Almost 12 months in the making, The Paper Tigers’ self-titled, debut EP is a seven song explosion of grit, swagger, surprise hooks and confronting vulnerability that has grown out the sweaty, underground Beijing scene in which it is firmly rooted.
“Put your facemasks on, because it takes your breath away,” screeches Tigers front man Joey Catanzaro on crowd favourite, Second Ring Road.
“Most of these songs are about Beijing,” says Joey, who came to fame as singer of high-profile Australian punk outfit Unpaid Debt before moving to Beijing in 2013.
“We’re four guys from four different continents who came to China and write about life in modern China from our perspective. People tell us it’s something new, which is really humbling. I just hope we’ve managed to somehow capture the energy and vitality and contradiction of this place and this moment in time in our music, which we vaguely describe as Indi-dance-punk.”
The EP also features guest backing vocals from some of the Beijing music scene’s best known identities, including Dan Taylor (The Harridans), Scott Slepicka (Macondo), Fred Shi (Macondo and Joker’s Belief), Joss 姜寒; and Tasharni Jamieson (The Hunters).
Electronic surrealist DubZen Melodist also contributed a remix of popular track, We Can Run Like Wolves.
Mastered at Treelady Studio in the US by Garrett Haines — whose credits include Wiz Khalifa, Maybe Mars releases by Chui Wan and The Yours, and re-mastering for Nirvana — The Paper Tigers EP will be simultaneously released on a limited edition, custom USB (that features original artwork from Beijing’s FeiFei) and through online platforms including Bandcamp on April 15.
Tigers guitarist Alex K. Fong, who took the lead recording and producing the EP, says: “We took on the challenge of recording the album ourselves to ensure we captured Beijing’s spontaneous character, which inspired the songs. I think we managed to do that with an EP that is as gritty and real as it’s beautiful and alive with possibility — just like this city.”
EP中还有特邀嘉宾伴唱,他们是一些北京乐坛知名的音乐人,包Dan Taylor (The Harridans)Scott Slepicka (Macondo), Fred Shi (Macondo and Joker’s Belief), Joss 姜寒;还有Tasharni Jamieson (The Hunters).。
超现实主义电子乐音乐人DubZen Melodist贡献了一首流行乐的混音, We Can Run Like Wolves(我们能像狼一样奔跑)。
The Paper Tigers are Beijing’s “hottest … indie rock band,” and they are taking China by storm. With an explosive and
“danceable” sound reminiscent of The Clash and The Cure meets Block Party and The Arctic Monkeys, the band’s original new music is the creation of experienced and successful musicians from four continents forged together in Beijing’s booming underground scene....more
Gracing our album is a remix from DubZen Melodist, whose latest album "Frleep Flormp" is a collection of surreal electronic music, he calls "dark Oompa Loompa music." But, it's really just plain cool. 纸老虎 The Paper Tigers
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