Zine “Do You Like Chinese Music” + Playlist
Last July, with my esteemed colleague and friend Grégoire Bienvenu, who wrote his PhD on Chinese hip-hop and host the fabulous podcast “Chine Yuefu” (in French), we decided to write a zine on Chinese (un)popular music, since we were both participating to the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) conference in Paris. So we made a 24 pages long ABC of Chinese popular music, included a CD with 20 tracks, and organized a party at a bar in Paris, which played 6 hours or so of Sinophone music non-stop! The DJ and graphic designer axirable created the poster for the event and the zine, and she also mixed during the party. Since we want this zine to be widely available, here it is in PDF format.
Here’s the foreword we wrote for the zine:
For years, we have tried to launch a project together on Chinese popular (and unpopular) music. Something to bring our knowledge, share our passion and show our lifelong dedication to this largely unknown music world outside the Sinophone communities. Alas, we always lived in different parts of the world, be it in Paris, Chengdu, Beijing, Taipei or Hong Kong, and never really had the opportunity to combine our forces. But fortunately, we eventually made it. This year’s IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) inter- national conference was held in Paris, and they agreed to let us have a panel on our topic.
But it felt like it wasn’t enough. Why should we be satisfied to be granted twenty minutes each to talk about years of research? When can we seriously listen to the music we’re discussing all the time? We come from the under- ground. So we decided to get back to it, because we believe that’s where the best creations arise. We booked a bar, launched a party and decided to play Sino- phone music from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan only. But it felt like it wasn’t enough. Children of the 1990’s growing up with alternative music press hidden behind our beds, we decided to create our own fanzine. Since nobody knows a fuck about Chinese music, we went for something basic that anyone can understand: an ABC. We were almost there. But still, it felt like it wasn’t enough. So Nath took out his old CD burner, we built up a split record and he printed fifty disks. Now we got it all! Science, party, music and knowledge. And how delightful it felt.
The fanzine you hold in your hands is the product of our work and our love for Chinese popular music. In these pages, you’ll find everything we cherish, from rock, hip-hop, punk, to funk, pop-music or electro. We hope it will tickle your curiosity, encourage you to listen to Chinese music and support the bands. Go and see them live when they’re on tour, buy their merch and share with your friends. If you do so, we’ll surely meet again.
With love,
Grégoire Bienvenu & Nathanel Amar
And since we made a Spotify playlist for the party, you can find it here also! 12 hours of pure Sinophone joy!
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Nathanel Amar (21 septembre 2025). Zine “Do You Like Chinese Music” + Playlist. Scream For Life. Consulté le 24 janvier 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/14pyu



Merci.
Bonjour, “So we made a 24 pages long ABC of Chinese popular music, included a CD with 20 tracks” is it possible to get/buy the CD somewhere? Thank you.
Arnauld
Unfortunately it was a one time thing only (I burned the CDs myself), but here’s the tracklist:
Nath’s side:
1. Cui Jian 崔健 – “一无所有”
2. UnderBaby 地下婴儿 – “都一样”
3. SMZB – “Scream for Life”
4. Hang On The Box – “Kill Your Belly”
5. Omnipotent Youth Society 万能青年旅店 – “杀死死那个石家庄人” 6. Demerit 过失 – “TZ Generation”
7. SMZB – “大武汉”
8. AV Okubo – “长恨歌”
9. Hiperson – “撞進白晝”
10. Wasted Laika 丢莱卡 – ”龐貝影子舞”
Greg’s side:
11. Masiwei 马思唯 ft. Free T – “成都rappers”
12. ANSRJ ft. Higher Brothers – “人民南路”
13. Higher Brothers – “该挨”
14. GAI 爷只认钱, Bridge 布瑞吉, Damshine 大傻 – “长河”
15. Vava ft. Ty. & Nina Wang 王倩倩 – “My New Swag 我的新衣” 16. Vinida 万妮达 – “Mojiadai”
17. 夏之禹 ft. 银河骑土李老板 – “在 希 望 的 田 野 上”
18. HA$ – “Ghetto Boyz”
19. 宝石GEM – “野狼Disco”
20. Dizkar 地磁卡 – “泛舟”
And here’s a Spotify playlist (but they don’t have all the tracks): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/31NCCcUWFgd6sv8vGH9mmZ?si=Pfh7H_mPSUW08GOs76AdVg