Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MUSIC
China was a definite latecomer to pop and rock music. By the time Elvis and John Lennon
were dead and punk had given way to floppy-fringed '80s new wave, Beijingers were still
tapping their feet to 'The East is Red'. Like all of the arts, music was tranquilised during
the Cultural Revolution as China's self-imposed isolation severed creative ties with the out-
side world.
It was a young, classically trained trumpet player named Cui Jian who changed all that.
Cui swapped his horn for a guitar in the mid-'80s, founded a band and by 1989 was already
a name to be reckoned with. But it was when his song 'Nothing to my Name' ('Yi Wo Suo
You'), with its abrasive vocal style and lyrics describing feelings of loneliness and aliena-
tion, became the anthem of the 1989 Tiān'ānmén protests that he really kick-started the
Chinese music scene.
Since those early days, Běijīng has always been China's rock music mecca. The masses
may still prefer the saccharine confections of mainstream Cantopop and Mandopop, but the
capital is home to a medley of different bands who take their sonic inspiration from punk
and indie, blues, heavy metal, jazz and electronica.
Mostly, they labour in the twilight. Few local bands have record deals or are able to
make any money from putting out CDs or by making music available for download.
Indeed, the Chinese music industry in general suffers from widespread piracy - few young
Chinese would ever consider actually buying music - and a distinctly unequal division of
royalties. The upside for visitors is that bands have to rely on gigging to make a living,
which means there's someone playing somewhere in Běijīng almost every night of the
week.
There's an incestuous flavour to much of the scene, with frequent collaborations and mu-
sicians rotating between different groups. Some of the most popular and enduring bands are
the punk outfits Brain Failure and Subs, the post-punk/new-wave-influenced Re-TROS and
the noise-pop trios Hedgehog and Snapline. But there are also bands riffing on reggae,
rockabilly, ska, '70s style hard rock and any number of indigenous folk styles. Jazz, too,
has always been popular in China, a legacy of the foreign influence on pre-1949 Shànghǎi.
Hip-hop is in its infancy, but China has embraced electronic music in all its different
glories. Club-goers can get a groove on to house, drum & bass, techno and trance every
weekend. The local DJ hero is Mickey Zhang; you'll see his name on flyers all over town.
Check the local listings magazines for details of upcoming gigs and club nights.
Music festivals are catching on in a big way in China, despite the authorities' automatic
suspicion of any large-scale gathering of young people. In and around Běijīng, the Midi
