Punk Rock Legend – Wu Wei – Releases Debut Solo Album ‘Consultation After Drinking’ [China]

Legendary Wuhan punk pioneer (and SMZB frontman) Wu Wei, has released his debut solo album ‘Consultation After Drinking’ on Maybe Mars.

“As frontman of SMZB, Wu Wei has been at the forefront of Chinese punk since the scene first started – and he’s got the tapped phone lines to show for it.” – The Guardian

SMZB fans who hear Consultation After Drinking (the debut solo album from legendary Wuhan Punk pioneer and SMZB frontman Wu Wei) are in for a surprise. No bagpipes, no three-chord punk songs… instead, Consultation After Drinking sees one of the most prolific and respected figures of underground Chinese music flex his creative muscles in fresh and unexpected ways. Opening with a brief field recording entitled “2020,” the album kicks off with an upbeat, heavy reverb dub of “Lovers’ Prattle for Donghu”, named after Wuhan’s East Lake (a site frequently referenced in Wu’s writing).

Consultation After Drinking’s title track was born from countless, long nights at Wuhan Prison. Not an actual prison, but a beer-soaked dive bar that Wu operates next to Wuhan’s longest-running rock venue, VOX. It’s also a metaphorical space that he’s inhabited his whole life. “In order to make the spiritual lives of myself and everyone else more colorful, from now on, I will carry out the Consultation After Drinking conversation activity at Wuhan Prison,” Wu explains in a text accompanying the album. “The purpose of the activity… we can’t achieve anything by worrying about the country and the people, it is better to be drunk with a thousand cups and be harmonious! Worries and sorrow will hurt the body, only your physical and mental health rule!”

The album is comprised of sly, piano-driven confessions where Wu recounts vigorous, hopeless, and hilarious conversations held after several one too many, including introspective nuggets of wisdom like, “Is it okay for a bastard to open a live bar? I said that would be a good idea. Remember the location is very important!”