Meg Lee Chin
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Meg Lee Chin is a Taiwanese-Irish singer, songwriter, audio and video producer, writer and art activist who lives in London, England. She is known as an early pioneer of the home studio revolution and female-produced music. As an early adopter of computer-based audio production, she built her own pc and created "Egg Studio" with a small mixing desk and audio interfaces. Her role in the movement toward DIY record production was first recognized when she appeared as the first home studio producer to be featured in the January 2000 Millennial issue of EQ Magazine which was the foremost high-end audio publication of its time. She also appeared in
Tape Op A tape operator or tape op, also known as a second engineer, is a person who performs menial operations in a recording studio in a similar manner to a tea boy or gopher. They may act as an apprentice or an assistant to a recording engineer and dut ...
Magazine. and
Electronic Musician ''Electronic Musician'' is a monthly magazine published by Future US featuring articles on synthesizers, music production and electronic musicians. History and profile ''Electronic Musician'' began as ''Polyphony'' magazine in 1975, publis ...
.


Early life

Meg Lee Chin was born on 16 March 1960 in Taipei, Taiwan, to a US Air Force electronics engineer and a Taiwanese mother. She worked as a sound engineer while studying experimental art and video production at San Francisco State University, forming her first band, Felix Natural, during the early 1980s. Chin went on to co-found the short-lived Teknofear with
Lunachicks Lunachicks are an American punk rock band from New York City. The band formed in 1987 and had been on hiatus since 2000, with the band reuniting in 2019. The band cited influences including the Ramones, Kiss, and the MC5. Biography Theo Kog ...
drummer Becky Wreck and
Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...
guitarist Joe Goldring; frustrated with American life, she spent the late 1980s living in London, and eventually formed the all-female band Crunch. She has been recording since her college days in San Francisco, when she recorded
Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
's first demo on her 4-track, which featured
Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...
on vocals. In 1990, her home-produced music video entitled "The Ocean" was featured on MTV Europe's regular rotation. It may have been the first MTV Europe music video to be home-produced in super8 and transferred to video on a budget of £200. When asked by the producer how she managed to create a £200 video which was in his opinion "better than Duran Duran's £200,000 videos", Chin simply replied, "I've got pretty good taste". The video was later featured in an
Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
festival of film shorts.


Pigface

She is perhaps best known for her work with the
anarchic Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
industrial supergroup
Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the ''In Case You Didn't Feel Lik ...
, headed by
Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as ...
of
Invisible Records Invisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image ...
. According to an article in the LA Times March 23, 1998 "If you're looking for star potential, singer Meg Lee Chin". Signed to Invisible for five years, she left the label in 2002. After appearing on
Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the ''In Case You Didn't Feel Lik ...
's 1997 LP '' A New High in Low'' as well as its follow-up, ''
Below the Belt Mainly used in combat sports such as boxing and kickboxing, below the belt refers to all the area of the body that lies below the line of the opponent's navel,
'', in 1999 she released the solo debut ''Piece and Love'' on ex-
Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...
,
Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
and
Killing Joke Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Ki ...
drummer
Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as ...
'
Invisible Records Invisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image ...
label. Recorded in her Soho, London flat and released in September, "Piece and Love" achieved critical acclaim on the darkwave, industrial underground scene and was hot-tipped in
Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...
magazine's "Heatseaker" section. The album peaked at #60 on the
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
Radio 200 in the U.S. The track "Nutopia" paints an apocalyptic vision of the future as a twist on
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
's poem "Howl". Other tracks have appeared on Showtime's " Queer as Folk",
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
"Witchblade" and "Sleeper Cell". An album of remixes, titled ''Junkies and Snakes'', was released the following year again on
Invisible Records Invisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image ...
.http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=297131 Chin contributed tracks for Underground, Inc. releases such as the 2004 release of ''What's the Word, Volume One'', featuring
Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...
,
Mike Ladd Mike Ladd is an American hip hop musician from Boston, Massachusetts. He is based in Paris, France. ''The Guardian'' described him as "the king of the hip-hop concept." Early life Mike Ladd was born in Boston, Massachusetts. As a child, he live ...
, among others. Other works include a remix album ''Junkies and Snakes'', also released on Invisible, along with some remixed covers of
Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and
Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...
tracks.


Crunch

In 1992, Crunch had the distinction of being the first British based band to perform in Ukraine after the small country's freedom from the former U.S.S.R.This was just after the
Glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
period of
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
and before
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
took the reins of power as the president of Russia. The band performed in Kyiv at the
Palace "Ukraine" National Palace of Arts "Ukraina" ( uk, Національний палац мистецтв "Україна") or Palace "Ukraina" is one of the main theatre venues for official events along with Palace of Sports in Kyiv, Ukraine. The venue is a ...
Concert Hall during the "Miss Rock Europe 92" festival. They also performed the infamous women's prison in
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...
called them "The Rock Stars from the West". At a large press conference, the band were interrogated over questions of geo-politics. They all wanted to know the bands opinions on world affairs. But to this Meg Lee Chin replied "We are simply musicians and do not pretend to have the answers to delicate and complex geopolitical questions. We'll leave these answers to huge male egos like Sting". This prompted smiles from the female members of the press who began to scribble with renewed vigour in their notebooks. After the tour the band gifted their Ukrainian and Russian hosts with a DAT tape of an album's worth of their music to be distributed throughout the USSR copyright free.


Gearslutz

In 2002 she built, developed and co-created Gearslutz. Gearslutz (now Gearspace) is the largest pro-audio producer and sound engineer's forum on the web. On the 18th June 2010 in the High Court of Justice#Chancery Division in London, England, Margaret O'Leary aka Meg Lee Chin won a claim against her former business partner Julian Standen. After 3 years where she battled for her right to co-ownership of the Gearslutz business, Judge Master Justice Briggs ruled in Chin's favor for claim #HC07C03181. The settlement amount was agreed out of court. In 2021, Meg responded to a petition where a group of women made a request for a name change to the site due to accusations of sexism. Chin surprised the audio community by revealing that she actually built the site. The name has since been changed to Gearspace. In response to interest stemming from the name change controversy and in order to provide insight into the injustices of the legal system, Chin Lee Chin created the Gearwarz website.


Political Art

Chin's work has become increasingly political. In 2014 she released an anti-war music video using Vietnam-era war footage. "I Can't Pull the Trigger" was produced by Chin in London, England. Chin has released 5 homegrown music video

True to her DIY underground ethic Meg produced, filmed, directed, and edited all videos and music. A highly controversial political video "England's Mask" was featured in a talk at the Tate Gallery in London where she appeared on a panel of artists speaking on the topic "Artists Explore Brexit".https://www.facebook.com/events/tate-modern/uniqlo-tate-lates-march-2019/860354304301381/ In 2019, she created a political documentary/cartoon entitled "England's Mask" which expands upon the song of the same name. The video demonstrates why Britain is in danger of losing its status as global creative leaders in street art, fashion and pop music. Solutions include an unconditional basic income, land tax, legal reform. Chin proposes the democratization of money printing by transfering money printing powers powers away from central banks. Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
The film screened at the Bookery Art Gallery in London on June 16, 2022. The event was called "Hack the Economy" and offeered the public an invitation to talk, debate and brainstorm the future. An interview Q&A and discussion was hosted afterwards by art curator Manick Govinda. Chin created a genre called "Word Drops" which are short spoken word and commentary pieces, often of a political nature and mixed with an assortment of beats and sound effects. Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
In 2021, she released 5 standalone singles through Distrokid.


Personal life

Chin currently lives in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England. She blogs regularly and has also written articles for Country Squire magazine in the UK. After the UK's 2016 referendum to leave the EU Meg formed the "Brexit Creatives" along with '' The Football Factory'' novelist John King independent arts consultant Manick Govinda, Arts and Society Forum convener Dr. Wendy Earle. On March 29. 2019 Chin appeared as a panelist on a "Uniqlo Tate Lates" discussion at London's
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
along with 3 other London artists. The discussion entitled "Artists Explore Brexit" and was to explore contemporary European identity in the work of the panelists.


Discography


Albums

*''Piece and Love'' (1999) *''Junkies and Snakes'' (2000)


EPs and singles

*''Altered States of Amerika'' (2020)


Music videos

Tracklist: #Venus (in Brown Sheets) #Celebrity Saviour #I Can't Pull the Trigger #England's Mask #Bowies Heroes - A Tribute #Crunch "Burning Down the Walls"at the Palace Ukraine


Political documentary/parody

Tracklist: #England's Mask - the Full Documentary #Wish You Were Here - Free Julian Assange London Rally w/ Pink Floyd's Roger Waters #Anna Soubry and the Parliamentary Backtracker's Rap Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine


Word drops

Tracklist: #The United States of Europe featuring The Football Factory author John King #Hastings featuring poet
Salena Godden Salena Godden is an English poet, author, activist, broadcaster, memoirist and essayist. Born in the UK, Salena Godden is of Jamaican-Irish heritage and based in London. Widely anthologised, she has published several books. She has also writt ...
#Trojan Horse


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chin, Meg Lee Living people Pigface members Underground, Inc. artists 1960 births Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Taiwanese people of American descent American people of Taiwanese descent American expatriates in England