presenting “eXpo,” a neocha & shanghai restoration project electronic compilation album ///

Over the past few years, we’ve been lucky enough to observe and occasionally be part of the significant strides that the independent music scene has been making in China. With the country at a historic moment following the successful 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has an ever-increasing role in international cultural conversations. Timed to coincide with the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai — running May through October — we (Neocha & NeochaEDGE) together with The Shanghai Restoration Project have produced and are now very proud to present eXpo – a ten-track compilation featuring the leading independent electronic artists in China today. The album traverses a broad array of genres from techno and house to dubstep and hip-hop, all evidencing an internationally-engaged yet regionally distinctive independent music scene brewing in China.

eXpo was officially released May 4 on Undercover Culture / Neocha. It is now available  on the below platforms and will be physically distributed throughout China via High Note Records.

iTunes | Amazon mp3 | Amazon.com | Wa3

For readers outside China / Asia, Chinese musicians have been difficult to identify due to language and cultural barriers as well as an underdeveloped independent music market / industry in China. We hope eXpo opens the door to exchanges between Chinese artists and their peers worldwide. Crucially, eXpo bridges differences in music business practices between the U.S. and China, as many of these emerging artists have not been exposed to a professional music production process nor have they been compensated for their work.

To sample the album, check out the short promo film below – it mixes eXpo‘s 10 tracks into a visual sound-scape featuring footage from Shanghai. The video was filmed by Tomas Medina and edited by Benjamin Ahr Harrison, and is also available on VIMEO.

For more information about eXpo and the artists involved, link here.

For more Chinese indie music on NeochaEDGE, link here. /// AjS