WHAT’S NEW Venues & shops
THE OTHER SHOP
THE OTHER PLACE GAINS A MINIMAL MUSIC SUPPLY STORE Tue-Sun 4-8pm. 1 Langjia Hutong, corner of Beiluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District (6401 3269) 东城区北锣鼓巷郎家胡同1号 700m southwest of Andingmen station (Line 2)
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production equipment makes sense. Nicely incorporated are Schneider’s own locally produced Metrobags, which are boxy, sturdy totes in decidedly masculine colors ideal for carrying home the gear. What’s more, all of it is offered at price points that mean budding DJs don’t have to lug their overseas-bought controllers on a plane, meaning more room in the luggage for dope trucker hats, secondhand high tops, and clever T-shirts. Schneider says The Other Shop is working with companies like Native Instruments to allow serious music-makers to give products a spin before buying them, another reason to say sayonara to your beloved out-of-town DJ controller. The Other Shop’s stock is so curated that they’re able to display a full list of in-store items on their website (www. theothershopbeijing.com). It’s yet another demonstration of their aim to keep their brand focused because if you ask Schneider, “pure consumption sucks.” Jessica Rapp Also try: Fuda Music, Mono MG
march 2014
photo: KEN
he Other Place is a bar-cafe off Beiluogu Xiang that caught the Gulou crowd’s eye last spring when it was redesigned by electronic music aficionados Wu Fei and Markus M. Schneider. It draws attention from outside its expansive bay window with its display of stacked vintage radios and portable televisions in faded reds and blues. The interior is a soothing palate of forest green, teal, and burgundy, spotted with chairs upholstered in taupe stripes. Yet, no matter how gorgeous its sun-stroked plants are or how ironically-tacky-so-that’swhy-it’s-hip it is to have a shabby indoor couch in the courtyard, it’s hard to shake the feeling that The Other Place is someone else’s home. It was my fascination with Beijing’s foray into the cafe-shop combo concept, too often executed in ways which radiate overzealousness or a poor understanding of clientele, that eventually led me to one of the cafe’s pint-sized front rooms, newly dubbed The Other Shop. As a hub intended for the movers and shakers of Beijing’s electronic scene, The Other Shop’s vast selection of DJ and