Home of the music project China Paradise.
Listen and explore below.
It's finally out!
The new single from the upcoming EP
'(Get a) Move on'
Upcoming Shows
28 March - @ Klotet, Stockholm, Sweden - Release party for "Phantoms of the Paradise" EP with Ella Guru, DJ Hasse and Funky Loffe
25 May - @ Bearded Theory Festival, Derbyshire UK - Guest featuring with Agents of the Lexicon
credit where
credit is due
photography of 2024, Phantoms of the Paradise promo: Filip Ljuboje
photography of 2018, Halcyon Days promo: Josefin Malmén
photography of 2013, Hide promo: Carolina Johansson Oviedo
photography of 2015, Wait promo: Charlotte Wennström
China Paradise logo by: Agnes Florin
artist bio
Since her first single Hide in 2013, produced by Daniel Tjäder of the Radio Dept., China Paradise has looked to transcend the boundaries of genre to stake out her own path in the alt-pop realm. One of “Sweden’s brightest pop hopes” according to the NME, the pulsating beats and ethereal melodies of singles such as Halcyon Days and Venom have been deemed to be an “enticing offering of luxe future pop” by The Line of Best Fit, and the “the only heartbreak bangers you need”. Her work has hitherto injected a much-needed lyrical depth to electro-pop melodies and late 90s synths, illuminated by shimmering soundscapes.
With her new EP, China Paradise turns back time to reflect on the musical stylings of the early 90s, an era of music that is currently being reexamined in everything from Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE to Dombreksy’s viral four-on-the-floorbeats. Not content with merely echoing trends, however, China Paradise manages to incorporate these musical touchstones into a romantic world that is entirely her own. In (Get a) Move on, she melds dance beats evocative of the early house of CeCe Rogers with the lush soulful vocals of early Sade, while Touch Air has the mournful, sensual cadence of early Everything But the Girl coupled with a clattering Caribbean rhythm. With a voice that glides effortlessly between euphoria and introspection, China Paradise reaches new heights on the closer, Chirping, which swathes the infectious joy of her melody in sun-drenched strings.
“The seed for the songs came about during a magical weekend in a wintry Järvsö, at the home of the multi-talented Alexander Wallin. We drank boiled coffee, I played Alex' violin, fell asleep to the crackling behind the cast iron door to the fire that kept us warm at night, and then we spent the days improvising what would be the beginning of the EP inside Alex' synth castle.
I wanted to do something new and I wanted to do it together. I hadn't done any active research before our meeting so the improvisations were based on what I was listening to at the time, which in dark SAD times was a lot of British pop-jazz from the 80s, kind, cooling and nostalgic, paired with Alex' latest listens to afro house, some bossa nova and a dose of kraut-scented keys. Songs of fire and ice - it was not - but songs about trembling relationships, anticipation and hopes for redemption.
I was so pleased with DJ Hasse’s (Swedish music producer Erik Danielson) remix of the single and EP track (Get a) Move on, it’s such a sultry discokicker!”
– Agri Ismaïl with China Yggström aka Paradise