CHINA FROM ALL ANGLES RADII CHINA

Louis Luk is founder and CEO of LAVA MUSIC, which was founded in 2013 by Louis in the campus of Musicians Institute Hollywood. It builds instruments and education services with the integration of software, hardware and humanity. LAVA released the world’s first unibody carbon fiber guitar LAVA ME in 2017, and reinvented it as the world’s first smart guitar in 2021. Now, LAVA is the world’s largest carbon fiber guitar manufacture. It has obtained over 100 patents, won 7 international design awards, and served musicians in 90+ countries.
Show notes:
4:00 Why there hasn’t been any innovation in guitar design for so long.
7:00 How redesigning the tools impact creativity
9:00 Louis’ background story and how the company began
10:20 Original aspirations in music
13:45 How the concept to redesign the guitar came about
14:15 Stories of trail and error, and how material science brought LAVA to the next level
19:30 Future potential of new material ‘Air Sonic’
21:20 Thoughts on the term ’Made in China’
26:00 The difficulties of incorporating touchscreen and software into newest design
34:00 Thoughts on how technology will change the future of music
 

Kev Nish and James Roh are members of Far East Movement, one of the earliest Asian American hip hop groups and the first Asian American group to earn a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2010 with their hit ‘Like a G6’ and now work with artists in Asia and the West through their own agency Transparent Arts.
Show notes:
3:00 The differences for a hip hop group trying to make it now vs back in the early 2000s
5:00 Some of the biggest challenges and keys to their success
8:45 Negative stereotypes in hip hop and how they approached their music differently.
11:00 The double edged sword of being labelled as the ‘Asian’ rap group
14:00 Whether at the time they had any idea that their 2010 hit “Like a G6” would be a global success
16:00 The motivation behind working with more international artists
19:30 The surprising success of K-pop in the West
25:40 How important is it for Asian artist to gain recognition in Western or English speaking countries
31:20 Thoughts on the narrative in the US about how China’s influence is in some way negatively impacting some of the American entertainment industry, be it Hollywood, the NBA, or even music.
33:00 Working with more artists from China and other parts of Asia in the future

Frank Yao is CEO of Zrou, which is owned by YouKuai Group International of which Yao is also founder and CEO. Founded in Shanghai in 2019, Zrou is a plant-based protein company that aims to create a holistic plant-based food and beverage ecosystem in China. The brand often collaborates with famous chefs to create versions of traditional Chinese dishes made without animal meat.
Show notes:
3:00 Thoughts on Joe Rogan and many other Western medias reflection of China5:15 On Frank’s family background and upbringing in Hong Kong and Canada13:00 University life at Yale and how many Chinese American kids choose their major with direction from their parents16:45 How meditation and buddhism led to the idea to start Zrou23:10 The realization that China has the talent to build its own brands to serve its people and the world25:15 How while living his best life, seeing his Toronto Raptors win the NBA title and feeling the highs and lows of competing in the World Series of Poker, brought him to the realization it was time to start something new29:00 On buddhism, vegetarianism and flexitarianism35:00 Health, ethical, and environmental reasons of consuming less meat and thoughts on hierarchy of consciousness39:00 How offering better choices as a company is the way to get closer to a solution41:40 China’s history of poverty and how scarcity of the past influences on a modern Chinese society that now consumes more meat than any other country.49:20 Thoughts on lab grown meat56:40 Further possibilities with plant based meat61:40 Zrou as an international food brand

Born in Hong Kong and based in Shanghai, Tom Bray (better known as Tom Yeti) has been a pivotal figure within Asia’s music landscape for the past decade. Joining the dots within all aspects of the industry from artist management, music event promotions, booking agent, radio host to DJ, he’s the co-founder of YETI OUT collective and subsidiary record label Silk Road Sounds. Holding residencies in Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok to Singapore, YETI OUT’s been bridging the gap between East & West
Being the few Asian music collectives that hold residencies on Rinse F.M to NTS Radio, their ‘Silk Road Sounds’ show promotes a sonic exchange between cultures from both sides of the Atlantic with consistent label releases that blur the line around Grime, Garage, House, 4×4 frequencies to new found global sounds. His sound design portfolio covers curation projects alongside the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Bottega Venetta, Soho House to NikeLab while cementing his career as a multidisciplinary in Asia’s creative circles.
Thomas started a music blog that mushroomed into an all-out creative collective, Yeti Out, involved in party promotion, art show production and fashion collaborations, and with its own record label Silk Road Sounds and creative agency TEN5. 
Show notes:
2:40 Lockdown life
4:55 Hong Kong upbringing, college educated in the UK and how he got to Shanghai
9:42 How creative collective Yeti Out originally started as a music blog in the UK
11:45 How UK music scene influenced him and the meaning behind the name Yeti Out
15:10 On identifying more with being Chinese and the potential of developing in Asia vs the West
17:00 How club scenes differ from in West and East
20:30 The idea behind the label Silk Road Sounds
25:00 How Asian artist are received by Western audiences
32:20 Different approaches of fashion brands entering China
34:30 Local Chinese brands and the differences in international appeal of fashion vs music
38:40 Discovering new parts of China during the past two years of pandemic
40:40 How the inability of foreign acts to enter China during the past two years has affected the local scene
46:45  The recent flip of lockdown situations of East and West
 

Brian Wong is an entrepreneur and innovator whose career has spanned e-commerce, education, and digital media. He was the first American and 52nd employee to join Alibaba Group in 1999; today, he is the founder and chairman of RADII (www.radiichina.com), a leading digital media company dedicated to bridging understanding between youth in the East and West.
Show notes:
3:30 Third-generation American-born Chinese, whose family was among the earliest group of Chinese immigrants5:10 The different periods and different types of Chinese people who immigrated to America7:40 How policy and war shaped the future of immigrants9:50 The experience of Chinese immigrants searching for their cultural roots12:11 First impressions of the motherland16:10 Different immigrant experiences and influences on identity22:30 Early aspiration to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people possible30:00 The first time meeting Jack Ma and Joe Tsai33:00 How Alibaba started and became what it is today41:54 Requirements of being special assistant to Jack Ma45:20 Upcoming book ‘The Tao of Alibaba’47:200 Reasons for creating a media platform that covers China51:50 The state of American media and the China threat narrative

Former US marine, seven summits climber, writer, actor, film producer, and fitness guru Ruben Payan Jr. talks with us about spending more than 10 years in China developing fitness programs and being a first-hand witness to the growth of MMA as a new sport in the region. He also speaks about eventually becoming the strength and conditioning coach for world champion UFC fighter Zhang Weili.Additionally, we touch on his novel-turned-film “We Are War” and his experiences as a former US marine while living in China during the podcast.
Show notes:
1:45 Upbringing in America in a large Mexican American household5:50 Motivation for joining the Marine Corp9:40 How he was somehow destined to come to China12:50 Eastern philosophies with Western practice in fitness15:30 Working with Chinese MMA fighters20:00 Chinese athletes vs. Western athletes23:05 Chinese market for MMA26:30 MMA rise vs. boxing27:35 Passion behind writing book “We Are War”35:45 How he was received as former a US Marine living in China38:15 Language or culture differences in training