china beats presents :: Howie Lee

I sincerely hope you made it safe and sound into 2016!

I'm going to start the new blog year with a short post introducing the Beijing sound artist / DJ Howie Lee to you. 'Mù Chè Shān Chū', the brand new album by innovative globetrotter Lee is a real gem if you are into electronic sounds.

Being a prolific producer, master sound curator and popular representative from the Chinese musical underground, Lee was born and raised in Beijing where he lives nowadays after a longer stretch in London and some successful recording sessions in Taipei.

Released by small digital distributor / record label Alpha Pup in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, the album's thirteen tracks are eclectic affairs combining youthful playfulness with elaborate electronic experiments. Blending classical Eastern music genres and traditional Chinese instruments with dance floor grooves and bass-driven beats, the results are - in my humble opinion - really superb.

Truly unique and neither celebrating nor masking his Chinese descent, Howie Lee is an artist who has made it into music locations, magazines, web sites and blogs around the world despite his rather young years (for two examples, see here or here).

 

Lee's American debut album by boutique digital music distributor Alpha Pup is the latest addition to an enormously booming global electronic music scene. Might just be the right soundtrack to start fresh into a hopefully glorious new year ($9.90 USD on Bandcamp & $9.99 USD on Alpha Pup's Bandcamp site are not that much for these vibrating but also contemplative tracks).

Last but not least, I don't want to deprive you of this amazing music video by Taipei-based animator and illustrator Rob Jabbaz. Have fun!