Time for another round of Peter’s Picks! This collection of songs is definitely an eclectic one. Should give you an idea of why shuffling Peter’s Spotify library is a risky proposition.
Leon Vynehall – Envelopes (Chapter VI)
On his 2018 album Nothing is Still, Leon Vynehall used the story of his grandparent’s emigration from England to New York City to frame a set of beautifully emotional ambient electronic songs. I highly recommend the album if you like this kind of music. “Envelopes (Chapter VI)” is my favorite track, and its music video is appropriately cinematic.
Jacques has one of the more questionable hair styles I’ve ever seen but I’m willing to give him a pass after hearing this fascinating piece of ear candy.
The Blaze – Territory
Another beautifully shot, very cinematic music video.
Myd – Bingo
Based on the cover of this EP, I’d guess that Myd has a good sense of humor. He makes some pretty awesome music to boot.
It’s a shame Alex Gopher hasn’t released more music considering how catchy songs like “On & On” are. “Back to Basics” is another great track on this EP.
Al Green was just over 20 years old when he released this song / debut album in 1967. I’m 36 and can confidently say I’ll never have this much soul.
Fela Kuti – Let’s Start
Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti’s music has had a much deserved resurgence over the past several years. This is easily my favorite song of his.
SOS (Sociedad Organizada en Sonido) – Buscaya Da Yada
Can’t say that 1970s Mexican funk is a genre I know a lot about, but this song rocks.
Thunder Tillman – Exact Location of the Soul
Thunder Tillman is a Swedish psychedelic jamrock / electronic music duo that look like time travellers from a hippie sex cult. Their aesthetic seems pretty genuine – one of their most recent releases was the 2022 LP Aural Healing Program for Peace and Longevity, which was accompanied by a hilariously weird “visual healing session”.
Mata Hari – Easy
1970s Australian rock set to a pretty cool animated video.
Twin Peaks are an awesome garage rock band of out of Chicago. “Walk to the One You Love” not surprisingly makes for great walking music.
Dr. Dog – Heart it Races
I’ve loved Dr. Dog, and especially this 2007 cover of an Architecture In Helsinki song, since I was a teenager. They consistently make good music that’s easy to listen to.
This video reminds me of long drives through the Nevada desert. There’s nothing like a good playlist to go along with an “open road, filling endless spaces”.
In terms of where Citymemo is in their creative process, well, they’re right in the thick of it. Four out of eight singles completed for their upcoming album, multiple tour dates including live shows and festivals, and all the scrappiness this roughly one year old not-so-pop-rock band can muster…listen closely for a tale as old as indie music itself.
It all began on Facebook, responses to a simple call to form a band issued by drummer Roger, who was moving genres to rock from R&B. This attracted the attention of lead singer Katree, who with guitarists Samuel and Tangtang attended Zhongyuan University’s music program and who had an overlay of previous music experience harkening back to middle school cover bands and writing music from high school onwards.
The band is too pop to be punk, too emo to be pop, and not emo enough to be emo – in other words, it straddles the line between different genres while still catering to the crowd. Citymemo has performed to friends, other acts’ friends and bar regulars at Riverside in Gongguan and Revolver near CKS Memorial, both in Taipei. They’ve also graced the stage at the Taiwan Music Festival in Kenting, playing with PAPUN BAND and KST, and have performed overseas at Vancouver’s Jade Music Festival as well.
這個樂隊說它龐克又太pop，說它pop又太emo，但是emo的話也未必夠emo – 反正扮演了很多不同的角色，不同的genre，為了讓聽眾更喜歡。城市被忘錄已在台北的Riverside和Revolver演出過，還有在墾丁的Taiwan Music Festival, (PAPUN BAND和KST也有表演的那個），另外也在溫哥華的Jade Music Festival表演過。
Touring and performances in of themselves become high risk investments: “We need to cover our own transportation, lodging and practice space fees besides often having to make a ticket sales threshold in order to make money,” Katree says, “and we hardly get a thousand [NTD] per person when we go to festivals.”
For the singles, bassist Steven and the guitarists can record their parts at home, but specialized recording space is still needed for the drums before the band gets a break with a friend doing the mixing. Indie music is hard anywhere, but livehouses in Taipei have been going out of business “left and right” as well, due to increases in rent and the impact of COVID-19.
The band counts My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Blink-182 and Avril Lavigne as its main influences, with a couple stories already from their live performances. First dates gone to see Citymemo perform have resulted in multiple relationships, attributable perhaps to the band’s triste but romantic lyrics. “We’re not mainstream, but not super indie either,” says Katree, “we want to encourage everyone to believe in themselves and not be afraid.”
樂隊的主要影響者是My Chemical Romance，Paramore，Blink-182和Avril Lavigne。他們的現場表演已經有幾個故事：比如說第一次約會去看Citymemo的人常常會變成伴侶，這也許歸因於樂隊的陳詞濫調但浪漫的歌詞。“我們不是主流，但也不是超級獨立，”Katree說，“我們希望鼓勵每個人相信自己，不要害怕。
If one side of the Citymemo coin is what the band likes to sing about when they’re feeling down, the other side is warmer, sweeter, not as depressing and built for their target audience of 20-30 year olds. The band’s single “Leave, But I Will Stay” shines a light of hope in an otherwise moment of despair. When Katree performed the band’s songs at a summer camp for children, she felt validated when the kids asked how she knew about how they felt inside – going to show the universal messages inside Citymemo’s music.
So what’s next for the band that wants its music to be a companion to your loneliness? More touring and shows, with Citymemo eyeing international gigs after early success in Vancouver. “Follow our instagram!” Tangtang says. Roger closed out our interview with this to say: “Don’t pay attention to what other people tell you to do, do what you want to do, choose [the advice] you want to listen to.”
My friend Peter has another round of Peter’s Picks for your enjoyment:
“It’s time for another round of Peter’s Picks, just in time for the end of summer. I’m happy to be sharing another sampling of the music I’ve been listening to lately. Here we go!
Andrew Bird – Improvisation on a Familiar Theme I first heard Andrew Bird’s music after buying The Mysterious Production of Eggs my junior year of high school in 2005. In the years since, he’s released a whopping 18 albums – essentially all of which I love. Aside from being a prolific multi-instrumentalist, he’s an accomplished violinist, a fantastic vocalist, and a world class whistler. His latest release, Outside Problems, is unsurprisingly beautiful.
Skinshape – Amnesia Skinshape’s music seems specifically made for a summer campfire.
CoryaYo – Still Here Groovy instrumental hip hop like this will always put me in a good mood.
A Tribe Called Quest – Jam ATCQ are one of my all time favorite music acts, period. This track is a summer house party staple and one of their best, in my opinion.
Little Simz – Gorilla This music video popped up randomly on my Youtube feed earlier this summer. It reminds me (fondly) of Missy Elliot.
As someone who’s grossed out by basically all feet, you won’t hear me argue with this title. But according to her Wikifeet score (yes this is a real thing), Taylor Swift might disagree.
Antoine Lang – Faut Pas Rêver (Zimmer Remix) Over the past several years, I’ve come to have an affinity (if not an obsession) for French electropop. This one’s a favorite recent discovery.
Speaking of French electropop, Polo & Pan have been a go-to for years now. The Parisian duo create refreshingly creative and impressively varied music while still having a distinct style. This has easily been the song I’ve revisited most off of their last album.
This interview is about Pale Air’s Dayday: The man, his bar and his band
I first visited Ale Garden for one of the venue’s jam sessions, and later met proprietor Dayday, Shi Xiangtian. Slim of build with a coif of hair and glasses, Dayday wouldn’t look out of place in an office, which is indeed where he spends his days for income. At night, to supplement his earnings and engage his passion for music, he has for the past few years taken on the management of a medium-sized bar and live venue near Fudan University, where I now walk into to partake in Ale Garden’s five-year anniversary.
Dayday is there in his signature glasses, sporting a collared v-neck shirt, and downs a shot of Jim Beam. Within moments he takes the stage with a vital sounding shoegaze band, a wall of sound through almost walls of people. Tonight’s performance again features indie bands Thousand Failures and Yeqiu Quan, just as these groups have performed at previous Ale Garden anniversaries. The place is about half full to start, but gradually fills to capacity of about 40-50 standing. Ale Garden needs to have events, public or private, almost every night, in order to draw the mostly student and recent graduate crowd to the bar.
天天戴着他标志性的眼镜，穿着有领子的V 领衬衫，喝下一个 Jim Beam shot。不一会儿，他就带着一支充满活力的盯鞋乐队登台了。今晚的演出再次由独立乐队千败和野球拳担纲，这两支乐队在之前的艾尔花园周年纪念演出中也有过精彩表演。演出开始时，全场只有一半人，但后来逐渐站满了约 40-50 名观众。艾尔花园几乎每晚都需要举办公共或私人活动，以吸引以学生和新毕业生为主的人群到酒吧来。
Dayday says it all started with a musically-inclined cousin, who played the guitar and piano in addition to traditional Chinese instruments guzheng and erhu. In the summer after high school, Dayday picked up his cousin’s guitar and practiced changing frets and chords while watching TV shows, learning to play Escape Plan’s Ten Thousand Sorrows.
While his college roommate was a fingerstyle virtuoso and he spent some time with Fudan University’s rock club, Dayday attributes his time in Taiwan’s Sun Yat-sen University as being most formative, since he played out the kinks in his style there and “pre-made all the mistakes he could make before getting on stage back in Shanghai.” Covering songs by Jay Chou and Metallica and watching the University’s music club put on the Southern District Rock Festival were fun, but his own performances left much to be desired in terms of tightness and professionalism.
Invigorated by his Taiwan experience, Dayday formed bands in his fourth year of college, including Joint, Red-White Dice, and Before the Mirror which only lasted for a semester each. He graduated with regret for not getting into bands earlier, but this regret propelled him to form shoegaze band Pale Air in 2017, which has continued to the present day. Pale Air being a play on words Pale Ale, a beverage which bassist Li Qingyang has a particular fondness for. The band features Xu Weiyang on drums, guitarist and vocalist Zhang Jiangnan, and guitarist Dayday, and 2017 began a carefree time when the band could “play on effects panels all day long” and “immerse [themselves] in the sea of creation.”
Pale Air got its start in various Fudan venues along with Neo Bar, and is now signed with renowned indie music label Shengjian Records. The band recently released a studio album, their first since beginning the project in 2019, with influences such as Slow Dive, DIIV and Ringo Deathstarr. Prolonged creation of the album came from band members going abroad along with impacts from the pandemic, and succeeded in the end with recordings done in an uncle’s basement and Mark Gardener from Ride’s studio in the UK. Mixing was done by Chi from shoegaze band DoZzz, after the last recorded bits were completed in Dirty Fingers’ studio.
For his part, Dayday wonders if he should get started on something other than Ale Garden, which he originally took on because of health reasons. It’s not hard to see him as the driving force and a leader behind Ale Garden’s success – its WeChat posts get hundreds and even thousands of views now in a steady increase from before – and Dayday has tried his hand at organizing shows as well, with mixed results. His experience speaks to the difficulty of making an income in China’s current independent music scene: “It’s hard enough to think about myself, let alone the wider environment,” he admits, but “life becomes more three-dimensional because of music, it records the present, becoming a part of memory.” Here’s hoping fans can appreciate the effort put into the music and Ale Garden before Dayday (maybe) moves on to something new.
(A jam session at Ale Garden) 对于天天来说，他不知道自己是否应该开始做一些其他的事情。如果最初不是因为健康原因选择不工作而接手了艾尔花园，现在的生活又会是怎样的呢？不难看出，他是艾尔花园成功背后的推动者和领导者–现在艾尔花园微信公众号的浏览量已经达到数百甚至数千，比以前稳步上升。他的经历说明了在中国目前的独立音乐场景中赚取收入的难度： 他坦言：”考虑自己已经很困难了，更不用说考虑大环境，但 “因为音乐，生活变得更加立体，音乐作为一种载体记录了当下，成为记忆的一部分。“ 希望乐迷们能在天天（或许）转向新的领域之前，欣赏到他为音乐和艾尔花园所付出的努力。
Sunny Side up features analysis and commentary from my former colleague, Sunny
The Cantopop scene has not created a generational icon for a long time, but it was the “IT” thing in the ’80s and 90’s.
In particular the 80’s – Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Danny Chan, Priscilla Chan, Sam Hui, George Lam, Beyond, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau – are among some of the Cantopop artists that launched the career and/or become extremely popular during that decade.
Even without formal record labels to release their music in China in those days – there was no such system back then, ask anyone who grew up in the 60s,70’s, and 80’s in China, and many of them shall at least have some familiarity with Cantopop. How so?
The cassette tapes were the main medium that could be purchased from small vendors. Not only Cantopop, but also English pop, like Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, and Japanese music on tape were also available.
But Cantopop was the top choice, in an era when Hong Kong was the destination many were looking up to, and where it dictated the trend of the Chinese music scene. It was definitely the golden era of Cantopop.
When sampling these three tapes, I was trying to understand people’s tastes at the time and the quality of music they listened to.
Tape 1 is mainly music bootlegs from Hong Kong radio stations – I can hear on one song the DJ was speaking about the weekly album ranking. The music was from the 80s that were lesser known tracks compared to the other two tapes discussed below (honestly, a lot of them I could not recognize and will require much more research). Anita Mui and Priscilla Chan’s works were included.
Tape 2 is popular 80’s Cantopop songs seemingly being covered – they did not sound like the original. Who covered them is unknown. The songs were well-known, some were theme songs from Cantonese TV drama, which was also huge at that time, and some romantics songs like 只怕不再遇上 with a catchy chorus to leave an easy impression. There were quite a few Leslie Cheung covers, so it seems that was the big selling point.
Tape 3 was from a live concert recording of a singer that I am not familiar with, but the songs covered at the concert were definitely well known in the 80s, including mostly Leslie Cheung’s popular works, some Anita Mui’s and other random ones.
These music tapes did not have any bootlegs from the original albums. And even without better sound quality due to the bootleg conditions, nevertheless, these tapes were probably important sources of entertainment, and a window to expose to Hong Kong, the at the time glistening pearl of the East, even for rural and remote places, for those residing in China at the time.
Tunnels and under/above ground transport played a large role in my dreams recently, mainly because of the long distances I’ve had to travel on metro lines between where I live now and Shanghai.
Entering a tunnel, I see a round train car covered in runes inside, matching the runes along the walls. I enter the train car, but it becomes even more claustrophobic, closing in on me as I wake up.
The second dream, I am near a construction site, a heavy lift boom is in the process of building. I am able to fly up alongside the exhaust of the machine, intending to cross the river next to the construction, but I go too far – way too far in the wrong direction, away from where I’m trying to go. I keep flying uncontrollably through various tunnels, through apartment bathrooms and shower stalls until I finally come to a rest very far away from my original destination.
Analysis: I live very far from the city now and these dreams appear to reflect anxiety I have about this fact. The claustrophobia of tunnels and metro cars appears to reflect the feelings I get when I go on long rides on these vehicles.
Fourteen years into her China experience, Jane Nicola Douglas (“Jane Nicola”) shows no signs of slowing down.
Jane Nicola Douglas (尼古拉) 在中国的经历已有14年，不过她没有显示出任何放缓的迹象。
“I believe being abroad challenges us” – In many ways, Jane Nicola is the same soul-folk performer that she started out as in the U.K., having grown up in the art-centric countryside of Somerset. Besides performing in London into the wee hours of the night on Denmark Street while a student at Middlesex University, singing teacher Sonja Kristina encouraged Jane Nicola to songwrite. The lead singer of band Curved Air introduced her to long-time producer Graeme Holdaway, who also recognized Jane Nicola’s strength in songwriting.
Jane Nicola’s Railtrack album dates from this time, and is making a reprise today with her new film collaboration with Remo Notarianni. Jane Nicola also acquired a Master’s in Music Therapy, but became “burnt out” from the U.K. In 2009. In her own words, she opened a travel book to whatever page first appeared and determined that her next location would be China.
Jane Nicola taught both English and music in Ningbo during 2009 and 2021, respectively. She taught music and English culture in Shaoxing “without a music room,” which speaks to the challenges of private education in China in general. She also taught internationally in Singapore and spent time gigging in Hong Kong, before returning to China and sticking through the pandemic.
“I wasn’t going to run off,” the musician asserted, organizing jams at a tiny bar in Hangzhou and trying to connect with other artists given the circumstances. Eventually, Jane Nicola began Soundvibe, a critically acclaimed podcast that provides in-depth interviews of artists, writers and musicians in China and beyond. It was Jane Nicola’s way of staying in touch and bonded with other artists during a time of isolation, and the program has taken on a life of its own.
“I’m becoming more of a recording artist now than a performance artist,” says Jane Nicola, who sees film as a different way to reach people in a more enduring way. Her experience as an educator also shines through: “Parents are asking more questions about well-being, probably because of COVID,” people are becoming a lot more aware. Jane Nicola describes one filmmaker and colleague who had a child during lockdown, and the effect that must have had on them.
While at the Ningbo Music Festival – where Jane Nicola performed – she thought it was remarkable how families and young people were represented at the festival, enjoying themselves. Performing and performances serve as stress relief, but also bring participants a sense of accomplishment. For Jane Nicola, a seemingly never-ending formula for action and activity seems to have been adroitly concocted: Don’t miss whatever comes next.
J-Plus continues with Kobe and Kyoto, but because there’s a story to go with my trip to Kobe, let’s go to Kyoto first.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been to Japan, Osaka, Tokyo or Kyoto – I visited when I was in elementary school on an exchange trip between elderly Americans and Japanese families.
You might wonder how I, not an elderly American, became part of the trip. Well, my grandparents went, and brought me with them to Yamaguchi Prefecture, among other sights. I remember well waking up to a hotel breakfast in Tokyo and seeing the news ticker lined with Kanji, or Chinese characters – easy reading for having grown up learning Mandarin in Taiwan; it felt familiar.
Kyoto was about the same as I remembered it, just with a lot more Chinese tourists this time. I will let the photos do the talking.
At one point I found myself at the foot of a hill, and started walking up through the mosquito-laden area to a view of the city.
Kobe began with style in the harbor, fancy restaurants and bars, scoring a picture of me when I was 25 years old.
Also impressive were the Japanese wrestling posters and other ads. But the return journey featured a highly inebriated man, who almost lost his phone were it not for the timely intervention of a good samaritan – myself.
He writhed and wrangled his way across the train car to the disgust of many, but I knew the feeling.
Next time, the castles, gardens and paths of Kanazawa…And now, your J-Plus tape, which apparently was released along with a magazine covering Japanese music of the same Sounds of Japan name:
A hybrid of aerial circus and circuit training gets you the zusi Circuit, special programming on rotation shared by special people. For our inaugural Circuit we have Peter S., last seen in the the Dream Journal, provide Peter’s Picks, 14 songs he’s been listening to recently and from COVID times.
When my friend Phil asked me to write a guest entry in his blog to share some music, I was honored and excited. When he asked me to keep it to ten songs (five I’ve been listening to lately and five from the Covid years), I was…skeptical I’d be able to do that. Alas, my submission consists of 14 songs. Sorry Phil! Here are Peter’s Picks:
I’ve been a fan of Daphni’s Dan Snaith – a Canadian mathematician-turned-music producer better known by his other stage name, Caribou – since high school. This remix (not to mention its AI art inspired video) has been a highlight of 2023 for me so far.
Here’s how German duo Brigade describes their music: “if Han Solo and Chewbacca went through a dub techno / funky house phase, instead of joining the rebellion, this is what they would sound like.” Not sure how to interpret that but I like it.
My friend Dave has this song on his diaper changing playlist as an instructional reminder, to go along with several other aptly named classics like “Push it” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” I’ve been enjoying this faithful Sam Evian cover a lot lately too.
Andy Shauf consistently makes quality music with fantastically rich storytelling. If you enjoy this track, I highly recommend checking out two of his earlier albums: The Party and The Neon Skyline.
When the pandemic broke out I was living and working in Panama. The government there quickly instituted a quarantine during which I was allowed to leave home for a two hour window, two days per week. Amen Dunes’ amazing 2018 album (ironically named Freedom) was one of the things that helped keep me sane during those months spent pacing around my little apartment. This song in particular perfectly distills so many of the emotions from that time period.
Ween was a go-to during the pandemic when I needed a laugh. Not only are their songs hilarious, they’re incredible musicians with the ability to play music from a huge variety of genres.
A friend and I did a road trip through California and Nevada in the fall of 2020, shortly after I moved back from Panama. This song came on as we passed through Yosemite Canyon, which was full of beautiful fall foliage at the time. It was the perfect complement to a gorgeous dreamscape.
