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MUSIC ANDHAMILTONMASSES
THE
SPLIT WORKS’ ARCHIE
Peter Dixon
S
SPLIT WORKS HAVE BEEN AN INSTRUMENTAL FORCE IN THE RISE OF LIVE MUSIC
IN CHINA AND AROUND ASIA. FOUNDED BY ARCHIE HAMILTON AND NATHANIEL
DAVIS, THEY HAVE BEEN BRINGING INTERNATIONAL ACTS TO CHINA FOR THE
PAST SEVEN YEARS. THE JUE FESTIVAL, THE BLACK RABBIT MUSIC FESTIVAL, AND TOURS
FOR ACTS SUCH AS SONIC YOUTH, THE FRAY, SHABAZZ PALACES AND MAXIMO PARK HAVE
ALL HAPPENED UNDER THE SPLIT WORKS BANNER.
At the beginning of the summer, we spoke to Archie about Shanghai’s musical past, Split Works’
evolution, and what to expect from the summer of live music in the city. It’s been interesting to see
how things turned out, particularly in light of a summer where promoters learned harsh lessons
about the prices people are really willing to pay for the likes of Aerosmith (cancelled) and Limp Bizkit
(poorly attended to say the least…).
Read on to find out more about what foreign bands can really expect when they tour, and hopes for
better, angrier music in China.
What have you noticed about the enthusiasm towards the music scene in China? I think it’s cyclical, especially
in Shanghai. The core fan base is students and in China they are under so much pressure to achieve
from both a financial and a familial perspective. For this reason, University towns have been dead.
So we have to focus on this really short time period between leaving college and needing to get a
job. Relative to the size of the cities, we are scratching such a tiny little surface. Particularly in
Shanghai, an expat audience props up a lot of the key venues, which is disappointing.
What are the problems getting bands over here and how do you sell China to artists?
The first five years were quite torturous actually. You know, reaching out,
pleading, begging… Although you would think that they would have, the
changes in the international industry haven’t helped us. The reality of the
situation is that most of the money bands make comes from touring, and
we’re not competitive in that mark