Ming & Ping

Hong Kong is a city known for its East-meets-West sensibilities. HK-ese identical twins Ming & Ping are the perfect embodiment of this aesthetic. The electropop outfit consists of Ming, Ping, and their producer Bao Vo, and they are currently based in San Francisco. They've just self-released their 3rd album, Causeway Army.

西洋/Western sound: Their music is pure electropop, replete with bloops, doots and original NES sound effects. The music and lyrics conjure up images of skyscrapers and technology and a busy nightlife. Electronic music can, at times, seem a little cold and impersonal, but there are enough bouncy melodies and the duo's voices are warm enough to balance things out nicely. The first track on Causeway Army starts off sounding suspiciously New Order-esque but then it takes off and you're in for 60 minutes of pure '80s-inspired pop pleasure.

東洋/Eastern visuals: Ming & Ping are known for their theatrical live shows, which come with a live drummer, dancers, and a certain Cymbal Monkey, who at times invade the audience to dance with them. Ming takes the stage in Cantonese opera garb, while Ping takes it easy (somewhere? where? hmm, very suspicious...) up on the screen singing backup. I was lucky enough to catch them the other night when they were in L.A. as part of the Monsters of Electropop show, and I can honestly say I was most impressed by them, even though they weren't headlining. If you're into dance music, the Ming & Ping Dynasty will guarantee you a spicy good time!

There are probably a lot of people who will file them away as another revivalist of a much-hated era, but there are still some of us who just can't let that decade go, and it is to us (or maybe it's just me?) that I'm dedicating this post. 乾杯！

Official site:  http://www.mingping.com/
MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/mingping