News to Ooze: Sohu Music, Residence A, Djan San, Chasing Stars, MIDI, Strawberry and more

You can almost feel spring around the corner folks… its warming up, t-shirts are making appearances and the live music scene is heating up once again. A shit load of tidbits taking place so let’s go over some of them.

Biggest thing for the industry seems like a nice settlement between SOHU and the major labels. They have reached a licensing agreement, details of which i don’t know yet. In doing so, they’re following in the footsteps of Baidu and can legalize their music offering. That’s a nice welcome change for international acts. I’m not sure how this helps the local music industry though. Read more here

A really cool piece on one of our favorite bands, Residence A, just made it into The Beijinger blog. It’s unusual in that it actually gives more insight into the band’s history and their frontman, Zhao Zhao. Good job by Kyle Mulin on this one

No one can accuse Jean Sebastian Hery (aka Zhang Si’An, aka Djan San, aka front man of AIS and i might be forgetting some of his titles) of laziness. The guy is a really good example of the DIY scene in Beijing and he’s putting out 3 freaking albums at the same time. Sure, anyone can record their gigs and release them but the scene would be so much more vibrant if a few more folks followed the footsteps of the mad Frenchie. He’s gonna have a release party Saturday at Jianghu. See his website for details and maybe read this interview over at SmartBeijing

Chasing Stars 追星族 ( follow their weibo or Douban ) is a band that has kept me guessing for year. They’ve intrigued, disappointed, performed and grown since i first saw them at the old yugong back in 2006. Well, much under the radar, they have released their debut album. and it’s a good one! They’ve toned down the electronic side of things and managed to retain an organic feel. Hopefully i can have a review sometime soon. In the meantime, go listen to it and let me know what you think.

Finally, with may approaching, it’s festival rumour season: Metallica, Guns n Roses, Elvis Presley, Shakira and John Lennon are all gonna be in Beijing this May holiday should you believe all the talk. That said, what’s known for sure is that Travis will headline Strawberry along with XTX presumably. On the MIDI side, Dark wave quartet Cold Cave and Denmark’s D-A-D (Disneyland After Dark) are amongst the expected acts.

that’s all for now