Anarchy in the PRC di Marco Ferrarese

Questo e’ il libro di David, Inseparable – the memoirs of an American and the history of Chinese Punk Rock che potete acquistare su Lulu.com. Ne faro’ presto una recensione in inglese, abbiate pazienza, prima o poi arrivera’ anche su questo sito.

Vi rimando anche alla mia storia del Punk Cinese, uscita su SENTIREASCOLTARE e China Files.

Breve Storia del Punk Cinese (Parte 1) di Marco Ferrarese

Breve Storia del Punk Cinese (Parte 2) di Marco Ferrarese

Buona lettura, e per oggi si chiude con l’Asian Punk Rock corner.

I am happy to announce the digital release of BRUTAL POKHARA’s first installment of extreme Asian music’s compilation… this collective based in the beautiful land of NEPAL has had the great idea of trying to collect a snapshot of what today’s extreme music scene has to offer in the greater Asian region… such a challenging task, I’d say, ended up with some non-Asian bands thrown into the blender for a balance.

Anyhow, if you are as curious as me to listen, and especially listen for FREE, to some unknown and hideous spew of Asian hostility, this is a great opportunity to start with. The beauty of this compilation lies in its (obvious) abundance of bands from the almost oblivious South Asian scenes;  countries such as Nepal, India, Pakistan (oh yeah) and Bangladesh are all represented, giving (at least to me) a first ever glance of extreme music crafted in such odd destinations for the average Western listener.

Yours truly participated getting a slot for WEOT SKAM, the only Malaysian band represented, although I am not actually playing on the recording.

The following is a comprehensive list of the bands and the respective countries, with download links included:

OCCULT SCIENCE OF METAL- SET-1       DOWNLOAD

• Cyborg Cataclysm-GOTHICA, Nepal
• God Wants My Blood-NARSAMHAAR, Nepal
• In Glorificus Luctus(The Mourning After)-KALODIN, Nepal
• Skyggegast- COMBATH ft. Svartalv( ex-SATYRICON, GEHENNA), Norway
• Gloomy Sunday-NÅE, Norway
• Mass of Materia- JAHILIYYAHA, Bangladesh
• Grim Shutdown-EVIL CONSCIENCE, INDIA
• Present Chaos- PLAGUE THROAT, India
• Maid of the Mist- WEIRD ANXIETY, India
• Unison of Beast- ISOLATION IN INFAMY, USA
• Reek of the Rotten- VILE IMPALEMENT, India
• Man Whore meets Women Whore- XAITAN KAUN?, India
• Perang Suci- LOST ANOTHER, Indonesia
• Soul Destruction- ALIEN GODS, India
• Infernal Torment- SATANIZE, Turkey
• Blasphemy ov a  Diabolic- INSANE PROPHECY, India
• Medical Malpractice- PAEDIATRICIAN, Hungary
• Malapetaka Dunia Fana- EXALEIPS, Indonesia
• Acrimony of Terrorism- DARK CARNAGE, India
• Insurrection-CENOBITE, Hungary
• Viper’s Den- DEI TETRA, Thailand
• The Uncaring Strokes of the Master- MYOSIS, Pakistan
• Revolution Has Begun-ANALGESIA, Morocco
• Bacterial in Flesh-AUTHORITY, Indonesia
• Riot of Blood-CHROMATIC MASSACCRE, Bangladesh
• Burial Ground- DIONYSUS, Pakistan
• Sabbatical Repugnant-HYDRO, Indonesia
• Dherai Laajj(Tribute to the Legend)-THE GRUNGY MORPHINS ”The Gorkha Metal Warriors”, India
• The Silent Scream-MEYNOM TURR, India
• Lord of Kaos- KRAZY ELECTRONS, India
• Futile Dogma: DARK DESOLATION, India
• Retribution-CROW BLACK SKY, South Africa

NOISEDOOM-SET-2    DOWNLOAD

• License to Kill-BIDROHA, Nepal
• Charsi Malang Moola Saray-MARG, Pakistan
• Knock Out- WEOT SKAM, Malaysia
• Fragmented to Live-CATW, India
• Primal Wants of a Divine Creation-DARK MURDER SCHEME, India
• Aakash Chayatiyo- FUL’STOP, Nepal
• Vendetta-VENDETTA, India
• You May Call Me a Dreamer  But I am Not- ESCALON, USA
• Break Down-TAKATAK, Pakistan
• The Malice-PROJECT BERKLEE, Pakistan
• The Rising-ZERO TRANSITION, Nepal
• Walking Alone- HOURGLASS PRISIONER, India
• Pseudo Showcase- WHAT ESCAPES ME, India
• IntraNervous- HEISENBERG, India
• Cradle to Grave-REVOLT, Pakistan
• Blood Tears-PISAKAS, India
• Slave of a Broken Fate-DARK GUREE A MORT, Nepal
• We, Happily Everafter-NOIZY AKADEMI, India
• Coup De Grace- ARCANE DECEPTION, India
• Dream Slayer-ODYSSEY, Pakistan
• We Can’t- IF HOPE DIES, India
• Lost in Thoughts-RAJIV KHADKA, Nepal
• Misery in You-EXILED SANITY, India
• Ammunition- AGE OF CHAOS, India
• Yes, tODAY is Doomsday-BURN THE WATER, India
• Sworn Annihilation- DEMENTIA, Pakistan
• A Lullaby for the Souls-ELVISH MIRAGE, India

We left Matteo Tricarico in India, during his Travel For Aid odissey across Asia into Europe… after a short stint in Dubai, Matteo is now in Iran, a fascinating country full of culture, deserts and very hospitable people…

Before beginning this journey, I read on the internet diaries of other cyclists who travelled through Iran in the last ten years and their words reassured me since they all spoke highly of the kindness, hospitality and friendliness of Iranian population. So far, but I’m pretty sure that I will not change my mind; I can join in exalting these features of the Iranians. In the last eighteen months of travelling I could recall hundreds of examples people’s kindness and courtesy, regardless of the country where I was, I believe that in the case of Iran the “surprise” is due to negative image that the Western media give of this country. It does not seem possible that the citizens of an anti-western and traditionalist Islamic theocracy, where the Sharia is the law of reference, can be warm, friendly and even expansive towards Western travellers, who are supposed to be “infidels” trying to corrupt the local youth. The surprise to find so open and sympathetic people towards foreigners is the result of bias, combined with the prejudice, which comes from American propaganda, that  would like to submit to the Westerner rules this country that, among other things, is a  large producers of oil and natural gas and therefore it is to be stripped of these natural wealth …

At five in the afternoon of April 12, I was waiting for my turn to passport control in the vast hall of the customs at the port of Sharjah, a small emirate a few miles from Dubai. The hall is divided into two distinct areas, respectively for single men and families, meaning married women with their husbands and children. The latter were checked first, although there was not a real recognition of the ladies who did not show their face covered with a full “niqab” and who did not even get up from their chair. In fact, the immigration officers trusted the photographs on the passport, I believe unveiled!, shown them by the husbands. Given this procedure of identification, or better lack of identification, I understand the reaction of Muslims in Europe where ladies are asked to show their face to check their identity, it must seem to be an absurd claim of Europeans, unthinkable in their countries.  Boarding the ferry to Iran it was fast enough. I personally brought the bicycle in the cargo hold already loaded with cars, trucks, six horses in their trailers and two motorcycles that, I later discovered, belonged to two senior British bikers riding back home from Dubai after ending their professional careers in the UAE and thus beginning their pensioner’s life. Moving away from the coast, this twinkling of Dubai skyscrapers is impressive and, with its 828 meters world record height, the Burj Khalifa distinctly stands out, being visible to no less than 30 miles. On April 13 at nine in the morning, I landed in Bandar-E Abbas, Iran’s largest port on the Persian Gulf, therefore simply called “bandar”: the port. Of the approximately 200 passengers of the ferry we, the three Westerners, were the last to receive the entry stamp on the passport and not before a small third-degree aiming at clarifying the reasons for our presence in that land and making sure that we were not nosy journalists. I reached the city centre and went to a bank where I had confirmation that, because of the embargo and the “war on terror”, Iran is out of Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, etc. networks, so everything must be paid in cash. That branch of Mellat Bank did not have an exchange desk and the director instructed an employee to accompany me to the nearest exchange shop a few hundred meters far away. Rich of 6,400,000 Rials (400 Euros), with the bearded face of the Ayatollah Khomeini, father of the Islamic Republic of Iran printed on each bill, and accompanied by a group of boys on scooters who took me to almost all hotels in town, I found a small one for the night. In the nearby internet café I discovered that both Facebook and my blog, same as the CNN and BBC websites, are blocked by the state censorship, although the block can easily bypassed with a VPN.

I acquired a  local SIM card,  and the next day I took the highway A79 which climbs gradually up to 900 meters. It is the Iranian plateau, whose peaks reach up to 2500 meters and its rocky slopes are absolutely devoid of vegetation, while the valleys are dotted with thorn bushes and just a few slim cactus. The air is so dry that the sweat evaporates immediately, so that I did not get what little relief the perspiration should provide on my skin. Accustomed to India, a country with one of the highest density population in the world and where villages or a service station are at least every 20 miles, this first day cycling in Iran, in areas very sparsely populated, I could not find a single town or a place to buy food and water for the first 70 miles. I arrived at night with my stomach in painful cramps and so dehydrated that my lips had become two hard peels, while my throat was so dry that any attempt to swallow what little saliva my body produced was an agonizing activity. My salvation was the only shop in the tiny village of Qotbabad where I purchased a gallon of water, drank within two hours, and I had canned food for dinner. From that first day, I learned a fundamental lesson to survive in the desert: always carry a good amount of water that, even though it weighs like stones, could make the difference between life and death. Since then, I have always with me a good stock of food such as canned beans, peas, lentils and eggplant, as well as fresh products such as tomatoes and fava beans bought directly from the farmers who sell them on the roadside, or energetic dry food like biscuits, dates and figs. One of the pleasures I enjoy visiting a new country is to taste local products, although in today’s globalized world the exact same good, manufactured and distributed by  few international corporations, can be found in different states. In Iran, due to the embargo, such global products are missing, and the country lives in a kind of self-sufficient food regime, making the discovery of native products even more interesting. That first night on Iranian roads, I camped about ten miles after Qotbabad. The tent was already set, when two guys on a motorbike approached me and, speaking in Farsi, tried to explain me that there was a problem with the place I chose to spent the night. After a while, I could understand the word “wadi” that in Arabic means river. In fact, the tent was in the bed of a stream that, although at the moment dry, could be flooded with rain falling on the mount peaks during the night. The danger was real for the sky was cloudy, so I packed again my stuff and followed them to what I thought to be their house or something similar, instead they took me on a hill five miles away where there was a hut inhabited by two elderly men who allowed me pitch the tent in their garden under two eucalyptus trees. I thanked the boys who jumped on the saddle on the scooter and disappeared into the darkness …

TO BE CONTINUED

Ok, year 2010 and the beginning of this 2011 have not been that prolific for Monkeyrockworld. Without getting into too many details, I just would like to say that having to deal with an Asian university flamboyant requirements and trying to jet start a freelance writing career, without counting house and “da wifey” administration, is not the ideal situation to sit down and write. I also didn’t travel that much, in the first place, although yes, I do have many reports about Sri Lanka and my return to China still to pen down. Anyways, what I care to write now is about something I got back in. I did not think this would happen, but eventually, it did: I’m back into the music scene again. It seems I cannot get rid of this passion of mine; for it is too strong to be neglected… so let it be. I did not think also that an apparently sleepy place like Penang could hide so much underground talent… I knew Malaysia was full of hardcore, metal and punk, but all those kids seemed like hidden under rocks until three weeks ago more or less, when I shot a few emails here and there resulting in fast ties with the cream of the crop of East Asian punk, some metal and hardcore scenes.

This also resulted in a quick and crucial acquaintance with the guys in WEOT SKAM, Penang’s longest running thrashcore band. And here I am after a few words over some iced lemon tea and roti canai, being the lead shredder in the band: yesterday I played my first ever show in Asia, and first show in almost 4 years. This is quite an event that has to be documented with a show review. I decided that, as long as I will be involved in this kind of music in Asia, I will dedicate ample space to it on Monkeyrockworld. For two reasons: MonkeyROCKworld… but so far, there has not been a lot of ROCK, excluding many great, beautiful ancient stones I visited in the greater Asian region. And second, because to my knowledge, there is NO WEBSITE written by a white guy in Asia documenting its endeavors in the exciting, booming alternative music scene. So, as a motivation booster and a plan for personal research and desire to bring great news to the music world, here I come to fill a void… Asian bands, if you are reading this thanks to the power of the SEO science, please get in touch.

SCUM FUCT LABOUR, May 1^st 2011 @ Soundmaker, Penang -- Gig Review

Featuring: Deng Deng etc. (KL), WEOT SKAM (Penang), Hui Si Di Dai (Penang),  Nonserviam (Penang), Angkara (Kulim)

First of all, let me tell you, Penang has a rock venue called Soundmaker, situated on the first floor of a quite anonymous building along Pengkalan Weld, Jetty area. Keep the Jetty to your left, walk for about 400 meters and look on your right on the opposite side of the road: when you see the poster of a black bomb on a yellow background, oh yes, that is where you gotta climb up. This place is amazing and remembers me of a more professional squat, in the sense that the atmosphere is totally DIY/underground, but the show room is big, and the stage pretty professional, with PA and everything.

First on stage were 等等etc. or better Deng Deng Etc. from KL, Soundscape recording artists. Three strait-chinese guys who, despite a not so good turnout, delivered one hell of a gig. Churning out a blend of different influences from their amps, they came out as a prehistorically aggressive version of “Bleach” era Nirvana, spazzed out by total grindcore outbursts of screaming rage, and sophisticated jazzy parts. Deng Deng etc. really surprised me because they definitely had a sound of their own, and it was a shame they had to open, especially being the out of town band.

Second, yours truly and WEOT SKAM hit the stage. It’s not a good habit to rave about your own band, so I’d just cut it short saying that according to Kit Yeng who does not understand anything about hardcore punk yet, we were perfect because the crowd had a hell of a good time. Greatest moments: me playing guitar using the top of some kids’ heads, and the drummer losing the beat and start jumping all over the drum set. It just felt good to be able to release some hate on stage after 4 years, and I felt like I popped some cherry at the end of it. Wow. Next month we’ll be supporting Earache’s own Wormrot so I guess things are profiling high for the band.

Hui Si Di Dai took the stage as the third band: this is Cheong’s band, the guy behind the whole Soundmaker thing. This band is a powerful experimental rock combo, with tight drumming, and jazzy guitar parts… the two songs they played tonight were graced by the stage presence of another tattooed Chinese singer, extra drums the real singer was strumming like crazy, and good vibes. They probably got off stage way too early, but definitely left the crowd wanting for more.

Next there was probably someone else but I’m sorry, I had to go downstairs to eat something and have a drink. The thing is, in this Malaysian shows the bands play for a very short time, sometimes less than 20 minutes. If this feature keeps the variety high and the suck-balls level low, it is definitely easy to miss a band. So when I got back in, Nonserviam were playing. They feature WEOT SKAM’s bassist Leon on vocals and are a Chinese death metal band deeply rooted into the Scandinavian sound. You could see and hear how they sport In Flames t-shirts and riffs… Leon is a great front man, tall and really comfortable in dominating the stage and the front rows of rabid kids grasping his arms and legs at each of his massive growls. Without being too extreme, Nonserviam are a classy death metal band able to blend melodic and powerful riffs with a more lethal execution of crunching fast tempos. I may say tough, the only criticism I can appoint is that besides Leon, the other band members get too busy with their instruments, and forget they are actually facing a crowd. I’m sure these young chaps will improve this aspect overtime. Their musicianship, on the other hand, is great and able to  deliver some great songs which can be instant classics. Definitely, one of the best bands of the night. Check out their official video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=btLdyaj1EZ4

Last were Angkara from Kulim, a small township at the edge of the forest of Kedah state. Man, if they were not Malays and I closed my eyes, here it is Mob47 performing in front of me!! Total classic crust/d-beat as it can be played by a bunch of Finnish thugs. They had the looks, with those spiked jackets all plastered with patches of bands such as Krighshot, Tragedy, Mob47, Wolfbrigade and so on, and they had the crusty skills and speed, but I must say, a little bit more of originality would do Angkara a lot of good. Do not misunderstand me: they perfectly do what they want to do, but I think they have to pass the idolatry phase, and move on to craft a sound more of their own. If they did that, oh my!

All in all, the evening was quite fantastic and gave me infinite happiness. Not only because I got back on stage again, but especially because it was cool to be in one place where people are actually enjoying the local bands, and do not strike any stupid pose or act like they’ve seen it all before. This was the biggest problem in Europe, let me tell you. The reason why I decided to get back into this, and here in Asia, is simply because here there is still a lot of energy, involvement, and excitement. I guess I am just lucky because it appears this is the place to be for punk, rock and metal, these days and age.

So keep tuned and sorry to the other bands for the lack of pictures, but our SD card decided to play a delayed April’s Fool game and ate up half of them leaving us with the WEOT SKAM pictures only… Well, it will be for the next time…

Hell yeah, it took me so long to fix up a new computer, find a PCI card supporting a damn Firewire port, and finally unearth some fantastic, lost, incredible footage I shot in Myanmar almost one year ago. I almost forgot I found a band when I was there… a “one night stand band” in Bagan… THE BAGAN TIGERS!!! The best, most soulful rawk n blues to ever come out of Western Burma since the Britsh left!! Fuck yes, probably even before!! Possibly, the ONLY blues to have ever come out of Burma as of today!!

My bandmates were fantastic: I was strolling along the main road, when I see this tattooed mofo sitting on a wooden stool in front of his shop. His tattoos were covering his body heavily, dark blue lines dotting everywhere your eyes can see… and he had a guitar, just lying besides of him. It was too tempting to resist, so i asked him if I could sit there and strum some guitar. After 3 minutes, with eyes glaring with excitement, he invited me to come back the next day to form a band. His name was Ko Soe Lwin, and he was the owner of Gant Gaw Pwint Sculptural Works pay them a visit nice in Bagan, if you can. Good times.

So, the next day, here we are: after an excruciatingly hot day bicycling around the ruins of Old Bagan (one of the most beautiful places on Earth, believe me), here we are in front of Ko Soe Lwin’s shop. A little table was equipped with an ashtray, a box of Burmese cigars and a couple bottles of Myanmar whiskey… four little shot glasses were completing the picture.

Another guitarist (I forgot your name, I am so sorry bro) was sitting there, tuning his shiny black guitar, and preparing another one that he promptly handed me with a big smile. We shook hands and the rest is history. History that you are finally able to see and enjoy, while i am working on bringing more to life… and yes, produce the first and only MONKEY MOTHERFUCKER & THE BAGAN TIGERS record. More details about it to come soon… keep tuned and enjoy the blues….

But now let’s go… enjoy live, high and DRUNK from Bagan… MONKEY MOTHERFUCKER & THE BAGAN TIGERS!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sf11HOItIo

After one year, I finally made it to Langkawi to show the island to my family coming to visit from Italy. Langkawi to me was the idea of a tourist trap, the kind of place I always try to avoid. Partially my idea was true: Langkawi boosts all the kind of infrastructure you would expect from a super developed tourist destination. The good side is, among the hotels, resorts and parks scattered along its coasts, Langkawi still has a very wild, lush nature, and a predominantly Malay Muslim population making its more secluded corners look like some part of Malaysian East Coast. The fact this place has been declared as a tax-free zone and alcohol is finally readily and cheaply available is definitely a plus for tourists and drunks alike, making it look more like a verdant mix of Bali and some Thai island rather than an outpost of backward Muslim Malaysia.

This said, I’ve never been to Langkawi before because I thought it wasn’t cheap: on the surface, it is not, but as always, I can manage to find my places and this is why I am writing this article: The internet has a dreary shortage of cheap ass information about Langkawi, and this is exactly why I decided to give my two cents on the matter.

Transportation
It is not possible to walk a long way in Langkawi: you gotta have wheels. And taxis ain’t metered nor cheap. A ride from Kuah Town, where the tourist jetty is located, to any of the beaches, will cost you from 20 to 30 rm (5 to 7 euros). If you think this is cheap, good. But consider: you probably won’t like to stay on those beaches for more than a full day, since the island has more to offer. The best way, especially when travelling in a group, is renting a car. You can get a pretty decent automatic car for RM 60 per day on off-peak period, and around RM 80 during holidays. This means 12 to 20 euros per day. If you travel in a group of 5, this makes your transport option incredibly cheap.

Accommodation
Hotels are expensive, with rooms from RM 100 onwards. Definitely not my type of budget. But after a bit of exploring, we found some good options. We first stayed at Zackry’s Guesthouse in Pantai Tengah, which is the place you will mostly find if digging for information online. But we thought it was a bit far off the action and the cheapest food choices, and overall, location is what you want to pay for. It is possible to find a single room with shared toilet for RM 35 overthere. My choice tough is another one, in Pantai Cenang, and very close to the action, the beach and a very cheap and tasty Thai Restaurant called JJ Helang (but you’ll soon nickname it “The Ladyboys” because of the gracious waiters J). There is a concoction of cheap accommodation options off Lorong Surau Kampung Haji Maidin. To get there, when you see the restaurant Rasa, turn left and walk inside following Gecko Guesthouse directions, but don’t go there, as it looks quite niggerish in my opinion. You can start looking around the area and find what you are looking for, double rooms starting at RM 60, some dorms etc. My pick is anyways the last of the bunch, the one at the end of the road, called Rainbow Lodge. At RM 35 for a double room with fan set in a picturesque paddy field cum water buffalos and herons background, it wins my pick. Very fast free wi fi connection, cheap breakfast, and the chance to rent a full single storey villa for RM 150 per night (bring your 5 friends, it is RM 30 per head per night and extremely beautiful and quiet).

Mangrove Tours

It is beautiful and it has to be done on the cheap driving to the Northern jetty, and asking the boatmen there. You can charter a whole boat for a 3 hour trip for around RM 300 (RM 60 per head for a group of 5 people, against the dreary RM 200 per head you’ll get asked anywhere in Pantai Cenang) to have a great mangrove experience, eagle sighting and boating offshore almost up to the Thai seawaters where you will pass by the flanks of Koh Tarutao Marine National Park. This is what I call a great deal for a mere 12 euros per head.

And this is it!! My two cents for the road, which I hope will help you enjoying your stay in Langkawi. A last suggestion is, take your ferry from Kuala Kedah where a roundtrip ticket will cost you only RM 46 against the RM 120 you’d pay from Penang island. An extra RM 10 will take you down by bus to Penang, from where go onto your onward connections. Now with the RM you saved, buy me a drink next time you see me!!