SH Weekender: 25 Reasons to Be Out in the Streets

The Ground Shaker is a Switzerland-based band that offers up the kind of heavy, no-frills rock and roll one used to hear on the radio. Chock-full of punchy choruses and crunchy riffs - it's rock that isn't afraid to inject some old-school blues into its palette and let it hang. The band has just kicked off a nationwide tour alongside Beijing horror metal quartet Scare the Children, whose ghoulish costumes, complete with all-too-lifelike masks, and a dollhouse set decor straight from your childhood nightmares, have made them crowd favorites. Read on

Coven - Cave’s little sister venue over at Hongqiao Subway Station joins the ranks of other venues lending a hand to emerging bands - with Summer Syndrome Volume 2. You've got emo-inflicted up-and-comers CCCCC - aka  ConCentriC CirCles - who cite themselves as 'terribly bad', newly formed Jiangsu post-black metal duo Meditation, and Diamond Vacuum, a Shanghai-based band specializing in ACG and J-rock - brought together by a shared passion for anime and pop culture.

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Taipei-based indie outfit Manic Sheep, a band I’ve been kinda head over heels in love with since I first heard them ten years back, return! A full-on  dream pop sound chock-full of shoegaze sheen and indie rock highs, the band are fresh off their newest LP 'Rewind 2014’-which revisits the band’s early days as they comb through their original demos to capture magic once again. Singer Chris Lo is the real deal, and combined with their drummer Xiao Bei, whose propulsive psychedelic-inflicted skills kick off many of the songs, and guitarist Hsieh Hung-yu keeping the groove taut, the band are able to needle a delicately tuned melodic thread through their songs. Read on

Improvisation, rawness, industrial sounds, and an underground spirit all at Cream Club - as a gaggle of harsh noise and experimental artists converge, including the harbinger of analog noise himself - Torturing Nurse - abusing plastic foldable tables wherever he goes. He’ll be joined by harsh noise artist DiQiu, Yuyintang, and Ultracocker Shocking, a non-musical/non-performance project relaunched by Junky. Let the bodies  hit the floor.

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A night of frizzy indie pop over at Cream Club in Pudong - the latest show from heavyweight promoters loveisbug brings a trio of acts to light up your evening, including Anhui instrumental retro pop funk outfit Fruity Fizz, bringing that sweet shuffle and funk sound to audiences, alongside singer-songwriter uni, filling out her spry indie pop sound with a band now, and the energetic indie rockers Chocoberry - bringing a bit more bite. Good unadulterated fun.

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Unearth new exciting sounds over at Yuyintown Basement this Sunday with a riotous eclectic lineup featuring some tasty new bands. The spread includes hard-hitting instrumental rock outfit no channel, but…, and Triple Bed from Suzhou, who imbue their sound with rustic psychedelic blues. Also on the bill are The Ripples, bringing a more combustible blues rock vibe to their sound, and rising R&B pop guitarist and singer-songwriter SDDD.

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Cicada are a Taiwanese quartet who play chamber music - whether or not you wanna add terms like post-rock, neoclassical, or yes, even post-classical to that list is up to you - fluid, patient, and cinematic in a classical sense. No vocals, no lyrics - just straight-up transporting vistas that seem determined to soak in the scenery and evoke watercolor paintings. Simply put, it’s soothing soundtrack music that might just strike a chord with you. Read on

                             

Nightlife event picks by

Heatwolves 

Writer, producer, founder of the music label/collective, Love Bang, and a Shanghai character since 2007.

EXIT CLUB returns with a night dedicated to 140 BPM sounds, as SUMGII and PATRICE make their Shanghai debut. Expect a bass-heavy mix of dub, bass,  and UK garage, alongside a lineup of local DJs bringing deep low-end energy from start to finish.

The New Writing Supermarket are back at it. This month, they're throwing a two night event in an actual abandoned hospital at the intersection of Jing'an, Putuo, and Changning. They say the place is set to be demolished, and for two nights only, its 20 consultation rooms and one operating theatre will be transformed as more than twenty artists from different disciplines take on the roles of "specialist doctors," each presenting their own form of "treatment" within their assigned space. Read on

Berghain resident and one of the few women in the modular synthasizer space, JakoJako, plays a set. Friends tell us she's "quite wizardish with modular but makes nice dancing techno, a bit dubby." Should sound good on the soundsytem here, which is one of the best in in town.

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"Five female knights. Five spell books. No swords—only frequencies. Read on

Jing'an lounge + small club Roamis back after a lil revamp, with a fresh new first floor. Friday they’ve got house, deep techno, and minimal all night up on the third floor, from DJ Sunyoung from ccpark club in Chongqing and Shanghai-based DJs Jeff Chong and Stefano DVT.

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The newly minted Cedar Land and ILLUM in the underground music labyrinth that is C-Park host the third volume of WAVES CROSS - a two-day, three-night programme of live performances, workshops, and then some.  Basically - a festival highlighting the most cutting-edge electronic  music, ’bringing together artists, musicians, designers, and producers  from diverse creative backgrounds…fostering cross-disciplinary encounters through sound, image, movement, and perception.' It's a lot  to take in: one night showcasing A/V live performance, another hosting an immersive electroacoustic theatre experience, and full-on live electronic music sets, synthesizer-driven performances exploring ambient, noise, and audio-visual practices. Plus, workshop and sharing sessions for the true nerds out there - delving into ‘interactive art, synthesizer and instrument design, electroacoustic music, and theatrical  creation’. Read on

Ancient Sound of Dunhuang: Songs of a Golden Age is a large-scale music and dance theatre production inspired by the cultural heritage of Dunhuang and the ancient Silk Road. Combining music, dance, and multimedia stagecraft, the performance brings the imagery and atmosphere of the Mogao Caves to life through an immersive theatrical experience.

Queen! Men! Myths!

Breaking the Ice reimagines the TV series The Thunder as a wordless dance drama centered on anti-drug enforcement. Through choreography and visual storytelling, it follows two generations of officers confronting a drug network. The performance blends movement, staging, and music to tell a  high-intensity narrative without dialogue.