Chinese Football bring emo to Seoul, Busan
The bassist of Chinese Football performs a trust fall during a concert at Vox Livehouse in Wuhan, their hometown in China. Image courtesy of Chinese Football
By Ali Safavi
Chinese emo band Chinese Football will visit South Korea this weekend to perform in Seoul and Busan, the last two stops on their East Asia tour.
The Wuhan-based band has been building a worldwide fanbase through word of mouth, since releasing their 2015 self-titled first album. That album plus last year’s “Here Comes A New Challenger” mini-album are a mix of delicate picked guitars, cathartic lyrics and atypically structured yet melodic songs typical of mid-90s emo.
“When I was in college I listened to a lot of so-called emo music.” Xu Bo, guitarist and sometimes vocalist, told The Korea Times. “I like new-school emo bands a lot too, and those bands inspired me. With the band, we all like different kinds of music so when we get together we inspire each other.”
The band has also gained many ears due to their name, a clear nod to the critically acclaimed American Football from Urbana, Illinois. Though practically ignored at the time, American Football’s debut release slow burned its way to mass popularity and the band reunited recently after a 17-year hiatus.
In the mid-90s musicians took parts of hardcore and screamo music and married them with softer indie influences. This typified the first wave of emo music, a far cry from the angst and eyeliner of the “MySpace bands” such as My Chemical Romance that followed. The typically Midwestern birthplaces of first-wave emo bands such as The Get Up Kids, American Football and The Promise Ring led to the label “Midwest emo” as a catchall for bands playing this type of music. The genre has seen an East Asian resurgence in recent years, especially in China and Japan.
Despite these influences, Chinese Football bring a lot of themselves and their surroundings to their music. They are “no copycat band,” Busan show promoter Steve C told The Korea Times. “The band taps into that American root of frustration and disillusionment to make it their own; it’s not a shock to see this happen in China...a country where growing up means confronting socio-political, familial and emotional realities just as harsh as, if not worse than, those seen in the West.”
In recent history mainstream culture and technology have often crossed the sea between China and South Korea, but it is not often that actual bands do so despite the close distance. While this is Chinese Football’s first time here, they have played extensively in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. “We speak different languages but I think people in East Asia share the same history and culture, we have the same taste in music or arts.” Xu Bo said. “We always want to meet different people and bring our music to the world so I think it’s good to start in countries near China.”
Chinese Football will play CJ Azit near Gwangheungchang Station in Seoul on Friday, March 16, with support from local acts Cogason and Parasol. Then they hit Someday near Pusan National University in Busan on Saturday, with backup from post-rocker Goodbye Wendy and indie cindies Bosudong Cooler. Discounted tickets can be bought in advance for both shows.
Check out fb.com/doindie.kr or fb.com/chinesefootballband for more information.