Author: catsynth

Weekend Cat Blogging: 月神

As part of my bid to learn at least a little bit of Chinese, I have given Luna an appropriate Chinese name: 月神, or “Queen of the Night”. The character 月 by itself refers to the moon.

And since my return our little Queen of the Night is enjoying, indeed demanding, much attention.

I did see more cats in China on this trip, this time mostly strays. This orange cat was in Fuxing Park in Shanghai.

Like most cities, there are lots of stray cats in Shanghai. I did hear from a friend who was showing me around that there is a new program to help feed and care for stray cats, but I have not been able to find any information online.

And now, for the first time in a while, we have an opportunity to relax, and to catch up on things at home:

Weekend Cat Blogging #197 is being hosted by LB and Breadchick at The Sour Dough. They have the winning combination of cats, music (audio gear) and red wine.

The auspicious Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos #88 is being hosted by Miz Mog and the Kitties at Mind of Mog. (Yes, it’s another Chinese reference, go look it up).

The Carnival of the Cats #261 will be up this Sunday at Nikitas Place

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Recap: Performance at The Shelter in Shanghai

A brief review in photos of my performance last Friday at The Shelter.

The Shelter is actually in a converted bomb shelter, and to get there one descends a long narrow staircase and enters this cave-like hallway:

Inside the main club space, it is mostly dark, save for a few small lights and these video screens broadcasting live from the DJ booth:

The above photo shows my setup via the video camera. We can take a closer look at on the DJ platform itself.

As described in the previous post, I combined traditional Chinese musical instruments with electronics, blending old and new. In the above image you can see (left to right) a prayer bowl, a small bell, a gong, and temple blocks (to the right of the laptop). Some of my Chinese friends and colleagues were blown away by the idea that one can combine the different elements to make a single type of music.

The performance itself went quite well, and just about everything worked as planned. If there was one thing that was unfortunate, it was that 10:30 is quite “early” in terms of Shanghai nightlife, so there were not that many people in attendance yet. But you always play for the people who are there, and it was a new experience for all of us.

The club did fill up later on during the DJ sets that followed, and I stuck around to hear most of them – it seems this is one of the main places in the city to hear more underground or unusual music, be it live electronics or DJs. That was an adventure in and of itself, but a story for another time.

I did also make an audio recording and a video of the performance, which I have not had a chance to review yet. Look for at least short excerpts of both in the future.

Blog about dinner

We begin the recap of my extended weekend in Shanghai with another “Blog about dinner.”

It seems the custom with most Chinese meals at restaurants here is to order ridiculous amounts of food. This is what almost all of my Chinese friends here do when we go out to eat. Below is just a sampling of dishes from last Friday’s dinner.

As discussed during the first trip, Shanghai, and the entire Yangtze River delta region are known for seafood. The fish is very fresh and flavorful, but you have to accept that there are going to be lots of bones. Variants of fish cooked in wine sauce, as pictured below, are a common item on local menus.

Non-fish seafood is also plentiful. This squid was presented to look a bit like a fish.

The sauce in this dish was of course rather flavorful and complex, as are most of the sauces I have had in China. The range of sauces, spices and flavors is much richer than one experiences in Chinese food in the U.S.

Even something that seems prosaic like tofu in chili sauce becomes a unique experience. This one was served hot, both in terms of temperature and spice:

Indeed, the goal was to try and eat it before it stopped sizzling, as it is considered to lose much of it’s flavor as it cools.

Finally, something a little different: Crab meat in shells, again with a very unique but more subtle sauce:

Friday Night Performance at The Shelter in Shanghai

Here are the details on the show I’m playing in Shanghai in Friday night:

PAUSE ::: PLAY

@ The Shelter
5 Yongfu Lu, near Fuxing Xi Lu, Shanghai

Friday, March 6, 2009

Line-up:
Amar Chaudhary, Uprooted Sunshine, V-nutz, Tootekool, Ben Huang, Michael Cai, Ozone…

* Celebrating the release of the Pause:Music Mix CD#2, the Uprooted Sunshine crew bring you a mad mash of the Jamaican sounds of reggae and dance-hall with new original vocals by ChaCha and MC Didje, put together by prime selecta Blaise Deville. There’s a limited number of free CDs, so come early to get yours!

* The man who rocked you on the first Pause:Music Mix CD, Ben Huang, returns after a long stay in Beijing, to bring you his latest eclectic and cutting-edge techno mix.

* Special guest Amar Chaudhary, from San Francisco, on his first performance ever in China. Amar Chaudhary is a veteran sound artist who makes his own instruments and plays a live set that’ll crack your head open. (Starts at 10:30pm sharp!!)
http://www.myspace.com/amarchaudhary

* We’ll also have Tootekool, Ozone, Michael Cai, V-Nutz bringing you everything from rock to alternative hip hop, to breakcore and drum-n-bass. Look out!

* It’s only 30 RMB at the door and the funds go to supporting and developing the local music scene through a variety of projects.

More info can be found here, or at facebook for those so inclined.

So…now I actually have to finish putting together a show. I have managed to put together a modest setup based on gear I brought with me, a few replacements (thanks Behringer for not making your mixer power supplies 220V compatibile), and several Chinese percussion instruments I have acquired during this trip:

The large bowl is very resonant and will be used to introduce the set. The interplay of the various bells and gongs with bell-like sounds on the Evolver will be the main elements, interrupted by more standard electronic sounds from the Evolver and the Kaos pad, as well some down-tempo beat-based sections.

It has been a bit of a challenge to find time to think creatively, while contending with work and some of the lingering effects of the time difference. I went back to the first day in Shanghai and it’s big city energy for inspiration, and some of the photos that I took, even if the music itself doesn’t seem to reflect that sonically.

CatSynth in China II

Well, for the second time in only two months, I will be visiting China. More opportunities to explore and hopefully build on the experience of the previous trip.

And this time, I will be performing a show in Shanghai at an electronic music event. Stay tuned for more details.

The unfortunate part is of course leaving Luna behind. This time, we’re past the construction, so things should be more peaceful for her, albeit a bit lonely.

Weekend Cat Blogging #194

We at CatSynth welcome everyone to Weekend Cat Blogging #194! We’re excited to be hosting again, and have been busy getting prepared.

To participate, please leave you link in the comments, and we will include you in the big roundup on Sunday.

We are dedicating this edition to Socks Clinton, the former “First Cat”, who passed away this week at the venerable age of 20.

(February 20, 2009) Word tonight that Socks Clinton, the one-time Arkansas stray adopted by the Clintons who rose to international prominence and literary fame as sole feline inhabitant of the White House, died today.

Butch, Jules, and Vincent use their Weekend Cat Blogging to pay their respect to Socks.

 

Meowza shows some leg this fine Caturday. Meanwhile, Cece feigns innocence at iInfidel.


LB and Breadchick Mary have been lazy this weekend. But not really, as time away from work for ourselves is important. LB enjoys relaxing by the sofa and subwoofer. And we at CatSynth really like the header for the The Sour Dough.


Most of us are eagerly anticipating the transition from winter to spring, and for Smudge of sidewalk shoes, that means patiently waiting for the catnip.


Maruschka poses elegantly (and sleepily) at Rosa’s Yummy Yums, with an accompanying quote on being a cat.

Babeth presents Happy Hour, a tale of cats’ sleeping habits, at House of Chaos.


We go from sleeping habits to playing habits at Gattina’s, where Rosie has adopted a toy turtle as her new doll.

Samantha and Tigger are basking in the sunshine at Life from a Cat’s Perspective. Together with Granddaughterbean, they are a quite a trio, enjoying the warmth. We could use a bit of warmth here in the midst of our cold rainstorms – but we do need the rain in California.

Kashim, Othello and Salome are feeling a bit neglected this weekend, as their mama has been out celebrating her birthday as well as other human social activities. Clearly, those are lower priority than spending time with kitty cats. On a happy note, Kashim’s paws have nicely after his unfortunate accident a couple of weeks ago.

Tillie is being lazy in the sun over at Mickey’s Musings. Meanwhile, Mickey and Georgia are being lazy somewhere else, and their mom is “laziest of all”, as she hardly helped the cats blog all weekend. However, she did help them participate in WCB, and we’re glad to have our friends from Nova Scotia join us!

That concludes this Weekend Cat Blogging for now. Thanks to everyone who participated, and we will continue to post entries through Monday as we receive them.

This weekend, you can also visit the Carnival of the Cats at When Cats Attack, and the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos with Samantha and Tigger at Life from a Cat’s Perspective. And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.