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Nini and Gregor from Idle Beats talk to Shanghai 24/7 about their unique project and the influence that the city's underground music scene has on their work.
Two rooms adjoining a shared kitchen area in building 2 number 962 Changle Lu, house the design and screen-printing studio of Idle Beats. This is where Gregor and Nini, who make up Idle Beats, design and hand-print original gig posters, art prints, t- shirts and all kinds of limited edition art works. It’s also where I was fortunate enough to be invited to on a cold and wet February afternoon for a coffee and a chat.
 
Nini is from Nanjing, and whilst studying at the design college there she was able to experiment with different forms of art - painting, sculpture, pencil drawings - but found that screen printing caught her attention as she did not know of anyone else doing this on anything other than an industrial scale here in China.
This is why, Nini explains, “We had to design and create our own unique stainless steel sink for screen washing, the only ones available here in China are for industrial use and far too big for us”. This theme of adapting equipment is continued when I am shown a small pressure washer intended for washing your car, being put to task cleaning the silk screens after each use, rather than manually scrubbing them clean.
The other half of this of this dynamic duo is Gregor from Dresden, Germany. Gregor has been around art his whole life and shares a love of art with his brother (Clemens Reinecke), who is on the list of artists who regularly collaborate with Idle Beats.
Back in Germany Gregor vented his artistic talent through graffiti art, but on arriving in Shanghai he branched out somewhat and started experimenting, first with wood block printing. He shows me a print created using this method named ‘Real Big City’. It is an image of mega-urban Shanghai and stands out from the other silkscreen prints on show, with softer edges and a more low-tech feel to it.
Gregor tells me his favourite artist is Stanley Mouse, who created many of the gig posters and album covers for The Grateful Dead back in the 60s. This psychedelic influence has not gone unnoticed by modern day psychedelic rock bands. Consequently Idle Beats have created gig posters for San Francisco based band Wooden Shjips, and spin-off project of the band, Moon Duo.
I home in on a gig poster for The Handsome Furs; this poster’s style is influenced by the movie posters of the 1930’s but its content is heavily influenced by the band itself, who are a couple. Gregor has incorporated a large love heart shape into the design and included a pair of jackdaws, a symbol of love in Chinese culture.
  
Nini shows me one of her creations, a skull in a hard-hat design. ‘’This was inspired by all the crazy building work erupting all over China at the moment’’, she explains. Environmental issues are important to Nini. All the inks used by Idle Beats are water based. After experimenting with oil-based inks Nini switched, realising that her conscience would not let her pollute the environment with oil-based products.
I ask whether anything can be printed on, in reply Gregor produces a fold out type No Parking sign from beneath his desk. “We reprinted some of these signs with an artists’ own images recently - as long as it is flat we can print it”, I am told.
Nini is excited as she recalls creating some prints for a couple’s wedding. This was something different for Idle Beats and worked well. Nini can see an opportunity to produce prints for other special occasions – birthdays, anniversaries and so on.
Idle Beats work closely with underground music promoters Subculture, producing a new run of originally designed prints each month for their latest events. Each run is made up of 40 to 50 prints, some of which are sold for 100 to 200 RMB each, making these a rare commodity - affordable, original, micro-produced art.
I comment on the quality of the paper used for all the prints. Gregor tells me this is one of the advantages of being based in China - great quality paper at affordable prices which all helps Idle Beats mission of making original quality art work more accessible for the average person in the street.
Idle Beats’ role in the Shanghai art scene today, and looking to the future, is all about collaboration. Nini tells me she is eager to work with new artists to create quality art prints/posters of their original works. The rental of studio space for local artists to print their own work is another idea Nini is keen to move forward with.
You can get involved yourself by joining Nini and Gregor for one of their silk screen printing workshops, where you are guided through the whole process, from design through screen exposure, to printing, at the end of which you take home your own personal piece of art.
By getting more and more people involved, Nini is building a community of like-minded individuals, offering an outlet for their creativity and a place where this creativity can inspire others. I heartily recommend you make your way down to their studio - Room 302, Building 2, No.962 Changle Rd. (Near Wulumuqi Lu) - and take a look for yourself.
And if you’re looking for that cool tee that’ll set you apart from the crowd, a visit to their online store is a must!
For more information and a taste of what they’re about check out www.idlebeats.com.
Liked our feature? Check out the screen printing collaboration between Sub-Culture and Idle Beats here
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