Chinese pop music takes SXSW stage

CaoTai Music China Showcase attracted a steady stream of music lovers to the Elysium Nightclub in downtown Austin on Monday night, start of the SXSW Music Festival.

That's no small achievement for a newcomer to the festival, where more than 1,800 bands and independent musicians from around the world compete for listeners.

Beijing-based CaoTai Music brought six groups of young musicians featuring electronics, indie rock, indie pop, techno and art pop.

The night began with AEM, a newly formed electronic classical pop band, followed by 3He, Upside Down, LIA LIA, Shao and JOCO. The concert started at 8 pm lasted until 2 am.

This is the second year that artists from CaoTai Music have made an appearance at SXSW. Last year, 3He and two other musicians performed at China Night, which was organized by the MTA (Music, Technology, Art) Festival.

3He (real name Ge Fei), an electronic musician, made his debut at SXSW last year and his performance got him invited back.

Despite knowing that it was a major music festival, SXSW blew him away his first time last year.

"It was beyond my imagination," he said. "The musicians were great and there were so many different new styles. At any given moment something was happening.

"SXSW is magical and really cool. There is a strong sense of vitality and freedom here. It has certainly broadened my horizons and stimulated my imagination," 3He said.

SXSW encouraged 3He to demand more of himself in creating music. "SXSW inspired me to make unique music, something I can call my own," he said.

This year, his new piece Mirror Image made it onto NPR's Austin 100 list, a noteworthy achievement.

"Every year NPR does a list before SXSW and chooses the 100 best pieces. Out of more than 1,800 artists they picked 3He. This is a very influential list," said James Minor, head of the SXSW Music Festival.

Another CaoTai band Upside Down was featured on SXSW website. "They are great and now people are excited about it. They are invited to play in another showcase," Minor said.

Upside Down was invited by the Roologic label to perform again on Tuesday night.

Minor is a big fan of Shao, another musician with CaoTai. "He is an amazing electronic producer," Minor said. "His music creates a certain atmosphere and is also cinematic."

In addition to CaoTai Music, MTA will also present China Night on March 14 at SXSW. MTA is the first Chinese music group that brought Chinese musicians to SXSW in 2018.

According to Minor, this year more than 8,000 groups from around the world applied to perform at SXSW and about 1,800 were selected.

"We are looking for artists who can benefit from being here, on their way up. We help those small artists who will be the next big thing," Minor said.

"SXSW is an important platform for Chinese original content music to be included in the global musical scene," 3He said. "This means that Chinese music is catching up with Europe and America and our music talents are getting close to international level."