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''This article is about a New York City-based rock band named Renminbi. For other uses of the word "Renminbi," see Renminbi (disambiguation).''

'Renminbi' is the name of an indie rock band based in New York City. Formed in 2003, the band is a trio of guitar, drums and keyboard and is often compared to Polvo, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill and Slint. The band's founder, Lisa Liu, is Chinese-American and was inspired to call the band Renminbi after her first trip to China. The renminbi or ren min bi () is the official currency of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Contents

History

Discography

See also

References

External links

History

Renminbi first came together in early 2003. In the months prior, Danger, Giant Ranger! guitarist Lisa Liu had been looking to start up a side project to serve as a vehicle for a collection of hard-to-categorize songs she'd been writing that didn't seem to suit DGR. Inspired by a trip to China she had just taken, Lisa already had the name Renminbi in mind as she began searching for a bandmate. Her first objective was to find a drummer who could mesh well with her complicated sense of rhythm and work around her unusual song structures. In February 2003, she found those qualities in Jenny Johnson, a classical composer and percussionist with a rock 'n' roll heart. Initially performing only raw instrumentals, Renminbi soon called in soundscape-obsessed SMV to fill out some of the tunes with keyboard and vocals.
After a handful of rehearsals, the band played its first gig on February 27, 2003. Soon after, Renminbi became Lisa's primary project and SMV became a full-fledged member of the band. Eventually, Jenny and SMV began contributing their own compositions, and Jenny and Lisa began to perform as vocalists, as well. Currently, about half of the band's songs are instrumental, while the other half include voice. Their sound is often compared with Sonic Youth, Polvo, Slint, Bikini Kill, Mogwai (band), PJ Harvey and others.
Renminbi has played all over New York City and has visited other major cities in the eastern United States. The band also did a tour of California, and has played three Ladyfests (Richmond, Ohio and NYC) and an April '05 show in Dublin, Ireland, which was its last with Jenny Johnson behind the kit.
In August 2006, Renminbi found a new drummer in Jim Archer. The band is currently at work on a full-length recording, due for release in late summer 2007. The band also completed a four-date mini-tour of the U.K. and Ireland in March 2007.^[1]

Discography

★ The People's EP [EP, 2003]

★ The Great Leap [EP, 2004]

★ Electronika [single, 2004]

★ The Phoenix [tentative title, LP, 2007]

See also

★ Renminbi

★ Indie rock

References

★ 1. http://www.renminbinyc.com/band_bio.htm

External links

★ Renminbi's official Web site

★ Renminbi's MySpace page

★ Renminbi's iSound page