New Music: Beijing Venue School Bar Turns 10, Drops Two Compilation Albums

New Music, formerly Yin (音, “music”), is a weekly RADII column that looks at Chinese songs spanning hip hop to folk to modern experimental, and everything in between. Drop us a line if you have a suggestion.

Vaunted Beijing music venue School celebrated its 10th anniversary recently. Reaching 10 years is an achievement in its own right, and something that is rare for live music venues in China at the moment.

Speaking to the development of the venue over the years, co-founder of School, Liu Fei, says, “Actually, during this past decade, the acceptance of live music by ordinary people has grown a lot. Before the epidemic earlier this year, a lot of live venues had good box offices, which just goes to show that people are used to going to live performances and listening to music.”

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While the anniversary comes at a time when music venues are still closed in Beijing, the venue teamed with Taihe music to release two albums of music in celebration.

The two records, which cover rock and indie rock music distinctively, reel in the years with bands who have played at the venue over the past decade.

On the rock side are Guangzhou punks Landfills, exultant punk act Hangnail, up and coming groups such as Wasted Laika and Xiao Wang, and many more.

Meanwhile, the indie rock album includes contributions from the likes of new wave indie rockers The Hotline, post rockers She Never Sings Our Songs and punky group Shouting Nerd among many others. Again, there’s 20 tracks to chew on.

There’s also a short documentary piece on Youtube to commemorate the occasion: