In March of 2015, we organized a China tour for legendary Melbourne synth punk band Primitive Calculators. They performed eight shows across five cities with notable local acts such as Birdstriking, Snapline, AV Okubo, and Torturing Nurse. If fact, the tour was in conjunction with the release of a Genjing 7″ split between Primitive Calculators and Torturing Nurse. Remember that one? It was a scorcher!
The whole idea for the tour came about while discussing the Melbourne scene of the late ’70s, specifically the Little Bands, spearheaded by Stuart Grant and the Primitive Calculators, and comparing it with Beijing’s Zoomin’ Night scene of the mid-00s, masterminded by Zhu Wenbo. We wanted to bring these two luminaries together and see what sort of magic would ensue. The new documentary Which Way Is China? tells the story of that tour, the meeting of two scenes thirty years apart, and a struggle to come to grips with just what is happening with modern China. The whole documentary is currently available to stream on YouTube, drop whatever you’re doing now and go check it out!