Chinese post-punk electro rock band Stolen give an electric performance live in London on their Cacophonic tour.
A decade ago, I was giving talks about Chinese pop culture, including one called Peking into Punk, channelling the Chinese underground scene. I’d begun to soak up the scene in my time in Beijing, at indie venues such as Bar 13, D22 and Mao Live House. I wanted to tell the world about the dakou tapes, Scream Club and the Wulia Contingent. It was during this period that John Yingling, the Chicago music journalist, got in touch to tell me about his documentary. I agreed to be on board as the head translator straight away, giving me even greater exposure to the exploding music scene. I particularly remembered a Chengdu six-piece (all local, except for one French member), with a raw energy to their music that impressed me. This was post-punk electro rock band Stolen. Over the years, I have spoken occasionally about their new releases, had them on my playlist, and was thrilled when they came over to Europe a couple of years ago, despite my schedule preventing me from seeing them. This year, however, I finally got to see them live, on their second European tour.
Stolen’s London dates were set in the George Tavern, a 700-year-old pub with a litany of literary and rock connections, located in the heart of Whitechapel. Things were running a little late (as is the nature of the beast), giving me plenty of time to speak with the managers, organisers and the band. They were all hanging out in the shaded beer garden, and mingling with the attendees.
“If this had happened in China, it’d be all over social media in minutes, with people demanding refunds for the delay,” chuckled the band’s manager Zhang Xin, whom I’d first come across as the organiser of the Chunyou Festival (“Spring Tour”). We chatted about the state of Chinese indie music, agreeing that the decade between 2007 and 2017 was a boom time for creativity, and I’d been lucky to be at the grassroots level in Beijing. I pointed out there are now so many more production companies and national contests to facilitate new music, but Zhang thinks there was more passion for music making back then. Bands these days are more sheltered, less hardworking, and the fans seem less discerning in tastes, but a lot more demanding for output and interaction.
As a band, Stolen are definitely hardworking. Through that early documentary, I saw them performing at small bars in the alleys of Chengdu, utterly absorbed, sweat pouring down their faces in stuffy, cramped venues, their raw energy erupting from the screen. During that interview, they’d memorably expressed how their hometown was far too comfortable a place to stay, and boy did they leave that local band mentality behind. After touring with New Order in 2019, and playing the Scala as part of their U.K. tour, they expanded this year to 27 performances across China, followed by gigs around Europe. Achieving all of which would have taken an immense amount of dedication and commitment.
Liang Yi, Liang De, Duan Xuan, Yuan Yufeng and Formol, the French exchange student, had all played together in a prize-winning high school band, forming Stolen shortly after this in 2010. As with many bands, their songs grow organically from jam sessions, but with the proviso that if there’s any conflict in musical direction, they’d rather abandon a work in progress than have anyone feel uncomfortable with the process. This holistic method just shows the level of connection and creative harmony that ensures their longevity. They still stick to weekly working hours for practice and composition, building on their solid backgrounds as graduates of the Sichuan Music Academy. This approach definitely seems to have paid off, with five studio albums and numerous EPs regularly released since 2015.
I’d already had a long day before finally collapsing into the George Tavern, and was still trying to mentally adjust to the reality of seeing one of the top indie electro acts from China in a run-down East End pub, across from a kebab shop twice the size of the venue. My unease melted as I fell into conversation with the vivacious, affable singer Liang Yi, and laidback bassist and synth-player Duan Xuan. I was joined by the rest of the band in time: the enthusiastic drummer Yuan Yufeng, the rather intense guitarist Liang De, and the token Westerner Formol, who provides the live mixed visuals. They sat, chatting casually as they prepped for the show, taking sneaky shots from a flask with a skull and crossbones sticker. When asked what genre they consider themselves, they shook their heads and shrugged, before Liang Yi settled on “wherever the music takes us”.
Quoting Joy Division, Massive Attack and Kraftwerk as some of their influences, it’s no wonder that the band have established an affinity in Europe. There’s an infectious quality to their music: the dark and moody baselines, heavy emphatic beats, counterbalanced by wailing guitar, bright creeping synth and searing vocals. The rhythms and riffs worked in the best manner of audience puppetry, sweeping them from bouncing joy to hypnotic swaying, the live MV drenching the stage in Tati-esque visuals, psychodelia, and washing away even the idea of trad-brit pub surroundings. The sound system there, which I’m told is well known for exquisite balance, allowed the band’s tight and hard sound to come through fantastically. Liang Yi’s vocal range reflected so well, I occasionally had to double-take that it was still the same singer. Cacaphonic, just like the name of their tour.
The venue seemed to bulge under the band, and while a few people made the decision to retire back to the courtyard to dance away, there was no space by the stage to throw shapes without taking someone’s eye out. The doors had to be propped open to allow the heat out and oxygen in, and even then, I felt the risk of passing out. While I understand there’s a disparity between the size of the band and the size of the local audience, I really feel the band deserved a larger venue, and was reminded of Zuriaake, whose tour I covered in 2019. Their immersive and elaborate arena-sized stage presence felt crushed down into Camden’s Unicorn.
I would just like to thank their publicist, Irene Zhang, as well as Mike and Ben from Wash Off U.K. and Congee Sounds, who acted as the tour’s European presenters. They are all keen to bring over more bands, but state the difficulties of cost and promotional channels. There was certainly no lack of enthusiasm from the audience packed into the venue, which consisted of a very mixed demographic of Asian diaspora and local enthusiasts. There were obviously some very excited fans and probably others who were trying a new act, but the whooping and cheering continued throughout the gig. I echo the wishes of many alternative music fans who’d love to see bands like Stolen and China’s greatest alternative and indie acts, at U.K. and European festivals, and with proper promotion and the spreading of word of mouth, their fans would certainly fill the pits.
Written by Xueting C. Ni.
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