“Vile has charm, character and imagination enough to elevate his fully reclined, dusty-haze style to something really special. – The Guardian
“Compelling as Vile’s words can be, much of the magic lies in his delivery.” – Pitchfork
Kurt Vile is a bonafide indie-folk mastermind.
His soaring solo career, buoyed by the critical acclaim that greeted 2015’s b’lieve i’m goin’ down…, has bought him a newfound mainstream visibility, one he wears with nonchalant ease. Vile’s evocative, dreamy, finger-picked acoustic tunes are freighted with compelling word-play, and a floating forcelessness that folds itself around you. Their melodies nestling snugly in your mind. His songs – candid, and brilliant and focused – are almost like folk hymns. Seemingly timeless, yet always of the moment. Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon is a big fan. “He’s a man with an old soul.”
On stage, alongside his band the Violators, the laid-back, wavy-haired Vile is tender and evocative, elusive but companionable. “Tough in the gut but giddy in the head.”
Float away Friday, October 14 in Shanghai and Sunday, October 16 in Beijing. On support duty in both cities, the cozy, whispery, nostalgia-drenched blues rock of Uncle Hu, recently signed to the influential D-Force Records.
Kurt Vile’s musical career started with lo-fi home recordings, often in collaboration with singer Adam Granduciel. The two subsequently formed the indie rock band The War on Drugs and released their debut studio album, Wagonwheel Blues, in 2008. At the same time, Kurt began seeding his solo career, with his debut Constant Hitmaker (2008) on Gulcher Records.
Two more well-received albums followed in 2009 – God Is Saying This to You…and Childish Prodigy, and Vile’s music slowly began to take the woozy, beguiling form it holds today – with the support of his backing band The Violators. By this point, Vile was a true cult artist – recommended by indie record shops and tastemakers the world over. 2011’s Smoke Ring for My Halo even sneaked in to the Billboard Top 200.
By the time Kurt’s fifth studio album, the radiant Walkin on a Pretty Daze, was released in 2013, he was an indie institution unto himself. “Best New Music” on Pitchfork. Loving coverage in NME and Drowned in Sound. Daze.. made a number of ‘Best of the Year’ lists, and was described as his “most spacious, becalmed record yet’.
2015’s b’lieve I’m going down, on the seminal Matador Records, was Kurt’s breakout moment – if he ever needed one. Sonic Youth frontwoman and countercultural hero Kim Gordon called him one of “indie rock’s most gifted guitarists.” The album won more accolades than this press release can accommodate, including a chart-topping single (“Pretty Pimpin”)
We’re beyond excited that Kurt Vile is finally making his China debut. Friday, October 14 in Shanghai and Sunday, October 16 in Beijing. It’s going to be moody, drifting, echoic, profound.
Cue sunset.
Kurt Vile and the Violators 2016 China Tour Information:
- Shanghai
Date and Time: 14th October Friday 20:30
Venue: QSW Culture Center Q-Hall (浅水湾文化艺术中心一楼大剧场)
Address: 179 Yichang Road, next to Jiangning Road (宜昌路179号， 近江宁路)
Tickets: 260 (Presale) 300 (Door)
Support: Uncle Hu
- Beijing
Date and Time: 16th October Sunday 20:30
Venue: 糖果 HIT FM Live
Address: 3/F, Tango, 79 Hepingli Xijie, Dongcheng District (东城区和平里西街79号 糖果3层)
Tickets: 260 (Presale) 300 (Door)
Support: Uncle Hu
Links
Split Works official website：www.spli-t.com
Kurt Vile official website: www.kurtvile.com
Kurt Vile on KEXP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiiwNHAC8M
About Split Works:
Split Works has been rocking in the free (ish) world since 2006. Working with inspirational artists from across the globe, the good people at Split Works HQ have been a key contributor to the continued rise of China’s music scene.
Split Works has launched five music festivals and promoted over 400 tours to 30 Chinese cities, always striving to stay true to a familiar refrain: the music has to be special, every single time. From Godspeed You! Black Emperor to Sonic Youth, from Thee Oh Sees to Mac Demarco and Shabazz Palaces, from Black Rabbit to JUE and Wooozy to Echo Park and More Music. We love music, we love China and we love you.