Help needed from East Asians Re: music for my radio show

[Buck Birdseed]

I've got a radio show on Umeå Student Radio which has as its theme modern, bass-heavy music you can dance to from all over the world. In it, I play Indian Bhangra, Trinidadian Soca, Brazilian Funk Carioca, American Crunk etc. etc.

Now, I've pretty much got the whole world map covered (though don't hesitate recommending me stuff from regions I've already got down!), but there's a huge gaping hole over the entirety of East Asia that I intend to fill. I mean, between China, Japan, Korea, The Phillipines, all of South-East Asia you've got something like half of the world's population, surely there's got to be some suitable music produced somewhere?

Criteria for inclusion:

(a) The music has to be modern. Preferrably post-1990, even. This should be noticable in the music, synthesisers are nice, especially Roland 808 drum machines.

(b) The music has to be different from standard western fare. Not that I want traditional music (see above) but rather music that has taken heed of modern developments and possibly (but not necessarily) tradition and created something new, fresh, exciting, young and unique for the region. A definate new genre is nice, but not necessary.

(c) The music has to be rooted in rhythms and basslines, and should be expressely and agressively designed for dancing or possibly frontin'. If it's got a touch of Hip-Hop or Ragga sensibility that's great, if it's taken inspiration from Bass Music in any way I'll personally worship you.

So, among the billions of people in the region, does any group produce the kind of music I'm after?

[MikeH]

Different from western music but using 808s?

[Q Classic]

so are you looking for j-pop/gayo (k-pop) ? there's also a techno scene there...?

[Buck Birdseed]

MikeH: why not? Wasn't that Brazilian MP3 I sent you once different enough?

Q: I've listened to a bit of j-pop (and k-pop, and canto-pop, and...) but most of what I've been able to scramble randomly off the net has been either more-or-less a facsimile of western styles, or unique-sounding but too poppy, too rocky, too ballady, too benevolent and not nearly hard-driving enough. Don't you have any scenes doing unique dancefloor stuff?

[Q Classic]

lemme look into it. it's been a few months since i last checked up on any of the music scenes, so...

if you want to try looking yourself, and you have broadband, there's www.bugsmusic.co.kr. now that i think about it, though, it's all in korean, so. ^^;

there's one korean group that i recall having a sorta strange pop-disco-like fusion sound, that's recent, and it's koyotae. they're all right. then there's a sorta techno bit called clon. dunno if they're still around?

lemme look into it.

[Urban Ranger]

Not much around here. Canto-pop and local rock are pretty much Western style.

[chequita guevara]

hipu-hopu

[Drake Tungsten]

hipu-hopu

God I love kana-speak.

[mindseye]

From everything I've heard, I think you can safely write off China from that list. Nothing here but carefully packaged corporate canto-pop crooned by "entertainers" (seems none of them are actual musicians). In dance clubs you can hear techno, trance, etc ... but it's all from the west.

If you are looking for artists or musicians, don't waste your time on the PRC. Creativity has been pretty much stamped out by the school system and the "herd mentality" of Chinese culture. There is a bland, microscopic alternative music scene in Beijing, but other than that, musically, China is a barren wasteland. Even classical/traditional music recordings are remarkably uninteresting given the longevity of Chinese culture. It's just the same hundred or so "classic" folk tunes, recorded and re-recorded over and over.

When I ask college and high school students what their interests are, the most common responses are Counter Strike, sleeping (I'm not making this up!), and music. If I ask which kinds of music, ~98% (no exaggeration) say "(Chinese) pop music" The other ~2% are interested in j-pop or k-pop.

Young people here have absolutely no interest or curiosity to listen to anything else but the canto-pop dreck they are spoon-fed.

You might find a glimmer of creativity in Taiwan, I'm not sure. For instance, there is an ultra-famous Taiwanese rapper boy (Jay Zhou) of some modest talent, but he is a one-trick pony who immediately sold out to corporate interests.

[Bosh]

Not that much over here that's

music that has taken heed of modern developments and possibly (but not necessarily) tradition and created something new, fresh, exciting, young and unique for the region.

Mostly a big wasteland of girl-group techno pop and really derivative hip-hop here, but then I'm not in a position to know anything but the most popular stuff. Will ask gf for some advice, she's usually got a pretty decent musical taste...

[Buck Birdseed]

Sounds discouraging generally but I'm bumping it anyway.

[Q Classic]

there's one older korean entertainer i've heard of, seo taiji. he's not spectacular, but he was huge in the late eighties/early nineties. people still remember his first single.

now, there's more traditional korean music that's gotten some attention: samulnori. it's mainly drums, though. it's based on the old styles, most of which were lost during the occupation, so i dunno how "modern" it is, but...

[chequita guevara]

There's a really awesome Japanese alternative scene, but that's not what you're looking for.

[Buck Birdseed]

I know, alas. Unique but of the "wrong" vibe.

[Lincoln]

Go to http://www.ethaimusic.com for the latest from Thailand.