esea contemporary is proud to present the UK debut of Wuhan-based experimental music band Hardcore Raver in Tears, as part of Chris Zhongtian Yuan's preview weekend for ‘Two Improvisations.’ Led by Lu Yan — who features prominently in Yuan's Two Improvisations: A Punk Musical film installation — the group brings together long-standing collaborators whose practices move fluidly across music, moving image, and performance.
Emerging from the earlier project AV Okubo, Hardcore Raver in Tears combines industrial noise, rave, and punk sensibilities through distorted textures, abrasive rhythms, and emotionally charged vocals. Moving away from overt historical reference toward a more personal and future-oriented cultural critique, the project explores contemporary social conditions while retaining the raw immediacy of DIY music cultures and spaces of collective release. Since reforming in 2019, Hardcore Raver in Tears has released a number of acclaimed works including Take Her to Wanda Plaza, Demobilization, Dongguan, and the pandemic-era EP WUHAN2020, which reflect experiences of social change, uncertainty, and human connection with urgency and empathy.
Lu Yan is a key figure in Yuan’s Channel Two film installation, performing four original songs written in conjunction with the artist. Here, music becomes both a collaborative method and a way of thinking through migration, subculture, friendship, and improvisation. Together these practices explore the tensions between underground cultural movements and institutional frameworks: how punk and DIY ethics might retain their unruly, anti-establishment energies as they move between the gallery and the music venue.
Generously supported by the British Council ‘Connect Through Culture’ Grant, this event will be taking place at SOUP: 31-33 Spear St, Manchester, M1 1DF. Entry is ticketed and limited to those aged 18 and over.
Doors open at 7pm, with the performance starting at 8:30pm.
Audience advisory: this performance contains strobe lighting and flashing images.
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