Borrowing its name from Jim Jarmusch's 1991 film profiling the exploration of cultural boundaries in several cities across the world, Night on Earth is a multiple-city festival promoting an exchange of both Chinese and international artists and acts, with a stop here in Beijing on Saturday, May 17 at Tango. We spoke to Night on Earth's chief organizer, Jani Joenniemi, to find out the orgins of such an ambitious project.

• When did you first get the idea to do an event like Night on Earth?

I guess it all started when Leo [de Boisgisson, 86/33 Link's co-founder] and I decided to bring Finnish bands on tour here. We ended up doing a series of tours with the bands in 2006-2006 in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Kunming.

• So how did you first meet Leo?

Back in 2004, I was based in Finland organizing gigs over there. Leo was my contact here in China who helped me bring over Wang Lei and Subs, so we thought that it might be a nice idea to keep on working together if there were another chance.

• What was the orginal concept behind Night on Earth?

Well, we really wanted to do something unique in terms of cultural exchange. It's not very often that you can find similar-minded people, so we decided to take advantage of the fact that we shared so many ideas about music, art, and culture in spite of different geographical locations. After we started the exchange, we realized the similarity to the Jim Jarmusch film, so we thought that it would make a great name.

• The event is really being billed as "All Maximal," in response to Beijing's current infatuation with minimal techno.

(Laughs) You know, that actually wasn't meant in any way as a statement. I think it just has to do with the personal tastes of the people organizing it, which happen to be a bit more geared toward the electro-clash side of things.

• How has your original concept changed since you first launched the project?

When we started out, we had just intended to export Finnish music. Now, it's a full exchange between cities all across China, Berlin, and Helsinki, with exhibitions, galleries, and club events, with each city's Night on Earth having its own identity.