Cian | December 11, 2019
The area of Nanshan is China’s tech hub. In the space of two hundred meters near Keyuan Station are some of the country’s biggest tech companies from Baidu to Tencent.
But tucked away amongst the skyscrapers is also one of the city’s most important music venues: A8Live. It’s where chart-topping and award-winning international artists have performed and where local artists have had their breaks and recorded albums.
A8Live boasts a live venue with state-of-the-art equipment that can hold up to six hundred people, and a cutting-edge recording studio that has been used by chart-topping popstars. The posters of some of the acts that have played A8Live hang on the walls on the corridor as you walk backstage to the recording studio. From the Grammy Award nominated Foster The People to British indie rockers Starsailor, and Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy to German dark metal band Nachtblut.
A8Live is also a big supporter of local music. In the past, they have regularly hosted Music Camp events. Local up-and-coming acts are invited to perform and the box office is split with the artists. It’s a great way to introduce musicians to a wider audience and give them a boost financially.
One such band was Shenzhen’s very own Force Defender. The heavy metal band played one of the original Music Camps and have since then gone from strength to strength. They even came back to A8Live to launch their debut album 1118.
A8Live are a champion for many in the local music scene. They’ve had Green Bus on the bill too and the punk pop rockers even recorded their latest album in A8 Live’s recording studio. The studio has also been used by pop superstar G.E.M.to record a track.
The Shenzhen music scene is stronger with venues like A8Live. Since it opened in 2014, it has been both able to attract international acts that otherwise wouldn’t have passed through and, more importantly, to help local artists reach a wider audience.
With recent performances coming from Chinese DJ Anti-General among others, there’s never been a better time to check out a show at A8Live.
Address: A8 Music Mansion, N0.1002 Keyuan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen (深圳市南山区科园路1002号A8音乐大厦)
WeChat: A8Livehouse