Big up DJ Sal, Shanghai's one man international groove machine. He's got an easy smile and heavy beats.
Sal specializes in tropical weather sounds heavy on the reverb and light on white-boy 4/4 rhythms. Whether Jamaican riddims, Indian ragas, or African electro, Sal takes you to lands where bass hits you on the chest while you take hits of other things.
As a special bonus, Sal has been known to incorporate his sitar playing into his sets, sitting cross-legged atop his DJ...[read more]
DJ Inferno...doesn't exist, as far as I know. Actually don't Google that, there probably is one in Des Moines, USA or something. He probably opened up for the Insane Clown Posse in 1998 and got some serious high fives off that. His wherabouts since are unknown, according to his MySpace site that I made up and (possibly) doesn't exist.
Inferno does exist in Shanghai though, and it's the metal bar, located at 480 Yongjia Lu, near Yueyang Lu. Except for the...[read more]
If you were Heatwolves, you’d be an asshole.
Here’s a rundown of the local DJ’s rap sheet: he’s sarcastic as hell, shows up late to everything, and has been known to walk around with a pimp cane. At Black Rabbit last year, he paused his regular DJ set at the electro stage to play the rambling “Walk on the Wild Side” by Lou Reed. In full.
What keeps Heatwolves out of douchebag territory is an easygoing vibe he always put off. Dude...[read more]
DJ Cavia: known to hip hop heads as former DMC China DJ Champion, known to the masses as one of Shanghai's finest DJs, known to the author as The Threat. What else do we know? We know some of what he's going to be spinning at his next gig at Mao Livehouse on March 31stas part of the Roots & Shoots charity show.
How? I'll tell you.
You're reading the first in a series of columns called “Playlist” where we'll take a...[read more]
On Sunday November 27th, KIN Café near West Nanjing Road hosted their bi-monthly flea market. Consisting of three small rooms, the market is certainly flea-sized. One of KIN’s three rooms was occupied with about six or seven stalls of people selling either old belongings or self-made jewelry, and even though one would expect more participants and perhaps a larger choice of products, the market does not fail to satisfy.
Though the used items (mainly old clothes and bags) didn’t differ much...[read more]
Xintiandi is probably not the place you'd think of to do your grocery shopping, but it's exactly the location chosen by the two partners who recently opened Laowai's Basket. The venue‘s aim is to provide an alternative solution to a dilemma commonly faced by foreigners; offering imported goods at a reasonable price. Presently, there is but one store, located near Xintiandi. The store is clean and newly decorated, while perhaps a little stuffy, due in part to the venue's rather...[read more]
This weekend, world-famous psytrance group Infected Mushroom played a hard-hitting show at M2. Admittedly, I am no expert in psychedelic trance music and I must say that my expectations at first were quite low due to the fact their name sounds like something out of a Middle School battle of the bands. However, their performance was nothing short of riveting and was arguably Shanghai's best show yet of 2011.
Infected Mushroom formed over a decade ago in Haifa, Israel when beat...[read more]
As part of the celebration for Shelter's birthday, Brooklyn-based rap group, Das Racist were in Shanghai to deliver a special performance. Composed of Himanshu Suri, Victor Vazquez and hype man Ashok Kondabolu, Das Racist rose to Internet stardom in 2008 with the song 'Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell'.
Since then, the trio has moved away from their early label of "joke rap" with the release of two critically acclaimed mix tapes. Their lyrics straddle the line between witty social commentary...[read more]
While attempting to be a fusion of lounge and recreational center, the new owners of Racks are not afraid to call it a bar. Racks’ interior is sterile, concrete, and classy. The first floor features a bar, four pool tables, darts, and even some foosball. The style is upgraded on the second floor with the white main event pool table, a more elegant bar, and a glass-enclosed seating area where one can enjoy classic bar food with a twist....[read more]
The Raveonettes began all the way back in 2001 when guitarist Sune Rose Wagner moved back to Denmark after spending several years in America trying to form a band in vain. Bruised but not beaten, Sune hooked up with female vocalist/guitarist Sharin Foo in Copenhagen and The Raveonettes were born. Nine years and four albums later, this dark, Danish, alternative rock duo gave Shanghai an extremely unique show at Mao Livehouse.
The Raveonettes like to keep it simple. This penchant for...[read more]
The champagne brunch that gets most of the attention in town is the Westin's. They have a huge spread and free-flowing champagne and other adult drinks. While I'm a fan of this expansive brunch and dinner show, I wouldn't consider it a high-class affair. Perhaps this is because often times the person next to me in line is still in his pajamas.
An elegant free-flowing champagne brunch that doesn't attract as much hype but is instead consistently whispered amongst knowing patrons...[read more]
Having never attended a film premiere before, it was exciting to go to the first showing of ‘Quick, Quick, Slow'. There's no red-carpet or intense flash photography, instead, it's a quiet affair in a cinema screen with a small stage. The actors are briefly interviewed and the bizarre but entertaining activities begin. Three people in their mid-50s perform an energetic tango/cha- cha dance. One lady's dressed in a tight holey pink dress and her partner, balding actor Cao Haosheng, wears...[read more]
I discovered this little gem by accident strolling down Xinhua Lu over the weekend. My friend and I were searching for the yoga apparel store that sells the new YogaAlive!™ outfit everyone is talking about. If you haven't seen it yet, it's amazing! It's like a wetsuit, but it breathes, and it has little sensors built into the fiber that detect the direction of your muscle movement. When you move or stretch all the fabric fibers pull together to...[read more]
