Li Jianhong

ARTIST: Li Jianhong

COUNTRY: China

GENRE: Avant Rock / Outer Limits

DESCRIPTION: China’s hottest, loudest and most psychedelic avant-noise guitarist

MORE ABOUT: Li Jianhong (李剑鸿) is one of the most active chinese sound artists in Mainland China. Born in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province in 1975 and now residing in Hangzhou, Li is the founder of the avant-rock group “Second Skin” and the manager of 2pi Records (“2pi” being the chinese equivalent to 2nd Skin), an independent experimental label based in Hangzhou, China. Li’s early involvement in Hangzhou’s experimental culture started with his co-founding of the group Tomeclub (Tao Mi She). His debut solo album Talk Freely Before the We Begin was particularly well-received in Japan, and has established him as a radical yet highly-crafted guitar noisician. After listening to this album, the experimental musician Zbigniew Karkowski called Li “the best noise musician in China.” Li’s second solo album RTV-702 is also out now. Both albums were released by 2pi Records. In 2003 and 2004 Li curated and performed in 2pi Festivals. In October 2004 he played at the Nuit Blanche festival in Paris. In June, 2004, Li was invited as a guest lecturer by the Dept. of New Media at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he gave the talk “Live Action – an Introduction to Contemporary Noise Art”.

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:

- “Lovers with Cloisonné Bracelet” (LP, Tipped Bowler, 2009)
- “山海経 [Classic Of The Mountains And Seas]” (CD, P.S.F. Records, 2009)
- “三生石 [San Sheng Shi]” (CD, Archive Records, 2008)
- “鸟 [Bird]” (CD, 2pi Records, 2007)
- “See You New World” (w/Itta and Marqido) (CD, 2pi Records, 2007)
- “南京现场 – Live In Nanjing” (w/Li Tieqiao, Ji Mu and Huang Jin) (CD, 2pi Records, 2006)
- “A Brief History of Time” (CD, Post-Concrete Records, 2006)
- “Drama Script” (CD, 2pi Records/Tiramizu, 2005)
- “Ghost Temple” (CD, 2pi Records/P.S.F Records, 2005)
- “RTV-702″ (CD, 2pi Records, 2004)
- “Talking Freely Before The Beginning” (CD, 2pi Records, 2003)

SELECTED VIDEOS:

SELECTED PRESS REVIEWS AND QUOTES:

“First, a word of caution: When playing this latest release from Chinese guitarist Li Jianhong, begin the CD at a volume of zero and work your way up to a comfortable level. Use of headphones is strongly recommended. Jianhong, born in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province and now living in Hangzhou, plays a serious electric guitar, borrowing a lot from the Japanese underground of the past three decades, including the work of avant-guitarist Keiji Haino up to Boris and Acid Mothers Temple. But there’s just as much a tribute to Hendrix, one of the few musicians whose lone guitar playing could captivate a room. On these solo guitar blowouts, Jianhong undoubtedly brings an Eastern, meditative perspective to the music even if it also happens to be capable of crushing one’s will into small pieces. The first of two tracks, “Classic of the Mountains” dubs Jianhong’s psychedelic soloing over a lulling single tone, mirroring the sound of Asia’s traditional folk music. Of course, this is all amplified at peak volume, but there’s no doubt that Jianhong is interested in bridging the modern with the ancient. The second track, “Classic of the Seas,” is more subdued, with Jianhong’s guitar playing tangled up in dark textures and sustained notes rather than speedy guitar freak-outs. Dark and powerful, “Classic of the Mountains and the Seas” is bedroom jamming on a massive scale, and the Chinese prodigy behind it couldn’t sound more free.” (Tom Kressler, The Wire)

“An incredible focused and formidable fifty something min. single track solo electric guitar wall of noise work from new face from the chinese music scene. A release that will be sure to make more than a few people scramble to dig up Li’s back catalog of work on his own 2pi imprint.” (mimaroglumusicsales.com)

“Hangzhou’s Li Jianhong has been performing alone and in the duo d!o!d!o!d! for several years, but he only caught western ears last year with the monumental “San Sheng Shi”, released by Philadelphia’s Archive cd. Oceanic and desolate, “Lovers with Cloisonné Bracelet” cements Li as a distinctive voice in modern noise. The two halves of this record are an ideal introduction to Li’s music: “Lovers in Misery” offers a restrained, electric swell; “Time in the Mirror” wallows in Hototogisu-an guitar hell. Without sacrificing pacing for density, Li has crafted an album that decimates the retrograde psychedelic guitar landscape and trivializes the petty violence of much harsh noise.” (mimaroglumusicsales.com)

“Two totally *wailing* 30 minute plus tracks of narcotic guitar evisceration from this prodigious Chinese psychedelic/noise guitarist. Described as an “avant garde mandala” this is closest to Munehiro Narita’s splurging freeform wah-wah attack style, with Jianhong tearing screaming melodic guitar patterns from a vortex of fuzz suspended over a doomy single note drone. The second track has a more screaming E-bow drone style that is nicely brain rearranging. Easily the most full-on psych out/PSF style release from Jianhong this far.” (Volcanic Tongue)

“I wrote about Chinese guitar improv master Li Jianhong. It is difficult to find his releases in the US or on vinyl, which is why I have to celebrate the release of this excellent new LP on Tipped Bowler. Two sides, one titled “Lover in Misery” and the other “Time in the Mirror,” of strong, thoughtful guitar noise and feedback. Unlike other examples of guitar-based avant records, this never gets tedious or boring. There is nothing wanky or unnecessary about what is on the record, just cascades of immensely fulfilling guitar riffs and fluctuations. This is not necessarily noise, although there is plenty of feedback. The label’s Hototogisu reference is apt because the first thing that came to mind when I started listening was Zaimph, Hototogisu member Marcia Bassett’s guitar drone moniker. This record explores the same kind of open expanse of sound and feedback as Zaimph does. If it was easier to access Li’s music, he probably would have been embraced by blogs and drone lovers of the world long ago.” (Jamie Johns, the fader.com)

“This actually came out last year, and we’d been wanting to review it (and confer upon it Record Of The Week status) ever since, but held off until we were able to do an order directly with the PSF label in Japan and thus get a bunch of ‘em for a better price. Finally, they’re here, and this is the Week it gets to be a Record Of, though really it’s a timeless piece of work that we’ve been enjoying for a while now, as we said.

Why the high honors? Well, we know there are those of you (and of us) who love guitar, loud GUITAR. Y’know, who just bow down to sheer, untrammeled outward bound electric six string axe action. This is for YOU. Another amplifier worshipping guitar god for you, in turn, to worship, one we can readily place in that eternal electric guitar pantheon that includes among noisy others Jimi Hendrix, Randy Holden, Ax Genrich, Masayuki Takayanagi, Uli Jon Roth, Caspar Brotzmann, Keiji Haino, J. Mascis, Thurston Moore, Matthew Bower, Campbell Kneale, and, well, Li Jianhong! Perhaps you’ve heard of him already, after all, we’ve reviewed at least one of his previous solo releases (on aRCHIVE), and also his noise guitar/drums duo D!O!D!O!D! (also on PSF), and drone guitar/laptop duo VagusNerve (on Utech). This, though, definitely the best thing from him we’ve heard yet, and is his first solo album for PSF, where he most definitely belongs, alongside the likes of Haino, Takayanagi, and High Rise’s Munehiro Narita. Though, he’s not Japanese, he’s Chinese and as PSF says, is “China’s hottest, loudest and most psychedelic avant-noise guitarist”. Dunno why you wouldn’t just believe that but if you want definite proof, here it is, take a listen!

It’s mindbending, utterly mesmerizing stuff, pushing into the red at all times almost, but also supremely controlled, like an elemental under command, lotsa “static” but not static, instead always moving forward into searing, cosmic white light oblivion… The disc is seventy minutes long, comprising two longer-than-side-long tracks (32:47 and 37:15), but it pretty much stops time when you’re listening. Ultra droney deep distorted sheets of amped up sound, howling wah wah fuzz fuzz to the extreme, cranked to 11 (though we dare you to dial it up half that high at home), but what’s got us is that he’s definitely playing, we mean SOLOING, melodically, the whole time pretty much. So it’s got that Earthless, endlessly jamming guitar solo vibe to it, but imagine Earthless that sounds more like Earth (the band), and it’s JUST guitar too, though it sounds like more than one of ‘em. Jianhong never lets it turn into unrecognizably guitar-generated skronky noise, it’s not like Metal Machine Music or Solmania or Merzbow, though they’re on the horizon perhaps. Even at its most abstract, when it sounds like a jet airplane engine drone or an ecstatic chorus of angelic screams, wavering and echoing, you can still picture him wielding his axe in a classic guitar hero pose, conjuring all sounds with his fingers, strings, amp, and intervening pedals.

Of the two tracks, the 1st is more active and “shreddy”, 2nd is calmer, but still full of energy and motion. Both are beautiful… if you think sounds like grinding whale calls having close encounters with UFOs and swarms of bees in a hurricane can be beautiful. Pretty much a must-have for fans of such artists as Urthona, Ulaan Khol, Keiji Haino, Earth, Boris (in their Absolutego/Feedbacker/Cloud Chamber mode), Skullflower, Makoto Kawabata & Acid Mothers Temple, Neil Young (on Arc anyway), etc. Bow down!!” (Aquarius)

FOR FURTHER INFO/BOOKINGS: email us