肩係膊頭 Digital DJ Duo

Atypical digital cut-up DJ duo 肩係膊頭, formed by ASTROJOKE and Red, specialize in cutting up field recordings, ambient music, pop songs, and noise, blending contrasting sounds. Their performances explore cross-infection through variable speed distortion, hands communicating on the turntable, and ears listening to one another.

肩係膊頭 made their debut in February 2024 at an aqueduct guerrilla gig co-hosted with Twenty Alpha. In August 2024, they performed at Shenzhen’s Oil Club and the Beijing DIY experimental festival You & Me. Just a few days later, they appeared at Twenty Alpha again, sharing the stage with DJ Sniff and KAGAMI Smile.

The You & Me Festival in Beijing 2024 performance featured abrupt transitions between musical genres—ranging from deconstructed pop to Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me—executed through rapid scratching, beat-chopping, and an unexpected shift from breakcore rhythms to a collective nostalgia evocative of the Y2K romantic sensibility. These deliberate disruptions elicited spontaneous and communal responses from the audience, underscoring the potential for unexpected narrative or structural twists—akin to those found in games—to provoke emotional resonance and foster collective engagement. Moreover, this performance exemplifies the somatic interplay between human and machine, where real-time movements and sonic manipulations embody a post-human aesthetic of interconnectedness.