Arthropods: Spooky Chinese club music just in time for Halloween

Wu Shanmin, who goes by 33EMYBW, is part of a booming club music scene in Shanghai, China. Her new album, Arthropods, which came out in early October on Shanghai-based label Svbkvlt, is her second solo foray into deconstructed club music. Shanmin has been an active part of the Shanghai music scene since 2002. Originally playing guitar in bands like 33 Dao, Booji, and Muscle Snog, Shanmin went on to cofound the band Duck Fight Goose, one of the most famous modern Shanghai-based bands. Han Han, who now produces under the moniker ‘Gooooose,’ cofounded Duck Fight Goose with Shanmin, and also founded a popular DIY label called Miniless which many of Shanmin’s bands’ releases came out on. The album also notably features remixes from English producer Ikonika, Uruguayan producer Lechuga Zafiro, and Ugandan producer Don Zilla.

The word “Arthropod” is described by Shanmin as an alien version of a biblical creature known as a “Golem.” The album itself is more of an auditory representation of the idea of “Arthropod.” As a whole, the album offers a wide variety of styles of deconstructed club that kept me interested the entire time. The three remixes at the end are some of the highlights as well, each done in the signature style of the remixer. Zilla’s remix of “Drum3” was one of my favorite songs on the track and is done in his signature tribal, hypnotic style. There is a fair number of found-sound samples in this album as well. Anywhere from bells to drills, these samples are combined with heavy industrial club sounds. One of the most interesting parts about this album is the use of atmospheric sounds and the spacing out of different styles within each song. For example, on the original version of “Drum3,” the intense climax of the song is in the first 2 minutes, while the last 6 minutes of the song fluidly shifts from different styles and speeds of club music, and eventually lands on a hypnotic/atmospheric rhythm that the song ends on.

Another highlight of the album is a sterile song called “Seeds of the Future,” which would fit perfectly on any Halloween-themed playlist. There is some intense panning throughout the entire song, which gives the vocal samples a creepy feeling, in addition to the atmospheric sounds and plucky string synths that are layered throughout. This song not only has some incredibly interesting samples, but it also has perfect spacing. No song on the album ever feels rushed or muddy, and each section of every song is timed perfectly. The following song, “Induce,” is another perfect Halloween song with very similar vocal samples, but this time a syncopated kick drum pounds away in the back.

The vocal production on this album is one of its most attractive qualities for me because of how it blends in with the more soundscape-oriented, atmospheric sounds. On “Induce,” the vocal samples are used not only for atmosphere but also as a melodic tool, even being harmonized towards the end. This, combined with the fluidity of each song and the perfect spacing and timing of the album, make it something that I’ve already gone back to multiple times. I enjoyed this one much more than I initially anticipated and I highly recommend it.