Yin: Free-to-Download Chinese Noise from Experimental Label Monstres par Excès

Yin (音, “music”) is a weekly RADII feature that looks at Chinese songs spanning hip hop to folk to modern experimental, and everything in between. Drop us a line if you have a suggestion.

As of right now, you can help yourself to a scoop of top-drawer Chinese noise all for free on Bandcamp — why not turn it up and annoy your room-mate/partner/neighborhood?

Label Monstres par Excès have made their decade-spanning discography available for free download and in amongst their collection of experimental and avant-garde music you’ll find a host of Chinese artists.

Shanghai noisemongers Torturing Nurse (back then a group, these days a solo project and pictured above) feature on the very first release from the imprint for example. Xu Cheng — a founding member of Torturing Nurse and now one of the forces behind China’s play rec label — is another name found in Monstres’ back catalogue.

The other key figure at play rec — and a recent guest on our B-Side China Podcast — Wang Changcun is another Chinese name in the mix:

These embeds are just scratching the surface though, there’s a lot of really interesting sounds to dig into. While you’re waiting for your files to download, here’s a short Twitter thread from the label’s founder Gabriele de Seta about its demise:

Ten years ago I set up a small DIY label for noise & experimental music. After 36 releases by artists from Italy, China, UK, Australia, Hong Kong & Germany, we're closing shop & everything is on Bandcamp for free download. A few takeaways: https://t.co/cFLegqLuTt

— 胡子哥 (@SanNuvola) January 25, 2019

I also sucked at graphic design, didn't know what mastering is, and had no clue about distribution; I printed 50 copies of our first release and barely managed to sell half of them over the years – this was at the peak of the global DIY noise underground

— 胡子哥 (@SanNuvola) January 25, 2019

Read the full thread here.