Shanghai Restoration Project
| The Shanghai Restoration Project | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Hip hop, electronica, experimental, trance |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Undercover Culture Music |
| Website | http://www.shanghairestorationproject.com |
| Members | Dave Liang |
The Shanghai Restoration Project (SRP) is a contemporary electronic music group formed by Chinese American producer Dave Liang. The group's first eponymous release, inspired by the Shanghai jazz bands of the 1930s, combines traditional Chinese instruments with hip hop and electronica.
Producer Dave Liang was born in Lawrence, Kansas and grew up in Upstate New York. He started learning classical piano at an early age but transitioned towards jazz after hearing Miles Davis' "So What" in high school. He attended college at Harvard and upon graduation moved to NYC to work as a consultant. After work he would spend his evenings looking for jazz gigs at various bars.
In 2003, Liang reconnected with his college classmate Ryan Leslie, who was working as a producer with Bad Boy Records. He quit his day job and began apprenticing with Leslie, "learning his way around drum machines and mixing desks and devouring a history of hip-hop that he had missed the first time around." He sold his first song to R&B singer Carl Thomas. Soon he ventured off on his own to create his own group and The Shanghai Restoration Project was born.
SRP debuted as MSN Music's "New Artist of the Week" in January 2006, reaching #1 on the site's Top 100 Electronic Albums Chart that month. The release gained recognition globally, rising to the top 10 in several electronic charts, including Amazon, iTunes, and MSN Music. The first track from the debut album, "Introduction (1936)," was selected as the theme song for a worldwide TV advertising campaign for Kenzo Parfums (a division of Louis Vuitton) in early 2007.
In late 2007, SRP partnered with China Record Corporation (the Chinese government's record label) to release Remixed and Restored Vol. 1, a project remixing select classic Chinese hits from 1930s Shanghai.
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