Shanghai Restoration Project

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.{{Cite web|title = Shanghai Restoration Project: Art and Assimilation|url = http://www.wonderingsound.com/feature/shanghai-restoration-project-art-assimilation/|website = Wondering Sound|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-01-21|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160121225714/http://www.wonderingsound.com/feature/shanghai-restoration-project-art-assimilation/|url-status = live}} 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 and soon created his own group, the Shanghai Restoration Project.

SRP debuted as MSN Music's "New Artist of the Week" in January 2006. The group's first eponymous release, inspired by the Shanghai jazz bands of the 1930s, combines traditional Chinese instruments with hip hop and electronica. The release gained recognition globally, rising to the top 10 in several electronic charts, including Amazon and iTunes. 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.

In 2008, SRP's Instrumentals: Day & Night, a 24-song soundtrack for modern day Shanghai, was featured on NPR.{{Cite web|title = Shanghai Restoration Project: Hybrid Backbeats|url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93298228|website = NPR.org|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-03-03|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183859/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93298228|url-status = live}} Several songs were regularly featured during BBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics.{{Cite news|title = Ask us about: Music details|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tv_and_radio/7354627.stm|newspaper = BBC|date = 2008-12-12|access-date = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2015-12-27|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151227040829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tv_and_radio/7354627.stm|url-status = live}}

In 2009, SRP visited Sichuan, China with Abigail Washburn to create a folk-electronic record called Afterquake to raise awareness for victims of the Sichuan earthquakes. The two artists partnered with Sichuan Quake Relief and discussed their work on NPR All Things Considered,{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103906236|title='Afterquake': Rebuilding Sichuan with Song|website=NPR.org}} The San Francisco Chronicle,{{Cite web|title = The Sichuan Restoration Project / Electronica hit blends East and West, raw and polished, old and new|url = https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/The-Sichuan-Restoration-Project-Electronica-hit-2480039.php|website = SFGate|date = 20 May 2009|access-date = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2012-07-01|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120701154451/http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-05-20/entertainment/17118000_1_electronica-songs-sichuan-earthquake|url-status = live}} and NY Times.{{Cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/weekly-popcast-green-day-afterquake-and-more/|title=Weekly Popcast: Green Day, Afterquake and More|date=14 May 2009|access-date=31 July 2010|archive-date=25 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525121528/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/weekly-popcast-green-day-afterquake-and-more/|url-status=live}}

In 2010, SRP earned a New York Emmy Award for the special entertainment news coverage of "New York 360 Angle: Shanghai Restoration Project" produced by Limei Wang. That year, SRP partnered with the Chinese creative community site Neocha to release eXpo, a compilation of Chinese electronic artists that was highlighted in The Fader,{{Cite web|title = Interview: The Shanghai Restoration Project and Neocha on Electronic Music from China|url = http://www.thefader.com/2010/05/03/interview-the-shanghai-restoration-project-on-electronic-music-from-china/|website = The FADER|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-02-20|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160220132714/http://www.thefader.com/2010/05/03/interview-the-shanghai-restoration-project-on-electronic-music-from-china|url-status = live}} Wired.com,{{Cite magazine|title = Shanghai Restoration Project Mines Chinese Electronica|url = https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/shanghai-restoration-project-mines-chinese-electronica/|magazine = WIRED|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2013-07-02|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130702122800/http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/shanghai-restoration-project-mines-chinese-electronica/|url-status = live}} and PRI's The World.{{Cite web|title = Public Radio International|url = http://www.pri.org/|website = Public Radio International|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2015-12-27|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151227223107/http://www.pri.org/|url-status = live}}

In 2011, SRP released Little Dragon Tales, a collection of classic Chinese children's songs set to electronic and hip-hop beats. The album was recommended by Jeff Yang as the "year’s best culture-savvy stocking stuffer" in the Wall Street Journal.{{Cite web|title = Tao Jones: The 'Grinch Teach'|url = https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/12/10/tao-jones-the-grinch-teach/|website = WSJ Blogs - Speakeasy|date = 2011-12-10|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-01-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160118162557/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/12/10/tao-jones-the-grinch-teach/|url-status = live}} Songs from the album were also featured on compilations released by Starbucks and Putumayo. That same year, Liang began collaborating with multimedia artist Sun Yunfan, first on music videos and live visuals and eventually on songwriting and music production.{{Cite web|url=https://www.magneticmag.com/2017/11/premiere-shanghai-restoration-project-new-album-r-u-r/|title=Premiere: New York Duo Shanghai Restoration Project Unveil Eclectic & Sweeping New Album 'R.U.R'|access-date=2018-01-22|archive-date=2018-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122130219/https://www.magneticmag.com/2017/11/premiere-shanghai-restoration-project-new-album-r-u-r/|url-status=live}}

In 2014, SRP released The Classics, a collection of 1930s and 1940s Shanghai jazz standards remade in an electronic format. The album features vocals from Shanghai jazz vocalist Zhang Le and was featured on both NPR's All Things Considered{{Cite web|title = Remaking All That Jazz From Shanghai's Lost Era|url = https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/28/265468566/remaking-all-that-jazz-from-shanghais-lost-era|website = NPR.org|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2018-11-19|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214510/https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/01/28/265468566/remaking-all-that-jazz-from-shanghais-lost-era|url-status = live}} and Last Call with Carson Daly. The group embarked on a multi-city tour of China and performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival{{Cite web|title = Smithsonian Folklife Festival - The Shanghai Restoration Project|url = http://www.festival.si.edu/2014/china/the-shanghai-restoration-project/smithsonian|website = www.festival.si.edu|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-01-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112191700/http://www.festival.si.edu/2014/china/the-shanghai-restoration-project/smithsonian|url-status = live}} and the Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.{{Cite web|title = Music: Shanghai Restoration Project|url = http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/music.cfm?id=5824&festival_id=165|website = Harbourfront Centre|accessdate = 2015-12-28|archive-date = 2016-01-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160122115532/http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/whatson/music.cfm?id=5824&festival_id=165|url-status = live}}

In 2016, SRP released What's Up with That?, an electronic collaboration with Chinese animator Lei Lei{{Cite web|url = https://www.npr.org/event/music/466454637/the-shanghai-restoration-project-lei-lei-out-the-door|title = First Watch: The Shanghai Restoration Project + Lei Lei, 'Out the Door'|website = NPR|date = 18 February 2016|last1 = Sinnenberg|first1 = Jackson|access-date = 22 January 2018|archive-date = 22 January 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180122125548/https://www.npr.org/event/music/466454637/the-shanghai-restoration-project-lei-lei-out-the-door|url-status = live}} and Life Elsewhere, an album with Chinese jazz singer Zhang Le. Life Elsewhere was the first album Liang co-produced with Sun Yunfan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/music-premiere-spooky-party-stellar-electronic_us_59ef4524e4b06bbede69b3af|title=Music Premiere: "Spooky Party" – Stellar Electronic Music from Shanghai Restoration Project|website=HuffPost|date=25 October 2017}}

In 2017, the duo released R.U.R., which imagines a world in which AI has replaced humankind.{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/shanghai-restoration-project-rur-2516044951.html|title=Shanghai Restoration Project: R.U.R., PopMatters|date=14 December 2017|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=22 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122125320/https://www.popmatters.com/shanghai-restoration-project-rur-2516044951.html|url-status=live}} The group also contributed music to the film Have a Nice Day, which premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival.

SRP is currently based in Barcelona.{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/shanghairestorationproject/?hl=en | title=Shanghai Restoration Project (@shanghairestorationproject) • Instagram photos and videos }}

• The Shanghai Restoration Project (2006, Undercover Culture Music)
• Instrumentals (2006, Undercover Culture Music)
• Story of a City (2008, Undercover Culture Music)
• Instrumentals: Day - Night (2008, Undercover Culture Music)
• Zodiac (2009, Undercover Culture Music)
• Expo with Neocha (2010, Undercover Culture Music & Neocha)
• Little Dragon Tales: Chinese Children's Songs (2011, Undercover Culture Music)
• Little Dragon Tales: Instrumentals (2011, Undercover Culture Music)
• Pictures in Motion (2013, Undercover Culture Music)
• The Classics with Zhang Le (2014, Undercover Culture Music)
• What's Up with That? with Lei Lei (2016, Undercover Culture Music)
• Life Elsewhere with Zhang Le (2016, Undercover Culture Music)
• R.U.R. (2017, Undercover Culture Music)
• Flashbacks in a Crystal Ball (2019, Undercover Culture Music)
• Brave New World Symphony (2020, Undercover Culture Music)
• "Sketchbook 94" (2023, Undercover Culture Music)

• "Reinterpretations" (2006, Undercover Culture Music)
• "Remixed and Restored: Vol. 1" (2007, China Records)
• "Afterquake" with Abigail Washburn (2009, Afterquake Music)
• "A Summer Song" with Emi Meyer (2010, Curious Creature Records & Undercover Culture Music)
• "A Winter Song" with Emi Meyer (2010, Curious Creature Records & Undercover Culture Music)
• "New Tea" (2011, Undercover Culture Music)
• "In a Faraway Place" with Mimi Yu (2012, Undercover Culture Music)
• "sum of all things nini" with Neocha (2012, Undercover Culture Music & Neocha)
• "Breakdance of Yao" with Brittany Haas & Lily Henley (2013, Undercover Culture Music)
• "Mungbean Mash" with Zhang Le (2015, Undercover Culture Music)
• "I Don't Like the Comics You Drew" with Lei Lei (2017, Undercover Culture Music)
• "Dubalonia Radio International" (2018, Undercover Culture Music)
• "Public Poet" (2018, Undercover Culture Music)
• "A148" (2018, Undercover Culture Music)

The Shanghai Restoration Project has also produced releases for various artists including Japanese recording artist MEG, Yamaha J-pop artist Miu Sakamoto, electro pop artist Di Johnston, singer-songwriter Heath Brandon, and Japanese jazz artist Emi Meyer.

MEG: Journey (Mini-Album 2009)

Miu Sakamoto: Phantom Girl (2010), Hatsukoi (2011), I'm Yours (2012)

{{Reflist}}

• [https://shanghairestorationproject.com/ Band's website]
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93298228 NPR interview]

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Category:Electronic music groups from New York (state)

Category:Musical groups from New York City

Category:American musicians of Chinese descent