Zanias tour diary 2025
Zanias tour diary throughout Beijing and Shanghai this spring, following the Berlin-based musician to her hybrid live performances at Groundless Factory in Beijing and Abyss in Shanghai, and discovering unexpected
How was your arrival to Beijing?
I was super excited about arriving in Beijing since I hadn’t visited China since 2019, and I’d never been to Beijing before. I’d been told many good things about the Arts District, which happened to be right where we were staying. On the first day, we went for a walk around there and wandered into some cute little shops, including one that sold beer that had been into space.
GROUNDLESS FACTORY – Beijing’s famous underground club.
It was one of the easiest soundchecks ever, honestly. I’ve had nightmares trying to sing live vocals in clubs in the past, with feedback deafening everyone in the room, but for some reason, the acoustics at Groundless Factory suited them perfectly. The venue is an eclectic warehouse of treasures, and the team was all super friendly and helpful. I felt right at home there.
How was the gig in Groundless Factory? Have you ever heard of the place before?
I’d heard of Groundless Factory from my friend Kris Baha, who played there last year. I remember seeing his Instagram stories at the time and wondering, ‘What is this cyberpunk dream of a place?’. The gig went very smoothly, and I got right into the flow immediately, as the audience seemed to connect very easily to what I was sharing with them.
After intense time in Beijing ahead was our next destination – Shanghai
We took the high-speed railway, which was an experience in itself. I was particularly struck by how the towns outside never seemed to fully end before another one began.
Cap MORGENLOS @morgenlos / photos KEYI STUDIO @keyistudio in LSD bar in Shanghai / ring .IIIMIII. @_.iiimiii._
ABYSS in Shanghai was our second destination.
How did the soundcheck go? What was the first impression of the venue and its team?
Once again, I felt right at home in the club and absolutely loved how Abyss has been designed. It’s compact but very effective, with a fantastic lighting system and installation above the dancefloor. Apparently, no one had ever tried live vocals in there before, so my hopes weren’t high, but somehow once again it worked absolutely fine! The team was amazing and the lighting technician even moved one of the club lights so it would shine on me while I stood on top of the DJ booth.
How was the gig in ABYSS? Have you ever heard of the place before?
A DJ friend had referred to Abyss as ‘the goth one’ of the two best clubs in Shanghai (alternatively Potent is ‘the gay one’, and both are super fun to play at). In Beijing, some of the people I met also spoke of Abyss as a very impressive club with a particularly enthusiastic audience. They were not wrong. I felt a really strong energy in the room that’s not often felt in Western clubs these days. People were really dancing. Like with all limbs moving at once, lost in the music completely. It’s the sort of party I always dream of playing.
I got a little emotional playing some of my Serpentskin tracks and watching the dancefloor do exactly what I’d hoped it would do! Felt like ‘mission accomplished’.
Are there any things that shocked you?
I grew up in Asia so I didn’t feel so shocked, as in ‘surprised’, by many things, and a lot of it struck me with a haunting familiarity and almost nostalgia for my time in Malaysia, but I did feel rather delighted every time I saw an English translation that didn’t quite make sense. ‘Fermented inspiration’, ‘semen sesame flavour’, ‘carefully fall down’, and ‘pre-sale romance’ as some examples. I also found it really interesting how little traffic noise there is, with so many electric cars on the road.
Favorite food from the tour?
HOT POT. Especially when every single vegetarian item on the menu ends up on the table. It’s too delicious to stop eating.
Any other cultural shocks that stayed with you?
I loved seeing groups of people of all ages dancing perfectly in sync and doing Tai Chi in various public places.
What do you like most about China?
The kindness and patience of the people, even with a language barrier and such different cultures. And the way everything is imbued with a little extra cuteness, like even a tiramisu would be adorned with a Hello Kitty biscuit, and there are very well taken care of cats living everywhere from corner shops to bars. Also: the fact that it’s possible to get delicious food anywhere and everywhere. Even the most random restaurant in a basement will serve up something worth trying. I hope I will be back in China soon again!
Our next event : Säule, Berghain – 24.04.2025 -> more info here
