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MP3 Monday: Miniless Recs

Two new tracks from some experimental bands - By Morgan, Aug 18, 08

MP3 Monday is a new weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China. All mp3s are obtained with the permission of the musicians. Right click on the links and choose “Save As...” to download them.

For this inaugural edition of Monday Downloads, we've got two tracks from a couple bands from Hefei-based label Miniless Records. The Miniless Records showcase concert at Yuyintang a couple of months back was an unexpected highlight to a long and dreary music-less summer in Shanghai, and it was instrumental (punny) in keeping me personally interested in actually sort-of caring about going to go see bands in Shanghai.

Although neither of the bands featured here today were on that bill, both are in the Miniless fold and are releasing records on the label in 2008. Both tracks appear on their albums, but might change a bit before their release as knobs get twiddled and tweaked.

Communicating the scarier, psychedelically demonic side of post rock is Nanjing's Fading Horizon on this track, "Expressionless War Ends": ethereal moaning vocals, incoherent background cries, and crunchy minor-chord guitar overtop of a plodding and perfunctory drum beat. When he sent it over, label manager Hans wrote: "Imagine a ruined city covered by polar night with huge alien warships hovering in the sky," and you can definitely picture that, but it also reminds me of that crushing last scene of Full Metal Jacket with the sniper. Kind of a weird bummer on a Monday afternoon. You’re welcome.

Fading Horizon – E.W.E (Expressionless War Ends)

Also from Nanjing is 8 Eye Spy with a slightly jarring but subtly playful tune called "Decoration." 8 Eye Spy are an experimental rock-ish group, with nods to the straight, atonal, give-and-take repetitiveness of the no wave of the USA in the 80s -- but less angry and ... sardonic, I think. There's not much to latch onto with this short sample track (no vocals), but you can also check them out on the YouTube here.

8 Eye Spy – Decoration

Both groups forge onwards into experimental territories compelling the listener to do more work that to just pick-up on and appreciate familiar song progressions and hooks, which is what Miniless is all about. Read an interview about that over here.

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Next week is mp3 downloads from... I don't know yet. Whoever we can dig up.

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