What happens when a young, noisy rock band wants to grow up? For the acclaimed Chinese indie rockers Doc Talk Shock, the answer is: convene in your hometown of Dalian, diligently work on your sound and emerge as a new entity, Dalian Obscure Club (DOC).
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“I think the new name symbolizes the evolution of the band,” says frontman and guitarist Jiang Hao. “Dalian Obscure Club reflects our life status. We all have day jobs but making music has become an enjoyable and crucial part of our lives – it would be a shame to stop doing it.
“So we get together regularly after work to make music and talk about anything that inspires our minds – like members of a secret club.”
Heavily inspired by 90s alternative rock, Doc Talk Shock formed in 2008 with “lots of distorted guitar and shouting.” But the band felt as if their sound had reached its limit with the release of their debut album, 2012’s Lights of Detour, Jiang explains.
“We felt like doing something different but weren’t sure what direction to go in,” he says. “We were really into experimental music and progressive rock like Tortoise, Jaga Jazzist, Motorpsycho and Steve Reich. We didn’t make any changes to our music intentionally; it all came naturally in the writing process.”
Written over two years, DOC’s debut disc Northern Electric Shadow incorporates diverse elements, from electronica to cinematic scores.
“‘Electric Shadow’ came from separate translations of the two characters in the Chinese word for movie, dianying (电影)," Jiang explains. “It’s a great description of the sounds on the album.”
The disc is also heavily inspired by different aspects of the band’s hometown, from its local music scene to its geography.
“As a coastal city on the northern peninsula, Dalian has its own cool beauty, with its unique natural environment. Life here is less edgy and sometimes the wintry days are thought-provoking,” he says. “But on the other hand, we have mixed feelings about the major changes taking place in the city, like the brand new area built from a huge land reclamation project.”
To celebrate the album’s release, DOC will team up with label mates Duck Fight Goose for the ‘Limbic Man’ show in Shanghai (Aug 12 @ MAO Livehouse) and Beijing (Aug 20 @ Tango). “The show will combine both band’s live performances with visual art as a whole,” Jiang says. “It’s definitely going to be a special experience.”
Jiang promises that there are further shows in the works, before expressing how impressed he is with the growth of indie music in China since the days of Doc Talk Shock.
“You can see a flourishing market for music festivals and copyright is becoming more important too,” Jiang says. “There’s a lot of speculative money coming into the market but we will see the true influence of this in the next few years.”
He ends with some sage advice for young musicians discovering the pleasures of making noise: “The most important thing is sticking to what your heart truly wants, which isn’t so easy these days – there are so many things that can compromise your path.
“But, self-examination is also necessary.”
Shanghai: Aug 12, 9-11pm, RMB120-150. MAO Livehouse, tickets.
Beijing: Aug 20, 9-11pm, RMB120-150. Tango, tickets.
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