Chinese Rock as one recognizes it from the sound that has been developed in the United States, from the earliest 20th century incarnations in traveling blues, to the distorted sounds of metal-rock rose in popularity in Mainland China. Chinese rock movement's differed from its Western counterpart in that it never fully made it into mainstream culture. The marginality of rock seems to point to significant cultural, political and social differences that exist between China and the West.
Cui Jian (Godfather of Rock n Roll In China, Also a former trumpeter for the Beijing Philarmonic Orchestra)emphasized that "Chinese ROCK is like an egg ,it's very fragile but not dead yet". He feels that Chinese rock'n roll has slipped into decline after a golden period in the 1990s. “It was high in the sky. It was an unexpected prosperity. Who knows when we can see another comeback,” says the master of the art. Young Chinese are no longer so taken by the riff of a rock guitar, flocking to stadiums instead to see sweeter-sounding pop stars like Hong Kong's singer Karen Mok or Andy Lau. Then He also said if there were to be another 20 years, "I hope someone would be proud of being a rocker and make a living with the right kind of music.
This theme above is brought by 3 days Rock Concert called "If there were to be another 20 years" (Shenyang, 2006, June 16-18) some legendary and new rock musicians such as Cui Jian, Tang Dynasty, Wang Lei, Wang Feng, Xie Tianxiao and the Subs. Unfortunately, the audience numbers were not that great (only 600 people with place that can accomodate 3000 people). Some of the best new musicians in there played at the five-hour carnival. The bands played music ranging across a variety of genres -- from pop punk to indie rock, folk to electronica and metal to grunge.
Zhang Qian (lead singer of C5, a local group that played the Ningxia festival) said that there are plenty of diehards though. “We are still living the underground life". In Beijing members of well-known rock bands can earn around RMB500 a night, but in Zhang's hometown Yinchuan, dozens of rock bands struggle for gigs in the city's few bars. “Our life is very difficult” says Zhang, not without a hint of pride. Chinese rock's day isn't done.
Kings of the first generation of Chinese rock Hei Bao (Black Leopard), formed in 1987, see themselves as the epitome of the genre that is Chinese rock. said “Seventeen years is quite a long time for us. It's hard. But hardships drive creativity” Guitarist Li Tong meanwhile is circumspect about the future of Chinese rock'n roll, “I'm more interested in the process of its evolution. As for what it'll evolve into, so be it…”
Zheng Jun (1990s Mountain Rocker) says "Good bands in bars are getting fewer and fewer nowadays," . When he first arrived on the scene, he says, "the music was real rock and roll, and the musicians were chasing what music actually meant. The feelings were true... Today? Some of them are just thinking about how to please audiences, or look more stylish. He hopes to continue the work like Black Panther and Tang Dynasty began, "leading bands out from underground to the point of winning national awards," he says, "because this is the best way for ROCK to develop."
Zhang Fan (Headmaster of Beijing Midi School of Music,Director of the Midi Music Festival) also said that he dissatisfied with Chinese rock which's too slowly to get recieved. There may be many reasons. But I think it has something to do with the cultural system of China. Rock music is rarely introduced or promoted on TV or the radio, so the market goes too slowly to attract investors. The biggest difference between Chinese rock and that of Western countries is government policy. We should be more open to it, and support its development. The mainstream audience in China has few chances to get to know rock.
Yan Jun, one of the most famous music critics in China, told
China Newsweek magazine that rock 'n' roll in the West is a natural development growing from its developed cultural environment since the 1950s. "The day when Chinese rock was born was not very far away from the end of the 'Cultural Revolution.' China had no teen culture and no urban entertainment then. Rock was like something from the middle of nowhere. So it's not surprising to see it has never been mainstream."Beijing has more Rock Show than HK. That's why Chinese Rock is still limited to get influence at overall Chinese society. Talking about Rock Concerts which almost exclusively centered in Beijing and Shanghai. Though, most Chinese rock bands had to release their CDs in Hong Kong or Taiwan first. Mostly It took one year waiting for their CDs officially released in Mainland China. I wonder why there's some songs which're prohibited in Mainland China but they're allowed in HK and Taiwan. For Example ... Nic's new album which has 4 songs endured by mainland broadcasts becoz it's marked too harsh. Same case with Wolf (2005) and his english song "Without Me" (2001). And also When He performed at Rock Festival in Kyushu, Japan (with GLAY and other Asian ROCK Bands), he could be WILDER becoz Rock Musics are used to be popular by Japanese audiences than Chinese.
From the Northwest Wind music movement in the mid-1980s, made headlines during the Tiananmen protests of 1989 and undergone varying periods of ups and downs in the 1990s with insurmountable difficulties in promotion and marketing in the face of censorship and limited listener base. Chinese artists and musicians whose musical expression that exemplify such attitudes and lifestyles enjoy far less media exposure and promotion of ideas from the state-controlled media than their local and international pop-music counterparts.
Chinese Rock had its origins in the xibeifeng (西北风, Northwest Wind) style which emerged on the popular music scene in Mainland China. The new style was triggered by two new songs, "Xintianyou" and "I Have Nothing" (一无所有), both of which drew heavily on the folk song traditions of northern Shaanxi Province in the northwest. They combined this with a western-style fast tempo, strong beat and aggressive bass lines. In contrast to the mellow Cantopop style, Northwest Wind songs were sung loudly and forcefully. It represented the musical branch of the large-scale Root-Seeking (寻根, xungen) cultural movement that also manifested itself in literature and in film.
Many Northwest Wind songs were highly idealistic and heavily political, parodying or alluding to the revolutionary songs of the Communist state, such as "Nanniwan" (南泥湾) and "The Internationale" (国际歌). They reflected dissatisfaction among Chinese youth, as well as the influence of western ideas such as individuality and self-empowerment. Both music and lyrics articulated a sense of pride in the power of the northwest's peasantry. Songs such as "Sister Go Boldly Forward" (妹妹你大胆的往前走) came to represent an earthy, primordial masculine image of Mainland China, as opposed to the soft, sweet, polished urban gangtai style.
The birthplace of Chinese rock was in Beijing (Even It’s still the place as ROCK development in China), which as the nation's capital was firstly, highly politicised and secondly, opens to a range of foreign influences. It was marginal for most of the 80s, consisting of live performances in small bars and hotels. The music was almost exclusively the domain of university students and "underground" bohemian circles. In late 1989 and early 1990 Chinese rock partially emerged into mainstream music as an amalgamation of the Northwest Wind and prison song fads. The first Chinese rock song was arguably the Northwest Wind anthem "I Have Nothing", first performed in 1986 by Cui Jian, widely recognised as the father of Chinese rock. The song introduced into post-revolutionary China a whole new ethos that combined individualism, and direct and bold expression. It soon came to symbolise the frustration harboured by a disillusioned generation of young intellectuals who grew cynical about Communism and critical of China's traditional and contemporary culture. It also expressed, even for older Chinese, a dissatisfaction with unrealized promises of the Chinese regime.
In the spring of 1989, "I Have Nothing"(Cui Jian) became the de-facto anthem of the student protestors at
Tiananmen Square. Additionally, in May and July of that year, three of China's famous rock bands were established: Breathing (Huxi, 呼吸), Cobra (眼镜蛇), and Zang Tianshuo's (臧天朔) 1989. Earlier rock music groups include "Infallible" (Budaoweng 不倒翁), formed by Zang Tianshuo and Tang Dynasty (Tang Chao, 唐朝) lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ding Wu （丁武), and probably the most famous of all Chinese rock bands: "Black Panther" (Hei Bao 黑豹), originally fronted by China's alternative music pioneer Dou Wei (窦唯).After the Tian'anmen Square protests, rock became part of general urban youth culture in China. Its rise from marginality was celebrated on 17 and 18 February 1990, when Beijing's largest ever all-rock concert was held in the Capital Gymnasium, one of the city's largest halls. The concert featured six rock bands, among them Cui Jian's ADO and Tang Dynasty (唐朝). The criterion that the organisers set as qualification to participate was "originality", generally a Western artistic ethos. Chinese rock reached a peak of creativity and popularity between 1990 and 1993. Dozens of rock bands were established and rock music was performed on a regular basis. Because they were excluded from state controlled media such as CCTV, the main venue was still informal, small-scale, underground rock parties. The core participants in rock subculture adopted characteristic nonconformist appearance and behaviour. These included long hair for males, jeans, silver metal ornaments, black leather coats, and carefree, hippie-style behaviour. The decline of Northwest Wind and simultaneous rise of the rock fad represented a shift in the attitude of many of China's intellectuals. Nostalgia changed into an unequivocally fierce negation, a sense of alienation from China's traditional and rural culture. Especially when new wave of "grunge" (Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden) reached China in 1990s and influenced the youth, so that the face of Kurt Cobain is still omnipresent at concerts / students.
Not Only in Mainland China,Many Rock Bands get growing up in HK and Taiwan too, like for example:
Anodize
is a hysteria rock band from Hong Kong. Their CD, "Action Figures" out-shines most other bands of the genre. I would say they are well ahead of the most popular Hong Kong rock band called Beyond. Recently a song of theirs has been compiled onto an EP of Hong Kong hip hop called "LMF" (for Lazy Mutha Fuckers). This is nice hip hop/rock EP in the style of Rage Against the Machine.Beyond
, I could say, is beyond talent, but I will not be mean. Actually this band has been around for quite a while, and has churned out a lot of CD recordings. The impetus behind this output seems to be money rather than art. Some of their songs are good, but I suspect there is a lot of filler on all the albums.China Blue
is a popular Taiwanese rock band that does mellow rock ballads.With Wu Bai as a vocalist and leader.Scrap Metal is another Taiwanese band that does both heavy metal and some very mellow songs on their debut album. The band has a female vocalist.
Lady Bug is a Taiwanese punk band with four female musicians who usually sing in English. Their first effort was really badly produced and recorded. The most understandable English word they use is fuck. They use it often. This is a great album to listen to if you have the notion that Chinese women are mellow and submissive.
By 1994, Chinese rock was obviously in decline. This can only partly be attributed to strict controls by the Chinese government, such as the banning of rock from television and restrictions on performances. More importantly, the decline of rock reflected the general lack of interest in China of the 1990s in stimulating politicised cultural products, thoughts, or behaviour. People became more interested in engaging with the market economy: making money and improving their living standard.
The radical commercialisation of the music industry in the mid-90s favoured overseas imports from Taiwan and Hong Kong. Cantopop singers such as 4 heavenly kings were backed up by well-resourced record companies and could raise revenues from film-making and advertising, two sources usually rejected by Chinese rock musicians. Moreover, they often benefited from cooperation by the Chinese government.
Rock musicians such as Tian Zhen and Xu Wei have adapted their subject matter to the Cantopop style and achieved commercial success. At this time the commercial side of the business started to influence Chinese rock. And because of this chinese rock somehow became more like pop music. thinks that the commercial steps taken by Chinese rock music during this period were significant.
Self-styled punk He Yong have fiercely rejected Cantopop culture and their imitators on the Mainland. In 1995 a handful of younger punk bands (Brain Failure, Reflector, A Jerks, and 69) produced an album called "Wuliao Contingent," representing the boredom and frustration collectively felt within the urban landscape. At the forefront was Brain Failure, the most successful of these bands, who continue to tour the world with their ska/punk sound. English is used to both express what Chinese lyrics cannot and also in imitation of foreign musicians.
Year of Punk Bands (1998-2000)
At the beginning of year 1998, there’s a famous punk bar
"Scream" opened in Beijing, which displays an entrance sign reading "metal and old rockers get no entrance."Pop punk Band "New Pants" release their debut "New Pants,"; Pan Gu releases, " Burning with Lewd Desire," and Dou Wei releases his, " Mountain, River and Water," an experimental album of techno and Chinese traditional music.In January 1999, Post-pubescent pop punk band
"Flowers" release their debut, "Beside Happiness." The singer of the band is only 15 in that year, which is a mark of the arrival of " Children Era" for Chinese rock. Also at this year Free Music magazine is published under the statement "Music is the means, freedom is the aim." Three rock magazines, Modern Sky, Xmusic and So Rock soar in popularity.Going on to the first years of the new millenia (2000-2004), Post Punk and Extreme Metal entered the Underground scene and is ascending among the fans. The extreme metal scene is tremendous. Just in Beijing more than 25 bands formed and began to develop their own style. They still have to go a long hard road, as they miss the experience foreign bands have. Most bands are just 1-3 years old and try to make their way in the still quite conservative society. Unluckily, Most extreme metal bands in China miss support (social - family - label) and most of them have not many songs.
The development of new metal in the beginning of the third millenia (2000-) started to diverse into several distinct genres, such as Pop New Metal (Ashura), more Hardcore-orientated New Metal (Miserable Faith) and rapcore Yaksa. Similar to the uprise of New American Heavy Metal in the US and New Death Metal in Scandinavia, this trend reached China with two years delay in Mid 2003/2004. The genre to be described as Metalcore is used by bands such as Hollow or Against Me.