survey_34 — sound art and experimental music

1. Yan Jun — 颜峻 (Lanzhou, 1973)

A sound artist, poet and publisher: he works with feedback, field recordings, voice and gesture and has spent decades building the infrastructure of Chinese experimental music.

• Path — born in 1973 in Lanzhou (Gansu province); graduated from the Chinese language and literature department of Northwest Normal University in 1995; lives and works in Beijing.
• Labels — in 1998 he published the Sub Jam fanzine; in 2000 he founded the publishing house and label of the same name, “撒把芥末” (Sub Jam), and in 2004, together with FM3, Wang Fan, Wu Quan and Christiaan Virant, the imprint Kwanyin Records (观音唱片).
• Series and groups — from 2005 to 2010 he ran the weekly experimental music series “水陆观音” (Waterland Kwanyin, 167 editions); since 2014 the series “密集音乐会” (miji concert); a member of the quartet FEN (with Otomo Yoshihide), Tea Rockers, Ghostmass and Impro Committee.
• Method — he uses noise, field recordings, the body and concept; he practises “客厅巡演” (concerts in listeners' apartments); in 2016–2017 he was a DAAD fellow in Berlin.

website

2. Zhang Anding (Zafka) — 张安定 (Ningxiang, Hunan, 1979)

A sound artist and experimental musician: he explores the sound of the city, online environments and spiritual practices through field recordings, 声响剧场 and sound installations.

• Path — born in 1979 in Ningxiang county near Yiyang (Hunan province); graduated from Fudan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with two master's degrees — public administration and political sociology; lives in Beijing.
• Method — urban micro-acoustic geography: field recordings, listening walks, 声响写作 (sound writing) and 声响剧场; his works have been shown at the Guangzhou Triennial (2008), the City Net Asia biennial in Seoul (2007), the China Power Station exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, London (2006) and at OCAT.
• Works — “雍◎和” (2007), “寄生/声” (2013), “声墟” (2015), “露台” (2021), “丢失的日记” (2022, based on material from the virtual worlds Second Life / Minecraft / Cryptovoxels); author of the series “大平原系列组曲” (Great Plains).
• In parallel — co-founder of the youth research and consulting company “青年志” (Youthology) and one of the founders of the non-profit organisation “從耳”, devoted to China's local sound culture.

Sources: official website zafka.cn, sections about / works / music · UCCA programme “唤醒巴特西” (ucca.org.cn), description of the participant Zafka · publications on artda.cn and art-hing.org about the exhibition “声城之景” (Pingshan Art Museum, 2025)

website

3. Wang Changcun (ayrtbh) — 王长存 (1981)

A computer musician, sound artist and programmer: one of the first researchers of algorithmic and computer music in mainland China.

• Path — born in 1981; lives in Shanghai and Hangzhou; one of the first users and popularisers of the Max/MSP environment in mainland China, he took part in proofreading the first Chinese manual for it.
• Early recordings — in 2003 six of his works were included in “China: The Sonic Avant-Garde” (Post-Concrete), the first anthology of sound art by Chinese authors; that same year he performed at the Sounding Beijing 2003 festival and in 2004 made his first concert tour of Europe.
• Albums — “The Mountain Swallowing Sadness” (Sub Rosa), “Parallel Universe” (Post-Concrete), “MTK” (Detroit Underground, 2017), “Song of Anon” (D-Force, 2018), “All services are suspended” (Diffuse Reality, 2020), “Blunt Weapon” (TCHA, 2021), “半身化石” (Metasonar, 2024).
• Works — computer and algorithmic sound: the interactive sound installation “四边形” (2021–2022, BY ART MATTERS, Hangzhou), the net art “现实真没劲” (2021), audiovisual performances; the duo exhibition “逻辑的感觉” (The Sensation of Logic) at OCAT Shenzhen (2019).

website instagram x

4. Li Jianhong — 李剑鸿 (Fenghua, Zhejiang, 1975)

An improvising guitarist and noise musician: he turns the guitar, feedback and the environment into the primary material of his music.

• Path — born on 13 March 1975 in Fenghua (Zhejiang province); lives in Hangzhou; one of China's key noise and improvisation musicians.
• Groups and labels — founder of the groups 第二层皮 (Second Skin) and D!O!D!O!D!, a member of VagusNerve (迷走神经), Mind Fiber and 背信弃义的双鱼座人; runs the independent label 第二层皮唱片 (2pi Records); from 2003 to 2007 he held the “第二层皮音乐节” festival every year; in 2011, together with VAVABOND, he founded the label C.F.I Records.
• Method — guitar improvisation at the meeting point of improv, noise and psychedelia; in the 1990s he worked with the electromagnetic field of a television and contact microphones; since 2008 he has developed “环境即兴” (improvisation in the environment) — a series of three records, “在这里”, “空山” and “十二境”.
• Releases — around 70 works on the labels PSF, Utech, Post-Concrete, Archive, Sub Rosa, 2pi and C.F.I; the later “望海岗” and “山雾” form a “birthplace” series about the place where he was born.

website

5. Shen Piji — 沈丕基 (Zhao'an, Fujian, 1971)

An artist and musician who combines the guqin, noise, video and performance; he works on Mount Wutong on the edge of Shenzhen.

• Path — born in 1971 in Zhao'an (Fujian province) into a family connected with book culture; from childhood he studied traditional painting and folk music; in 1988 he entered the Xiamen Academy of Arts under Fuzhou University, in the department of modern lacquer painting; since 1993 he has lived and worked in Shenzhen.
• Music — in the 1990s he was the frontman of the underground rock bands “黑洞” and “向日葵” (vocals and lead guitar) and contributed to the compilation “中国摇滚手册”; from the 2000s he moved to experimental sound; since 2008 he has studied under Li Jia'an, a guqin master of the Guangling school (13th generation), and is the founder and head of 深圳梧桐琴社 (Wutong Qin Society).
• Method — he combines the guqin, noise, video, painting and performance; the sound experiment series “生活·压力”; a participant in the Shenzhen–Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (2005, 2007), the ChoP festivals (2012, 2013), the German-Chinese festival of jazz improvisation (2015) and the Hong Kong Poetry Festival (2015); his workshop is in Hengpailin village by the Mount Wutong national park.
• Works — the sound installations “消息树” and “山水构” (with Shen Fangmin), the project “Sound Experiment with Hylarana daunchina” (2015) and the work “古老的感遇” at the Shenzhen Biennale (2018).

Sources: Artda.cn, “2016艺象声音现场艺术节 — 声音艺术家介绍” · Ecoartasia.net, the project Sound Experiment with Hylarana daunchina (SPJ) · Shenzhen Urban Design Centre (szdesigncenter.com), art-tour materials · The Beijing Center, event page for “不是你的世界音乐” (dicksondee.com)

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