Underground rising

Scoff guitarist Cong Pai serves up a fresh dish of punk rock at Beijing's D-22. International eyes are now shifting East, thanks to a new breed of Chinese rockers. Photos by Andrew London

There was an empty beer keg on the stage. Nothing strange for a drab bar near a major university filled with thirsty students, you'd think. Still, the keg was covered in slogan stickers and resting on its rim was a pair of drumsticks. A tattooed, pigtailed young girl was fussing around with a range of instruments including a drum kit and an organ but it was the keg that piqued my interest.

It was the first "rock" show I had attended in Beijing and I was drawn by the name of one of the acts on the bill. "You'll like these guys," a friend said. "They're called Car Sick Cars, they're shoe-gazers."

To me, "shoe-gazers" translated as earnest Chinese kids aping The Smashing Pumpkins. I had ignorantly assumed that Beijing bands played the kind of music that the West had moved on from. We walked in when Car Sick Cars had already started their set and to my relief these weren't whining grunge wannabes with predictable hang-ups. The three-piece were playing a cerebral brand of punk that demands a closer listen in the half-filled bar those on the dance floor were swaying, not jumping pogo style. In the songs you could hear Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground and The Pixies; borrowed sounds spat out by kids hungry for something new.

But it was the next act featuring the ink-armed girl with her empty keg that did the

Bian Yuan is the front man for Joyside. The band is scheduled to tour Europe this year.

damage. The guitarist from Car Sick Cars was the other member of the two-piece, known as White, and they proceeded to make the kind of gloomy experimental racket that confuses as many as it captivates. Half of the already sparse crowd evacuated the club.

A few days later I returned to the venue, D-22, to talk with the former New Yorker and part-owner Michael Pettis and English expat bar manager Charles Saliba. It was only early but tracks by Interpol, Soft Cell, Buddy Holly and Pavement were already booming from the speakers. I read somewhere that Pettis had declared 2007 to be the year Beijing "breaks".

"This (year) will be big because a lot of bands came into their own in 2006, and a few of them are starting to get international attention."

Pettis believes that China's bands can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the world. And he is comparing what is happening in Beijing to some of rock'n'roll's most important periods.

"Part of what's happening in Beijing, and this is a little bit similar to London in 1977, 1978 and New York around that time, is that the categories are falling apart because you've got guys that are not doing straight punk, straight metal or straight this or that, but they've got various projects and they're really messing it up."

The late-1970s in London and New York produced a bunch of acts that many current artists call major influences. The Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Television, The Ramones, The Clash, The Stooges, Blondie and the New York Dolls were just a few of the groups to emerge from the two key scenes. Not all of these bands enjoyed commercial success but nonetheless created an enviable legacy.

Part of the reason Pettis believes that Beijing may one day be listed beside these two scenes in terms of ground-breaking music is that some bands in China's capital work together to avoid being pigeon-holed.

"Ultimately, the most interesting music tends to be category busting. You look at a band like the Car Sick Cars and their leader is also part of White. The other two members of Car Sick Cars are in a band called Snapline which is completely different."

Pettis said that the Beijing acts he promotes are not positioning themselves to threaten the domestic commercial dominance of Mandopop. In fact, he says there is no point comparing mainstream crooners to what's being played at his club.

"The most interesting stuff happening in Beijing is in the same ballpark as the most interesting stuff anywhere and it has no more to do with commercial music as Sonic Youth has to do with Britney Spears."

Impact isn't measured in dollars and cents alone. Increased international press coverage is raising hopes that local bands may be able to find larger audiences than those who rotate within the local club circuit.

And it seems that ears around the globe are already beginning to prick up. German avant garde luminary Blixa Bargeld has already worked with White; meanwhile electronic pioneer Brian Eno played keyboards on the debut EP of local post-punk outfit Retros, who are currently touring the United States. The latter is being touted as having huge overseas potential by their record company, Modern Sky,

"Retros are going to be the first ones to break the international stage, I have gotten a lot of great feedback from the international press and music lovers," said Modern Sky's label manager Jin Huimeng.

Jin added that another group on Modern Sky's roster, Beijing rock stalwarts Joyside, are about to begin a European tour. Also, Wuhan punks, SMZB, are also set to play dates across Germany, Austria, Sweden and Norway.

"The scene here compared with five years ago is a lot different, you can find bands that are playing a lot more different music and the quality of the bands can stand on an international stage."

With overseas interest comes big label interest and money. At the moment, the fledgling underground scene seems comprised of young artists willing to collaborate with each other rather than compete for the keys to major record company coffers.

Still, Charles Saliba says that the local scene is a long way off surrendering its artistic integrity to the demon dollar. If anything, he says a drizzle of cash could have a positive effect.

"Financially there is nothing in it so these artists have to love their art or their craft," he said.

"The only problem I see is if labels sign bands to restrictive deals where they can no longer play whatever they want. But I think we're far away from that, the attention may come but I don't think that will immediately bring money."

Certainly, Modern Sky says that its CDs aren't exactly flying off the shelves. In order to support local artists from a variety of genres, the label has pursued alternative avenues for revenue.

"In 2003, we almost closed down but after that we learned how to survive in this market. Now we make money from working with other brands such as iPod or Levis that kind of sponsorship," Jin said.

Credibility, it seems, is currency for Modern Sky and while domestic radio stations might prefer safe pop to the Beijing underground, youth-orientated marketers are looking to be associated with edgier brands that offer something different.

"That money that we get from those relationships can allow us to invest in the artists but in the end we just break even," Jin said.

Indeed, Pettis argues that while Beijing bands may not sell out stadiums in the foreseeable future, some of the music being created here now may later be widely regarded as important work. So, even if half of the bar walks out of a performance it may be a small sacrifice in the pursuit of originality.

"When I was running a club in the early 80s in New York, the people we were working with, people like Sonic Youth and John Zorn and Elliot Sharpe and Swans, I knew that 20 years from then they were going to be legendary figures and the people we're working with now in Beijing I am as certain that what they are doing will be remembered in 20 years' time."

(China Daily 04/05/2007 page18)