JUE | MUSIC | ART

It's gonna be cold, miserable, grey. It is January in China after all, the period between Western and Chinese New Years when nothing stirs, and most sensible people are huddled under blankets waiting for Spring. 

Well, no longer! 

JUE | MUSIC | ART has arrived: a celebration of the alternative, creative and progressive arts in Shanghai and Beijing. With no branding, no restrictions and no agenda, Jue is an excuse to leave your hidey-hole and experience a punk show, an art installation, and everything in between. Working with our friends at local galleries and record labels, as well as in the international music community, Split Works has knitted together a diverse mix of visual arts exhibitions and live shows happening at venues across Beijing and Shanghai. 

Our goal is to bring a bit of colour to this grey season, and bring community together in appreciation the best of the blossoming arts scenes in these two cities. We hope that Jue 2009 is the start of an annual tradition; something that attracts artists and musicians to China in years to come, and stimulates local creative communities to present their work and have it promoted to a wider audience. So bundle up and get to it! Check out www.juefestival.com for details.
 

José González China Tour 2009

Missing your fix of Swedish strings and pathos since Jens Lekman left China? Well, you’re in luck: Split Works is pleased as punch to be bringing Mr. José González to China in February, 2009. Straddling his unique line between haunting and accessible, José has won himself not only a Grammy, but squillions of fans around the world. Don’t miss his shows in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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Roxy Cottontail China Tour 2008

From December 10th to 12th Split Works are proud to present New York DJ,rapper and promoter Roxy Cottontail, live in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Queen of the New York party scene, driving force behind the Baltimore Philly sounds, Roxy's Disco Nursery Rap has been making waves worldwide.

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Jens Lekman & Viktor Sjoberg China Tour 2008

Swedish indie darlings Jens Lekman and Viktor Sjoberg wrapped up a rollicking  series of shows in China in early December, 2008. Jens incited sing-alongs and smashed tambourines to smitherines, while Viktor’s beats updated Jens’ analog crooning for the digital age, turning these mellow folk performances into full-fledged dance parties. Split Works would like to give our tremendous thanks to the fans who turned out for the shows, as well as the good people at JZ Club, the Glamour Bar and Mao Live, and of course, to Jens Lekman and Viktor Sjolberg for braving the harrowing jetlag and putting on splendid performances for fans old and new.”

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Guess who's back, back again?

Well, yeah, it's Eminem, but just as exciting, Split Works have come out of the interior (we've been doing some cool shit in lots of cities outside of Shanghai and Beijing) and are ready to bathe your ears once more in all sorts of sound.

Over the next 4 months we will be subjecting you to Swedish singer-songwriters, Miami based dancehall rappers and Welsh alt-rockers. We hope you will join us in celebrating the diversity of music that our wonderful world has to offer.

Dates in Full

Converse Love Noise Road Trip

PK14 and Queen Sea Big Shark finished China's first ever road trip this weekend with a knees up in Beijing. 2 buzzing shows in Mao was a fitting end to the most ambitious project undertaken in the history of Chinese alternative music. They were joined by the 5 support bands from the 5 stops on the tour.

Converse commissioned a bus and took the Beijing rockers to Nanjing, Hangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan and Xi'an. 5,000 km and 5 full houses. A bit of crowd surfing, some table dancing, the odd brush with the law and a lot of rocking out. A China first...

UK magazine Dazed and Confused were on the road with us and you can see what they had to say on the matter here.

Props to Converse for having the kahunas to support the local music scene in this way, and to W&K for everything they did to make it so memorable.

Beijing Rockers Hit the Road

Summer is fully upon us here in Shanghai, with Olympics spirit reaching fever pitch, and actual temperatures snaking up into the 30s. We've decided to get into the summer spirit with that great hallmark of the season: the cross-country roadtrip. Thanks to Converse, we'll be sticking two of Beijing's indie bands (most likely PK14 and Hedgehog) in a specially converted bus and 3 supporting wagons for a pilgrimage to 6 Chinese cities: Xi'an, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Changsha and Beijing. Footage from this daring feat -- along China's nearly 2,000,000 km of roads and amongst 57,000,000 cars --will be incorporated into a Chinese docudrama. If 65-plus hours on China's roads doesn't drive this band of merrymakers legally insane, then it's sure to inspire some kickass shows nationwide. Stay tuned for a confirmed schedule...

Dandi Wind break new ground on an 8 city Asia tour

At Split Works Towers, we are happy to report that our first full Asian Tour went without (too many) hitches. In the space of three weeks, team Dandi hit 8 cities and played 9 shows. From sell outs (6 cities) to 64 people (Xi’an – it was a Sunday night, OK?), Dandi and Szam never failed to provide the high intensity insanity that China has grown to love. And it showed us that with the right band and the right amount of commitment, a tour with a foreign artist in China is and can be a viable commercial concern. A massive thanks must go out to Dandi and Szam, our intrepid cameraman Nathan, all the great clubs that we played at and all the great people behind those venues and of course the bands that helped us along: Hard Queen/ 24hours/ Hush/ Snapline/ The Casino Demon/ 海龟先生

Dandi Wind China Tour

Spring’s up and Split Works have got some end of winter insanity for you.

Dandi Wind, Over the last 3 years this dynamic duo have traversed the world, here trashing venues at SXSW, there overselling London’s world renowned Fabric, from the tropical heat of Mexico City to the arctic wilds of their native Canada, sharing stages with the likes of The Klaxons, The Presets, The Horrors and Simian Mobile Disco.  Now they are bringing their very own blend of gothic glam disco, demented costumes and mad antics to a stage near you.  Shanghai, Wuhan, Xi’an, Chengdu, Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo will all bear testament to a pair of artists who will excite, energize and alarm in equal measures……

See full schedule here

Oct 5, 2007 | Yue Festival!

October 5, 2007 saw the inaugural Yue Festival kick off in Zhongshan Park, Shanghai. After months of continuous rain, including Typhoon Wipha the week before (and Typhoon Krosa the weekend after), it was with bated breath that we watched the sun climb into a cloudless sky over a site unique to China's short music festival history. A main stage, a secondary stage inside the Bacardi B-Live space, creative side attractions, food, beer, cocktails and sun set a glorious scene. 20 eclectic artists and thousands of happy music lovers spent the day interacting, cruising, bumping, jiving and rocking.

Faithless, Ozomatli, Talib Kweli, Yacht, Banana Monkey, SuperVC, Hedgehog, IZ, Bananas Soundsystem, Uprooted, Redstar... with major support from Bacardi, Converse, and Neocha.com.

Check the official website - http://www.yuefestival.com

July 5, 2007 | OH...MY....GOSH!

In the words of the Basement Jaxx, June was the toughest month that we've had so far. June 1, Infadels/Killa Kila Beijing, June 2, Infadels/Killa Kela Shanghai, June 29, the Go! Team Beijing, June 30, the Go! Team Shanghai... that's a serious amount of not sleeping, I can promise you that.

4,000 tickets sold, 5,000 ecstatic people throught the doors. We are beginning to do what we promised. We really are bringing great music to China. Thanks to all the bands, plus the fantastic efforts of the Verse, Young Kin and Wordy, Banana Monkey and Flying Fruit. Also, a big shout out to Bacardi for making it all possible!

For video evidence of all this, please see http://www.youtube.com/splitworks Until the next!

May 15, 2007 | Go! Nuts