We're not aiming to sound like anyone but ourselves, but some artists/bands that have influenced our way of thinking include: Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley, Bikini Kill, Nirvana, John Lennon, Patti Smith, Ramones, Sleater-Kinney, the Infinity Project
Other music we love: Electrelane, Liars, Neu!, the Breeders, M.I.A., Pavement, Deerhoof, Television, early Liz Phair, the Germs, X-Ray Spex, Holly Golightly, Etta James, Spacemen 3, the Vaselines, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Le Tigre, Pixies, Velvet Underground, Robert Johnson, the Beatles, Deerhunter, MBV, LCD Soundsystem, Aretha, the Voidoids, Lightning Bolt, Flin Flon, the Heartbreakers, X, David Bowie, John Fahey, the Gossip, so much more . . .
How to say our name? In three equal syllables, like this: REN-MIN-BEE
What does it mean? Literally, "The People's Currency."
"Surface" recording session - May '09
"Siren" at Le Voyeur (Olympia, WA) - July '08
We love playing shows, especially parties, DIY/alternative spaces, all-ages venues & free/low-cost events. Message us, email us, send telepathic signals -- whatever it takes so we can make some noise together!
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"Greenpoint duo Renminbi play a decidedly blustery, blown-out version of the type of indie rock that people still love describing as "angular." Their just-released debut EP, Surface, is available completely free, via indie-promo machine CASH Music (Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu), and it's well worth the download. Like a dozen massive indie-noise-pop experiments in four brief tracks, Surface plays like the Merge Records catalog forced through a fuzzbox: riffs in 9/8 are blasted out with sing-songy vocals; dissonant guitar riffs are played with arena fury; glam riffs smother under blankets of distortion." -Village Voice
"Renminbi's "riot grrrl meets math rock'" sound displays itself once again on their new EP, Surface.... Renminbi's mix of raw feeling, soulful lyrics, and intellectual compostion make this a must-have EP. Play it in your car on a road trip or driving through the city at night — it's the perfect soundtrack." -Venus Zine (5 out of 5)
"With highlife-style guitars, reggaeton beats, and vague references to tribal music all the rage, Brooklyn’s Renminbi (the name of China’s currency) almost comes across as a nostalgic throwback to the classic indie rock sounds of Northwest bands like Unwound and Sleater-Kinney. But nobody is copying anybody on Surface: its raw power glimmers with a uniquely passionate touch." -Cokemachineglow (7 out of 10)
"Renminbi demonstrates a serious dose of low-key heavy that calls to mind much of what we all love about noise-pop combos like Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo." -Time Out New York
"We’re richer, too, for having heard the [Surface] EP (again and again). More introspective and hushed than their other, noisier releases, Surface reminded us of Sonic Youth’s last six or seven albums: heartbroken choruses; long, moodily meandering instrumental passages; and smooth time-signature transitions, laid out over a bed of low-distortion guitars and brisk tom-tom rolls." -The IndiePit Blog
"Renminbi is striking from the get-go. Picking apart math-y '90s indie rock with an ear toward Krautrock, the band is alternately tidal and machinelike, whipping up foggy effects and turn-on-a-dime transitions in equal portions." -Philly Weekly
"Warm, late '90s Party Of Helicopters-style post-indie that can hold its breath, count to 9, dream if it wants to." -1000TimesYes
"Shunning all the post-pop extras seems a bold move in this era of slinky, synth-tastic club bands. But Renminbi is up to the task with impressive results. Its latest release, Surface, is a love letter to the classic garage band. It has a forceful, hungry and unyielding style about it, delivering to the listener all the best things about indie rock that may have been forgotten in recent years. Liu and her band mates are a testament to the ferocious integrity still lurking in music’s seedy underbelly of commercialism and competitive edge." -Allegory Magazine
"So I got my greedy little ears wrapped around Renminbi's new EP Surface ... and I have to say if I was water and Renminbi was a pot I would be boiling because it's so dang hot!" -Electric Mustache
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"Perhaps the next great thing in experimental rock, Renminbi features a tightly wound mix of guitar, keyboards and drums -- the effect, to say the least, is powerful. 'The Phoenix' [is] a potent mix of Sonic Youth and Bikini Kill, with a bit of math rock thrown in.... Renminbi truly goes for it on every track, pouring on their technical skill and innovative vision to make each song stand out." -Venus Zine
"Economists already know about the renminbi, the Chinese currency that has appreciated by double digits while the dollar has nosedived. But some fans know Renminbi as a mostly instrumental digi-rock outfit from Brooklyn, whose full-length debut 'The Phoenix,' out today, is an incendiary collection of spacey noise nuggets. The stock of both is rising." -WIRED's Listening Post
"Renminbi begins with darkwave electro pop like The Faint and The Cure, but stretched out and thrown into some dynamic prog rock jam band that loves to shake out some disco-goth solo noise. Then it starts to jazz-out, post-rock style, pushing some frenzied and guitar overdriven June of 44 or Seam kind of thing, but with layers and sheets of noise and guitar and feedback and drumbeats that range from straight-faced rock to off-beat times at the slightest drop of a snare!" -The Big Takeover
"Somewhere under Renminbi's fractured guitar onslaught and pulsating synth stabs hides vocal soundscapes that ultimately elevate 'The Phoenix' from its sparse, post-punk roots to a patchwork quilt of melodies that flow through the band’s art-damaged fabric.... 'Lachine' fills up in the middle with a pop hook reminiscent—but not derivative—of Sleater-Kinney, and 'Caveat' marries guitarist Lisa Liu’s expressive playing to cathartic singing that builds to epic proportions. As for the instrumental aesthetics, 'Siren' stands out as a prime example of Liu’s seemingly free-form guitar playing; jagged riffs and dissonance hit the musical canvas like Pollock’s paint drops, and 'A Delay' channels Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo but remains undeniably Renminbi. It’s hard not to feel excitement over the sonic barriers this up-and-coming band will break through next." -The Deli Magazine
"The trio are as dynamic as they are wide-ranging.... Liu’s guitar is a beautiful sunset against SMV’s rich landscapes of sound.... Long story short, ['The Phoenix'] is an awesome listen." -'Sup
"Tense riot-grrrl-informed indie rock." -Time Out New York
"Lisa Liu and SMV don't say a lot on Renminbi's first full-length album, 'The Phoenix.' Instead, the experimental rock duo relies on their instruments to do the talking. It turns out they have a lot to say.... The intricate instrumental parts are a perfect juxtaposition [to] the minimalist approach Renminbi takes to writing lyrics." -Cleveland Free Times
"Renminbi's name is a lot like its music -- it takes more than a glance to properly read it, but it's worth the effort." -The Pitch
"You know what really turns me on? Chicks with huge balls. Renminbi ... hold nothing back in creating a flustering stampede of sound.... These girls will not only impress you with their writing and playing, but they will also knock you flat on your ass. Renminbi's musical compositions are noticeably mature as they often teeter the line, but never fully cross, into harmonious resolves." -Hidden Track
"On Renminbi's first full-length album, 'The Phoenix,' voices and lyrics are distant distress signals, carried along by the melodic sweep, swoop, and crash of guitar, drums, and synthesizer (no bass guitar needed, not with the incisive shadings of SMV's keyboards). About half the tracks are instrumentals, but they all bring the sound of your strongest doubts, faintest beliefs, and vice-versa, into a butt-thumping, well-timed (though obsessive)
post-punk workout." -Don Allred
"Experimental noise rock with odd tempos and sudden melodic openings.... Don't miss!" -The Deli
Lisa Liu is "a pretty mean-spirited axewoman, which means, y’know, ROWR times 1,000 as far as this writer is concerned. 'Siren' is probably the apotheosis of her badassery, a filthy-good sort of workout where she and [Jim] Archer seem to be mapping new territory as they go along.... Overall grade [for 'The Phoenix']: very good." -Cave 17
"An engrossing listen.... 'The Phoenix' is one of the more catchy releases I’ve heard thus far this year." -SLUG (St. Louis Underground) Magazine
"'The Phoenix' is a great album if you want to sit in the dark and crank the stereo.... [Renminbi] know how to create some amazing sounds. Check this record out!" -Melodic.net
"With its layers and loops, it's easy to get drawn into Renminbi's music.... Songs [with vocals] such as 'Siobhan' give ['The Phoenix'] enough accessibility to balance out the edge of the strictly instrumental tunes." -Sound Check/AfterEllen.com
"What happened to the Indie Rock Chick? When did that DIY lady get so pretty, preening, and slight? (Answer: right around Liz Phair's third album and Courtney Love's eighth nose job.) We've been waiting for the badass indie rock chick--cut from the beer- and sweat-soaked cloth of Kim Deal--to re-emerge for some time now, and we think we've found her in Renminbi.... Co-founders Lisa Liu and SMV take us back to the early 90's, when indie rock chicks could drink, smoke, shit-talk, and play anyone under the table and didn't wear precious girly gear like leggings and shiny headbands.... Renminbi makes a big, badass, unapologetic rock-us. And that, friends, is what we call being 'lady-like.'" -Disgrasian
"For the last day of CMJ, I chugged my glass of six eggs and then ran Rocky style to The Delancey where Brooklyn-based Renminbi rocked so hard they broke a guitar string and had to borrow the guitar of the next band.... Their dynamic sound was displayed via blues/alternative rock guitar styles and beastly, superb drum parts that pounded through the audience.... Guitarist Lisa Liu’s vocals wielded power and sensitivity at the same time and blended nicely with the vocals of the female keys player, SMV." -The Deli (CMJ '08 live review)
"Renminbi plays a nice mix of post-punk and post-rock featuring intricately rhythmic drumming, swirling/pulsing keys and synth, and some damn fine guitar work.... We highly recommend checking Renminbi out." -StereoactiveNYC (live review)
"Purely all-American post-punk." -The Scene
"Innovative, exciting, and inspired." -Cherry Grrl
Some bands we've been compared with over the years: Sonic Youth, Slint, PJ Harvey, the Breeders, Polvo, Bikini Kill, Live Skull, the Feelies, June of 44, the Big Sleep, Low, Yo La Tengo, Explosions in the Sky, Mission of Burma, Mogwai, Unwound, Gone, Brainiac
Some bands we have played with: Vivian Girls, Miles Anthony Benjamin Robinson, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Scrawl, Jenny Hoyston, Slumber Party, Your 33 Black Angels, Heavy Creatures, Thing-One, The Naked Hearts, Forest Fire, Gary Lucas' Gods & Monsters, To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, She Keeps Bees, Telenovela Star, Coltrane Motion, Schwervon, Ahleuchatistas and so many more...
PS: Sorry, but generally speaking we're no longer approving comments that contain video and/or banners promoting shows (unless it's one we're playing!). We avoid spamming our friends, and we ask the same in return.
I'd say we'll end up near your area alright. We've still done nothing and I'm wondering now if we'll delay until next year or later in the year when flights are cheaper.. things have just been busy and the both of us just sitting down and booking things hasn't happened.. it might though....watch this space!
Thanks for coming out to Sanford for TTWD 2009! It was a blast! You guys are awesome! Thanks for the CD, and I hope all is Lyme D free. During cleanup today we saw multiple black widows. It is wild country down here!
yes will let you know the definite dates - we seem to be looking at alot of flights and accommodation and booking nothing - which is a bit stoooopid really! We're trying to get one bed apt for a week cobble hill, greenpoint/ williamsburg area.. and match up with decent priced flights on dates which suit us both.
Tis a palava.
Hope all well over there - hopefully SEE you soon xxx
congrats on the great VV spot! and i love the music video. makes me nostalgic for Brooklyn! i really wanna get back out there sometime!
Any plans on coming out to Portland? We should set up a show together again. I have some ideas for the other band too! And you are more than welcome to crash at our pad!
hey lisa/sue, hope the tour went well. me and cara are hopefully coming over to nyc to stay for a week mid sept - going to get an apt in brooklyn! - will you be around some evening to go for pints??! xxx
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