4KNOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL VIDEO OF THE DAY: “MY DYING ATMOSPHERE” BY Re-TROS

It’s year four for the Village Voice’s 4Knots Music Festival at the South Street Seaport, a more-than-worthy successor to the old Siren Festival, which was held on two stages in Coney Island. 4Knots at the seaport is one of the most enjoyable free festivals of the summer: It’s easy to get to, relatively painless to navigate between stages, and packed with intriguing new and emerging talent, along with an old favorite or two. The festival, taking place from 1:00 to 8:00 on Saturday, July 12, is anchored this year by the venerable Dinosaur Jr.; one of the more exciting, lesser-known bands worth catching is Re-TROS, hailing from Beijing, China. The young band’s long name is Rebuilding the Rights of Statues, or Chong Su Diao Xiang De Quan Li (重塑雕像的权利 in Chinese). Citing such postpunk influences as Bauhaus, the Birthday Party, and Joy Division, Re-TROS have released such music as the sweet, blippy electronic single “My Dying Atmosphere” in addition to the Brian Eno–produced 2005 EP Cut Off!, which was recorded in New York and includes such tracks as “A Death-Bed Song,” “If the Monkey Becomes (to Be) the King,” and “Laugh from the Time.” Guitarist and vocalist Dong Hua, bassist and vocalist Min Liu, and drummer Hui Ma have played regularly to large, enthusiastic crowds at festivals in China, but they are not as well known as they deserve here. 4Knots is likely to change that, as they share a bill with such other performers as Mac DeMarco, Those Darlins, Speedy Ortiz, Crazy Pills, Radkey, Viet Cong, Nude Beach, Juan Wauters, and Dead Stars. (Please note that Re-TROS has since canceled their scheduled appearance at 4Knots because of passport issues and will be back in New York City in the fall.)