The Opener: Chinese collective No.006 is already in your algorithm

The Opener is The FADER’s mini-interview series with exciting new artists we think you should know.

Multidisciplinary art collective No.006 can do it all, but HanQiu Huang’s eclectic creative project caught my ear with their September EP 001, six electronic tracks that seem to metabolize everything from garage and dubstep to ambient and glitch. Sung entirely in Chinese (Mandarin, but also the Chongqing dialect of their hometown) by creative partner Evol (MeiCheng Lu), the energy and attitude of these songs can switch up sharply from track to track, but even at its most off-kilter, 001 is clearly interested in movement, carving rippling grooves out of hulking basslines and diaphanous ear candy.

No.006 isn’t aiming for mainstream acceptance – “ai.4.ing2q.ang4r.en2r.ang4s.i1sh.i3L.i4zh” is frequently interrupted by a mewling cat, and “i3zh.ong4t.ao4y” opens in a distorted haze of glitchy noise – but they definitely want their peers to let loose and dance. I’d joke about their music being perfect for “site specific activations,” but 001 is far more than the soundtrack to a performance piece: this is music that sounds good without context, and feels even more compelling the more you untangle its aims and inspirations.

That might be even more impressive when you consider that 001 was recorded quickly, instinctively, and remotely, and that music is just one medium that No.006 wants to tackle. Their 002 project was actually a fashion show, and their upcoming album 003 is due out next week, with a synchronized, intercontinental performance piece cum release party set for October 24.

The FADER caught up with HanQiu and Evol over email to chat about their favorite things to do in Chongqing, their secret cipher language “Qiu Yu,” and having a cigarette “for every occasion.”

Interview questions and answers translated by Yuqi Lu.

The FADER: What’s the coolest thing to do in your hometown?

HanQiu: My hometown is Chongqing, and honestly, there’s so much cool stuff about it. But if we’re talking about something more recent, I’d say it’s a very specific summer activity. Our subway stations are super clean and air-conditioned, so in the summer, a lot of the older locals will go there just to enjoy the free AC. They’ll literally set up inside and play chess or cards. Evol and I actually went and filmed a video with some of them once, and we thought it was so funny.
I feel like Chongqing has this really specific kind of chill to it. But honestly, every city has its own personality, and I really love Chongqing’s.

Evol: Whenever my friends visit Chongqing, I love taking them out for hot pot. After we eat, we just walk around, going up and down all the hills, until eventually we have to start looking for a decent public restroom.

What was the first album you bought?

HanQiu: I don’t think I’ve ever actually bought an album for myself. I usually just listen to everything online. With the music streaming app I use in China, once you pay for a membership, you can basically listen to almost any album.

But recently, I actually spent a lot of money on albums, 100 copies of my own. We paid a factory to produce them, and I guess that was the first time I ever really spent money on an album. We made them in the form of little cards, with a USB drive inside containing some secret materials we made ourselves.

Evol: The first album I ever bought was a Leslie Cheung album. I got it from a record store on my first-ever trip to the seaside. I wanted to give it to a boy I had a crush on for his birthday, but we stopped talking before his birthday came around, so I never got to give it to him.

What was the last movie you watched?

HanQiu: My boyfriend and I have been watching the Ye Wen ( Ip Man) movies, and we just finished the entire series hahaha.

I’ve always liked action movies, but honestly, part of the reason is that my boyfriend and I are long-distance, so we need little things we can do together. And I actually really enjoy this kind of movie. Every time I watch a good popcorn movie, I feel like it smooths out all the wrinkles in my brain. It’s genuinely therapeutic.

Evol: In the Mood for Love. Maggie Cheung looks so beautiful in her qipao! Even though it’s a love story, it always makes me think about why people are so obsessed with right and wrong, and the relationship between order, sequence, and morality.

Explain a lyric of yours that people misunderstand.

HanQiu: I don’t think I’m influential enough yet for people to misunderstand my lyrics on a massive scale, but I do think people probably haven’t fully understood the lyrics to my song “装屌” (“uang1zh.iao3d”).

A lot of people think I’m talking about feminism, but that wasn’t really my original intention. The song started with me literally arguing with my dad and my boyfriend. I was frustrated, and I ended up directing that anger at men. I wasn’t setting out to make a statement about feminism.

There’s a Chinese slang expression, 装逼 (zhuang bi), which basically means acting cocky, putting on a front, or trying too hard to look cool. The word bi is also a vulgar term for female genitalia. During a period when feminist discourse in China was reexamining gendered language, I decided to flip the expression and replace bi with diao, a vulgar term for a penis.

So the title became 装屌.

For me, it was a metaphor rooted in specific experiences. I wasn’t trying to write a song about feminism, although obviously, as someone navigating the world through my own gender, I can’t completely escape those questions.

I wasn’t approaching gender from a feminist theoretical framework. I was trying to document my life, and honestly, vent about how disappointed I was in the men around me. I hated how much I’d expected from them. Sometimes I wished I had a penis, or that I could just be a man, because I felt like life would be less complicated that way.

The whole song is basically me trying to untangle those contradictory thoughts in real time.

That’s why, by the end of the song, I arrive at a different perspective. Some people have criticized the lyrics for being too messy or structurally all over the place, but that messiness is part of the process. Eventually, I started to realize that men have their own problems and their own struggles, too.

There’s a line where I say, “有屌的人都是讨好型人格,” which roughly translates to “Everyone with a dick is a people-pleaser.” I’m talking about how people, whether in their sex lives or everyday social interactions, often do things to meet society’s expectations. That’s something we all share as human beings living within a social system.

Earlier in the song, I say, “我装逼还好我有” - roughly, “At least when I act like a badass, I actually have one.” But by the end, I say, “我不装了” - “I’m done pretending.”

To me, a lot of the problems we associate with gender actually come from the policies, ideologies, and systems of social organization behind them, rather than from gender itself.

My album 001 is essentially a record of my thought process. It’s more like a series of sketches than an academic paper, which is one of the biggest differences between 001 and 003. But if we’re talking about the lyrics people are most likely to misunderstand, I’d say this is definitely the one.

Evol: I actually quite like being misunderstood. I don’t think everyone needs to understand my lyrics the way I do. At least they’ve read them and thought about something. I think that’s enough.

What’s a song you’d want to remix?

HanQiu: Honestly, I don’t have a particular song I’m dying to remix. I think you can hear it in the music we make. I’m not really making songs just to make them sound good. I’m trying to document a specific feeling or emotional state at a particular moment. Once Evol has sung a song and we both feel like it works, that’s usually it. We don’t make that many major changes.

So when we decide a song is finished, it’s because it feels like the most accurate record of where we were emotionally at that time. I don’t really want to look back from where I am now and criticize my past music for not being something else.

I want to preserve that state of being. For me, that’s one of the most important things in my artistic practice: the idea of art as evidence.

Evol: I’d love to remix “March of the Athletes”. It represents my entire school life, and I feel like it’s practically written into every Chinese kid’s DNA. Remixing it would make me feel like I’m becoming my own person while also figuring out how to exist in society.

What’s the best thing you’ve bought for $100 or less?

HanQiu: Definitely my favorite cigarette, Huanghelou Ba Du. They make me so happy. I smoke when I’m happy, when I’m sad, before I eat, after I eat - basically, there’s a cigarette for every occasion.

Every time I smoke one, I feel this weird sense of happiness and completeness. Like, okay, life is good. Everything is as it should be.

Evol: My wired Apple earphones! They’re my comfort object and my most loyal companion. I’ve already broken two pairs (RIP), and this is my third one.

When you’re not making music, how do you spend your free time?

HanQiu: Honestly, I barely spend any of my time making music in the first place. I work pretty fast. I can usually finish a whole instrumental in three or four hours, tops.

Most of my time outside of music goes into curating exhibitions, working on different creative projects, and just experiencing life and looking for new inspiration to bring into music or whatever other medium I’m working in.

When I actually have absolutely nothing to do, though, I just cook, eat, watch TV, drink tea, read, and sleep. I’m not that into shopping or walking around outside anymore. I used to love doing that back in China, but New York is so expensive that it kind of killed the vibe hahaha.

Evol: I used to play CS Go (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), but recently I haven’t had time to go to internet cafés. Before I go to sleep, I like watching Clarkson’s Farm. My ultimate dream is to become a farmer.

What’s a motto you think everyone should live by?

HanQiu: I’ve always believed that when the things I do are meaningful and benefit other people, the universe will provide me with the conditions I need to keep doing them.

Evol: I don’t think there’s a motto that works for everyone. Just live however you want to live. (I’ll probably end up being a farmer anyway.)

Tell us about your favorite tattoo OR your favorite accessory.

HanQiu: I don’t have any tattoos, and I’m not really an accessories person either. I used to love wearing rings, but I kept losing them, so I eventually gave up.

Wait, actually, I do have something: my No.006 ID badge. It was the very first piece I made for No.006.

When I first started the project, I wasn’t even planning to make music. I wanted to turn the ID badge itself into an artwork - something affordable that people could actually buy and use in their everyday lives.

I pitched the idea to a few musicians in China because I love music culture, and I thought their fans would be open-minded enough to find it interesting. None of them responded, and I got so mad about it that I started making music myself. Like, fine, if you won't pay attention to me, I'll just become a musician myself hahaha.

The text on the badge is a coded version of “广告位招租,” which means “advertising space
available for rent,” written in my own cipher language, Qiu Yu (Qiu Language).

I love this badge because wearing it feels like an identity marker. It means I’m an agent of No.006.
And there’s something I love about ID badges in general: they’re such an ordinary-person object. Think about spies. A real spy has to look exactly like everyone else. What makes them different is that they have a different mission and a different perspective. That’s what separates them from everyone around them.

Evol: I only have one tattoo. Qiu and I got matching little red hearts on the insides of our lips when we were younger. You’ll have to ask her what hers looks like hahaha.

Best advice you’ve gotten?

HanQiu: When I was focused on contemporary art and fine art, a friend once told me that my work was really niche - maybe a little too niche. The way they put it was that nobody would ever actually encounter my work, and I’d eventually end up talking to myself in some tiny little corner of the world.

Music, on the other hand, reaches people differently. Not everyone goes to an art museum, but pretty much everyone listens to music. Visual art can come with a certain barrier to entry, whereas music can find you anywhere, anytime.

That really changed the way I thought about my practice, and it was one of the biggest reasons I started making music in the first place.

Evol: “How much money do you need?”

Worst advice you’ve gotten.

HanQiu: Definitely the advice my dad has given me over the years.
When I was in middle school, he wouldn't let me study art. Then, in high school, he suggested I go to a vocational school and learn how to work on an assembly line tightening screws.

And just recently, he suggested I work at his company. Apparently, I wouldn't even need to do any actual work - I could just show up, clock in, stay in Chongqing, and he'd give me spending money.
The funny thing is, my dad has never really told me what the right thing to do is. But he’s given me so many different suggestions over the years that, in a weird way, they’ve helped me figure out exactly what I absolutely don't want to do.

Evol: “How much money do you need?”

What’s the ideal level of fame?

HanQiu: I want to be famous enough to do whatever projects I want.
It’s not necessarily about making an insane amount of money. I'd also be happy if my name could help me make things happen without having to spend a ridiculous amount of money to make them happen.

To me, fame is basically a lubricant for getting things done. It makes certain processes smoother. I want to reach a point where having a name for myself can solve some of the logistical headaches that come with making art, so I can focus on the actual creative work without constantly worrying about money.

Evol: Like a Starship, flying all the way out into space on a cosmic scale, but eventually getting caught softly and steadily by a pair of chopsticks.

Describe your perfect afternoon.

HanQiu: My perfect afternoon is when I’ve finished everything I need to do, and I’ve invited all my friends over for dinner that night. I get to spend the afternoon preparing a whole table full of good food.

I’ll put some water on to boil, then read a book or listen to a podcast while I wait. I’ll have bought a ridiculous amount of snacks and drinks, too. I’m imagining my friends arriving later and everyone having a really good time together, that’s my idea of happiness.

Evol: Taking a nap and waking up at six the next morning.

What’s the last thing you wrote in your notes app?

HanQiu: School uniform purchase + shipping: ¥1,997 = $297.61 USD Costume rental: $120.40
Props: $22.46 + $8.98 + $156.93 + $9.87
Water for the model: $16.98
Uber (because I was carrying a ridiculous amount of clothes): $33.90 + $14.90 + $18.90 + $30.35
Food for the designer, photographer, stylist, styling assistant, and two other crew members (6 people total): $186.50
Fabric for upcycling 12 school uniforms: $111.57

Evol: 10.9-99
10.10-80
10.11-68
10.12-50

Describe the best concert you’ve attended.

HanQiu: I don’t actually go to that many live shows, but the one that sticks with me the most was seeing Ye perform in Haikou.

At the time, I was putting together my art school portfolio, still taking classes, and preparing for the IELTS exam. My schedule was insane, and my parents wouldn't let me go to the show.

But I really wanted to get out and have a moment with my friends, so I sold three of my paintings to pay for my flights, hotel, and concert ticket. I went all the way to Haikou for the show, then flew straight back to Chengdu that same day so I could get back to class.

Evol: It was No.006’s first self-organized party, 002-01. We held a runway show in a bar, and everyone involved put so much passion into that night. The whole experience moved me so much that I cried for a long time afterward. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

What’s something you’re looking forward to?

HanQiu: I’m really looking forward to making money. Like, my own money, that I can actually spend myself.

I want to be able to afford my rent in New York and still have something left over to go out for a nice meal every now and then. And maybe I could even afford to bring Evol, my boyfriend, or my mom over to New York to hang out with me.

Evol: Tomorrow.