Rock music in china

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Concert by the band Tang Chao (Tang Dynasty) in Xi'an, 2004

The rock music in China is still quite young and does not reference a long history. The musician Cui Jian , who is considered the first rock star in China and has since performed several times in Germany with Udo Lindenberg, plays a special role .

development

The first Chinese rock bands were formed in the early 1980s, for example Wan Li Ma Wang in 1980, Alisi in 1981, Mainland in 1982 and Seven-piece Puzzle and Self Righting Doll in 1984.

In 1986 Cui Jian established himself as the "Godfather of Chinese Rock 'n' Roll " with his most famous song I have nothing ( Yi wu suo you一无所有) and his second album, Rock on the Road of New Long March (1989) . His socially critical texts and his appearance with a red blindfold after the Tian'anmen massacre in 1989 brought him the wrath of the Chinese government, which made it difficult for him to leave China and to appear at home. For now, however, the situation has eased and Cui Jian is touring around the world and performing domestic concerts.

Influenced by the breakthrough that Cui Jian achieved in China's presence, the bands Hei Bao (黑豹, Black Panther), formed in 1987, and Tang Chao (唐朝, Tang Dynasty ), in 1998.

Hei Bao is an old school rock band who sang English and Chinese lyrics on their first self-titled album, Hei Bao . The band is still active (as of 2005), although their first singer Dou Wei (窦唯) left the band after the first album and successfully started a solo career.

Since no Chinese record company was ready to release rock albums at the beginning of the 1990s , the bands switched to companies in Taiwan or Hong Kong .

The Midi Modern Music School in Beijing also took an important step in the spread of modern rock music in China . Founded in 1993 by Mr. Zhang Fan, it was and is the only school in China that offers courses in jazz and rock music. As an offshoot and school festival, the Midi Modern Music Festival developed into the largest rock festival in China with up to 80,000 visitors and over 80 bands annually. The school and the festival gave China's underground rock scene a boost and also enabled over 18 foreign bands to perform in China (including Alev , Monokino, Yokohama Music Association, The Wombats, etc.)

Punk and Metal in China

Tang Chao was China's first real heavy metal band; Their first album " A dream return to Tang Dynasty ", released in 1991/1992 , which combined elements of traditional Chinese opera with classic heavy metal, helped them achieve their breakthrough. One band member died in a traffic accident shortly after the release.

In the mid-1990s, the first thrash metal band Chao Zai (Overload) was founded, which released three CDs by 2005, the last of which in cooperation with pop rock singer Gao Chi , ex-member of the disbanded rock band The Breathing .

In the 1990s, grunge was very successful in China; Today, merchandising items with the face of Kurt Cobain are omnipresent at concerts and students, and a biography penned by a Chinese author is already a best seller in the People's Republic.

Punk also spread in China between 1994 and 1996 ( the first wave of Chinese punk appeared in Beijing in 1995 , the second in 1997), Nu Metal a short time later. He Yong is considered China's first punk and also the first post-punk .

In recent years, extreme metal and post-punk have become increasingly popular in China's underground , and the willingness of foreign bands to tour China has increased: Labyrinth in 2004, The (International) Noise Conspiracy in 1998 and 2004/5, Deep Purple 2004, Udo Lindenberg 2004 and many more.

Internationalization of the rock scene

From 2004 in particular, China's rock scene became more international, which is not only evident in the increasing number of foreign rock bands, but also in the tours of Chinese bands in European (Subs) and American countries (Carsick Cars, Lonely China Day).

In addition to the documentary Beijing Bubbles from 2005, which gives an insight into the current punk and rock scene especially in Beijing and which accompanies five Beijing bands at their rehearsals and concerts, but also in their everyday lives, the German music label Fly Fast Records also releases albums the chn. Bands Joyside and Sand.

With the opening of the D-22 club in Wudaokou, Beijing, by Michael Pettis and the later founding of his label Maybe Mars Records, which v. a. focused on No Beijing Bands, this rock scene was given the opportunity to perform in the United States.

Well-known bands

Web links