Having spent over 16 years at the heart of China’s post-rock scene, Wang Wen could be excused for resting on their laurels. But the Dalian group have turned over a dark new leaf on their upcoming ninth album.
“Trying new things creatively is the most important way to keep excited,” explains guitarist Xie Yugang. “If we keep going down the same roads, we’ll get bored and feel like we’re rotting.”
Recorded at Dalian Grand Theater and produced by brothers Wouter and Lode Vlaeminck (of the Belgian indie group Toman), Sweet Home, Go! represents a new chapter for Wang Wen.
“Eight Horses [released last year] was simpler and a little clearer. With this new album we’ve woven in more emotions and have gotten more ideas from a lot of atmospheric music,” Xie says, citing disparate influences from Brian Eno to Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
“There’s more of an emphasis on atmosphere. It’s pretty dark, although there is some light. Since the studio was in a theater, we used that space to create a lot of interesting reverb effects. We also added violin and cello to the mix, which has created some interesting sounds.”
The album will be accompanied by a 19-city tour that stops off at Fei Livehouse on June 9 and B10 on June 10. Plans are underway to add more dates later in the year, after a summer break for the birth of their drummer Zhou Lianjiang’s child.
“We want to play every province in China,” Xie says. “There are many cities that we haven’t performed in like Qingdao, Jinan and Zhuhai. What’s really interesting is that the tour begins with our first live gig in Shijiazhuang. Fourteen years ago, we recorded our first album in Shijiazhuang, so it feels like a return home.”
It’s been an impressively enduring career for the group, which initially formed in 1999 around Xie and fellow guitarist Geng Xin’s shared love of the Smashing Pumpkins. Over the years, Wang Wen evolved from alternative rock wannabes to Mainland indie institutions. Standout discs like 2007’s RE: RE: RE: showcase the group’s unique take on post-rock, which incorporates traditional melodies and sounds. As one of the first indie groups to tour China, they’ve since shared the stage with genre giants like Mogwai and Mono.
Their notoriety is spreading outside China. Last summer, the band completed their second European tour – an 11-city trip that included a main stage performance at the Dunk Festival in Zottegem, Belgium.
“We were very happy,” Xie says. “Since we’re an instrumental band, there’s no language barrier. The audiences were really supportive and by the end of the tour, we had sold out of T-shirts and records.”
Formerly a shipyard worker, Xie now runs the popular Echo Book Store, which serves as a cultural hot-spot in Dalian. Resolutely committed to their hometown, Wang Wen have organized three editions of the Dansheng Music Festival showcasing homegrown bands.
“As far as I can tell, it hasn’t really affected the local music scene, which is frustrating,” he sighs. “But it’s not easy to change things. As long as we have the energy and ability to organize these festivals, we’ll keep doing them.”
He giddily plugs upcoming discs from Dalian groups DOC, ERG and Park Which but seems abashed at the fact that younger acts like Hiperson and Stolen have cited Wang Wen as a model to follow.
“Young bands now are much more professional and developed musically so they don’t need much advice,” he says. “As long as they live in accordance with their ideas, then they will be good. We’re particularly fond of Hiperson and Stolen, who strongly live up to that principle of being true to themselves.”
Guangzhou: June 9, 9-11pm, RMB100-150. Fei Livehouse.
Shenzhen: June 10, 9-11pm, RMB100-150. B10.
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