Carriageworks Presents Sound Kapital
Three of Bejing's cult underground bands plus projections by Matthew Niederhauser.
As part of Sydney's Chinese New Year celebrations, three of Beijing's preeminent underground bands will make their Australian debut at Carriageworks. The night, Sound Kapital, takes its name from photographer Matthew Niederhauser's recently published book which documents the punk underground of Beijing. Niederhauser will do live, large-scale visual projections of his photographs while the musicians - AV Okubo, Nova Heart and Xiao He - perform.
AV Okubo has recently returned from a US tour with fellow Chinese cult bands Carsick Cars and PK14. Headlining SouthbySouthwest in 2010, AV Okubo is represented by Bejing's most prominent indie label, Maybe Mars and originates from Wuhan, where China's punk scene is prevalent.
Nova Heart is Helen Feng's solo project and is described by Vogue China's Creative Director Alex Chow as "dark, sexy and beautiful - music Karl Lagerfeld would be proud of." Feng has been a prominent persona in China's music scene over the last ten years, previously performing with Free the Birds (ZIYO) and Pet Conspiracy.
Xiao He dubs his solo performances as 'free folk' due to their improvised, incidental nature. He takes an anarchic, multi-instrumental approach to music, with the result being an experimental and layered in-the-moment soundscape. He is also signed to Maybe Mars, and is active in the underground cinema scene too.
Niederhauser has had his work published by the likes of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Le Monde and Time magazine, and writes in Sound Kapital, "The portraits presented in Sound Kapital are a comprehensive survey... capturing a moment in time in China's musical evolution...the musicians featured are some of the most important contemporary performers emerging from the underground. They constitute a formidable new wave of artists striving to expand their creative limits in an autonomous and compelling fashion... There is no doubt that they will continue to break ground within Beijing's nascent artistic landscape, helping to push the boundaries of an already expanding realm of independent thought and musical expression in China."
Sound Kapital will take place on February 3. Niederhauser will do a free artist talk at 6pm, and the show itself will start at 8pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Carriageworks or by calling 1300 723 038.
Ingrid Kesa
