The hugely popular electronic music series launches in China with help from Le Live and dART with parties in Beijing (Apr 30) and Shanghai (May 1). South Africa's Black Coffee headlines while both parties will be stacked with a lineup of stellar locals. While the exclusive parties are invite only, they'll be streamed live on Le Music Boiler Room site and the Boiler Room official webpage. Before they kick off, we chat with dART founder Miao Wong (who also spearheaded Beijing's INTRO Festival and founded Accupuncture Records) about her vision for Boiler Room China.
Can you explain the concept behind Boiler Room China?
Doing Boiler Room China might not make sense to most people. It doesn't charge for tickets, it’s a pretty high cost and a high risk for "jumping over the great firewall" with a live stream - that's really a big challenge. When I talk about dART being an open platform, for artists, for creative minds – I take it really seriously. We are not only bringing Boiler Room to China, we're also giving Chinese artists a chance on an international stage to showcase their work. dART is building a bridge to connect the Chinese underground music scene to the outside world.
What is the relationship between Boiler Room and Boiler Room China?
It’s just like any other Boiler Room in the world - Boiler Room China is a further extension of Boiler Room, going to a piece of land it never touched. Same concept, but on a different territory. I’ve been talking with Boiler Room for quite a while now, and they are definitely on board for this launch in China. They’re even sending quite a lot of their team from London and Berlin to come for the launch!
Why is this the right time to launch such a venture?
Live stream is a hot word in China at the moment, and for electronic music, that links directly to Boiler Room. I have a close relationship with both Le Music and Le Eco’s live streaming department, and once everyone was on the same page, it was like “now or never.”
Will there be a focus on Chinese producers with this Boiler Room series. If so, who are some DJs/producers that you have an eye out for?
For the launch event yes. Boiler Room is very open, and it’ll be no different for its events in China. We have DJs/producers of different styles, such as ELVIS.T, Howie Lee, Shao, Mickey Zhang, GOOOOOSE, ChaCha, MIIIA, TZUSING... and more surprises to come!
Will there be international guests performing Boiler Room China shows and how can our readers score one of these precious invites?
Yes, Boiler Room will bring special international guests. Follow dART wechat (dART_festival) and you'll know how to get on that precious invite list.
As a veteran of Beijing's dance music scene, have you noticed a growth in the popularity of The Boiler Room and underground producers/DJs around the world among fans in China?
Definitely yes. I noticed that more and more party promoters would use BR videos to promote when they book big international DJs. And more and more wechat moments posts with BR links, which means more and more people are downloading BR videos and uploading on Chinese websites. And on websites like Xiami you can see quite a surprising number of underground producers listed, and slowly, I think the number of fans is also growing. But still, all in all, it’s a pretty niche market and the majority of China – even those who are in underground music – don’t fully know or understand what Boiler Room does. We’re hoping that will change soon, though!
Conversely, is there an interest internationally in the underground music that is coming out of China?
I think so. There are more and more Chinese DJsgetting gigs overseas, and more and more producers having releases on international labels.
Can you give us a preview of what the first Boiler Room China event will be like?
The same as you see Boiler Room in over 65 countries, but finally with Chinese artists. This will be the first time Boiler Room has ever showed a Chinese artist on their videos and we are SO excited about that! You might be able to get a chance to be there, Or you can easily watch it live on Le.com without using VPN, in the same timezone at party hour.
Is there anything you would like to add?
For the launch event of BR, we focus more on local Chinese artists. But in the future we'll also invite foreign artists based in China. Also we'll go to other cities, and film more and more artists. Boiler Room always create surprises, we'll do the same. Don't be shocked if you see us in a record store or in a food market near you.
Beijing: Apr 30, 9.30pm-late. Secret location
Shanghai: May 1, 9.30pm-late. Secret location.
Watch the Boiler Room China parties on Le.com.
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