Lou Nanli, known professionally as B6, is one of China’s most beloved electronic music DJs, as well as a graphic designer who specializes in Chinese music culture. In recent years, Lou’s art has taken on a more eclectic shape, thanks to his active participation in a number of experimental sound projects.Nanli presented his latest audiovisual installation, Sound of the City, at our Beijing event last month. The work weaves together audio and visual fragments of the Chinese cities Hangzhou and Shanghai with a refined touch and a personal perspective. Space and time connect thanks to highly-skilled editing and a delicate soundscape, revealing a sensibility typical of someone who is deeply involved with his sensory surroundings. As sounds and images flicker, they remain integrated in one continuum led by a dense time structure. Sound of the City left a big impact on the Beijing audience, while leaving a rich space for each individual to asses his or her interpretation of the urban landscape. The work's crafty maturity shows this “sound artist’s” clear mastery over the visual domain, making it hard to believe that this is the artist’s first audiovisual installation.Sound of the City (2010)We spoke to Lou Nanli about his shift from sound to imagery, and his working process behind Sound of the City.The Creators Project: You work as a musician, DJ and graphic designer, yet Sound of the City is so different from your previous works. Is this your first time working with moving images?
B6: Actually, I come from a visual art background, but I have been working with music and sound ever since I graduated from school, so eventually visuals became a less practiced part of my work. This is not my first time working with images; I did some visual experiments back in 2004. I’ve also collaborated with many contemporary video artists, but of course I only took care of the sound/music part.Does this represent a new direction in your practice?
I started producing my own artwork in 2009, and now I am trying to explore my potential in a different field. Sound of the City didn’t come from one or two random ideas—it was the result of one year’s accumulated thoughts. When I started doing new media works in 2010, I wanted to extract my interior and exterior feelings towards different cities. I finished the piece by pulling together all the different elements. When I was doing the work, I kept recalling all my ideas and presenting them in reality. It’s a similar approach when I do music—I try to make the ideas real.After this work, I want to explore and research the idea of interactivity. I haven’t always been cautious about interactive or technical focused presentations in art, but after seeing a lot of “interactive art” pieces, I realize this is a method that you use when it is necessary.
How did you construct the sounds and images in Sound of the City? Which part is more decisive, the sound or the visuals?
If we are talking about the production process, I recorded the image and sound of each scene at the same time and place. During post production, I finished the sound part first, and followed it with the image construction. All the sound resources are concrete—I didn’t use any synthesizers or signal generators, which are tools I use in electronic music to manipulate soundscapes. The whole process is simple, only involving a long process of arrangement and selection. Afterwards I processed [the clips] with different effects and re-sampled them. Later I composed the imagery for the sound. I attempt to create imperfection in the work, it’s a personal “rhythm.” In this era where images overflow, it is not easy to determine your perspective and opinions.In Sound of the City, we recognize images very easily, like West Lake in Hangzhou, and the Jiaozhou fire accident scene in Shanghai. How did you choose these locations? Do they directly relate to your personal feelings towards current social circumstances?
I didn’t plan to have these images represent specific events. They might imply the time being, because it is hard to separate time from the topic of urbanization, but I still think time is a superficial representation—subjective feelings and experiences are more real to me. I am glad the audience felt [a similar feeling] as me when they watched the film. They can watch it with a critical view or purely for its visual impact, but the visual impact depends on the installation’s immersive atmosphere. I think the depth and breadth of a work depends on an artist's ideology; however, after it’s finished, the work should act as a free spirit, with no restrictions.You used a lot of field recordings in your recent works. Do you perceive your role in the environment as a participant or phonographer?
I have always been passionate about field recording, but my works are not pure recordings. The essential idea is to use them for music making. “Environment” has different definitions. I don’t want to focus all my attention on the spectacular vision of the exterior, nor make a city documentary. I want to express a personal feeling and perspective towards the region, and show my relationship with it. The result is objective or abstract. As for my role, I don’t want to be in one fixed position, I should be freely shifting around. After all, I am my work’s first audience.How important is technology in your creative process?
In terms of new media creation, humans are doing half the work, and the technology itself determines the other half. The formal human decisive opinion is not strong enough anymore. Technology has become an external brain that is synced with the human brain and vice versa.Are there any artists who have influenced you?
A lot. Although my background is in visual art, I always tried to repel the forced input from my formal education. My own studying process is full of sound and music, with a huge influence from electronic music, as you can imagine.Do you have any ongoing or impending projects you can discuss?
I wish I could gain some space and time and lock myself back in my studio. I have been touring around the world for the past two years, spending too much time on traveling and exhibition projects. I hardly spend time in my studio in Shanghai, which I consider the fundamental part of my art making. I can’t wait to go back to it. I haven’t released a full album as B6 for three years, and I know the music fans are starting to get impatient.Next year, I am very excited to continue Sound of the City. I plan to work in Beijing and in a European city. I will spend two to three months at an artist’s residency in Europe, so I might combine Sound of the City with the artist’s residency. I had such a great working experience with The Creators Project team, so I wish to continue our collaboration, and create more stirring works.
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B6: Actually, I come from a visual art background, but I have been working with music and sound ever since I graduated from school, so eventually visuals became a less practiced part of my work. This is not my first time working with images; I did some visual experiments back in 2004. I’ve also collaborated with many contemporary video artists, but of course I only took care of the sound/music part.Does this represent a new direction in your practice?
I started producing my own artwork in 2009, and now I am trying to explore my potential in a different field. Sound of the City didn’t come from one or two random ideas—it was the result of one year’s accumulated thoughts. When I started doing new media works in 2010, I wanted to extract my interior and exterior feelings towards different cities. I finished the piece by pulling together all the different elements. When I was doing the work, I kept recalling all my ideas and presenting them in reality. It’s a similar approach when I do music—I try to make the ideas real.After this work, I want to explore and research the idea of interactivity. I haven’t always been cautious about interactive or technical focused presentations in art, but after seeing a lot of “interactive art” pieces, I realize this is a method that you use when it is necessary.
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If we are talking about the production process, I recorded the image and sound of each scene at the same time and place. During post production, I finished the sound part first, and followed it with the image construction. All the sound resources are concrete—I didn’t use any synthesizers or signal generators, which are tools I use in electronic music to manipulate soundscapes. The whole process is simple, only involving a long process of arrangement and selection. Afterwards I processed [the clips] with different effects and re-sampled them. Later I composed the imagery for the sound. I attempt to create imperfection in the work, it’s a personal “rhythm.” In this era where images overflow, it is not easy to determine your perspective and opinions.In Sound of the City, we recognize images very easily, like West Lake in Hangzhou, and the Jiaozhou fire accident scene in Shanghai. How did you choose these locations? Do they directly relate to your personal feelings towards current social circumstances?
I didn’t plan to have these images represent specific events. They might imply the time being, because it is hard to separate time from the topic of urbanization, but I still think time is a superficial representation—subjective feelings and experiences are more real to me. I am glad the audience felt [a similar feeling] as me when they watched the film. They can watch it with a critical view or purely for its visual impact, but the visual impact depends on the installation’s immersive atmosphere. I think the depth and breadth of a work depends on an artist's ideology; however, after it’s finished, the work should act as a free spirit, with no restrictions.
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I have always been passionate about field recording, but my works are not pure recordings. The essential idea is to use them for music making. “Environment” has different definitions. I don’t want to focus all my attention on the spectacular vision of the exterior, nor make a city documentary. I want to express a personal feeling and perspective towards the region, and show my relationship with it. The result is objective or abstract. As for my role, I don’t want to be in one fixed position, I should be freely shifting around. After all, I am my work’s first audience.How important is technology in your creative process?
In terms of new media creation, humans are doing half the work, and the technology itself determines the other half. The formal human decisive opinion is not strong enough anymore. Technology has become an external brain that is synced with the human brain and vice versa.Are there any artists who have influenced you?
A lot. Although my background is in visual art, I always tried to repel the forced input from my formal education. My own studying process is full of sound and music, with a huge influence from electronic music, as you can imagine.Do you have any ongoing or impending projects you can discuss?
I wish I could gain some space and time and lock myself back in my studio. I have been touring around the world for the past two years, spending too much time on traveling and exhibition projects. I hardly spend time in my studio in Shanghai, which I consider the fundamental part of my art making. I can’t wait to go back to it. I haven’t released a full album as B6 for three years, and I know the music fans are starting to get impatient.Next year, I am very excited to continue Sound of the City. I plan to work in Beijing and in a European city. I will spend two to three months at an artist’s residency in Europe, so I might combine Sound of the City with the artist’s residency. I had such a great working experience with The Creators Project team, so I wish to continue our collaboration, and create more stirring works.