MP3 Monday is a weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China (or coming to China, or thinking about coming to China, or whatever). Copyright holders: if you would like your song removed, please email us here, and we'll honor your request promptly.

Today's MP3s are a couple of electronic pieces by Danish duo Emil de Waal + Spejderrobot, ahead of their performance this Thursday at Yuyintang. They're joined on that bill by Beijing avant-folkist, enfant terrible, Xiao He. The event info is here.

So jazz drummer Emil de Waal plus keyboarist / electronica producer Spejderrobot equals Emil de Waal + Spejderrobot, a live electronic collaborative project from two of Denmark's most well-respected composers. They're in town to perform at the Shanghai Expo, but they're also tagging on a Shanghai city show -- that's the Thursday -- and a show on Friday in Beijing at 2 Kolegas.

Primarily recognized as an enormously talented jazz drummer, Emil de Waal has played in Shanghai before as a solo act, and he was here in 2007 at 4Live and JZ Club. Since then, he's been making music and touring with DJ/composer Spejderrobot. Their output is described in the presser thusly:

"Emil's jazz is as exploratory and genre-expanding as Spejderrobot's electronica, and thus, elements of dub, minimalism, experimentalism, abstract hip-hop, improvisational jazz and more come together to create their special blend of music for the new millennium."



Music for the new millennium. There you have it. Here some tunes to download. These are subtle, jazzy little Kraftwerkish numbers, and actually sound a bit more retro-gazing than futuristic. Clean and simplistic. Kind of reminiscent of Sven Libaek's instrumental plinky plonky keyboard compositions from the '70s that featured in the movie The Life Aquatic. But at around 3:30 of "Ghost Rabbit", de Waal starts ripping it so listen for that.




So Emil de Waal + Spejderrobot at Yuyintang this Thursday. They're joined by Xiao He, himself one of China's most (in?)famous and perplexing "experimental" musicians. It's been a busy few years for Xiao He, with lots of shows all over this country and even some in the States, at the most recent SXSW and surrounding environs. Should be interesting to see what he'll come up with for Thursday. Here's his douban page.

Here's some more links. Emil de Wall's MySpace; Spejderrobot's MySpace; and the Emil de Wall + Spejderrobot MySpace.

Emil de Waal + Spejderrobot @ Yuyintang. Cover: 30rmb. Starts 9pm.

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