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Nathanel Amar

@nathanelamar.bsky.social

230 followers 470 following 110 posts

Researching Sinophone music & popular culture ⵣ Wozu Dichter in dürftiger Zeit? "Scream for Life. L'invention d'une contre-culture punk en Chine populaire", PUR, 2022 scream4life.hypotheses.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · May 7

Mon livre "Scream for Life. L'invention d'une contre-culture punk en Chine populaire" est accessible en intégralité sur OpenEdition!
My book "Scream for Life. The Invention of a Punk Counterculture in Contemporary China" is now available on OpenEdition (in French)!
books.openedition.org/pur/257986

Scream for Life

L’émergence au milieu des années 1990 en République populaire de Chine d’un underground musical punk à Pékin et Wuhan a de quoi surprendre, quelques années seulement après la répression du mouvement d...

books.openedition.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · 17d

An article on Hsu Hsih 許石, who saved Taiwan folk music and "rediscovered" the blind folk musician Chen Da 陳達. It's the subject of Andrew Jone's fifth chapter ("Folk Circuits. Discovering Chen Da") of the now classic "Circuit Listening. Chinese Popular Music in the Global 1960s".

Brian Hioe @brianhioe.bsky.social · 17d

Good read on an interesting life

www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

Taiwan in Time: A pop composer’s quest to save Taiwan’s folk music - Taipei Times

Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan

www.taipeitimes.com

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · 17d

And the link to our 12 hours long Sinophone music Spotify playlist we played during the party: open.spotify.com/playlist/0XJ...

Spotify – Web Player

open.spotify.com

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · 17d

Here's the link to the PDF itself, a 20 pages long ABC of Chinese (un)popular music! scream4life.hypotheses.org/files/2025/0...

scream4life.hypotheses.org

Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · 17d

Last July with @gbienvenu.bsky.social we made a zine on Chinese (un)popular music for a party we organized during the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) conference in Paris ("Do You Like Chinese Music"). Here it is now on PDF:
scream4life.hypotheses.org/4773

Zine “Do You Like Chinese Music” + Playlist

Last July, with my esteemed colleague and friend Grégoire Bienvenu, who wrote his PhD on Chinese hip-hop and host the fabulous podcast “Chine Yuefu” (in French), we decided to write a zine on Chinese ...

scream4life.hypotheses.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · 19d

Two new Chinese album released this month: "5689" by legendary electronic band Supermarket 超级市场 music.apple.com/tw/album/568... and "整一座城市的胡椒粉也辣不死人" (Peasant Delights) by controversial punk band Dirty Fingers 脏手指 (the lead singer was accused of sexual harassement) open.spotify.com/intl-fr/albu...

超級市場在 Apple Music 上的《5689》

專輯 · 2025年 · 10 首歌

music.apple.com

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 8

In this month's Sinophone music press review: a Taiwanese music festival for democracy in Vancouver, a fashion brand co-founded by Mayday's Ashin, New Pants singing with Minions, and of course the never-ending end of hallyu ban (I'll believe when I'll see it):
scream4life.hypotheses.org/4742

Monthly Press Review 18 – August 2025

Sunset Rollercoaster rocks at Fuji Rock Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車) performed at the Japanese music festival Fuji Rock, and reveals in this Taipei Times article how they became th...

scream4life.hypotheses.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 8

Hong Kong pianist and musician Anthony Sun Wei Ming played Beyond’s classic "海闊天空", before his departure at Kuala Lumpur International Airport - after participating to a tribute concert dedicated to Wong Ka Kui in Malaysia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj9o...

孫老師KLIA即興彈奏Beyond海闊天空

YouTube video by Lew KS

www.youtube.com

Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

It’s my pleasure! With @gbienvenu.bsky.social we also made a 12 hours long playlist of Chinese music for a party: open.spotify.com/playlist/0XJ...

Do You Like Chinese Music

open.spotify.com

Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

And I didn't even talked about hip-hop! I let my good friend and colleague @gbienvenu.bsky.social recommend his favorite rappers (I have a soft spot for this song by Bridge 布瑞吉: youtu.be/EprQN1NW_xQ?...)

One Strike

YouTube video by Bridge - Topic

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

And I'm just scratching the surface. I usually post a list of my favorite songs of the year on my blog: scream4life.hypotheses.org/4277 I wholeheartedly recommend Jake Newby newsletter "Concrete Avalanche": jakenewby.substack.com

Sinophone Music in 2024: It’s A-Live!

Last year, I said that Sinophone music was haunted by death and disappearance, but it was also the year when Chinese bands could again tour the world. This year, it’s about the same: we lost one of th...

scream4life.hypotheses.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

And I'm not even talking about Mandarin songs from Taiwan: 傷心欲絕 Wayne's So Sad: youtu.be/-bi2_5SnIBw?... 八十八顆芭樂籽 88 BALAZ: youtu.be/aWVUxt-Hc6g?... or No Party for Caodong 草東沒有派對: youtu.be/ovTiSA9T-RU?... or Modern Cinema Master 當代電影大師: youtu.be/RFwl98N_Kss?...

傷心欲絕 Wayne's So Sad - 台北流浪指南 Wanderer Guide In Taipei (Official Video)

YouTube video by 傷心欲絕Wayneʻs So Sad

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

I also like the post-rock band Lonely Leary 孤独的利里: youtu.be/DqbPlZZelYI?... The psychedelic electronic trio 南方酸性咪咪 South Acid Mimi from Yunnan: youtu.be/VbVwaDS-wdk?... The Yunnan reggae band KAWA: youtu.be/g-iZPxBpTBM?...

【孤獨的利裏 Lonely Leary】 - 北方來信 HE'S APPROACHING (official MV)

YouTube video by Maybe Mars

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Two amazing riot grrrl bands: 小王XIAOWANG from Beijing: youtu.be/ivy9LKW6JSM?... and Dummy Toys from Qingdao: youtu.be/d_R8WKJwz4A?...

小王XiAOWANG - Steal [Official Music Video]

YouTube video by Damnably

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

C.S.B.Q 长沙暴青 are the Hunan successors of the legendary punk band from Wuhan SMZB: youtu.be/GIVfZUttnjg?...

未来的宝藏－暴青 CSBQ乐队 MV

YouTube video by Music Hunter 音乐捕手

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Ok, I said only Mandarin songs, but Wutiaoren 五条人also sings in Mandarin (not only Haifeng hua): youtu.be/TOdRStZ4RkI?... and if I can cheat a little bit, 九连真人 sings in Hakka and it's the best: youtu.be/TiTpy1DNoTY?...

五條人 / 晚上好春天小姐

YouTube video by 台灣索尼音樂 Sony Music Taiwan

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

If you like a bit of funk and disco, Mosaic 马赛克 is probably the best right now: youtu.be/E969JSzZPrM?...

马赛克乐队《霓虹甜心》MV

YouTube video by 摩登天空Modern Sky Official

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

I cannot not mention Wang Wen 惘闻 the math-rock legends from Dalian: wangwen.bandcamp.com

Wang Wen 惘闻

Founded in 1999 in Dalian, Wang Wen is considered as one of China’s hardest working indie bands. The band released 7 studio albums since 2002 and one split vinyl with Swedish instrumentalists PG.LOST....

wangwen.bandcamp.com

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Fazi 法兹 from Xi'an is an excellent post-rock band, they are touring the world right now: youtu.be/Vj4uUGcT_EY?... Talking about post-rock, Hualun 花伦 from Wuhan is a great band: hualun.bandcamp.com

FAZI / 法兹《Share My Eyes With You》Official MV

YouTube video by 法兹 FAZI official

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Suliao 塑料 was an incredible band youtu.be/iPMOQcPvejo?... but they disbanded. The singer just formed a new band, 本能实业 (Instinkto Industrio) which I recommend: youtu.be/M3AjbekUBPs?...

塑料樂隊【一顆心】HD 高清官方完整版 MV

YouTube video by 太合音樂 Taihe Music-精選

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Coraline already talked about Wasted Laika 丟來卡, their second album came out this year. Maybe my favorite band these days with Hiperson 海朋森, a post-punk band from Chengdu, 3 albums, 3 bangers. The best thing that happens to Chinese rock and roll: youtu.be/JoKVgbw9BMo?...

Hiperson, Our Ballad, Official Music Video

YouTube video by Hiperson 海朋森

youtu.be

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks Coraline! Oh boy, that's going to be a very long response! Ok, let's try it. So the assignment is cool and exciting music in Mandarin (so I'll won't speak about other Sinitic languages). I'm gonna focus on relatively new bands or new songs (so not 謝天笑, 痛苦的信仰, 二手玫瑰, 萬能青年旅店, Re-TROS, etc.)

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Aug 16

The legendary Beijing punk act Hang On The Box 挂在盒子上 - still fronted by GIA (but apparently not an all-female band anymore) - gave a concert at the Strawberry Party in Beijing on August 8

Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Aug 1

The Sinophone Music press review of June-July is finally here! In this issue, a newly discovered Teresa Teng’s Japanese song, the first Chinese rapper surpassing Jay Chou on streaming platforms, a Taiwanese song censored in Taiwan, GMA winners and much more! scream4life.hypotheses.org/4689

Monthly Press Review 16 – June & July 2025

The end of K-pop ban in China (again)? Another article on the possible end of the unofficial K-pop ban in China since 2016, this time on NBC News. The K-pop band Epex was supposed to perform in May bu...

scream4life.hypotheses.org

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Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Jun 24

A lot of love for the three demos posted online by the Chengdu garage punk band MENGZHUMENG 悶煮悶 entitled "Social Reintegration", with songs like "High School Dropout", "Make Money For What" or "CN NSBM Fuckoff": mengzhumeng.bandcamp.com/album/social...

Social reintegration DEMO#1, by 悶煮悶MENGZHUMENG Provided by 业业业唱片YEYEYERECORDS

6 track album

mengzhumeng.bandcamp.com

Nathanel Amar @nathanelamar.bsky.social · Jun 12

The YouTube video: youtu.be/XUbV9jMrP-A?...

我爱摇滚乐 Vol. 124 - So Rock! Magazine Vol. 124 (2012) Special Lanzhou and Xining

YouTube video by Chinese Alternative Music Archive Project

youtu.be