This is part of our China's 2015 Year in Review series. Keep track of our Best Albums list here. See albums 41-50 here.
Loved by some, missed by many – here’s a list of our favorite Mainland albums from 2015. What started three years ago as a last-minute attempt to fill empty magazine pages has turned into a growing tip of a hat to a thriving music scene.
Indeed 2015 was a big year for the professionalization of China's music scene. Budding monoliths like Modern Sky, JZ and MAO Livehouse built livehouses across the nation, new media giants like Douban jumped into the record business and even more domestic stalwarts toured or signed deals overseas. With the recent government mandated crackdown on unlicensed music online, things are only looking up for artists.
In 2013, we made note of a few of the year's Notable Albums. Last year, we debuted our Top 25 list. This year, we're going deep into this thing with our Top 50 Mainland Records of 2015. Before we start, special acknowledgement must be given to Live Beijing Music and their weekly William Griffith-penned New Releases column, which are absolutely essential for anyone interested in Mainland music.
40. Elenore: King of the Circus
埃莉诺: 马戏团的国王
(Tree Records)
Genre: Brit-rock
Follow: Douban, Weibo and Facebook
Buy/Stream: Douban, Taobao and Soundcloud
No VPN? Listen on Douban.
Well it took six years but the Wang Yu-led trio finally released their full-length debut. Having soaked in lessons from Britpop masters like Oasis and Suede, Elenore has amassed a sizable online following for their anthemic bluesy rock. The opening guitar riff on 'Psycho Man' immediately sets the table for the rest of The King of the Circus - all fuzzy guitars, symphonic swells and that commanding yet cooly detached Liam Gallagher singing style. A triumphant 16-city tour followed the album's release, only causing fans to hope that it won't be another six years for the next Elenore album.
39. Busy Gang x Conrank: HMFKZ
Al Rocco: Red Money
(self-released)
Genre: Trap rap
Follow: Busy Gang (Facebook and Douban), Al Rocco (official website and Facebook)
Buy/Stream: HMFKZ (Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Xiami) Red Money (Bandcamp, Soundcloud, DatPiff and Xiami)
After last year’s rousing 800 mixtape, Shanghai trap rap trio Busy Gang enjoyed a victory lap kind of a year - rocking crowds at underground spots like Arkham and chic bottle service spots like Diva. In between all the shows, they found time to lin with the don of Shanghai bass, Conrank for a tasty three-song EP. While HMFKZ contains two straight-up bangers, it's the melodic 'Flying High' that hints at the group's cross-over appeal. The year ended with the latest solo mixtape by the crew's Hong Kong born, English language spitter Al Rocco, serving up more of that heat. Rising talents like the 18-year-old Beijing bad boy Young Peach guests, while the whole Busy Gang crew team up over a beat supplied by Toronto producer Grandtheft. With all this momentum, let's hope that recent rumors that the gang have broken up are just that.
38. Low Wormwood: Midnight Singer
低苦艾: 午夜歌手
(Modern Sky)
Genre: Folk-rock
Follow: Douban, Weibo and Facebook.
Buy/Stream: Xiami and Taobao
VPN on or not in China? Watch the 'Midnight Singer' MV on YouTube.
The mellowing of the Lanzhou folk-rock favorites continue on their full-length Modern Sky debut. While long-time fans may miss the bite of the group’s early rogueish albums like We Can’t Help Kissing Each Other, the group has packed livehouses across the country with two national tours in two years, proving that they’re successfully tapping into the gentler urban folk fanbase. And Low Wormwood are past China Music Award winners for Best Band after all, so Midnight Singer is stocked full of treasures from frontman Liu Kun’s rich imagery of the Northwest and the band’s most populist tracks to date.
37. Chen Li: As Is
陈粒: 如也
(self-released)
Genre: Urban Folk
Follow: Facebook and Douban
Buy/Stream: YouTube, Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao
Not in China or is your VPN on? Watch '走马' on YouTube
For years, Chen Li has been among Shanghai’s hardest working musicians as frontwoman of Daydreamer. However, it's her solo debut that has touched a nerve with the country's wenqing (aka. sensitive youth, aka. hipsters). With its urban folk trappings, singles like ‘走马’ have already wracked up over a million listens on streaming sites like Xiami.
36. Luv Plastik: Luv Plastik vs Nano Zoo
(Ran Music)
Genre: Garage Rock (remixed)
Follow: Facebook, Soundcloud and Douban
Buy/Stream: iTunes, Soundcloud and Xiami
No VPN? Listen on Xiami.
Formed just a couple years ago, the British noise funk duo has busted out of the Beijing expat band bubble with their scintillating shows. Ever unpredictable, the literal drum and bass group team up with Ran Music boss Shen Lijia (under his Nano Zoo production moniker) for a twist on the split release. The four B-sides that Luv Plastik contribute highlight their furious brand of garage rock, but it’s the new life that Nano Zoo brings to them with his remixes that puts them into new light, from his d'n'b take on 'Maybe SciFi' to the retro-electro of the slithering 'Motown.'
35. Bedstars: Wet Hearts & Dry Vomit
床星: Wet Hearts & Dry Vomit
(Maybe Mars)
Genre: Drunk 'n' Roll
Follow: Douban and Facebook.
Buy/Stream: Bandcamp, Xiami, QQ Music and Taobao
Part of Maybe Mars’ lore is that their first two veteran acts represent the yin and yang of Chinese rock: brainy P.K. 14 and the debauched Joyside. While the label is stocked with thoughtful noise-rock bands, they may have found their first truly Wasted Orient act since the brief but beautiful rise of Rustic. Describing their music as “drunk ‘n’ roll,” Bedstars have been terrorizing Beijing for years with their Johnny Thunders indebted rock. Considering their inebretian level, it's not such a surprise that it took them five years to finally release their debut, but Wet Hearts & Dry Vomit is full of shambolic live favorites like 'Booze Hound' and 'Dinosaur Rider.'
34. Mr. Trouble: Nice
麻烦先生: Nice
(self-released)
Genre: Hip hop
Follow: Facebook, Soundcloud and Douban
Buy/Stream: Douban and Xiami
Not in China or is your VPN on? Watch on YouTube.
Released on New Year's Eve, the self-described "artist/rapper/singer/producer/actor/jerk/asshole/nerd" from Shanghai drops this 21-track opus. Despite his relatively low profile in his hometown, Mr. Trouble flosses his rhymes and beats all over Nice - talking tough on single '羊头肉' (watch above), going smooth on '你嫌命太长' and roaring over the electronic pings he had built up over five minutes of 'Roses (Raw).' He's one of the emerging crop of artists quietly reinvigorating China's hip hop scene, from the CHEE Productions crew down in Guangzhou to the art-rap savant MC David in Beijing.
33. Alpine Decline: Ink
(Laitdbac Records)
Genre: Noise
Follow: Facebook, Twitter and Douban
Buy/Stream: Bandcamp
After releasing last year’s stellar Go Big Shadow City, Beijing by way of East Los Angeles duo take a radical detour on Ink. Written and recorded at their home in Tongzhou on the eastern outskirts of the capital, the group ditches the drums and fuzzed out guitars for all sorts of white noise. Synthesizers, tape echoes and oscillators combine to create the murky aural equivalent of their new hometown’s smog. Released on limited edition vinyl by Parisian label Laitdbac, Ink opens all sorts of possibilities for the group who have added P.K. 14 frontman Yang Haisong on bass, with plans to release an album in 2016 on Maybe Mars.
32. Soundtoy: Midas Touch
声音玩具: 爱是昂贵的
(虾米音乐人/Xiami)
Genre: Indie
Follow: Douban, QQ Music and Facebook
Buy/Stream: Xiami and Taobao
Not in China or is your VPN on? Watch Soundtoy on The Sound Stage on YouTube.
In the year that Chengdu’s buzz bands broke out, Ou Jiayuan and company just kept on doing what they’ve been doing since 1999 - crafting their own brand of sublime Chinese rock and roll. A dozen years after their acclaimed debut The Most Wonderful Journey, Soundtoy have returned with Midas Touch. Capturing the leisurely pace of their hometown, the group weave elaborate songs that refuse to be categorized - a moody masterpiece that isn't afraid to embrace grandiosity like the epic 'Life.' They wrap up their 21-city national tour on Boxing Day in Beijing with what promises to be a triumphant show at Yugong Yishan.
31. Animal Pop: In the Woods, Vol. 1&2
动物流行: In the Woods, Vol. 1&2
(Ran Music)
Genre: Deep House
Follow: Douban
Buy/Stream: Xiami, Soundcloud, Beatport
No VPN? Listen on Xiami.
After years of the trifecta of Modern Sky, Maybe Mars and Tree dominating the Beijing indie business, new labels like Ran Music are popping up eager to make their mark. Sensing that the dance music community was underserved, the label linked up with Beijing producer Animal Pop for the In the Woods EPs. The Berlin and UK deep house influences shine over the album that takes its time to explore all the melody of its grooves. The producer also recently teamed up with labelmate JRG for the first in Ran Music's series of regular house music compilation singles, A Minor and B Major.
> Check for Part 3 on Monday, December 28. For the rest of the series, click here.
> For more, check out the rest of our China 2015 in Review series.
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