Chinese rock band. Chinese rock: what it is and what it is eaten with. Contemporary Chinese music

Denis Boyarinov

The leader of the distinguished Chinese rock band P.K. 14 Yan Haisong spoke about how difficult it was for the rocker in Nanjing and what he owes to Viktor Tsoi

Rock in China is called “yaogun” - yaogun, and it appeared not so long ago - in 1986, when singer Cui Jian, local Bob Dylan and John Lennon in one person, performed the famous song "There is nothing", which became the anthem of student unrest in the late eighties. By the way, Tsui Jian can also be called the Chinese Tsoi, because his father is Korean.

Honored Chinese group P.K. 14, formed in 1987, plays rock that is similar to Russian and owes something to Viktor Tsoi. Despite the fact that young Chinese musicians have almost entirely switched to English, for the members of P.K. 14 The message is still important in the songs - the lyrics that the band's leader and vocalist Yang Haisong, who in life looks like a quiet geography teacher, shouts in Mandarin. For his generation, today's 30- and 40-year-olds, rock was a faith they could not betray. Having met Ian Hysong during the Vladivostok Rocks festival, DENIS BOYARINOV recorded his story about the new album “1984”, recorded by P.K. 14 with famous sound producer Steve Albini, and about the past and present of yaogong. Judging by his story, Chinese rock and Russian rock during its heyday in the 1980s have a lot in common.

The first wave of rock music emerged in Beijing and Shanghai in the early 1980s. Chinese bands began to appear, which were predominantly heavy metal. I started listening to Chinese rock around 1983 - I was 20 years old then. I caught these bands on the radio. At the same time, cassette tapes began to appear on which Western bands recorded. Cassettes were cheap and you could find any kind of music on them. They went from hand to hand. We learned a lot from these tapes.

When I started playing guitar, I started playing sixties rock - hippie music, then moved on to punk - Clash And Ramones. group P.K. 14 I founded to play only post-punk - in style Joy Division, Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees And Bauhaus.

My bandmate, bassist Ah Dong, moved to Nanjing in 1986 and founded his own band there Shit Dog- they played angry hardcore. P.K. 14 And Shit Dog were the biggest rock bands in Nanjing, although we, of course, were and remain underground. When Ah Dong's group broke up, we started playing together.

P.K. 14- "Behind All Ruptures"

Chinese authorities have never welcomed rock music. In the 1980s it existed on semi-legal conditions. But for my generation, rock was like a religion. Rock music was an opportunity to find yourself in another world, completely opposite to the one in which most Chinese live. Those who chose rock refused to live in the “normal” world. They sat all day long, locked at home, and played guitars. They ignored what their teachers and parents told them. All my friends who listened to rock were unemployed in their 20s and 30s. They couldn’t get a job anywhere, and they didn’t want to. They made money from time to time. We lived from hand to mouth. We saved money for cassettes and CD. It was a difficult life.

When we started playing - in the late 1980s - there were no rock clubs in Nanjing. We played in random bars. We brought all the equipment ourselves - instruments, amplifiers, speakers, absolutely everything. It was full DIY (do-it-yourself. - Ed.). There have been stories where we performed successfully and agreed with the owner to perform the following Saturday. They came a week later, and he told us: no, I changed my mind, we don’t want any noise here. People don't buy beer because of your music. Lied to our faces. We said okay, turned around, loaded with equipment, and left to look for another bar. There were many such cases. We performed for free - we didn’t charge any money for entry. It was difficult for us - because in Nanjing the music scene is not as developed as in Beijing or Shanghai. We couldn't find a person to become our promoter or director. In addition, Nanjing - Small town By Chinese standards, about 8 million people live there.

Those who chose rock refused to live in the “normal” world.

Things have gotten much better for rock music in China now. Much, much. Now in Beijing there are already about a dozen venues that specialize only in rock music: these are bars, clubs or halls. In 2004 P.K. 14 went on our first tour of China; we gave 21 concerts in different cities- the smallest ones, not even provincial capitals. In some cities we were the first rock band to tour. Since then, we have already toured China four times, and each time there are more and more cities on our schedule. Soon we will go on another tour with the new album “1984” - it already includes 32 cities, some of which we have never been to before. The situation is improving - new platforms are appearing, the people who deal with them are becoming more professional. Everything is developing, and very quickly.

We just wrote a letter to Steve Albini. Because we have long dreamed of being recorded by Albini. We're big fans of his bands. Shellac And Big Black.

We recorded all our previous records with Swedish producer Henrik Oja, and this one is no exception - we polished it in Sweden. But we really wanted to go to Chicago and realize our dream. Our label supported us Maybe Mars, one of China's two rock labels, gave the budget. We wrote a letter, introduced ourselves, found out the prices - with your money it’s about 50 thousand rubles for one day of the session. We agreed on a schedule - this was the most difficult thing. We made an appointment with Albini 5 days in advance. Before that, he wrote a solo album for Kim Deal from Pixies. And then I went on tour with Shellac. It was a blessing to work with one of the best sound engineers in the world.

We have something to say, something to sing and something to shout - and we want to be understood in our country.

In China, most groups, especially young ones, prefer English. They can be understood - this international language for rock music. I write and sing lyrics in Mandarin. It happened this way from the very beginning - and this is for us natural way. We have something to say, something to sing and something to shout - and we want to be understood in our country.

Besides, what we sing on native language, does not mean at all that we will not be understood by residents of other countries. For example, my two favorite Russian performers are the Kino group and Vladimir Vysotsky, who sang in Russian. Maybe I don't understand everything they sing about, but I feel it very well.

Also, most Chinese rock bands have bad English, terrible English. They sing on Chinglish. Nothing. Sucks.

Many people in China think that we sing political songs. But we do not criticize the Communist Party in our songs, we sing about what surrounds us - about everyday reality. For us everything is politics.

One of our most famous songs, "This Red Bus", was inspired by the Kino group. My friend showed me a translation of the song “Electric Train” - about how the train is taking me where I don’t want to go. I was incredibly delighted with this image - and wrote my song about the same thing.

Our new album is called "1984". Like a book by George Orwell - and just by the title you can understand what this album is about. Orwell painted a bleak picture of the future in his book, but for us in China, 1984 is the very present.

Listen to albums by P.K. 14 possible.

Yang Haisong's Top 5 New Chinese Rock Bands

WangWen
A post from Dalian.

8 Eye Spy
No wave from Nanjing.

Carsick Cars
Noise rock from Beijing.

From the history of the development of Chinese music

Back in the 1st century BC. e. In China, more than 80 types of national musical instruments. Gradually, the main types of traditional music were formed: songs, dance music, music of song tales, music of local operas and instrumental music.

The best examples of ancient classical music were the piece for qin (a seven-string plucked instrument) “Guanlingsan”, “Suite of 18 parts for the Hujia flute”, the piece for pipa (four-string lute) “Circular Ambush”, the piece for wind and string instruments “Moonlight and flowers on the spring river”, etc.

In 1919, European elements began to infiltrate Chinese music.. In 30 - 40 years. Chinese musicians write folk works, for example, “March of the Volunteers” composed by composer Nie Er to the words of Tian Han is now the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.

The appearance of the opera "The Gray Girl" opened a new era in the creativity and development of Chinese opera.

Festivals were held regularly"Shanghai Spring", "Guangzhou Music and Flower Festival", "Beijing Choral Music Festival", "Northeast China Music Week", "Music Week Northern China", "Northwest China Music Week", "Spring City Music Festival" (Kunming), and others.

Because harmony, correctness and balance are very important to the Chinese.

Contemporary Chinese music

Cui Jian is considered the "father" of Chinese rock.

Chinese rock is a mixture of traditional Chinese instruments with the drive of modern. As in many countries, rock came from the West.

Additional influences came at the beginning of the 20th century - jazz and blues.

The breakthrough came in the 80s with the appearance of metal (rock) Ozzy Osbourne, Rage Against the Machine, etc.

Its popularity grew increasingly on the mainland, and it played important role during the 1989 Tiananmen protests. and fighting government policies regarding censorship, sales and recording.

On state-controlled radio stations, rock musicians were little liked.

Northwest Wind (1980s)

Chinese rock has its origins in xibeifeng (northwest wind), which appeared in the pop music of mainland China. A new style was caused by 2 songs "Xintianyou" and "I Have Nothing". . It was a combination of fast Western rhythm, aggressive bass line and strong drums.

In contrast to the soft Cantopop (pop music in Cantonese), these songs sounded like thunder. Many Northwest Wind songs were idealistic, sharply political, parodies of revolutionary communist songs, such as "Nanniwan" and "The Internationale". They reflected the dissatisfaction of young people with the existing situation in the country, and at the same time the growing influence of Western ideas of individualism and egocentrism.

Prison songs (1988-1989)

"Prison Songs" became popular in 1988 and early 1989, paralleling the "Northwest Wind" style.

This strange quirk comes from Chi Zhiqiang, who wrote poems about his time in prison and combined them with folk songs from the same region. But unlike the previous style, prison songs were slow, maudlin, took negative examples as models, and often used vulgarisms to express cynicism and despair.

Their non-conformist values ​​are evident in the songs "Mother Is Very Clueless" and "Not a Drop of Butter on the Plate."

The Birth of Chinese Rock (1984)

The birthplace of Chinese rock was in Beijing, since the capital was the most politicized and subject to foreign influence. Most of them performed in small bars and hotels in the 80s. Music was exclusively among university youth and bohemians.

In late 1989 and early 1990, Chinese rock became mainstream, combining prison songs and northwest wind styles.
In the spring of 1989, the song "I Have Nothing" became the de facto anthem of the student protest in Tiananmen Square.

In addition, in May and July of the same year, 3 famous Chinese rock bands performed: Breathing (Huxi), Cobra, and Zang Tianshuo. Early rock bands included "Infallible" (Budaoweng), formed by Zang Tianshuo and Tang Dynasty (Tang Chao), vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ding Wu, and perhaps the most famous: "Black Panther" (Hei Bao), and original Chinese alternative music leader Dou Wei.

The Rise of Chinese Rock (1990-1993)

After the Tiananmen demonstrations, rock has become an integral part of the city youth culture . His departure from marginality occurred on February 17 and 18, 1990, when his longest concert took place in the largest concert hall in Beijing.

6 rock bands performed there, including the group Cui Jian - Ado And Tang Dynasty. The selection criterion was “originality and novelty.”

Chinese rock reached its peak of creativity and popularity between 1990 and 1993. Hundreds of rock bands appeared, many performing constantly. But since the state continued to exclude them from events and did not show them on central channels, most of the performances took place at underground parties.

Most rock musicians of this period are characterized by: long hair, black leather jackets, jeans, silver metallic patterns, and hippie carefree. Rock had a huge influence on the intellectual layer of the population.

But along with the gradual departure from the northwestern roots, a feeling of nostalgia appeared and an understanding of how far he had gone modern China from traditional rural culture.

Decline of Chinese Rock (1994)

Since 1994, Chinese rock has been in another decline. This is only partly due to the government's unchanging attitude and the ban on rock music. There has been a general decline in interest in politicized songs and books.

People became more interested in the market economy and improving living standards. It can be noted that by 2005, this trend had only intensified, China's economy was developing rapidly, and the population was more interested in economic reforms than political ones.

Chinese rock revival (2000–present)

In 2000-2004, post-punk and extreme metal appeared on the rock scene, and Visual kei and gothic rock also gained some popularity.

In 2004-2005 group "Beijing's Joyside" conducted her first concert tour in Chinese cities. They were accompanied on the trip by American director Kevin Fritz, who was filming his film Wasted Orient.

Today, rock music is found only in the heart of Beijing and has limited influence in society. The development of Chinese rock was different from Western rock; it never became mainstream. And its marginality rather points to fundamental cultural, political and social differences between the West and China.

Beijing Midi Music School and Midi Music Festival

Another important step in the development of Chinese rock was the Beijing Music School "Midi".

Founded in 1993 by Zhang Fan, it has become the first educational institution in China offering training programs for jazz and rock performers.

Festival of contemporary music "Midi", first held in 1999, originally limited to a school, but over time it has grown into China's largest rock festival. The festival is held annually, attracting up to 80 thousand spectators and more than 100 performers.

Chinese rock bands

Good evening. Today our flight for rock music will take place in the Celestial Empire...

Rock music came to China in the 1980s and actively developed under the influence of the US rock movement, as well as under the influence of traditional Chinese music. The first movement, called the Northwest Wind (1980s), gave rise to Chinese rock as a whole. The direction was set by two songs - “Xintianyu” and “Nothing for the Soul” (1984). The second track was performed by Cui Jian and mixed rock music with elements of traditional Chinese music. It is on this combination of genres rock music China is still being built to this day.

The birth, heyday and decline of Chinese rock (1984-1994). The song “Nothing Behind the Soul” by Cui Jian (1984) is, in fact, the birth of Chinese rock. In post-revolutionary China, this song brought a completely new spirit, combining individualism with direct and open self-expression. For the younger generation, it has become a symbol of disappointment with the realities of Chinese society, a reflection of complex political and cultural processes. The older generation perceived the song rather as a symbol of the unfulfilled promises of the ruling regime. By the way, until 1990, Chinese rock performers did not release their songs, but gave concerts in “clubs”; this was due to the harsh ideological pressure of the current regime.

The period between 1988 and 1993 was the heyday of the rock movement in China, and perhaps one of the most prominent bands of this time was Tang Dynasty, which was the first heavy metal group in China.

1994 marked the decline of the rock movement, which was associated with the rigid framework of the Communist Party, which established censorship and restrictions on rock, as it liberates young people and gives false guidelines. But even this difficult period there were groups that either adapted to the framework and moved into the cantro-pop genre, or such as He Yun, who actively resisted those rules and performed music in the style of punk, ska, and metal.

In fact, new round The development of Chinese rock happened in 2003 during a joint concert between Cui Jian and The Rolling Stones. This concert introduced Chinese rock to the whole world. From that moment on, rock music in the post-punk genre began to actively develop in China, and visual key and gothic rock styles began to gain fame and popularity. On this moment At the time, rock music in China is not the main, but developing direction.

Prepared the article

China is not only a country under heaven. It remains unknown to many that Chinese rock and roll also originated there, absorbing the spirit of American culture. Having had their fill of Western musical creations, in the east they took up modern (not without including traditional Chinese) instruments and “hit rock in this hole.”

Where does the wind blow from?

The phenomenon of “Chinese rock” originates from the “Northwest Wind” musical style. The forefathers of the genre movement were two compositions - “Xintianyu” (信天游) and “Nothing for the Soul” (一无所有). They combined traditional Chinese motifs, seasoned them with a fast Western tempo, strengthened the rhythm and included aggressive bass lines.

The new movement quickly attracted attention with its loud and assertive performance, which contrasted strongly with the Cantopop style that preceded it. Also, Chinese rock has become the musical embodiment of the cult movement “searching for roots.”

Compositions « northwest wind"became a clear reflection of the growing discontent among young people at that time. The political overtones of the songs demonstrated the Western ideology aimed at self-expression that the modern generation was striving for.

In contrast to the “northwest wind,” a new direction is emerging in Chinese culture: “prison songs.” The reason for the popularity of this movement was the accumulated fatigue from an overly official lifestyle and ideologically driven pop music.

“Prison Songs,” in contrast to “Northwest Wind,” are characterized by more melodic and to some extent plaintive compositions, imbued with cynicism and despair, in which the denial of one’s social role is at the forefront of the theme.

The main listeners of Chinese rock, which combined “ northeast winds" and "prison songs", there were students and bohemian society.

This musical genre was discovered to the whole world by Cui Jian, who performed with The Rolling Stones in 2003.

But on the other hand.

The current of Chinese rock is not marked by pronounced shortcomings, because the genre, on the contrary, has become an anthem and the main inspiration of youth. Therefore, the main disadvantage can be called extinction this direction, which was significantly affected by censorship from communist parties, as well as restricting performances and prohibiting the broadcast of such music on television.

“The oxygen cut off” to this genre was the impetus for the rapid return of Cantopop to the stage, to which many popular rock performers began to adapt in order to satisfy their needs for increasing income and living standards.

At the head of the genre.

Some of the most successful performers in the rock industry who managed to stay on the music scene until 2014 are: Brain Failure. Their compositions contained an admixture of ska and punk, and the lyrics were written in English language to be able to express what Chinese language beyond control.

The real anthem of Chinese rock was the song “Nothing for the Soul,” which was performed by Cui Jian, due to which the musician gained wide fame. The track became a "gulp" fresh air” for listeners, he managed to combine individualism with direct and open self-expression. He soon became a symbol of the disappointment that possessed the generation of young intelligentsia with its shattered illusions. Cui Jian was often called the “father” of this genre.

Tang Dynasty are an ethnic art rock and prog metal band often considered to be part of the first wave of heavy metal in China.

Listeners have repeatedly noted that the music of Tang Dynasty allows us to return to the ancient Chinese civilization. The band's work is dominated by a combination of progressive rock, art rock and traditional Chinese vocal techniques with lyrical poetry.

It is worth noting that the group very quickly received the title of the main representatives of heavy music. Their lightning-fast guitarist Liu Yijun, known as “Lao Wu,” played a significant role in this achievement.

And finally Twisted Machine- a Beijing group consisting of four people. The musicians were inspired by the work of Rage Against The Machine, so they gave themselves consonant name— Twisted Machine and began to position themselves as a hardcore team.

The team achieved great success in their homeland, after which the group leader Wang Xiao decided to leave the team for personal reasons. He was replaced by Liang Liang, who became the new “beacon” of the group and led Twisted Machine to a new style with features of nu-metal and rapcore.

Finally, it is worth noting that China can be famous not only high mountains, but also high-quality and fully developed rock music, which has a thorny path to existence behind it. Despite all the attempts to “press down” this current and “cut off its oxygen,” today there are examples of groups that did not succumb to the pressure of their opponents.

“Afisha+”, together with the most widely read Russian-language resource about China, Magazeta, continues a series of materials devoted to modern Chinese music. This time we're talking about indie rock. You've probably been tormented by the question for a long time: Chinese indie rock, what is it?!

In each material you will find a video with the expert opinion of famous musicians who agreed to listen to the playlist we have compiled for a particular genre. This time the experts were members of the groups Segodnyonochyu and MultFilms.

Carsick Cars

They say that in the toilet of the famous Beijing club D-22 there is an inscription “I love my mother, I love my country and I love Carsick Cars.” It is generally accepted that Carsick Cars were at the origins of the Chinese indie scene, which has blossomed wildly in the last ten years. Before them, such a phenomenon as an independent rock band performing in front of a small number of listeners was out of the question. On the official website of Carsick Cars it is written: “Probably the best indie band in China.”

Carsick Cars are fearless rebels (for example, they have a song in their arsenal with the title “Best VPN at the moment”, which is also relevant for Russian Internet users), they are not afraid to mix great pop melodies with a wall of guitar noise (Sonic Youth are their main idols ), and the band's concerts are always a release of wild, long-restrained energy.

During its existence, the group released three long plays - “Carsick Cars” (2007), “You Can Listen, You Can Talk” (2009) and “3” (2014) - and once changed its lineup: the bassist and drummer left and formed a duo Soviet Pop. Carsick Cars tour extensively far beyond their homeland, having performed at Primavera Sound in Barcelona and at SXSW in Austin, Texas. According to Google, the band has performances planned in Canada (Calgary and Vancouver) and the USA (San Francisco and New York) at the beginning of October.

“Are you probably in a five-star hotel?” - “Well, yes, how did you know?” - “Only people in five-star hotels can watch CNN in China.”

Carsick Cars was discovered to Western listeners by the famous American musician and producer Martin Atkins, who in 2007 released a collection of contemporary Chinese music “Look Directly Into the Sun: China Pop 2007” following his trip to Beijing. That same year, the band was supposed to open for Sonic Youth in Beijing, but the concert of the legendary Americans was canceled at the last minute, allegedly due to their support for the Freedom for Tibet movement.

“I was sitting in my room in Beijing watching CNN,” Atkins told the Chicago Reader. - As soon as the news broke about the shooting on the border with Tibet, the screen turned black and after a while someone from the Chinese government appeared on it, saying that there was no shooting, it was all bullshit. I contacted one of the locals: “Have you seen it?” What’s going on?” “Did you see what?” he wondered. - “Well, CNN!” - “Are you probably in a five-star hotel?” - he asked laughing. - “Well, yes, how did you know?” - “Only people in five-star hotels can watch CNN in China.”

In 2007, Carsick Cars did open for Sonic Youth on their European tour at concerts in Prague and Vienna.

New Pants

Peng Lei bought his first pirated tape in 1990 in his native Beijing on the way home from school. “It was some Bon Jovi album,” he recalls. - It was cool to listen to foreign music, but I didn’t like it. Then there was Nirvana, but I didn’t get hooked on them either. It was only when I bought a cassette with the Ramones that I realized that I had found mine. Moreover, cassettes with punk music were much cheaper: they were sold for only 5 yuan, while cassettes with heavy metal cost as much as 50.”

5 years later, Peng Lei, together with his school friends, created the group New Pants, one of the brightest and most original in modern China, and certainly the most restless. During their existence, New Pants released eight albums, toured Australia, played a series of concerts in London and performed at Coachella.

At first, the guys, of course, focused on their beloved Ramones and other representatives of classic punk, but then switched to witty dance-punk, mixed with disco and eighties British synthpop. “New Pants sound like the soundtrack to the classic Fantasy Zone video game, recorded by the Ramones and Daft Punk while high,” The Guardian once wrote about the band.

A video that clearly demonstrates the evolution of New Pants from 1998 to 2009. At the end of the video, the founders of the group, Peng Lei and Pan Kuan, portray Chinese officials on a walk to the song “Go East.”

Both regular members of New Pants - frontman Peng Lei and keyboardist Pan Kuan - studied at the Beijing University of Arts (director and designer, respectively), which, of course, could not but affect their musical activities. Just look at the design of their album covers or see their funny and unusual videos. By the way, humor is the most important element of New Pants' creativity: despite all the success (and in China they are real rock stars), the band members refuse to take themselves seriously.

In addition to his activities with New Pants, Peng Lei is known as an animator, the author of clay cartoons, the most famous of which are “Peking Monster” and “Panda Candy” (imagine a slightly strange Chinese version of “Wallace and Gromit”).

Queen Sea Big Shark

It is often quite easy to determine who a particular Chinese group wants to be like. Queen Sea Big Shark are the Chinese Yeah Yeah Yeahs, this association arises immediately. It’s enough to see their outrageous vocalist Fu Han or hear almost any of the group’s singles.

Just like the New Yorkers, Queen Sea Big Shark first released a rough guitar album (debut Queen Sea Big Shark in 2007), and on their second LP Wave (2010) they swapped guitars for synthesizers. But this does not mean that Queen Sea Big Shark does not have its own face. On their third album “Beijing Surfers" Adventure,” released this spring, the guys are experimenting with all their might. “Here you have jazz, dance music, hip-hop in the spirit of Gorillaz, and even sitar,” assures the band’s guitarist Cao Pu.

“When I was a teenager, we had very few sources of information, there was a gap between us and the rest of the world,” Fu Han says of the influence of Western music on the group’s work in a recent interview with Beijing’s Time Out. - Over time, this gap became smaller and smaller, and it was quite natural that we began to follow the rest of the world. But I don’t think that when we encountered Western culture, we lost our individuality.”

Queen Sea Big Shark got together in 2005, recorded the demo “Hard Heart” and posted it online. In three months, the song “Nonono” was downloaded ten thousand times, and the group soon signed a contract with the Modern Sky label. Since then, Queen Sea Big Shark have released three albums and toured with two more Beijing groups On a tour of the United States under the motto “Sing for China” and exclusively for Converse, they recorded the single “Let’s Play”.

The group owes its name to a nameless joker who put up a sign on the shore of Lake Houhai in Beijing warning: “This is my lake, don’t even think about touching it! I am the Queen of the Sea big shark."

In 2014, Queen Sea Big Shark performed in Vladivostok at the V-Rox festival, founded by the frontman of the Mumiy Troll group Ilya Lagutenko. “Queen Sea Big Shark can turn on an audience from the first song that knew nothing about their existence before,” Lagutenko shared his impressions after the festival.

Mr. Sea Turtle

In Mandarin, the phrase “sea turtle” refers to a student who returns from studying abroad and uses the skills he has learned in his home country. But indie rock trio Mr. That's not why Sea Turtle is called that. The fact is that sea turtles are the favorite animals of the band's frontman Li Hongqi.

“Our bass player said that 'Mr. “Sea Turtle” sounds cool, well, that’s what we decided to call ourselves,” says the musician in an interview. “We have never studied abroad; our English is too bad for that.”