Chengdu’s STOLEN to Tour with New Order in October

Last year, Beijing post-punk trio Re-TROS impressed their local fanbase by snagging an opening slot on tour with new wave standard bearers Depeche Mode, bridging a gap between Chinese and European lovers of slickly crafted synth-pop. And now, RADII favs STOLEN are one-upping the game:

We're pleased to announced Stolen as support for our upcoming European tour. Find out more and get your tickets here ? https://t.co/DpD0ucl8cj pic.twitter.com/34lgdfo8IL

— New Order (@neworder) June 4, 2019

That’s right: the boys from Chengdu are bringing their very involved, immersive electro-rock act to Europe for a string of six dates supporting none other than new wave OGs, New Order.

The selection is not a coincidence. Stolen’s sophomore album, Fragment, was produced by Mark Reeder, the Mancunian responsible for breaking both Joy Division and New Order in Berlin. Reeder caught the Stolen bug hard when he saw them perform at a music festival in Chengdu two years ago, and has worked overtime to proselytize their music back home. New Order’s Bernard Sumner caught the fever, writing in October:

Stolen are a young Chinese electronic band trying to carve out their own unique sound in a sometimes overwhelming environment of commercial “junk music.” I think [Fragment] is a brave new album from Stolen and I commend their efforts to shape the future sound of China.

Well done lads. For those New Order fans out there wondering who Stolen are, here is where you start:

Chengdu’s Stolen Refresh the Post-Punk-to-Techno Vector with New Album, “Fragment”

Article Nov 05, 2018

And you can learn much more about the Chengdu scene from whence they came here:

Scene Report: Chengdu’s Underground Music Scene Flourishes in the Cracks and Shadows of a Construction Boom

An insider's guide to the Sichuan capital's bubbling hotbed of creative music culture

Article Apr 13, 2019

City Mix: Heady Brew from Chengdu

The sound of Chengdu: mechanical, industrial hammering against warm, floral tones, all doused with a generous amount of chili oil

Article May 22, 2019