Country Hearts Stars
After my trip to Hong Kong in June for Music Matters, Dirt Star (a musician based in Shenzhen in southern China) and connected via Twitter. Quickly became interested in this western expatriates who started from scratch as a one-man band, using a modified acoustic guitar with a MIDI controller role to the rocking beats in sync with Ableton Live. Eventually, he became an apprentice of all trades, playing in a number of bands, including a stint as an electronic DJ, as a guitarist and singer of an indie rock, artist street, an electronic jazz artist. Even pop songs has made live before an audience of over 20,000. Dirt 3-Star now performs in a piece of punk rock, and shared stage with some of the biggest names in alternative music, including the Dirty Three, Feeder, The Rheostatics, and China's biggest diva, Faye Wong.
Dirt Star has launched its latest project called "street" a collection of nine tracks electronic-punk-rock garage. The English-language album is a departure from her debut album, "The Score" which included songs in Mandarin and English.
So how to end up in Shenzhen, China?
I'm originally from North America, but I'm an adventurer at heart, and love to discover new places. I spent even Shenzhen, once on a tour of music and fell in love with the dynamic energy City and melting pot.
Dirt Star in Beijing known indie place
How important is the scene of the neighboring Hong Kong lives a band based in Shenzhen? What about the underground scene in Beijing, home to 300 indie bands?
It is a kind of two different scenes, but there are more and more opportunities to cross – definitely happy to see more interaction between the two cities. It's great to see how many groups are coming out of Beijing nowadays. I played there in the past and it is always fun.
Is there a lot of collaboration between independent bands in major Chinese cities (Shenzhen, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai ,…)?
Recently, he recorded an album with a local singer named target = "_blank"> Liang Ying. On the album, which collaborated with a bassist in Taiwan, a Ukrainian accordionist and a guitarist in Beijing. We have collaborated for all the time with each musician on the Internet, share files using Drop.io, and stay on top of programming project sites using Google. Each of us use our own personal studio setup – either Pro Tools, Nuendo or Ableton Live. With more equipment and the most intelligent children in China every day, is really going to be an area that is expanding exponentially.
While their first album is a mix of Mandarin and English songs, the latter version first is English. Why focus English? Does not this make it harder to connect with your fans?
Actually, I think the creation of multiple languages has helped me to broaden my fan base. In the future, I think of making a CD with both an English and a Mandarin version each song.
Where else have you played in Asia? What most distinguishes music fans in various countries in Asia that has gone?
I've played on stage the festival in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong. And it may sound cliché, but it's really true – fans at each location I've played share a common bond that transcends all differences.
Everyone has heard about the scourge of piracy in China? How it works one indie musicians as you manage to survive?
Piracy is definitely bad for CD sales. On the positive side, the economy of the new music we see today has enabled a lot of musicians to get exposure would not be possible otherwise.
I truly believe that if a young musician can resolve the situation in China, there is a great opportunity to get paid. For example, Liang Ying currently has a 30-city tour in the works. 30 cities! The big awards are to be found in other growth areas of the music industry, especially in live shows, licensing, sponsorship and creative tourism.
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Country Hearts Stars