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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Big in Japan(and elsewhere)

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One of the many advantages of living in Hong Kong is picking up on the many Asian bands who make a visit here mainly through the influence of local bands.Last week   Elf Fatima gave us a 2 day event with Pg.lost.This week The Lovesong and  alternative music lover  Gary Ieong of Whitenoise records are presenting 2 highly popular Japanese outfits:instrumental/mathrock virtuosos Toe and Buddhistson.
The buzz of excitement surrounding the first show was evident when we arrived at the venue to join a very long line waiting at least an hour before the doors opened for a prime spot  near the stage at The Hangout.
The central stage provided us with an intimate close up view of the performers and created great rapport between band and audience.First on was Shima, lead vocalist of Buddhistson who are appearing in Hong Kong, next wekgiving us a gentle ,acoustic introduction to next  week's electric show.


 Shima (Buddhistson) acoustic set





Headliners Toe last played in Hong Kong two years ago in a legendary set which is still remembered with awe and affection.This set was just as awesome but with a much more intimate.feelingSound was also perfect with a stack of Orange amps specially hired for the show and instruments tuned to perfection by the band's awesome sound technician as the band conjured up intricate,shimmering soundscapes with versions of material from their recent album'For Long Tomorrow' for our pleasure.There are not too many times that Hong Kong audiences beg for 3 encores but this was one of them as they brought one of Asia's best shows this year to a close.


 Japanese band Toe 'Long Tomorrow'


Buddhistson will be appearing live @ M1 on 27/10/10

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Asian postrocktoberfest in Hong Kong



Sometimes the best and most exciting new bands have to wait a while for their indie fanbase to catch up with their sound like Radiohead,Arcade Fire .That's just a fact of the indie scene in Hong Kong as elsewhere where the music is promoted by a few dedicated  friends or fans rather than the commercial machine.This problem is accentuated for bands in less mainstream genres like postrock and bands like Explosions in the Sky,Sigur Ros were inevitably slow to build their current fanbase.
Two of Asia's best instrumental bands,Hua Lun from China and Ovum from Japan, seemed to be suffering from that syndrome  at The Hangout last night,a venue which was packed the night before for local band Fragile's farewell gig along with Swedish postrockers Pg.Lost but which lacked the atmosphere that bands of this calibre merit.In fact members of the supporting band paul and Eddie agreed with me that Ovum were technically and idea-wise miles ahead of any bands they'd seen for a while.
Hua Lun opened the show in an uptempo mood before shifting to a more downbeat tempo that seemed to have influences from bands like  Caspian and Explosions in the Sky.



Next on were local postrock heroes Elf Fatima who helped to organise the show  and  have also played legendary sets with Mogwai and Mono among others. The band have been one of the pioneers of the postrock sound and were responsible for getting this two-day show organised and this was another of their trademark sets ,full of melodic invention and sonic explosions.

Elf fatima @ myspace
I was highly impressed by the set from Japanese band Ovum whose sound is more mathrock than postrock ,reminiscent of their compatriots Te .
If you agree that Japanese postrock bands add something unique to the genre,taking into account bands as diverse as Mono and World's End Girlfriend,then fairly soon Ovum will be rated amomgst their more well known compatriots.I advise anyone interested in the genre to catch this band live or at least check them out online.
Check out this band on myspace

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Pg.Lost live @ Hangout

PG.Lost live in Hong Kong with Fragile was not the apocalyptic,earshattering event I expected but an evening full of beautiful postrock melodies which left us all with warm,fuzzy feelings.
In fact the band are much closer in a melodic sense to Explosions in the Sky than to Mogwai and in this show they were perfectly matched in melodic intent with local band Fragile,who were playing a farewell gig before disbanding or at least taking a long break..












For those of us who think there are far too many bands in every indie genre and not enough postrock bands that's a loss.In fact the band played with a kind of passion and intensity that made their aethereal  postrock harmonies  linger in the memory  like a dazzling sonic pyrotechnic display.
Fragile's unique debut and farewell album 'White Shadows' is available from whitenoise records.whitenoiserecords hong kong 
Ode to Joy
PG.Lost may not be as well known as more established postrock bands like Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky but they are fast gaining admirers outside of their native Sweden on the strength of their two albums and great live sets.In fact they seemed overwhelmed by the reaction of the crowd who refused to leave until they had played 3 encores.This postrock band from Sweden should soon have a worldwide following on the strength of their live shows. 


Pg.lost on myspace

PG.lost album 'in Never Out' is also available from whitenoiserecords.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Hong Kong post rock : keep the fragile flame burning brightly




Hidden Agenda :Fragile Album Release Party
Performing bands
Fragile (Hong Kong) Post Rock
No One Remains Virgin (Hong Kong) Indie Alternative
LasDawn (Guangzhou) Post Rock
Just like beautiful diamonds shining brightly in the dark....
Hidden Agenda was more packed on Saturday than I've seen the venue for a long time.
Why?
It was the release party for local postrock heroes Fragile's debut album and the band are one of Hong Kong's best live bands in that genre.
I reached the mysteriously inaccessible venue and ascended by its Victorian lift just in time  to catch  the end of Lasdawn's set which had some great tunes of the kind popularised by bands like God is an Astronaut. and then settled down to decipher the more opaque sounds of No One Remains Virgin,a style of post rock more like Canadian postrockers GodSpeedYouBlackEmperor.


There was a real buzz of excitement when headliners Fragile took to the stage to debut songs from their album 'White Shadows'
Fragile is a 6-piece post-rock outfit who  create atmospheric postrock  music that moves and elevates  you with its epic ,cinematic beauty. Formed in Hong Kong in the summer of 2006, as a dreampop outfit, Fragile has since changed lineup and played numerous regional shows as well as some shows in other cities in China including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou and Macau
The band are Jacqueline, Sing (guitars), Tat (bass), Ho (drums), Kimberley (keyboard) and (intriguingly) Mono (laptop).
The band's sound is based around the delicate,shimmering guitars of Jacqueline and Sing and haunting keyboard melodies of Kimberley playing classic postrock with songs building slowly from keyboard and guitar based melodies spiralling into full power ,ear-splitting climaxes conveying emotions ranging from deep melancholy to exstatic joy.
Fragile are also playing support for Swedish postrock outfit PG Lost on 1st Oct @ Hidden Agenda.Postrock fans can buy a special price ticket for this show and local postrockers Elf fatima in support of mainland bands Ovum and Hualun on 2/10 

Fragile on Myspace

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Manchester comes to Hong Kong-Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic live







Indie music fans in Hong Kong had a chance to check out two of the newest and hottest upcoming indie bands when Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic played a show @ the Rotunda Hong Kong and it's another sign that the city is slowly becoming a stage for new as well as more established indie acts.
In fact  the evening began in avery low -key fashion.having arrived at least 2 hours early,we were surprised to see that so few fans had turned out to see the bands ,voted among the best of new UK acts by NME, in comparison to the crowds  for Kings of Convenience, the last  indie international act to play this venue and we looked around dispiritedly at the empty spaces as we waited for the show,wondering what the band would make of such a lukewarm reception.
Of course we didn't need to worry.By the end of the evening the small quiet crowd had grown and erupted into a mass of noisy Two Door Cinema Club fans loudly demanding at least one more encore from the band.
The evening had a distinctly retro feel with both bands indebted to both the Manchester sound of bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays who blended indie,psychedelia and dance fusing dance beats with jangly guitars and this was compounded by local outfit Pixeltoy's set which included a dancedup version of Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and intensifying with TDCC's compatriots Delphic,who've been compared to  New Order as well as The Chemical Brothers.
Both UK bands are creating a great buzz and it's easy to see why with their accessible beats,catchy hooks and great live sets.
Delphic overcome some sound problems to deliver an energetic set with songs from their debut 'Acolyte' including the show stopping 'Counterpoint' and an 8 minute plus version of the title track 'Acolyte' from their debut album out now.


Delphic 'This Momentary' live in Hong Kong



Two Door Cinema Club adroitly bridge the gap between pop,artrock and dance in instantly memorable tunes like 'Cigarettes in the Theatre' ,'Do You Want it All ' and 'This is the Life'.
If you only buy (or download) one new UK album this year 'Tourist History ' is a must and the band's live shows are also excepional.TDCC  are a bunch of thoroughly nice,down-to-earth and hugely talented guys who seemed to be overwhelmed by the reception from the crowd but they shouldn't have been.They are that good.
      Two Door Cinema Club 'Undercover Martyn'

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Hong Kong's indie music scene-10 (Itta +Marqido) @ Videotage

Videotage is one of Hong Kong's main locales for experimental,cutting-edge  indie music and 10 (Itta x Marqido) are a perfect band for the venue with their quirky soundscapes and hitec-lowtec mix.
The Japanese/Korean duo were invited back to Hong Kong by Videotage to celebrate their Open Jams series ,open to anyone who is interested in experimental music and what they gave us was well,experimental,crazy and also quite a lot of fun.Maqido is a Japanese experimental artist who is more at home with a laptop than a guitar while Itta is more fascinated by noise whether it's created by melodica,keytar,children's toys or simply the human voice.

Itta the Korean vocalist takes the lead here with her stage moves and keytar and kids' toys playing but it's her vocals that really make an impression ,ranging from aethereal harmony to elemental yell.The effect is a bit like listening to 'Tomorrow Never Knows' recorded by Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd with a bit of My Bloody Valentine thrown into the mix.Unsurprisingly,the band have been described as both 'alluring' and 'bizarre'.Ok bizarre but never boring and the small crowd who turned out were rewarded with an unforgettable evening of intriguing ,noisy fun.Thank you Videotage,Paul Yip and all who helped give us this much joy on a weekday evening.



http://www.myspace.com/weare10

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Hong Kong indie music's Hidden Agenda-Unixx ,Fragile ,An IdSignal


Hong Kong's alternative music scene has a Hidden Agenda.Well away from the bright lights and expat-friendly areas like Central and Wanchai and surrounded by industrial buildings in the heart of Kowloon ,you can find this venue, a great place for local music fans and visitors alike to check out the authentic Hong Kong scene.
Last week we had Lonely China Day, a Beijing post rock outfit who've played at SXSW and other US festivals.This week it was the venue for the last gig in local shoegaze band Unixx's album release tour for their new album,'Seven Deadly Sins'.
Opening act was one of Hong Kong's most distinctive indie bands, an IdSignal.The band are
Leung Wing Lai (vocals), Chan Ho Nam (guitar), So Wai Ting (Bass) and Yu Sing Yin (drums),
The sound is like a crazy mixture of retro cantonese pop and garage with a unique delivery from  laid -back frontman Wing Lai.If you haven't yet seen this band you can still check out their album (with English translation handily provided).  
The bad news for Hong Kong postrock fans is that there are not enough bands playing in that style compared to other genres like metal, emo, britpop etc but the few bands here are excellent including Fragile.The band are Jacqueline, Sing (guitars), Tat (bass), Ho (drums), Kimberley (keyboard) and (intriguingly) software from Mono @ No One Remains Virgin (?).
Some classic postrock with songs building slowly from keyboard and guitar based melodies spiralling into full power ,ear-splitting climaxes.



The production and songwriting on Unixx second albums see them confidently expanding the garagey shoegaze sound of their first album into a format that owes more to postpunk and Noisepop and is much richer and more satisfying.on songs like 'Perfect Betrayer', 'Wasted' and the title track 'Seven Deadly Sins'.
On this showing the band have improved dramatically over the last year and are well worth checking out live with their full on wall of guitar shoegazey sound.There's a heavy ,introverted edge to the sound which reminds me of bands like Joy Division and Bauhaus.The new album 'Seven Deadly Sins ' is available in Whitenoiserecords,Causeway Bay.
Unixx (encore)'I Wanna Be Adored'




Hidden Agenda's next show  on 13th June will feature The Medullary Paralysis.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Asian beat-Kashiwa Daisuke, Desktop Error and Evade live in Hong Kong


The Hong Kong indie music scene is healthy and just keeps growing in terms of new bands, venues and promoters.On Saturday we had at least 5 great shows to choose from (and even some others that were not as well publicised). Ok, Timeout looked good as did the Harbour records show.On the other hand there was Hidden Agenda with Reflector and The Lovesong and an Underground show in Rockschool.
Passing by all these very tempting but more obvious attractions, I headed for what looked like the most intriguing show, the Whitenoiserecords 'Movie-tone' with melodic local electro beat outfit Evade, Desktop Error, a shoegazy postrock outfit from Thailand and experimental but highly danceable Japanese electronica from the incredibly talented Kashiwa Daisuke.
First on stage @ HKICC were local band Evade with a mix of beautiful vocals and chilled out beats.The band are Sonia, Brandon, Yu Faye Jason and Miguel.
They formed in Macau on August 2004 and have been building their reputation since then, blending great tunes and beautiful vocals with complex dance beats.

http://myspace.com/evademacau
Desktop Error are a bright and energetic young band who grabbed the audience 's attention as soon as guitarist Bird struck up the opening chords of' Ticket to Home 'on his thai styled guitar.The band are inventive, energetic and fun and it was easy to see why they are hard to categorize but great to watch live.The sound is a mixtureof heavy, fuzzy guitar and beautiful melodies on songs like 'Tuk Tuk Wan', 'To Dream' and 'Illusionary Image', all played with high energy, and at the end of their set a more intimate moment when vocalist Lek invited us all to set in a circle with the band for some acoustic versions.
The band's sound is difficult to describe having influences from thai folk music, shoegaze and postrock but well worth checking out live.Sounds like M83 meets God is an Astronaut.
http://www.myspace.com/desktoperror
Kashiwa Daisuke may be influenced by progressive rock, but on '5 Dec 'and' Program Music 'the sounds are more experimental than that tag suggests. In any case he obviously decided to air his more danceable side, playing with a VJ and syncopating his mesmerisingly convolutesd electro beats with a psychedelic backdrop.
Despite my aversion to programmed beats (keep percussion live!) I must admit his set was pretty special. Thanks to Gary Ieong and Whitenoiserecords for bringing us an amazing show!

http://www.myspace.com/kashiwadaisuke





If you didn't make it to this show you can find all the bands' albums @ whitenoiserecords, Causeway Bay.
http://www.whitenoiserecords.org/

Desktop Error ' Ticket To Home ' live in Hong Kong



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Kashiwa Daisuke live in Hong Kong 'Program Music'



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Evade + live VJ @ Movie-tone Hong Kong



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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Good Fellas 'Be With Me' (Hong Kong)



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For anyone who wants to check out new bands on the indie music scene in Hong Kong get your ass along to one of the Underground's fortnightly shows. Chris B has been organising shows here for the past five years or so and has given bands like Chochukmo, Innisfallen, Audiotraffic, Velvette Vendetta and Unixx a platform to reach a wider audience before releasing their debut albums.While there are other promoers like White Noise Records and The Peoples' Party who focus more on leftfield, experimental bands from Asia and international bands, this is still the best place to check out new local indie bands in Hong Kong who are not scene specific.
I arrived late at the show but was in time to catch the set by OneLastFall, a heavy fivepiece band led by guitarist Faro with vocals from Sheila, second guitarist Rob, bassist Charles and drummer Maijd. The sound ranges between metal and emo with aggressive vocals and high energy guitar, driven by the energetic rhythm section of the band.It didn 't take long for the band to galvanise the crowd into a frenzy of headbanging and arm waving.Some ragged edges but still a very good live band and one to watch out for.
GoodFellas is a four piece band with Cheng Po Kei (Keith) on guitar and vocals, Egg Lo bass and vocals, and Angus Leung on rhythm guitar.
The band play in an infectious Britpop-influenced style.and the slightly differing vocal styles of Keith and Egg work well in their set blending fan favourites like 'Be With You', 'Move On' and some newer material that shows the band with a slightly more electro feel.Is this a move to a more MGMT sound?

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Kings of Convenience (Norwegian Wowed )!




Nordic duo Kings of Convenience were in town for 1 night to wow a select audience at a sell out show at Hong Kong's HITEC with a bunch of songs about love and longing, relationships and creativity.Nordic melancholy and the hyperactive Hong Kong spirit may seem like an odd mix but it really combusted in this show.When we turned up on the night about 2 hours early there was already a long line of fans with tickets waiting in line
Hailed as amabassadors of The New Folk, the band had summed up their music creed in the album title 'Quiet is the New Loud' and in fact their playing style is so quiet at times that they requested photographers to minimise the clicking of their cameras in the early part of the show (although typical of this lens mad city some of us couldn't resist taking one or two pix).
Playing material from all 3 albums, the band quickly established an awesome rapport with the crowd, especially when Erlend discovered that Hong Kong fans really knew all the KOC songs by heart and could sing along at will.The ensuing band / audience singalong had all the warmth of a huge house party rather than a concert.
The duo held us spellbound with their delicately beautiful melodies, intricate guitar harmonies, some lovely keyboard and a playful sense of not taking themselves too seriously, typified by Erlend's geeky but fun dance moves in 'Just Want to Dance With You'. The band's formula may appear simple but the rhythms move intricately and efforlessly between pop, bossa nova and folk.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

CityU Band Soc-SONIC BLOOM!!!!


In this annual show of City University Hong Kong at The Hangout we had a crazy evening of reggae, postrock, mathrock and the highly indefinable sweet sounds of Chochukmo.
Crazy Lion opened the show @ The Hangout with their reggae beat which soon had heads nodding and bodies moving to their infectious dub-heavy sounds.

Crazy Lion @ Sonic Bloom


Vocalist Mouse was more like a friendly lion as the band recreated the infectious, melodic sounds of a musical genre that originated in DJ sound systems and ska influenced interpretations of R & B and was popularised in the west by legends like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and by record labels like Trojan and Island.The packed hall was soon grooving to their sweet Jamaican-flavoured rhythms.
Wangwen live @ Sonic Bloom in Hong Kong


\

Wangwen took us to a more introspective, post-rock space with beautiful, soaring melodies reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky and Mono.This is the band's 3rd visit to Hong Kong recently and for anyone who doesn't believe that post rock bands can rock hard, you must see this band.

                                   



Chochukmo can turn any show into a party and with seemingly effortless ease they charmed the mainly student audience with songs from their recently released 'The King Has Lost His Pink'. They played a jazzy, latin-tinged indie rock set full of leftfield melodies, jangly guitars and Jan's delicate yet passionate vocals on songs like the slightly retro 'Tell Her (Laura I Love Her) the infectious-and-should-be-released-as-a-single' Head to Toe 'and the darkly humorous' Something Special 'and' Number One '.
Te live @ Sonic Bloom


I think something may have been lost in translation in the facebook description stating that Te would make our 'blood boil'. I guess they meant something like 'induce euphoria, ecstasy and warm waves of love between band and audience.' Those of us who only knew about the band by listening to their albums and read descriptions like 'celebral band' may have been expecting an outfit in the style of Japanese bands like Mono or Toe who seem to ooze music from their every nerve cell and  almost discorporate into the music.
Te are consummate musicians too but also had the greatest audience interaction of any band in the show.I was just annoyed that I missed the bassist's stage jump especially as he landed right in front of me !(OK I was too busy changing batteries for my camera but I did  help him back on stage).
Te live @ The Hangout Hong Kong


If That Is What Is Being

Friday, February 5, 2010

Hong Kong bands-Elf Fatima

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In advance of the Mono show I got a chance to ask Paul and Eddie, guitarists in Elf Fatima a few questions and was quite surprised by some of their answers about the music they like and the post rock scene in Hong Kong.
First was Eddie Hui, ..

What are your main musical influences or what bands were you listening to when you formed Elf Fatima?

In the beginning, we were influenced by different genres like psychedelicspace-rock, post-punk, trip-hop, dark pop, shoegaze, noisenik and even some doom metal / gothic metal!

We listened to the music of Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, Portishead, Joy Division, Spiritualised, The Verve, Death in Vegas, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Garbage, Cardigans, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride.

What's the best gig Elf Fatima have played?

Maybe it was with Mogwai in 2004 ...

Best gig you've seen?

Must be Mono 10th Anniversary live with an orchestra in Shibuya O-EAST, Tokyo.That 's the first time I've seen a band crossover with an orchestra live and I was very impressed.

You've appeared with Mogwai and Mono.Any other artist you'd love to play with?

What if Godspeed You! Black Emperor were live in Hong Kong? Ha Ha! Impossible!

Any favourite post rock bands?

So many, Mono GY! BE, World's End Girlfriend, Envy, Mogwai

Best and worst things about the post rock scene in Hong Kong?

It's like a coin with two sides.There are not many bands so we are quite distinctive. On the other hand it's a real disadvantage that the scene is so small

Any plans or shows to watch out for this year?

We really hope to release our 3rd album in 2010!





Paul Chung

What albums have you bought recently?

 World's End Girlfriend-OST


Matryoshka-Zatracenie


Mono-Hymn to the Immortal Wind


Mensheng-Twisted Sight


Chochukmo-The King lost His Pink


Casino Demon-Teenage


Lite-Phantasia


Dreamend-The Long Forgotten Friend (Japanese edition)


Bang Gang-Ghosts From the Past


Triple Smash-When the Light Goes

What other stuff are you listening to at the moment?

Chopin, Do Say Make Think, Envy, Kashiwa Daisuke Kashiwa Daisuke (seems will come to HK
soon : D) ... ...



Musical influences / what artists, bands, styles were you into when you formed Elf Fatima?

Oh, lots of stuff, melodic songs and not just post rock

What's the best gig you've played?

Wang Wen + Elf fatima + Zhaozhe-3 Post-rock bands @ Guangzhou and Hong Kong (2008)


Steve Vai-Hitec (2004), Mogwai-Hitec (2004) Wonderful white noise!

Favourite Hong Kong venue?

No idea, all the stages are too small, maybe the Fringe club because the sound is so good.

You've appeared with Mogwai and Mono.Any other bands you'd like to share a stage with?

Envy (Japan). I like heavy music!

Any favourite postrock bands / musicians?

Jian Tak Building, Kim Tak Building, No One Remains Virgin, Fragile, Downer ...

Best / And worst things about the Hong Kong (post) rock scene)?

Best Things - everybody can play good music ....


Worst Things - not too much people spend money / time to attend post-rock concert, even oversea's famous bands!

Any plans or shows coming up next year?

Release new album 2010!!!



Elf Fatima are supporting  Secret Machines on 17th March @ Grappa's Hong Kong. 

For lots of info on these bands, downloads etc visit thesirenssound

Monday, February 1, 2010

Mono 10th Anniversary Tour in Hong Kong

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Why do Hong Kong indie fans love post rock so much? Is it the emotion and the complexity?Does the music give us some kind of personal space in a frantic,overpopulated city devoted to technology?
Or are music fans and bands here just  a lot more experimental and eclectic in their tastes than we realise?
Mono from Japan have achieved iconic status in the post rock genre and were appearing live in the city.
In support were Elf Fatima, local post rock heroes whom I first heard of when I asked a highly knowledgeable local band member 'Who's your favourite Hong Kong band?'.
'Elf Fatima' was his reply and ever since then I've tried to check out shows from this band who seem to be the band of choice for supporting Postrock monsters like Mogwai and Mono ..

First on the bill were Ghanzhou outfit Zhazhou (aka The Swamp). The band use traditional Chinese instruments as well as electric guitars, giving them a sound somewhere between Beijing bands Lonely China Day and The Gar with quqin player and guitarist at times going onto his knees to play in real rock hero style.Some beautifully structured songs synthesising traditional and modern.An awesome opening set from this band with lots of energy and brimming with musical ideas.The band have been around since 1993 so can clainm to have been at the forefront of China's experimental musical scene.




Elf Fatima play post rock that's heavy in the style of Explosions in the Sky with some of the same complexity but with a rockier edge and a slow building psychedelic groove that erupts into an explosion of sound.The band begin their set with the melancholy 'Michelle the Cellist ', Eddie and Paul's guitars gliding elegantly over the melody on top of the percussion before turning up the volume controls for the rest of the set which they bring to a gloriously cataclysmic conclusion with' I See the Light 'Before the Planet Explodes / .
Setlist
1. Michelle the Cellist
2. Battle of Sunset
3. Walk away from the dark cave
4.I see the light before the planet explodes



Such a small venue is really perfect for the sound of Mono In the quiet parts, every note rings out crystal clear on songs like 'Ashes in the Snow'and for the climaxes we were almost deafened by the waves of feedback saturated power chords. The standout for me was the finale with a near 15 minute version of 'Everlasting Light' building slowly to a blizzard of guitar and percussion for the finale.
Hymn To The Immortal Wind seems like a more cinematic progression from 'You Are There' and of the 3 bands playing tonight Mono seem like the most classically influenced in their sound.




Not just a bandshow: we have been to post rock heaven.