One recent sunny Kunming afternoon we found ourselves in the Dechun Telecom building at Xiao Ximen for the first time. The hallway of the fifth floor was filled with the sound of renovation crews doing their work. At the end of the hallway, the noise of saws and staple guns gave way to hiphop beats. Another crew was hard at work, but they were having fun.

We arrived at the new Dangsters Studio to talk with crew captain Du Fei (杜斐 - wearing the 'I heart BKK' shirt in the above video) about the Dangsters – a group of entrepreneurial young dancers who are making a living off of dancing at events and teaching dance courses at their studio. A group of seven dancers, including Du, were finishing up rehearsal for an upcoming promotional event for which they had been hired.

The high-energy routine finished with a flourish of whoops and clapping and the even more high-energy Du bounced over and introduced herself with a snap and a slightly vogueish arm and hip combination. GoKunming sat down for tea with Du to discuss the story behind the Dangsters ("dance" + "gangsters") and the state of hiphop dance in Kunming. Here's what we learned:

GoKunming: Can you give us a short history of the Dangsters?

Du Fei: Yeah, we started off in 2003 with just three people – back then we called ourselves KLT – and now we are a 10-person crew. We opened our first studio four years ago on Longquan Lu. It wasn't the greatest location because it was a bit far from downtown Kunming. Now we're in a much better location and our studio is much nicer.

People think Yunnan doesn't have hiphop… we started this place to let people know that we're here!

GK: There aren't many dance competitions in Yunnan, where do the Dangsters usually go to compete or perform outside of this corner of the country?

DF: Almost all the hiphop dance competitions in China are in Beijing, so that's where we usually end up. Recently we've competed in national competitions including the 2009 Keep On Dancing competition, the CCTV National Hiphop Dance Competition and the 2009 NBA Cheerleader Competition.

GK: In addition to competitions and commercial events, the Dangsters are also dance instructors. What kinds of dance do you teach and how often does your studio offer classes?

DF: We teach hiphop and jazz dance and have classes every day. Each of the crew members is also a teacher.

GK: How many students in Kunming have studied under the Dangsters? What kind of students come to your studio?

DF: We teach everyone… some students are in their 20s like us, we also teach kids and old ladies. [laughs] The older ladies like to dance sexy.

GK: Why do older women enjoy your classes?

DF: For older women, dancing can be a way of becoming more confident. It gives them passion, it can also give them power.

GK: Why did you personally become interested in dance?

DF: Because of Michael Jackson… he's my God. [laughs] The first time I saw him dance I wanted to dance like that.

GK: Do you think hiphop is just another trend or do you see more of a scene developing in Kunming in the coming years?

DF: I think hiphop and hiphop dancing will grow in popularity in Kunming and more people will get involved. Dancing has a positive impact on people – it makes them feel better about themselves.

Tonight the Speakeasy Bar will hold a CD release party for the Battle of the Year (BOTY) Soundtrack 2009, which was put together by DJ DSK and Sam Debell of Unity Recordings. In addition to being a CD release party, tonight's do will also be a farewell party for Debell, who has been an integral part of the Kunming music scene for as long as we can remember and is moving to Beijing.

GoKunming chatted with Unity's DSK and Debell about the new CD and tonight's party:

GoKunming: What is the Battle of The Year Soundtrack 2009?

DJ DSK: BOTY is an international B-Boy or break-dance competition held each year in Germany. This year celebrating its 20th anniversary, BOTY has grown to be the biggest international competition of its kind - there are over 30 worldwide eliminations in over 20 countries. The CD is the soundtrack for the Chinese national elimination which was held last weekend in Shanghai.

The CD is a project by Unity Recordings to promote positive hip-hop and funk music in China and also give Chinese artists a chance to reach a worldwide audience and network with artists from other countries. On this year's CD we have funk bands from Kunming, Shanghai and Chengdu, rap from Guangzhou, Aruba and the US, electro from Shenzhen, hip-hop beats from Athens, Bangkok, Qingdao and a lot more.

GK: What difficulties did you encounter while managing such an international project?

Sam Debell: It was very hard to coordinate people in different cities all around China and in six countries and get them all to meet deadlines especially as this is a nonprofit release. Also DJ DSK had many sleepless nights as he had to help record and mix a lot of the songs at the same time as having a baby! The final master CD and drums on one track were finished whilst on a tour, which meant us getting back to the hotel around 3 am and working till daylight. No matter how well you plan there always seems to be a mad rush at the end!

DSK: The biggest difficulty was the same one facing everyone making music today - no one is buying music anymore! Sales of CDs are down everywhere due to people downloading free online. So we really need people to support the project and buy a real copy. The CD is only 25 yuan and it's very difficult for any music artist to survive these days, especially in China, so if you like a Chinese band or artist, please buy their music!

GK: How does the release differ from last year's China BOTY 2008 CD?

DSK: This release has the same basic philosophy and musical style as last year but everything is much more professional this time round. We had all the music mastered in a professional studio in the UK so everything sounds more polished and up to the quality of most commercial releases, we also increased the budget to include a booklet in the CD. The artwork is again provided by famous UK graffiti writer and graphic designer DEP.

GK: What can we expect at the release party tonight?

For the release party we want people to come along and have a fun night to a soundtrack of funk, disco and hip-hop. We really want to show to people the positive side of non-commercial hip-hop and not the rubbish so called rap music you hear in the top 40.

We will also be showing the award winning movie "Planet B-Boy" at 8 pm. This movie is very interesting as it follows B-boy crews from USA, Korea, Japan, France and Canada, showing their lifestyle and what dancing and hip-hop means to them in the context of their own cultures.

Then we will have B-boy cyphers. That means music and live percussion specially for B-boys/B-girls to dance and have fun to. It consists of DJ DSK on two turntables cutting up old funk, soul and Latin breaks along with some classic hip-hop and People's Rhythm adding live African and Latin percussion. Then at 12 we have a 15 minute scratch performance of DMC routines and freestyle scratch set from me, Marco and Echo. At 12:15 DJs will be playing funk and hip-hop to party the rest of the night away. If we have enough time to organize we may also add some live graffiti painting outside from 9 to 10.30.

GK: Can you tell us some more about BOTY China competition and who won?

It was an amazing event held last weekend in Shanghai's Jing'an stadium in which crews from all over China had to perform a six-minute dance routine and then the top four crews entered a knock out championship to decide the winner. Kunming's own B-boy crew KGS came second in the dance routine rating, impressing the international judges with their mix of traditional Yunnan minority dancing and B-Boy moves. Dragon Style from Beijing came first with an impressive show using moves and make up taken from kungfu and opera. KGS made it into the semifinal battle losing to STO from Guangzhou who went on to win BOTY China 2009.

STO will go to Singapore this weekend to enter BOTY Asia along with Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia - the top three will then go to the BOTY world finals in Germany in October.

GK: How are you distributing the new CD?

The CD is available in Kunming at Salvadors Coffee House and other CD shops around the area and in the rest of China through the 1973 mail order hip-hop shop.

Also, you can come to the Speak and support the release party - we are giving a free vodka to anyone who buys the CD, which is only 25 kuai. It will also be available in Europe through the official BOTY shop in a week or so - you can check our website for more details.

GK: Will you be releasing another album next year?

DSK: We hope so. It's a lot of work with little financial motivation but it's something we believe in and we will look for more sponsors to help us out. We are currently in talks and hoping that BOTY China or even BOTY Asia can be part of the 2010 Expo in Shanghai. We are always looking for producers or bands, especially Chinese, of suitable music for the next release. So if you or anyone you know thinks they have music that could be on next year's release please contact us!

DJ DSK and Sam Debell can be contacted at unitynick [at] gmail [dot] com and unitysam [at] gmail [dot] com, respectively.

Friday: DJ Showcase at Mix Club
Tonight Mix Club in Kundu will host four of Kunming's hardest working DJs and will be giving away free beer from 9:30 to 11:30. DJs Kris, Martin, Shonny and Christian are scheduled to provide musical entertainment at Mix, which is located on the south end of the Kundu compound, near the Guofang Lu entrance. Don't be surprised if the bar is busy – it will be offering cocktails (gin/rum/vodka/whiskey + mixer) all night for 15 yuan.

Saturday: Dance performance at TCG Nordica
TCG Nordica will be hosting a dance performance featuring Chinese and American dancers and covering different genres including hiphop, jazz, modern and traditional. The performance begins at 8:00, entry is 10 yuan.

Saturday: Matu's Birthday Party at The Hump Bar
Local musician and man-about-town Matu will be celebrating his birthday at The Hump Bar on Saturday night, playing with his mates in the Tribal Moons and DJing with fellow Moonster DJ Make afterward. Festivities kick off at ten, entry is free.

Editor's note: Due to a mistake on the flyer for tonight's Mix Club party, this post originally stated that cocktails were "all-you-can-drink for 15 yuan". We have been contacted by the organizer, who regrets any misunderstanding he may have caused among GoKunming readers.

With the success of the first Kunming Outdoor Music Festival (昆明露天音乐节) last November, the event's organizers are bringing the all-day – and most of the night – music festival back to Taiping Town outside of Kunming on April 19. The all-local festival should be even more diverse than last time, with bands performing punk, blues, metal, hiphop, punk and bluegrass.

The lineup for this edition of the festival includes Heiyu (黑宇), Gouride (狗日的), Broken String (断弦), Endless Torture (无尽折磨), Noise Addiction, No Answer (打死我也不说), Brain Concussion (脑震荡), Co Op Sol (邪作社 – formerly known as Rap Republic), Kouxian (扣弦), Chicken Butt (鸡屁股), Tribal Moons (see above image), Chaling (叉灵), Fang Band (坊乐队), The Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project and Nicole.

The festival starts at noon and will go late into the night – festivalgoers are encouraged to bring tents to stay on the campground overnight. Food and drinks will also be on sale throughout the day and evening.

Tickets for the festival are 30 yuan at the gate, or 20 yuan if purchased in advance at The Hump Bar, Halfway House, Speakeasy Bar or Laowo Bar.

The festival will once again be held at the Wumozhai Jiuzhuang Eco-garden on Xiao Jie in Taiping Town (太平镇小街无墨斋酒庄生态元), near the city of Anning (安宁). According to event organizers, the number 17 bus at Xiao Ximen can be taken to Taiping Town, and there will also be a shuttle bus between Taiping Town and the Arts Theatre at Wuyi Lu and Dongfeng Xi Lu throughout the day for five yuan one way.

UPDATE: We have just received notice from the festival's organizers that the festival has been expanded to two days – with a short evening set on Friday, April 18th and 19th, with a few additional bands and DJs. Here's the schedule for the two days:

Friday, April 18th

8 pm: Gouride
9 pm: Jinzi
10 pm: Stiop
11 pm: Made in Dali
Midnight: Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project
1 am: Brain Concussion
Afterward: DJs Tantrum, Jezz and Menace

Saturday, April 19th

1 pm: Nicole
2 pm: Fang Band
3 pm: Anyeqi
4 pm: Brain Concussion
5 pm: Kouxian
6 pm: Gouride
7 pm: No Answer
8 pm: Tribal Moons
9 pm: Heiyu
10 pm: Broken String
11 pm: Co-op Sol
Midnight: Chaling
1 am: Endless Torture
2 am: Noise Addiction
Afterward: DJ Moon Unit/DJ Chengcheng

UPDATE 2: The festival site is rather difficult to find, here's a Chinese map:

Related articles:

No Answer - Kunming's riot grrls

Kunming Bands to play outdoor music festival

Kunming-based hiphop duo Rap Republic (说唱共和国)will bring its smoky grooves and bilingual flows to the Halfway House Friday night, in a special back-to-school show that will also serve as a sendoff to Rap Republican Tang Renti, who will perform next week in an installation at the Lyon Biennial in France.

Tang and MC Mike Wind told GoKunming that the finishing touches are being put on the group's first demo CD, which should be available at the show. For a preview of some of the songs on the upcoming demo, check out Tang Renti's DIY Music page.

The free show starts at 10 at the Halfway House, located at the always-dangerous intersection of Dongfeng Xi Lu and Kunshi Lu.

Halfway House
半山咖啡
Intersection of Dongfeng Xi Lu and Kunshi Lu
Tel: 5352702

There will be several local and touring acts playing music in Kunming in the coming days, here's a quick breakdown of what's coming up tonight and in the evenings ahead:

Tonight
Speakeasy Bar will host a night of hiphop DJs featuring DJ Law and DJ Mankey J, the free show starts at 10.

Saturday
More hiphop at the Speak as Rap Republic (Tang Ren Ti and Mike Wind) unveils some of their new tracks. The free show will be followed by the musical stylings of DJ Zaphod.

Sunday
Rap gives way to metal at Speakeasy as Die in Velvet and Embryo bring their tour to Kunming for a 9:30 show with 30-yuan admission charge (25 for students).

Also on Sunday night, John Lundemo and Vince Nix will play a set of original music at I Am Living on Wenlin Jie. Show starts at 8.

Next week
Metal, metal and more metal… the Speakeasy will host two more nights of touring metal acts next week. On Wednesday night AK-47 will play a 9 o'clock show - tickets are 35 yuan/30 for students. Next Friday the bands Saw and Heiyu will play a 9:30 show, tickets are 25 yuan/20 for students.

GoKunming encourages its readers to support live music in the Spring City.

Local rapper Tang Renti will join the MCs of South Silk Road and DJ Kris 1 for a show this Saturday at Shelter Bar that will be a farewell performance by South Silk Road MC and beat architect Ghost Eye, who will return to the US next month.

If you haven't seen Tang Renti or South Silk Road perform, you can check out a short video clip of their most recent performance at the Halfway House that GoKunming posted on YouTube.

Saturday night's performance at Shelter Bar - a renovated bomb shelter under the north side of the Kunming Zoo - will start around 10:00. There will be 10 yuan entrance fee.

Shelter Bar
Yuantong Dong Lu, north side of Yuantong Shan
圆通东路 (圆通山北边)

Local rapper Tang Renti is one of the more entertaining musical acts performing around Kunming at the moment. GoKunming recorded Tang Renti last week at his performance with South Silk Road at the Halfway House last Saturday. The clip below features a freestyle followed by a new song unavailable on his current album Jazz-Rap is in the City Now:



There are plans for a Tang Renti/South Silk Road show at Shelter Bar in April. Check GoKunming in the coming weeks for details as they emerge, or visit the Codeword Records website.