Here’s How Shanghai Label SVBKVLT’s Boiler Room Take Over Went Down

One of China’s most interesting electronic music labels took over Boiler Room this week.

Shanghai-based SVBKVLT have been behind some of the most forward-thinking releases coming out of the country in recent years, garnering widespread praise and column inches across the globe, as well as some high-profile bookings at some of the world’s best-known clubs and festivals. Late last year we named them as one of the most influential music collectives in China.

This week, they took over Boiler Room as part of the platform’s “Streaming from Isolation” series offering a chance to hear sounds from some of the most exciting electronic music artists in Asia right now. There were live sets from Scintii, Zaliva-D, Osheyack, and from Balinese duo Gabber Modus Operandi. Also performing were Hyph11e and Prettybwoy.

Taiwanese producer Scintii has been praised by Dazed for “bringing an alien edge to Shanghai’s club scene” through her beautiful, ethereal vocals and atmospheric beats. Her mesmerizing set among the mannequins teased a new release, while doom merchant Zaliva-D and hard-hitting American producer Osheyack have both put out records on SVBKVLT in the past year.

Gabber Modus Operandi also released on the label last summer, with an album that combined everything from footwork to Balinese folk.

Hyph11e is another stand-out SVBKVLT signee who has performed at Berghain, Nyege Nyege Festival and Sonar Hong Kong — and is no stranger to Boiler Room. Rounding off an eclectic, high quality bill, Japanese producer Prettybwoy brought a touch of grime and UK garage to proceedings.

Launched during the lockdowns hitting much of the world amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Boiler Room’s “Streaming from Isolation” programs are billed as a “fundraising series,” with the platform recently helping raise money for Black Lives Matter. Proceeds from SVBKVLT’s take over went to NAACP Legal Defence, a US civil rights organisation that fights for racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education.