Han Han and the making of Duck Fight Goose

He's not a cocksure rock star, nor a music mogul. He's not the charismatic front man nor the bombastic promoter. But Hefei-born Han Han, 28, is perhaps the pioneering leader of Shanghai’s nascent alternative, experimental rock scene. And however unlikely that appears, tonight, at Yuyintang Shanghai, the evidence of his prowess is impossible to ignore. 

Han strums away on his black and mirror Japanese-made Fender Jaguar with his latest musical project, Duck Fight Goose (DFG). His schizophrenic guitar wizardry uses an array of delay, reverb and sequencing effects pedals to captivate the audience’s attention. We hang on his every note. 

“No one inspires me to keep playing,” explains Han Han, who on first appearance more closely resembles a computer programmer than a guitar god. “There are people who are inspiring, but my enthusiasm to keep playing is automatic.” 

Man about town

While Han Han currently fronts Duck Fight Goose, his ascent to the upper echelon of greater-China’s rock scene began in the mid-aughts as the singer and guitarist of the critically-acclaimed psychedelic-jam outfit Lava|Ox|Sea (LOS). The highly-touted trio released a number of well-received albums, including the 2009 gem “Next Episode: Lord Smart vs. Dr. Jin,” on Han’s own Miniless Records, the label he started in 2007 to further the spread of China’s experimental rock artists. 

“There are many young people who are not satisfied with the local scene, which is too pop-rock influenced,” explains Han Han. “I don't like pop-rock because the structure, lyrics and chords are all too official to me.”

On the Shanghai scene

After the release of “Next Episode,” Lava|Ox|Sea began a lengthy hiatus, during which Han relocated to Shanghai, another display of Han's anti-mainstream mind-set, given Beijing’s status as the dominant locale for aspiring musicians. In Shanghai he hooked up with former Muscle Snog guitarist Panda and Boojii’s San San and Da Men to form Duck Fight Goose. 

“Shanghai is a city with all my best friends, a group of weird rockers, they hate and love what they’ve kept doing for years and make different music from the others,” says Han. “I myself belong to that group too.” 

The band started, the music evolved, to a stage now where it is only categorized as rock because they use rock instruments. Their song structures rely heavily on stop-start dynamics, droning atmospheric passages and improvisation, in direct opposition to the locally favored saccharine pop punk.

“Shanghai is too delicate for many people and some will say it's not a right place for the rough kind of underground music. Well I don't think so,” offers Han. “If the musicians treat their music more seriously, not just as a way of showing people what they can do, Shanghai may have the ability to transcend beyond the established brand of rock." 

In the name of progress

To further prove his theory, Duck Fight Goose has, in less than seven months, become one of the city’s few consistent live acts, relentlessly gigging around the town, turning casual concert-goers into die-hard alternative fans. Consequently, Han Han has pioneered a fledgling alternative scene, organizing and promoting shows like New Faces and Good Jive, working with artists like Asthma Writer’s Union for the R|E|S|O showcase series and hooking up with Beijing label Maybe Mars for their Maybe Noise imprint. 

“A lot of what Han Han does is behind the scenes, contacting bands and musicians, organizing and promoting shows online,” explains Brad Ferguson, a local music producer and chief engineer for Future Sonic, a Shanghai-based guitar effects pedal manufacturing company he started with Han Han, serving as lead graphic designer and marketing consultant. “It takes a special combination of skills to be able to pull it all off, but he does it very well. He's brought a new level of professionalism to the underground scene.” 

From singer/guitarist and label head to booker/promoter and brand marketer, Han Han, who’s fascinated by the “complicated disaster of modern-pop music,” has found himself involved in every facet of underground music, along the way becoming an accidental taste-maker. It is indeed an unlikely story, but for a guy who continuously describes his overall approach as “no ambitions … and a little cynical,” this twisted irony is perhaps the only logical conclusion.