Sounds Like Suomi in CN

Sounds Like Suomi - Finnish Electronic Music Tour

NO+CH festival - China

NO+CH = NO(RDIC)+CH(INA)
Festival of Nordic artists in China
organized by State of the Art promotions

Started in 2006, Sounds Like Suomi brings Scandinavian music to China through the NOTCH festival, creating a platform for the gathering of Nordic and Chinese artists in China. The festival aims to help bring Scandinavian artists to China as well as introduce the emerging community to new Scandinavian music.

2007 festival highlights include: finnish folk queen Islaja (fonal), Susanna & the Magical Orchestra, electronic/minimal acts Luomo, Vladislav Delay and MI NI MA.

Islaja will be coming to Hong Kong as a side track of the tour on Oct 3rd @ Le Rideau. (brought to you by: White Noise Records)

NOTCH will be in Guangzhou Oct4, Beijing Oct5, Shanghai Oct6/7.

for festival details: www.soundslikesuomi.com
- schedule -

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This is another example of the increasing international curiosity in China in not only their market, but their cultural developments.

Here is an interview with Jon Campbell, promoter in Beijing, that I happened to meet once before over a year ago, discussing the music and cultural scene in China.

Interview w/ Jon

The cultural scene in China still very premature, but the growing economy and international assistance that China is recieving is giving the country great exposure and leverage in its development. It is becoming a place that attracts people as a place for its culture.

This is a bold move to step into China with such new musics, especially from a narrow genre as Finnish electronic music. The musical acts are great, the festival seems well organized and funded, but is there an audience for it in China? Is China ready?

Another example of foreign cultural interest is - Berlin-China-Bridges presented by DMY - Internationale Design Ausstellung who came by Hong Kong not too long ago. "What Makes Shanghai Addictive?" is a recent expo in Berlin that features new and upcoming artists and designers from China.

Despite the world's eagerness, it seems that China is not at the point culturally that many may expect. Perhaps everyone is anticipating too much a little too soon.

neu noise > adhoc event w/ performance by Samson Young + Chris Lau

This month's adhoc/guerrilla event brings a performance by artist, composer and media artist SAMSON YOUNG & CHRIS LAU.

SY+CL
2 laptops, no hands, intensely poetic multi-media.

www.samsonyoung.com
www.emergencylab.hk

Music provided by djs: KAWAKI (White Noise Records) and ELLE EST CHINOISE playing post-punk/funk, neu wave, no wave, electro, noisepop, psych/prog..

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 08, 2007
Epöch : 12-14 Wing Fung Street, Star Street Precinct, Wan Chai
(Admiralty MTR exit F)
** free entrance

8pm - close

CATARACT //

dj : KAWAKI (White Noise) + ELLE EST CHINOISE
performance (video + sound) : SAMSON YOUNG + CHRIS LAU

RSVP : info@loudspkr.org

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_bio_

SAMSON YOUNG's expressive palette often involves music in combination with such diverse media as installation art, video art, poetry and prose. He is completing a Ph.D in music at Princeton University.

SAMSON YOUNG's music received performances from Bang on a Can, City Chamber Orchestra, Coruscations Ensemble, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Network for New Music, New Millennium Ensemble, NOW Ensemble, NEWSPEAK, Sydney Song Company and TACTUS. Recent festival participations include the 11th Sydney Springs International Music Festival, Young Composers' Salon (2000); Cattle Depot Arts Festival, Hong Kong (2003); Le French May Arts Festival of Hong Kong (2004); Bowdoin International Music Festival (2004); Microwave International New Media Festival (2004); Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, USA (2005); Musicarama Contemporary Music Festival, Hong Kong (2005); Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (2006).

SAMSON YOUNG has also been a composition fellow at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Atlantic Centre for the Arts. In 2007, he became the first/ Bloomberg Emerging Artist/, along with his long term collaborator Christopher Lau.

CHRISTOPHER LAU completed his degree in Mathematics from Brock University of St. Catherine, Canada, and later on returned to Hong Kong where he completed his Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. He mostly works with moving images, human-computer interfaces, and in cross-disciplinary collaborative situations.

CHRISTOPHER LAU's independent and collaborative projects have been presented locally at the Microwave International Media Art Festival (2002 & 2004, HK), New Vision Art Festival (2004, HK), Jumping Frames and Our Voices, Le French May (1004 & 2007, HK). Overseas presentations include Sydney Film Festival (2003, AUS), Island Art Film & Video

Festival (2005, UK), FRAME International Dance-Vídeo Festival (2005, Portugal), Asolo Art Festival (2005, Italy), (Festival Internacional de Videodanza, Uruguay, 2005), and video work at the Central Museum
Utrecht (2007).