Chinese rock: what is it and what is it eaten with. Yaogong, or rock in China Contemporary Chinese music
China is not only a country under heaven. For many, it remains unknown that Chinese rock and roll was also born there, absorbing the spirit of American culture. Having had enough of Western musical creations, in the East they took up modern (not without the inclusion of traditional Chinese) instruments and "hit rock in this hole."
Where does the wind blow from?
The phenomenon of "Chinese rock" originates in musical style"northwest wind". 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 motives, seasoning them with the speed of the Western tempo, intensifying the rhythm and including aggressive bass lines.
The new movement quickly attracted attention with loud and assertive performances that contrasted strongly with the cantopop style that preceded it. Also, Chinese rock has become musical embodiment cult movement "search for roots".
The compositions of the "northwest wind" became a vivid reflection of the growing discontent among the youth at that time. The political overtones of the songs showed a Western ideology aimed at self-expression, which the modern generation aspired to.
Against the "northwest wind" in Chinese culture there is a new direction - "prison songs". The reason for the popularity of this trend was the accumulated fatigue from an overly official lifestyle and an ideological stage.
“Prison songs”, in contrast to the “northwest wind”, are characterized by more melodic and, to some extent, mournful compositions, saturated with cynicism and despair, in which the denial of one's social role is at the head of the theme.
The main listeners of Chinese rock, which combined "northeast winds" and "prison songs", were students and bohemian society.
The whole world opened this musical genre— Cui Jian, who performed with The Rolling Stones in 2003.
But on the other hand.
The course of Chinese rock is not marked by pronounced shortcomings, because the genre, on the contrary, has become an anthem and the main inspirer of youth. Therefore, the main disadvantage can be called the extinction of this direction, which was significantly affected by censorship by the communist parties, as well as the restriction of performances and the ban on the transmission of such music on television.
The "cut off oxygen" to the genre was the impetus for a rapid return to the cantopop scene, to which many popular rock artists began to adapt in order to satisfy their needs for increased income and living standards.
Leading the genre.
Some of the most successful performers in the rock industry, who managed to hold out on the music scene until 2014 - brain failure. Their compositions contained an admixture of ska and punk, and the lyrics were written in English, so that it was possible to express what the Chinese language was not subject to.
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 popularity. The track became a "sip fresh air”for listeners, he managed to combine individualism with direct and open self-expression. Soon he also became a symbol of disappointment, which owned a generation of young intelligentsia with its shattered illusions. Cui Jian has often been called the "father" of the genre.
Tang Dynasty are an ethnic art rock and prog metal band often referred to as the first wave of heavy metal in China.
Listeners have repeatedly noted that the music of Tang Dynasty allows you to return to the ancient Chinese civilization. The group'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 band 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- 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 band.
The team achieved great success in their homeland, after which the leader of the group, 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, behind which is a thorny path to existence. Despite all attempts to “squeeze” this current and “cut off its oxygen”, today there are examples of teams that have not succumbed to the onslaught of their opponents.
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From the history of the development of Chinese music
Back in the 1st century BC. e. more than 80 types of national musical instruments were known in China. 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 the piece for the qin (seven-stringed plucked instrument) “Guanglingsan”, “Suite of 18 parts for the hujia flute”, the piece for pipa (four-string lute) “Circular Ambush”, a piece for wind and string instruments « Moonlight and flowers on the spring river”, etc.
In 1919, European elements began to penetrate into Chinese music.. In 30 - 40 years. Chinese musicians write folk pieces, for example, the "March of the Volunteers" composed by the 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-haired Girl" opened new era in the work and development of Chinese opera.
Festivals were regularly held"Shanghai Spring", "Guangzhou Music and Flower Festival", "Beijing Festival choral music”, “Northeast China Music Week”, “North China Music Week”, “Northwest China Music Week”, “ Music Festival Spring City” (Kunming), and others.
Since harmony, correctness and balance are very important for 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.
Jazz and blues had an additional influence at the beginning of the 20th century.
The breakthrough came in the 80s with the appearance of metal (rock) Ozzy Osbourne, Rage Against the Machine, etc.
Its popularity grew more and more on the mainland, and played an important role during the 1989 Tiananmen protests. and the fight against government policies regarding censorship, sales and recording of discs.
On state-controlled radio stations, rock musicians were little liked.
Northwest wind (1980s)
Chinese rock has its origins in the xibeifeng (northwest wind) that originated in mainland Chinese pop music. The new style was prompted by 2 songs "Xintianyou" and "I Have Nothing". . It was an amalgamation of a fast western rhythm, an aggressive bass line and strong drums.
Unlike soft cantopop (cantonese pop), these songs sounded like thunder. Many of the "Northwest Wind" songs were idealistic, strongly political parodies of revolutionary communist songs, such as "Nanniwan" and "The Internationale". They reflected the dissatisfaction of young people with the current 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, in parallel with 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, tearful, negative examples as a model and often used vulgarism, expressing cynicism and despair.
Their non-conformist values are seen in the songs "Mother is very stupid" and "Not a drop of butter on a 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 in the 80s performed in small bars and hotels. Music was exclusively among university youth and bohemians.
In late 1989 and early 1990, Chinese rock became mainstream, incorporating prison songs and the northwest wind style.
In the spring of 1989, the song "I Have Nothing" became the de facto anthem of the student protests at Tiananmen Square.
In addition, in May and July of the same year, 3 well-known Chinese rock bands performed: Breathing (Huxi), Cobra, and Zang Tianshuo. The first rock bands included "Infallible" (Budaoweng) formed by Zang Tianshuo and Tang Dynasty (Tang Chao), vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ding Wu, and perhaps best known: "Black Panther" (Hei Bao), and originally Chinese alternative music leader Dou Wei.
Rise of Chinese rock (1990-1993)
After Tiananmen demonstrations, rock has become an integral part of urban youth culture. His departure from marginality occurred on February 17 and 18, 1990, when he held the longest concert in the largest concert hall in Beijing.
6 rock bands performed at it, among them the group Cui Jian And Tang Dynasty. The selection criterion was "originality and novelty".
Chinese rock peaked creativity and popularity between 1990 and 1993. Hundreds of rock bands appeared, many of them performing constantly. But since the state still deleted them from the events and did not show them on the central channels, most of the performances took place at underground parties.
Most rock musicians of this period characterize: long hair, black leather jackets, jeans, silver metallic patterns, and hippie insouciance. Rock had a huge impact on the intellectual stratum of the population.
But along with the gradual departure from the northwestern roots, there was a feeling of nostalgia and an understanding of how far he had gone. modern China away from traditional rural culture.
Sunset of Chinese Rock (1994)
Since 1994, Chinese rock has been in decline again. This is only partially due to the unchanging attitude of the government 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, raising the standard of living. It can be noted that by 2005, this trend only intensified, the Chinese economy is booming, and the population is more interested in economic reforms than in political ones.
Chinese rock revival (2000–present)
In 2000-2004, post-punk and extreme metal appeared on the rock scene, Visual kei and gothic rock also gained some popularity.
In 2004-2005 group "Beijing's Joyside" held her first concert tour of the cities of China. 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 School of Music"Midi".
Founded in 1993 by Zhang Fan, it has become the first educational institution in China offering training programs for jazz and rock performers.
Midi Contemporary Music Festival, first held in 1999, originally limited to the school, but over time has developed into China's largest rock festival. The festival is held annually, gathering up to 80 thousand spectators and more than 100 performers.
Chinese rock bands
1989 « 阿修羅 » ( a xiu lo, whale. "Asura") « 轮回 » ( lunhui, whale. "Again") "AK-47" anodized Baboo Black Box « 黑豹 » ( hei bao, whale. "Black Panther") « 腦濁 » ( nao jo, whale. "Brain Failure" Carsick Cars Cavesluts CLIMAX « 眼 镜蛇 » ( yanjingshe, whale. "Cobra") « 冷血 动物 » ( lenxue dongwu, whale. "Cold-blooded") « 冷酷仙境 » ( lenku xianjing, whale. "Cold Dreamland») « 子曰 » ( ziyue, whale. Confucius says... "Dzap Dau Dau" « 秋天的虫子 » ( qiutian de chongzi, whale. "Autumn Insects" « 花儿 乐队 » ( hua yuedui, whale. "Flowers") « 青蛙 乐队 » ( qingwa yuedui, whale. "Frogs") « 鲍家街 43号 » ( baojia ze 43 hao, whale. "Baojia Street, 43") « 简迷离 » ( jianmile, Gemini) « 挂在盒子上 » ( gua zai hezi shang, whale. "hold on to the box" « 幸福大街 » ( xingfu daijie, whale. "Happy Avenue" “…Huh!?” « 胡同拳 头 » ( Hutong Quantou, whale. "Fist of Hutong") « 无限音 » ( wu xian yin, whale. "Endless Sound") Joyside « 交工樂隊 » ( chiao gong yuedui, whale. "Labor Exchange Group") | « 左右 » ( zuo yu, whale. "Left and Right") "木马" ("MUMA") « 超 载 » ( chaozai, whale. "Overload") « 与非 门 » ( yufeimen, NAND) « 新 裤子 » «» ( xin kuzi, whale. "New Pants" « 盘古 "("Pangu", sometimes also PunkGod) Ping Pung PK14 "Proximity Butterfly" « 后海大 鲨鱼 » ( whale. "King Shark") « 反光 镜 » ( fanguangjing, whale. "Reflector") « 废墟 » ( feixu, whale. "Ruin") « 二手玫瑰 » ( earshaw meigui, whale. "Second Hand Rose") « 病蛹 » ( bingyun, whale. "Sick larvae") « 银色灰尘 » ( yinse huichen, whale. "Silver Ash" « 清醒 » ( qingxing, whale. "Sober") « 窒息 » ( zhi si, whale. "Suffocation") « 春秋 » ( chun qiu, whale. "Spring and Autumn") « 超 级市场 » ( chaoji shichan, whale. "Supermarket") « 唐朝 » ( tang chao, whale. "Tang Dynasty") « 麦田守望者 » ( maitian shouwanzhe, whale. "Catcher in the rye") "Total Maverick Decadence" (TMD) « 战斧 » ( zhanfu, whale. "Tomahawk") « 扭曲的机器 » ( niuqu de jiqi, whale. "Twisted Machine") « 什么 » ( shenme, whale. "What?") « 野孩子 » ( e haizi, whale. "Wild Children" |
"Afisha+" together with the most widely read Russian-language resource about China Magazeta continues the series of materials devoted to contemporary Chinese music. This time we are talking about indie rock. You must have been tormented by the question for a long time: Chinese indie rock, what is it like?!
Each article will contain a video with expert opinions of famous musicians who have agreed to listen to a playlist compiled by us for a particular genre. This time the experts were members of the groups "Today night" and "MultFilmy".
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 forefront of the Chinese indie scene that has flourished 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 says: "Probably the best indie band in China."
Carsick Cars are fearless rebels (for example, in their arsenal there is a song with a topical and for Russian Internet users title “Best VPN on this moment”), they aren't afraid to mix great pop tunes with a wall of guitar noise (Sonic Youth are their biggest idols), and the band's gigs are always an outpouring of wild, long pent-up energy.
During its existence, the group released three LPs - "Carsick Cars" (2007), "You Can Listen, You Can Talk" (2009) and "3" (2014) - and changed the line-up once: the bassist and drummer left and formed a duet Soviet Pop. Carsick Cars tour extensively outside of their home country, with the band playing Primavera Sound in Barcelona and SXSW in Austin, Texas. If Google is to be believed, the band is scheduled to perform in Canada (Calgary and Vancouver) and the USA (San Francisco and New York) in early October.
"Are you 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 opened to the Western listener by the famous American musician and producer Martin Atkins, who released Look Directly Into the Sun: China Pop 2007, a collection of contemporary Chinese music in 2007, following his trip to Beijing. That same year, the band was scheduled to open for Sonic Youth in Beijing, but the legendary Americans' concert was canceled at the last minute, allegedly due to their support for the Free Tibet movement.
"I was sitting in my suite in Beijing watching CNN," Atkins told the Chicago Reader. - As soon as the news about the shooting at the border with Tibet went, the screen went black and after a while someone from the Chinese government appeared on it, saying that there was no shooting, it's all bullshit. I contacted one of the locals: “Did you see? What's going on? "-" Did you see what? "- he was perplexed. - "Well, CNN!" - "Are you probably in a five-star hotel?" - he asked, laughing. “Yeah, 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 in Prague and Vienna.
New Pants
Peng Lei bought his first pirated cassette in 1990 in his native Beijing on his way home from school. “It was some kind of 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 wasn't until I bought the Ramones cassette that I realized that I had found mine. Moreover, punk music cassettes were much cheaper: they were sold for only 5 yuan, while heavy metal cassettes were worth as much as 50.
5 years later, Peng Lei, together with his school friends, created the New Pants group, one of the brightest and most original in modern China, and certainly the most restless. During its existence, New Pants released eight albums, went on tour in Australia, played a series of concerts in London and performed at Coachella.
At first, the guys, of course, focused on their favorite Ramones and other representatives of classic punk, but then they switched to witty dance-punk mixed with disco and eighties British synthpop. "New Pants sound like the soundtrack to the classic video game Fantasy Zone, recorded by the Ramones and Daft Punk while high," one wrote about group The Guardian.
A video showing the evolution of New Pants from 1998 to 2009. At the end of the video, the group's founders Peng Lei and Pang Kuan imitate Chinese officials on a walk to the song "Go East".
Both regular members of New Pants - frontman Peng Lei and keyboardist Pang Kuan - studied at the Beijing University of the Arts (director and designer, respectively), which, of course, could not but affect their musical activities. Just look at the cover art of their albums 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 work at New Pants, Peng Lei is known as a cartoonist, the author of plasticine cartoons, the most famous of which are "Peking Monster" and "Panda Candy" (think of a slightly strange Chinese version of "Wallace and Gromit").
Queen Sea Big Shark
It's often pretty easy to figure out who a particular Chinese band wants to be like. Queen Sea Big Shark are Chinese Yeah Yeah Yeahs, such an association arises immediately. It is enough to see their outrageous vocalist Fu Han or hear almost any single of the group.
Just like the New Yorkers, Queen Sea Big Shark first released a rough guitar album (the debut "Queen Sea Big Shark" in 2007), and on the second LP "Wave" (2010) they changed guitars to synthesizers. But this does not mean at all 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 might and main. "Here you have jazz, and dance music, and hip-hop in the spirit of Gorillaz, and even sitar," says the group's guitarist Cao Pu.
"When I was a teenager, we had very few sources of information, there was an abyss between us and the rest of the world," Fu Han said about the influence of Western music on the band's work in a recent interview with Beijing's Time Out. - Over time, this abyss became smaller and smaller, and it is quite natural that we began to repeat after the rest of the world. But I don't think we lost our individuality in the encounter with Western culture."
Queen Sea Big Shark got together in 2005, recorded a demo of "Hard Heart" and posted it online. In three months, the song "Nonono" was downloaded ten thousand times, and soon the group signed a contract with the Modern Sky label. Since then, Queen Sea Big Shark has released three albums, toured the United States with two more Beijing bands under the slogan "Sing for China", and recorded the single "Let's Play" exclusively for Converse.
The group owes its name to a nameless prankster who placed a sign on the shore of Houhai Lake 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 Ilya Lagutenko, the frontman of the Mumiy Troll band. “Queen Sea Big Shark can turn on the audience from the first song, which did not know anything about their existence before,” Lagutenko shared his impressions after the festival.
Mr. sea turtle
In Mandarin, the phrase "sea turtle" means a student who returns from studying abroad and applies the skills he has learned back home. But the indie rock trio Mr. Sea Turtle is called so not at all for this reason. The fact is that sea turtles are the favorite animals of the group's frontman Li Hongqi.
"Our bassist said 'Mr. Sea Turtle“ sounds cool, well, we decided to call ourselves that,” the musician says in an interview. "We've never studied abroad, our English is too bad for that."
In the era of globalization, whimsical cocktails from all sorts of styles and directions appear. A prime example is a Chinese folk metal band. Why is she remarkable? Introduce traditional Chinese and Mongolian melodies, overdub heavy bass guitar riffs, add an absolutely incredible blast bid to the brink of human capabilities. Incredible? Complete the picture with ethnic in a stage way musicians playing both modern and folk Mongolian musical instruments. And the final touch is the indescribable voice of vocalist Ashan. An extraordinary drive is guaranteed!
Nine Treasures: Chinese metal band
Russian fans of rock music were able to get acquainted with the work of the group at the international rock festival Vladivostok Rocks, which takes place annually in Vladivostok and attracts performers from Europe and Asia. The headliners of the festival in 2015 were such bands as On-The-Go from Russia, Love Psychedelico and others. They even built a separate stage for them. Among the invited groups were teams from France, USA, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan. It has become a real find for rock music lovers.
Nine Treasures' first album was released in 2012 and was called "Arvan Ald Guulin Honshoor". This collection immediately became popular among fans of rock music in China, Taiwan and Mongolia. The group then won the international musical competition Metal Battle, and in 2015 won the hearts of Russian rock music lovers. By the way, it's impossible to buy albums in Russia, it's easier to find them in China. If you do not know how to do this, visit the Chinese Compote forum, whose members will be happy to share their experience with you.
And for starters, I suggest watching the clip of the group Nine Treasures - Wisdom Eyes:
Doubting whether to spend time and money on buying Nine Treasures albums? Don't know what it even looks like? Then imagine the late compositions of Nightwish with the participation. Approximately in this style, the compositions of the Chinese-Mongolian rock group are sustained. Some of the songs are very similar to SOAD.
Nine Treasures discography:
Arvan Ald Guulin Honshoor (2012);
Nine Treasures (2013);
Live In Beijing (2015) - live album;
Galloping White Horse (2015) - EP.
