This is the new Chinese musical underground scene at its raw beginnings. Ultimately, STOLEN provide a welcome cultural counter-balance to the flood of K-pop and C-rap emerging from the East, proving there is definitely something else out there. Their style mixes familiar Psychedelic, Post-Punk Rock sounds with Techno, but by adding a touch of the Orient, they have created their own self-styled Sinographic sound. STOLEN represent the credible face of new Chinese music and fashion scene, formed by young people who are determined to throw off the old image of China, to present a new and confident crop of very stylish, creative musicians and designers. I have just produced an album by what I believe is a great band from Chengdu, a band that is spearheading a new generation of music fans and I felt compelled to reactivate my label just for STOLEN from China. We also have to take into account, we in the West have had a 50 years musical head start, and for young Chinese, the access to a wide variety of music from all genres is available for the first time, but they are all optimistic and the music that is being produced by STOLEN reflects that. Yet such obstacles only make STOLEN more determined to succeed. They have a difficult struggle ahead, remember, they live in a Communist country, all music and lyrics still have to be first approved by the authorities before it can be released in China. There is a new and exciting music scene emerging in China, a new wave that wants to create an imprint of originality and not just a copy of Western music. STOLEN’s music touched me and I felt I was back where I started. Suddenly, here was something that was really worthy. I put MFS on ice, and went back into remixing and music production and said to myself I would only reactivate MFS if ever I found something really worthy… They were only interested in selling their stuff to the Easties.Įventually, I stopped MFS in 2008 because I got bored. MFS was there for them because no Western label was really interested in what was coming from the East. I remembered that I had originally created MFS in 1990, as a platform for all those young Eastie kids whose Techno potential had, up to that point, not yet been realized. I confess, I was concerned and thought, probably no label would understand just how dedicated and determined these lads are to putting China on the musical map. This is a mixture of Rock, Psychedelic and Techno sound with an Oriental edge, and all sung in English. During the production of this album, I couldn’t help wondering what will these boys do with these recordings once we have finished? They obviously knew what would happen to their album in China but in the West? Who knows? Maybe a label might like it and eventually pick it up? Maybe… In early 2018, they finally came to Berlin to record FRAGMENT with Micha Adam and I. They wanted to feel the electronic vibe of the city, and so embarked on a tour that would take up most of their year. STOLEN were determined to come to Berlin to record their second album. This demo eventually became the first EP we recorded together. After recording some drums and the vocals, we decided to relocate to the bands’ home-studio set-up and record the rest there. We went into a small recording studio in downtown Chengdu, only to find there was no technician to help us, and the receptionist barely knew how to turn the power on. I wanted to help them, not only to move up musically but also to be able to translate the thrill of their live shows on record. They explained that they wanted to move in a different direction musically, asked me for my thoughts and suggestions, I realised from seeing them perform live that their demos reflected nothing of their stage presence. A few weeks before my China tour, I had been sent a couple of demos that STOLEN were working on.
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