Silver Apples China Tour 银苹果中国巡演

By Josh, 2011年 4月 18日

《 看中文信息 》

Silver Apples – “I Have Known Love”

I don’t get too excited about most foreign acts that come to Beijing but I’m truly thrilled that our friends at Rose Mansion have put together a 3-city China tour for the legendary Silver Apples. The duo put out several completely left field, way forward-looking LPs in the late ’60s and mostly vanished into obscurity until they were “discovered” by vinyl crate-digging experimentalists decades later. In retrospect, their output can be seen as a prophetic blueprint for myriad contemporary branches of electronic, dance, avant garde and indie music.

Not in China? Watch on YouTube

Though one of the band’s original members died in 2005, over the last few years the other member, Simeon Coxe, has been playing numerous electronic, psych and experimental music festivals around the world. He’ll come to China for shows in Beijing (May 14), Shanghai (May 20) and Guangzhou (May 21).

All the shows are 200元 (150元 advance) and feature opening acts from the Rose Mansion roster: Offset: Spectacles and Soviet Pop (in Beijing), Fat City and Duck Fight Goose (in Shanghai), and Golden Driver (in Guangzhou).

Find Rose Mansion’s full press release below (in Chinese and English). I’ll add my 2 cents here: while most foreign artists who come to China are brought by music industry companies that aim, reasonably enough, to make money off the shows, this tour was put together by Chinese musicians with day jobs. It’s a rare chance for local artists to connect, perform, and collaborate with a musician who has shaped their collective musical heritage. It’s also a sign of the maturation of the Chinese DIY music scene — Rose Mansion is comprised of local artists who choose to self-release their music and organize their own events. Come out to this show not only to see a legendary musical pioneer, but to witness and support real DIY!

click to download poster

银苹果中国巡演

这很可能是我们一生中再也遇不到的机会。

43年前，纽约地下音乐出现了一支超前迷幻摇滚乐队，他们以独特的自制信号发生器组合以及一山的架子鼓创造了前所未有的电子流行乐蓝图。这支乐队叫Silver Apples/银苹果。它的名字来源自爱尔兰诗人W.B. Yeats的诗作《The Song of the Wandering Angus》，而同样在其领域内富有意义并且不为大多数人所知的早期电子作曲/元件艺术家Morton Subotnick的唱片，《Silver Apples of the Moon|月亮上的银苹果》也是以此诗作命名。在1967-1970年期间，银苹果在处于现代流行音乐艺术的雏形形成与发展之时的纽约录制了三张历史性电子摇滚专辑《Silver Apples》、《Contact》,以及《The Garden》;虽然这些专辑深深影响了随之而出现的众多著名乐队,包括Kraftwerk，Suicide，Devo，Blur，Atari Teenage Riot，Spacemen 3，Radiohead，Yo La Tango，还有Sonic Youth，但在当时这三张专辑似乎并不被人所熟知，即便今日也是如此。在今日人们所津津乐道的老派电子/迷幻摇滚乐领域，实验摇滚领域，随处可见在银苹果身上便早已实践过的操作方式与发声哲学。

1970年，银苹果所属唱片公司KAPP Records因为具争议性的第二张专辑封面被Pan Am航空公司告上法院，最终败诉而破产，乐队也不幸宣告解散，一夜间几乎完全消失在流行音乐的历史里。直到90年代中，各界对早期摇滚乐的关注令他们有机会复出，把银苹果的音乐带给新一代的观众。令人遗憾的是，原鼓手Danny Taylor因为心脏病于2005年去世。

当大家都以为再没有机会亲身体会银苹果的现场震撼力时，Simeon毅然继续银苹果的事业，以单人乐队的身份，透过电子设备复制Danny的打击乐，在英国及澳洲的All Tomorrow’s Parties、爱尔兰的Electric Picnic音乐节、西班牙的Aula Cultura CAN音乐节、意大利的Netmage音乐节、休斯顿的Aurora音乐节，以及在欧洲、美国，以及日本等地再度让现场观众能一睹Silver Apples的现场表演。不同的是，如今的银苹果似乎更超然于世，40年后不再年轻的表演者在表演中融入了更多嬉皮时代的久远的记忆；而相同的是，即便是在一个由计算机与软件所主导的世界中，Simeon仍然乐意使用那些40年前便已生锈的自制设备，继续制造那些大功率的、包含共振与共鸣的原始电子乐声响。

2011年5月，中国的观众也终于有一生难得的机会，亲身感受迷幻摇滚、电子摇滚、Disco、Hip-Hop、Synth-Pop、Drum N’ Bass和Techno的来源。这不是随手而得的复古音乐，而是千真万确的音乐历史，活生生的呈现在大家眼前。

演出日期：
北京 2011年5月14日 愚公移山
上海 2011年5月20日 MAO LIVEHOUSE
广州 2011年5月21日 Tu凸空间

门票：
预售150元
现场200元

Silver Apples China Tour 2011

This could very well be a once-in-a-life-time opportunity…

43 years ago, an avant garde psychedelic rock duo was born in the New York underground scene, they use unique signal generators and custom drum set to create the blue print for electronic pop music. This band is Silver Apples. The name is derived from a poem by Irish poet W.B. Yeats called “The Song of the Wandering Angus;” the same source as yet another little known early electronic composer/module artist Morton Subotnick’s record “Silver Apples of the Moon.” Between 1967-1970, Silver Apples recorded three historical electronic rock albums “Silver Apples,” “Contact” and “The Garden” in the breeding ground of modern pop music art form ── New York. Although these records would eventually inspire many artists in the years to come, such as Kraftwerk, Suicide, Devo, Blur, Atari Teenage Riot, Spacemen 3, Radiohead, Yo La Tango, as well as Sonic Youth, but when the records initially came out, hardly anyone hard about them. And it is so to this day. In today’s trendy territories of vintage electronica, psychedelic rock, and experimental rock, one can easily find traces of methodology and philosophy long realized by Silver Apples more than 40 years ago.

In 1970, due to Silver Apples’ controversial second album’s cover, Pan-Am launched a lawsuit against their record label KAPP Records, which bankrupted the label, and brought an end to the band as well. The band seemingly vaporized into thin air overnight. It was until early 1990s, when early rock n’ roll revival brought them back to the limelight, bringing Silver Apples’ music to a new generation. Regretibly, the original drummer Dannyl Taylor passed away in 2005 due to heart condition.

Just when everyone though they would never again have the chance to experience Silver Apples live, Simeon went against all odds, working as a solo performer, with Danny’s drum sounds recreated by electronic means, and continued the Silver Apples live concerts with performances at 2 ATP Festivals, one in England and one in Australia, the Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland, the Aula Cultura CAM Festival in Spain, the Netmage Festival in Italy, the Aurora Festival in Houston and concerts throughout Europe, America and Japan. The only difference is, Silver Apples seem to be even more ahead of its time; after 40 years, well-aged Simeon combines long gone memories from the age of the hippies, in this modern age dominated by computers and softwares, along with his rusty home-made devices, to produce Silver Apples’ high voltage primitive electronic music that oscillates and resonates.

In May, 2011, Chinese audience would finally get this opportunity of a life-time to experience the root of psychedelic rock, electronic rock, Disco, Hip-Hop, Synth-Pop, Drum N’ Bass, Techno, and everything in between. This is not just your average revivalist music. This is the real deal, an incredibly rare chance to experience the living history of modern pop music.

Dates:
Beijing May 14, 2011 Yugongyishan
Shanghai May 20, 2011 MAO LIVEHOUSE
Guangzhou May 21, 2011, T: union

Tickets:
150 RMB Advance
200 RMB Door

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