What is tenzenmen?
tenzenmen is a world renowned producer and distributor for underground DIY music from around Australasia, usually focusing on the louder, punk side of things but attitude is more important than genre in the end.
When did tenzenmen start?
The name tenzenmen was imagined in the early 90s and was first used on an album called Quarrychase that was released in 1994 on Very Good Records and is a much sought after collectors piece now. The name was revived for the label in 2004.
Why did tenzenmen start?
tenzenmen, the label, started as a result of a realisation that I was really incapable of actually making music but still had a need to be involved in some way. It started out with releasing friends bands from all over the world—I had connections particularly into Finland at the time—culminating in the Eccentrics Series as the first 3 numbers in the catalogue (004TZM was actually the first release date‐wise).
Why is tenzenmen not capitalised?
All letters have the same importance. It’s a metaphor. It just is.
Why does tenzenmen only focus on Asia?
Over time I began to narrow the focus of the distro side of tenzenmen as music from most other parts of the world is fairly readily available. Living in Australia makes it relatively easy to travel to Asia and many of the places I’ve been to have incredibly active and supportive music scenes, less influenced by monetary gain and more about creating something special with depth and meaning.
Why does tenzenmen only release stuff I’ve never heard of?
Music has always been about discovery for me. I want to be excited about the new bunch of kids making music in their garage and playing their first show to friends in a bookstore or backyard. If they eventually go on to bigger and better things then good luck to them—I’m back to the garages. This is how I wish to present music thru the label to other music fans on a similar journey of discovery. Most folks are jaded by the time they get to my age—I’m still excited. I remember once being light heartedly chastised by a bunch of kids making awesome music, something along the lines of being so old and hanging around people half my age. I just replied ‘let’s see what you’re doing when you’re my age’.
What is the Sino–Australian Music Exchange?
This is a project kicked off in 2010 with some government funding that saw us send a bunch of bands over to China to tour. Once the funding ran out we kept the contacts going and now bands, with their own financing, can take advantage of this infrastructure. Getting Chinese bands to Australia has been a little more difficult due to the high cost of our dollar but slowly we’re starting to see more visits.
What is alternative china?
alternative china is a Tumblr page that highlights links to articles about alternative Chinese music that are written in English. Go there to get quickly up to speed with what’s going on in China!
http://alternativechina.tumblr.com
Got a question? Send it along through the contact page.