Supermarket's Display Dazzles

By Jerry Chan

The 1990s came in roaring with the fuzz of grunge's distorted guitar sound and went out in a flurry of synthesized breakbeats. As electronic music becomes increasingly categorized into ambiguous genres like techno, trance, house, and drum and bass, originality is often forsaken for the marketability of labeling music. Ironically, what was once considered one of the most innovative and pioneering musical movements of the 20th century (i.e. the work of groups and artists like Can, Faust, Kraftwerk, and Eno), has in recent years become a commodified industry of re-hashed samples and tired beats. Thus it comes as no surprise that in a sea of mediocrity, the double blessing of record sales and critical acclaim is all the more elusive.

China's First All Electronic Band

As China's first all electronic band, Supermarket faces such daunting challenges. More importantly, they face the added difficulty of reaching out to a relatively uninterested Chinese audience. The majority of Chinese clubs and discos still play the monotonous beats of late 80s Euro-House music (with the occasional Chinese house and English pop song thrown in). It is only in the more progressive clubs and events in Beijing and Shanghai that the sounds of drum and bass, new house, trance and trip-hop can be heard.

7 Weapons' Arsenal of Beats

Much to their credit, Supermarket has drawn from a wide range of influences without sacrificing their own original sound. All the more impressive is the fact that they are virtually the only group in China of their kind. With the international success of similar acts from Japan (i.e. Pizzicatto Five and Cornelius), Supermarket's "Weapons" are an encouraging sign of good things yet to come from mainland Chinese groups.