Chinese Man

Born in Aix-en-Provence in 2004 around Matteo, High Ku and SLY, and quickly linked to Marseille through the label Chinese Man Records, Chinese Man developed a sound at the crossroads of hip-hop, electro, dub and trip-hop, with borrowings from funk, reggae and jazz. The collective first attracted attention with a series of EPs, including The Pandi Groove EP in 2005, before releasing The Groove Sessions in 2007 and The Groove Sessions Vol. 2 in 2009, which established their aesthetic of slow beats, cinematic samples, dub bass and rap in both English and French. The group later expanded its scope with Racing With the Sun (2011), The Groove Sessions Vol. 3 (2014), Shikantaza (2017) and We’ve Been Here Before (2024). Over the years Chinese Man has worked with vocalists and producers from their close circle and from hip-hop and reggae scenes, among them Taiwan MC, Youthstar, ASM, Tumi, Femi Kuti and General Elektriks. Chinese Man has also built a strong live reputation, from Printemps de Bourges to Solidays, from the Eurockéennes to Marsatac, with a live identity captured on the albums Live à la Cigale (2012) and Live (Zenith - Paris La Villette) (2018).