Wang Wen Premiere “A Beach Bum” Official Live Video; 100,000 Whys Reissue out Sept. 24
Wang Wen will re-release their 11th studio full-length, 100,000 Whys, on Sept. 24 through Pelagic Records. Of the eight inclusions on the 62-minute offering, “A Beach Bum” — a live video for which premieres below — is among the most urgent. Its linear build pays off in a fashion more weighted than much of what surrounds in cuts like “The Ghost” or “If Tomorrow Comes” earlier or the soft keyboard-driven “Lonely Bird” after, but the aspect draws the material together across the span of diverse arrangements is a thoughtful delivery of individualized textures the likes of which a band might only be able to hone, say, after more than two decades and across 11 albums, and an obvious commitment to sonic exploration. As a result, the repeating key lines of “Lonely Bird” are no less evocative than the ringing telephone (in ear sound, like you’re waiting for someone to pick up) in “A Beach Bum.”
“A Beach Bum” is also the longest song on 100,000 Whys, but it’s by no means the only crescendo. “Wu Wu Road,” which starts out with an exhale of guitar over a deceptively active drum pattern before the synth melody takes fuller priority, builds to a horn-inclusive apex of its own, with a start-stop riff as a rhythmic counterpoint to the melodic keys and a vibe emerging that’s as likely to bring to mind modern heavy prog as it is classic soundtracks, at least before the slowdown hits. Even the penultimate “Shut Up and Play” has its guitar payoff, so if that’s what you’re going in looking for, it’s there. But 100,000 Whys — which is my first exposure to the band, but won’t be the last — is of course about more than its sundry apexes, and its stretches of serenity and complexity, from the opening “Forgotten” to the closing “Forgotten River” brim with purpose.
Something to keep in mind perhaps as you dive into “A Beach Bum” below, the live version presenting an opportunity to see the song’s arrangement unfold in suitably organic fashion, all its ebbs and flows, arrivals and departures. If you’d like to hear 100,000 Whys in its entirety,
Wang Wen, “A Beach Bum” official live video premiere
“A Beach Bum”, taken from Wang Wen’s album “100,000 Whys”. Out on vinyl September 24 via Pelagic Records. Stream / Download / Order here: https://listen.pelagic-records.com/wangwen-100000whys
Produced by Space Circle Music
Shoot by GEEK SHOOT JACK films
Calligraphy by Jiushang
Over the course of their 22 year-long career, WANG WEN have reached a profoundness of intention in their music that reflects in the massive soundscapes that they bring on record and from the stage. It comes as no surprise that in these dire times, the band delivers a record that speaks to humanity on a universal scale. “100,000 Whys” arguably presents the band at their most accessible since the release of 2012’s 0.7, but also at the height of their ability to create moments of high tension and exhilarating release.
Between the recording and the release of 100,000 Whys, Wang Wen shared a documentary titled “Seven Thousand Hows” with the world, chronicling a three day trip to Nepal, where the band participated in a benefit concert for the victims of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. ‘When people are talking about music, and people are talking about peace and love. We play music as a reminder that you are a human being, not a beast. You are different from the beast,’ declares band leader Xie Yugang from the stage of Purple Haze Rock Bar in Kathmandu.
Around the time of the outbreak, Wang Wen, having just finished composing material for their eleventh full-length, found themselves locked in their hometown of Dalian, a large port-city in the north of China. Instead of recording their album in St. Petersburg, Russia, as planned, they decided to put 100,000 Whys to tape in their own rehearsal space in the Dalian Urban Music Center. Again Wang Wen requested the services of producer Wouter Vlaminck (this time without his brother Lode); a decision which feels natural, considering the breakthrough success of their 9th full-length “Sweet Home, Go!”, released in 2016, and the strong reception of its follow-up Invisible City, released in 2018.
Artwork cover by Manolo Gamboa Naon
Recorded at: GT Studio / Dalian Urban Music Center
Sound Engineer: An Jiguo
Producer: Wouter Vlaeminck
