TravelCent

Beijing’s Electronic Music Scene

In a city that’s undergoing so many rapid changes, Beijing is seeing the birth of some fascinating new forms. There is an energy here that some are comparing to New York City in the late 70s, where there was already a well-established cultural scene, but still room for explorations in new directions. It’s the exact kind of laboratory environment that is capable of fostering new art movements, and lately the electronic music scene is becoming a new center of attention.

Granted, it’s a rather small center, and something that some would call a niche market. However, practitioners of experimental music have not generally been concerned with markets at all, but instead are making art for art’s sake because they find it interesting. One space in particular, Sugar Jar , has become the locus of energy, where the players can gather, learn from each other, and push each other. The last factor is perhaps the most important in developing something that can take a form in new directions.

The store’s space is small, and so are the number of musicians currently occupying the niche, and these are also great conditions for a beginning phase, and as the world continues to wake up to what’s happening here, one could reasonably expect young musicians from places like New York checking into a Beijing hotel to work with the locals and start collaborations.

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