Chinese black metal, the label reps folk metal heavyweights Zuriaake and the newly signed Tengger Cavalry.
Eight and his team say they’re skeptical of the country’s record industry, but they’ve jam-packed their 2016 release calendar nonetheless. Expect new music from home-grown bands like Hokkien, black-metal act Holy Arrow and old-school Swedish black-metal devotees Black Reaper.
Symphonic metal band Black Kirin have also drop English and Chinese language discs this year. The label will be hosting metal festivals in Beijing and Shanghai in June to celebrate its 10th anniversary, so get ready for some summer headbanging.
Stay tuned for tomorrow when we look at the labels involved in China's electronic underground.
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