DJs and producers in China, who spoke with Resident Advisor anonymously about the recent protests, say the government’s zero-Covid policy has been “absolutely devastating” for the electronic music community. Read more
The emerging star DJ DEE is a techno producer from China based in Los Angeles.
Hong Kong is finally loosening strict Covid-19 rules on live entertainment in bars and clubs. Read more
Almeeva, aka Gregory Hoepffner, is an individual of many talents. Not only is he a multi-instrumentalist and music producer, but he’s also a video maker and art director. Almeeva’s projects and collaborations have been featured in TV series, the Olympics, and a full-length movie about Japanese bondage. He took time to talk with 6AM about his creative journey, his new EP, and his travels to China. The artist also shares some wisdom, speaking to the importance of joy, mindfulness, and being present in everyday life.
China has long been known, sadly, as a place for counterfeits. Unfortunately, this particular news will not help improve the country’s reputation, although it comes with a bit of a side chuckle or two.
Mixmag has reported that Dutch DJ and promoter Bram van Ravenhorst, who operates an underground club called Echo Bay in Chongqing, recently discovered a club in the city called fabric. Not only does this Chongqing club share the same name as that of the iconic London nightclub, the former also has the logo that is almost identical to the one used by the latter.
The recent edition of Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) held this past October 18-22 was an astounding success with organizers reporting a record 395,000 people who attended the five-day event.
Marking its 21st year, ADE has cemented its position as the leading global platform for electronic music. Around 7,200 representatives from over 90 countries participated in this year’s electronic music conference while China hosted a special pavilion to showcase the country’s electronic music scene, a first for ADE. In addition, Morocco was chosen to be spotlighted in this year’s ADE Global View, highlighting its growing and unique music scene that is beginning to be noticed across the globe.
On the music side, there were more DJs that took part in the ADE Soundlab than ever before. Artists like Martin Garrix, Richie Hawtin, Soulwax and Tiga, Surgeon, Lady Starlight and Oliver Heldens gave an insight into their DJ and studio set ups. Meanwhile night program also included some “cross-overs” with other genres with special productions at unique locations including Underworld performing at the cycle passage of Rijksmuseum and Colin Benders at Rembrandthuis.
The International Music Summit, a conference dedicated to incubating thought leadership in the electronic music industry, took place in Shanghai, China for the first time on October 2nd. As hosts of IMS, Shanghai has joined the ranks of electronic music leaders like Ibiza and the United States. The central goal for this summit was to discuss the future and readily apparent foundation that China has in the electronic music industry. Here are five key things we have learned about China’s growing EDM industry that we can take away from IMS this year.
1. Capacity is growing exponentially
Annually, event capacity averages at 30% growth. This means you could throw a music festival in China at a capacity of 10,000 people and the following year, if you threw that same festival, 13,000 people would attend. It’s probably safe to say part of the reason for this exponential growth is because their population is just that large; there’s just way more people to potentially cater to. The numbers game is hugely in favor of the Chinese EDM industry.
2. China has a massive population of young people
The next statistic that they have going for them? Their youth population. 22% of China’s population consists of the age group that the EDM industry is practically made for, and that’s just the low-hanging fruit. EDM has been around for decades, it was just called techno or ambient lounge, first, so there’s a whole demographic of people in their 20s and 30s that are prospective festival patrons in addition to the youth population.
3. Locally produced music is becoming globally recognized
Major Chinese social media platform, Weibo.com, and Facebook has played a large role in propagating locally produced music. One of the most predominant native DJs that is emerging onto the scene is DJ Woordy. What is even more impressive is how he’s been able to grow his fan base despite the challenge of using social networks in China. The internet has definitely made this genre of music, which was born and raised in a digital medium, easily accessible from anywhere in the world. It will only continue to help disperse the locally produced electronic music of China.
4. Chinese nightlife is already well established
Shanghai is home to one of DJ Mag’s Top 100 nightclubs, MYST. Nightclubbing in China has continued to grow in popularity among the younger generations. So much to the point that China is beginning to test the waters with STORM music festival and other dance events like Ying Yang Music Festival on the Great Wall of China. China is ready for the music festival craze that has been sweeping Europe, the U.K. and the United States.
5. Music festivals are high in demand
It’s been established that music festivals are high in demand, obviously, but exactly how high in demand are we talking? Essentially, for every 1 American young adult, there are 7 music festival options. For every 4 Chinese young adults, there is barely 1 option. The events that were mentioned in #4 are the only high capacity EDM events that have taken place in China, whereas America is home of Coachella, EDC, TomorrowWorld, all of the Insomniac and HARD events, and more (Plus they’ve been around for at least a decade or more for most of these events cases).
Following a ground breaking start in 2014, Yingyang Music Festival is back at the Great Wall of China for their second installment. The three day festival will take place at the Great Wall of China in the Tianjin region this weekend from June 20-22, and is undoubtedly one of the most obscure and beautiful places to have an event for underground electronic music.
Yingyang Music festival is organized by The Mansion Cultural Centre Shanghai, a pioneering group in China with a dedicated vision of advancing electronic music in China. Yingyang Music Festival has stated on their official website that they have “received unprecedented permission from local authorities” to host the event, and will be allowed to keep the music going from noon on Sunday to 3:00 PM Monday afternoon, a 27 hour marathon to end the festival. (The music on day 1 will be ending at 3:00 AM according to festival organizers). Additionally, tickets have been limited to 2,000 attendees in order to ensure the protection of the historic Chinese landmark.
With over 50 artists from the local Chinese scene as well as international headliners, Yingyang Festival is a global attraction with the possibility of making a major positive impact on the electronic scene in China. For more information, make sure to stay up to date with Yingyang Music Festival and The Mansion Cultural Centre of Shanghai.
Yingyang Music Festival: Official Website | Facebook
