[:en]After winter, the sounds of spring.
In March 2016, the perfect soundtrack to melting frost and tangerine skies.
Split Works is proud to present the dreamy folk-tronica of San Francisco-based wunderkind Blackbird Blackbird and the swoony solo electro-pop of critically acclaimed UK songwriter Chad Valley.
They’ll be conjuring warm dreamscapes across shows in Beijing (Modernsky Lab, March 8) and Shanghai (Yuyintang, March 9). Cuddle up for two intimate evenings filled with visions of sunny shores and brighter tomorrows.
Blackbird Blackbird
“[Blackbird Blackbird] plays a unique mixture of dance music, ambient noise, and guitar licks…[filled] with beauty, complexity, and wonder.” –KEXP
Blackbird Blackbird is the moniker moniker (sorry) of San Francisco-based Mikey Maramag. His unique style of dreamy folktronica recalls influences from all ends of the musical spectrum. It’s pop music The Beatles could have imagined but cannot make today: warm and alive, sprinkled with digital fairy dust.
His deeply textured, hypnotic songs pay homage to psychedelica from the likes of Caribou and Washed Out, while the warmth of analogue instrumentation spliced with digital artifacts hints at contemporaries James Blake, Four Tet and Mount Kimbie.
His reverb-laden musical collages tend to lean towards anthemic, inspirational, and dream-driven themes. Blackbird Blackbird often tweaks nature-samples and mixes electronic textures with organic instrumentation (guitar, drums, synths, vocal-harmonies). Ghostly female vocals are chopped and screwed, spun around a paint-splattered collage of sound. He’s released two-blissed out albums of sunny pop – 2010’s Summer Heart and 2014’s Tangerine Sky – and has toured Europe and North America, receiving critical acclaim from the likes of Fader, XLR8R, Rcrdlbl and more.
Chad Valley
“[Chad Valley] has a brilliant way with lush, melancholic electronica…[writing] soaring paeans to youthful hopes and dreams.” – The Guardian
Chad Valley is the solo electro-pop project of Oxford’s Hugo Manuel, formerly of the band Jonquil. His music is triumphant in sound and rich in construct – often dreamy, introspective and R&B-inspired. Like Blackbird Blackbird, his music has a similar feeling of 60s pop being given a shimmery modern electronic makeover
A product of Oxford’s prolific creative community, Chad Valley has a catalogue that spans three studio releases– 2010’s self-titled debut EP which was a bedroom exploration in swirling synths and sunburnt melodies. 2011’s Equatorial Ultravox expanded that recipe, giving his downtempo productions a decidedly more pop-leaning twist. ‘Shell Suite’, off that album, was used in the movie Warm Bodies, leading to a string of key touring slots supporting the likes of Active Child, Chvrches, Erasure, Friendly Fires and Passion Pit. He toured China that year for Split Works’ fifth anniversary celebrations.
In 2013, Chad Valley released Young Hunger, his first proper album and one that saw him further embrace his pop ambitions. The material was a modern collage of 80’s freestyle jams and 90’s radio singles, featuring an impressive list of collaborators including El Perro Del Mar, Glasser, TEED and Twin Shadow. Two years later, he released his sophomore effort Entirely New Blue, a slow-burning exploration of identity and the places that comfort us with nostalgia. In support of the record, Chad Valley toured the world, winning over fans with his stellar voice and impassioned performances.
Two luxuriant young voices in pop in one stellar bill. We can’t think of a better to bring in springtime.
Blackbird Blackbird + Chad Valley China Tour Information
[Beijing]
Date: March 8, Tuesday
Venue: Modernsky Lab
Address: Galaxy SOHO, Chaoyangmen, B1/F, Bldg. D, Rm. 5-108, Dongcheng District (东城区朝阳门银河SOHO D座B1层5-108)
Doors: 8:30pm
Tickets: 100 RMB (presale) / 120 RMB (door)
Presale Link: https://yoopay.cn/event/BBCVbeijing
[Shanghai]
Date: March 9, Wednesday
Venue: Yuyintang
Address: 851 Kaixuan Road, Changning (长宁区凯旋路851号)
Doors: 8:30pm
Tickets: 100 RMB (presale) / 120 RMB (door)
Presale Link: https://yoopay.cn/event/BBCVshanghai
Links
Split Works Official Website：www.spli-t.com
Blackbird Blackbird Official Website: http://blackbirdblackbird.net
Chad Valley Official Website: www.chadvalley.net
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.[:zh]这是作别冬日，来自春天的声响。
2016年3月，温暖的音符将融化霜冻的橘色天空。
Split Works开功即将呈现Blackbird Blackbird（美国）和Chad Valley（英国）2016联合专场，他们都擅长将传统的民谣音乐融合电子元素，转化为趣味满溢，洋溢着幸福感的电子流行乐。来自不同国家，风格却如此相近的音乐人同台共技会碰撞出什么样的火花？那只有去到他们的现场才能一探究竟！
Blackbird Blackbird
“Blackbird Blackbird独特的音乐风格融合了舞曲、氛围噪音和吉他弹奏等元素，复杂多变的曲风极具美感，令人惊叹。” ——KEXP
由旧金山电音才子 Mikey Maramag 化名的 Blackbird Blackbird，以创作梦幻而温暖的电子民谣作品而独树一帜——带有未来感的合成器节拍，融合Chillwave、House 等前卫曲风的律动，一听就能抓住你的耳朵。这可能就是当年The Beatles想要达到却未能实现的理想型音乐：温暖而鲜活，兼具电音的仙尘魅力。
Blackbird Blackbird常被人拿来与同样以梦幻质感出色的Caribou和Washed Out作比较，因电音烘托的暖调氛围亦被大家称作是阳光板的James Blake、Four Tet和Mount Kimbie。同时作为一位混音达人，连瑞典 Indie-Pop 名团 The Concretes 都曾邀他为新曲混音。
Blackbird Blackbird常利用吉他、鼓、合成器和多人和声将自然界的采样与电子乐加以糅合，鬼魅的女声也被交织入温润而美好的声音交响之中。目前，乐队已经发行了两张阳光明媚的专辑——2010年的《Summer Heart》和2014年的《Tangerine Sky》，富有空间感的电音背景，配上明亮的吉他弹奏和厚重的电子节拍，使得整张专辑洋溢着轻松甜美的情绪氛围，赢得了来自Fader，XLR8R，RCRD LBL 等媒体的广泛赞誉。
Chad Valley
“Chad Valley对处理饱满、忧伤的电子乐真的很有一套…无论是昂扬的赞歌还是青春的希翼，都手到擒来。” ——The Guardian
Chad Valley是牛津音乐人Hugo Manuel的个人电子流行乐项目，他也曾是独立民谣乐队Jonquil的核心成员。Valley的作品稳重扎实，于梦幻内省世界幻化出来的温润旋律带有R&B的韵味，令人耳目一新；而他坦诚自信的完美歌喉更是俘获了不少听众。如Blackbird Blackbird一样，他的音乐好似60年代流行乐在现代电子再创下的一次新生。
2010年Chad Valley发表了同名EP处女作，对合成器与轻快的旋律进行了一次“卧房探索”，将个人对电音的理解展现得淋漓尽致。在2011年的第二张EP《Equatorial Ultravox》里，他在延续Synth Pop灵感的同时，将Downtempo的慢拍直接融入到更具流行感的音乐之中。如果说首张EP让大家见识到这位牛津青年过人的音乐天赋，那《Equatorial Ultravox》更有理由慑服听众称之“奇才”。赢得满堂彩的好成绩也为Valley带来了一段至关重要的巡演经历：与Active Child、Chvrches、Erasure、Friendly Fires和Passion Pit等优秀乐队站在了同一舞台。值得一提的是，在这一年里，他还曾来到中国，为Split Works开功的5岁生日献上了绝妙的现场演出。
2013年，Chad Valley发布了第一张全长专辑《Young Hunger》，这是80年代的Freestyle Jams和90年代电台单曲的现代融合之作，并得到与El Perro Del Mar、Glasser、TEED 和Twin Shadow等出色艺人的倾力合作。而2015年10月发布的第二张专辑《Entirely New Blue》则看似一张慢热的作品，探寻身份认同与怀旧之意。Chad Valley随后为自己的新作展开了一系列的国际巡演，也因其激情满满的演出和一流的嗓音再度成为媒体、乐评人与听众热议的人物。
复苏的初春，真的没有比这两位在流行乐坛势头正劲的音乐人更值得我们推荐的了！
演出信息
【北京站】
日期：2016年3月8日 周二
场馆：Modernsky Lab
地址：朝阳门银河SOHO D座B1层5-108
时间：20:30
票价：100元（预售）/ 120元（现场）
预售链接：https://yoopay.cn/event/BBCVbeijing
【上海站】
日期：2016年3月9日 周三
场馆：育音堂
地址：凯旋路851号，近延安西路
时间：20:30
票价：100元（预售）/ 120元（现场）
预售链接：https://yoopay.cn/event/BBCVshanghai
相关链接
Split Works官网：www.spli-t.com
Blackbird Blackbird官网：http://blackbirdblackbird.net
Chad Valley官网：www.chadvalley.net
关于Split Works：
Split Works开功 是一家基于上海和北京的外资音乐演出公司，一直与诸多国际品牌进行合作，始终围绕音乐、品牌、创意和青年文化组织和推广各类活动。2006年成立至今，Split Works共推出了5个音乐节品牌、覆盖30座城市的400多场巡演，并一直坚信并实践着：每一次音乐都必须是独特的。从Godspeed You! Black Emperor 到Sonic Youth，从Thee Oh Sees到Mac Demarco和Shabazz Palaces，从“黑兔”到《觉》音乐+艺术节，从“无解周末“到回声公园音乐节。我们热爱音乐，我们热爱中国，我们爱你。[:]