Beijing Sonic electronic music and art festival will be a banquet of multiple sensations and interactions. Photo: Courtesy of Tree Music

Beijing Sonic electronic music and art festival will be a banquet of multiple sensations and interactions. Photo: Courtesy of Tree Music

Beijing Sonic, a two-week electronic music and art festival will be hosted in Beijing this September, bringing with it a sonic and visual banquet of multiple sensations and interactions.

It will be the first music project of its kind in China, attracting the best of international and domestic performers in electronic music. The festival will combine both music and art, well-known DJs, bands, visual artists, dance crews and record label representatives from Paris, Berlin, Shanghai and Beijing.

Fans of electronic music in Beijing will be spoilt for choice with international musicians such as Antigone from Paris, who is on the record label Concrete, and Nick V from Mona Paris. Chinese acts that will be on display are Yang Bing, Mickey Zhang, Dead J, White+ and Zhi Qi from Beijing, with Ben Huang and Santo Chino attending from Shanghai.

Sponsored by China's independent music label Tree Music, and organized by ShadowPlay with the support of Waveform, the festival is more than just a regular music event. Run from September 5 to 14, the festival will host parties, live shows, creative workshops, visual art exhibitions, documentary screenings on electronic music culture and visual artist crossovers.

Five creative workshops will be held at the festival, providing artists and music enthusiasts with an insight into the industry. Ableton Sound Creation Workshop has invited electronic music equipment companies Ableton, DMT and Skinnerbox to host device trials and forum discussions. While the Vinyl Story Workshop will have record labels and premium distributors from Berlin, Paris and Beijing introducing the unique transmission for electronic music records.

For artist workshop Art: Paris V.S. Beijing, Paris street artists from Jekyll & Hyde will team up with Beijing graffiti artists Li Qiuqiu, Jin and Liu Yibing to finish a live painting. Attendants at this workshop will also see Kermitt Dee and Kylam from Jekyll & Hyde come together to design and draw a tattoo image on spot, with Yangzhuo tattoo studio from Beijing completing the tattoo.

The Voguing Ball Workshop will be hosted by Vogue & Waack Ball from Mona Paris and Georgina from Berlin's House of Melody.

The four documentaries which will be screened are Paris is Burning (1990), Real Scene Paris (2009), Real Scene Berlin (2011) and Rencontre avec Nick V (2014). These documentaries discuss the  party culture from different perspectives, and how the sub-culture is closely related to the global economy and the new lifestyles of today's youth.

Included in the festival line-up is the exhibition Sonic+, another exciting project focused on the art and electronic music scene. Involving 30 young artists, Sonic+ will portray their artworks in the form of new media, installation, light shows, and visual art performances at the festival's parties and live shows.

Festival Schedule

2014.09.05 Friday 

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am

Live & Djs: G.A.N (Waveform), FAR (Beijing), We are not invited (Tree Music), Mickey Zhang (Yen/Beijing), Kermit Dee(Jekyll&Hyde/Paris), Yang Bing (White Rabbit Club/Haze Club/Beijing) 

2014.09.06 Saturday 

Bamboo Space, 3 pm to midnight

The Voguing Ball Dancing Workshop Voguing: Nick V(Mona/Paris), Leo Melody (House of Melody/Berlin), Ylva Falk (Paris), Leeo Addiict (Paris), Tiger Tati (Paris), Amélie Poulain (Paris)

Live & Djs: Watermelonman (Full Time Chillers/Retrodance/Beijing), Darcy (Shadowplay), WengWeng (Lantern Club), White+ (Maybe mars/Beijing)

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am

Wareika Live: Wednesday trip (Treemusic), Wareika (Perlon, Visionquest/Berlin) , Nik Patrick (Brot/Berlin), Ben Huang (Yellow/Shanghai)

2014.09.07 Sunday    

Bamboo Space, 3 pm to midnight 

Street Art Workshop: Paris V.S. Beijing: Kermit Dee x Kylam (Jekyll&Hyde / Paris), 0528_QIU, Jin, Ping-pang Fan,

Live and Djs Nara, ME:MO (Fruity Shop/Beijing), Pei (ByeByeDisco/Beijing), EDDIE LV (3+2/Beijing)

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am 

This is Mona: The Vogue & Waack Ball

Show: Boflex (Dim Sum Disco), Nick V (Mona/Paris), ZhiQi (Shadowplay), Leo Melody (House of Melody/Berlin), Ylva falk (Mona/Paris), Leeo Addiict (Mona/Paris), Marion Fournier (Mona/Paris), Amélie Poulain (Mona/Paris)

2014.09.12 Friday 

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am

Live & Djs: Ryoichi Kurokawa (Berlin), Dead J (Waveform/Beijing), Heartbeat (Dement3d/Paris), Polar Inertia (Dement3D/field/Paris), Antigone (Concrete Music /Paris)

2014.09.13 Saturday

Ming Space, 4 pm to 6 pm

Ableton Sound Creation Workshop: Skinnerbox (BPitch Control)

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am 

Live and Djs: Shackup (Swim/Beijing), Sarah Farina (Through My Speakers/Berlin), Chix (Through My Speakers/Berlin), Prosumer (Potion, OstGut Ton/PanoramaBar, Playhouse/Edinburgh)

2014.09.14 Sunday 

Bamboo Space, 3 pm to midnight

Workshop: Tattoo Art Paris V.S. Beijing: Kermit Dee x Kylam (Jekyll&Hyde / Paris) Lao Duan, Yin Liang and Zhou Xiao YZ Tattoo /Beijing

Live &Djs: Guoji(Beijing), This and That (Shadowplay/Beijing), Evan(Swim/Beijing), X.L.F(Beijing), Eliott Litrowski (Popcorn Record/Paris), Day (Beijing)

Ming Space, 9 pm to 6 am

Special Guest: RMBit (Hangzhou), Kaize (Beijing), Shen Yue (Beijing)