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Beijing's festival putting rock and roll on the map of China
2006-05-07
Over 20 years after the so-called birth of Chinese rock and roll, music promoter Zhang Fan and his legions of metal, punk and hip hop bands believe the time is finally ripe for a major breakthrough. Around 30,000 people attended the opening day of the Midi Music Festival in Beijing last week, which in its seventh year has now firmly established itself as the nation's most successful rock event. For the past two years the event has been held during the May Day holiday in Haidian Park, right next to Peking University, with over 45 bands on this occasion belting out their tunes on four stages over four energy-packed days. Most of the bands -- with names such as Twisted Machine, Nuclear Fusion and Miserable Faith -- were made up of musicians in their 20s from across China, while 14 were overseas acts. Around 75,000 people attended the festival in total, according to organizers. Zhang, the event's promoter and principal of the Beijing Midi School of Music, partly attributed the success to a slow awakening by authorities that rock music was not a threat. "In the past the government restricted the development of rock and roll, but things are changing now, the government might not always support rock and roll but at least there are a lot less restrictions," Zhang told AFP. This year's festival was the easiest to organize because Beijing's Haidian district government actually encouraged the event, according to Zhang. "The Haidian government is now saying they want the Midi Festival to be part of the image of the district, they want a yearly festival," Zhang said. "I would say that they now see rock and roll as entertainment and not as social instability." This is seen as a major breakthrough after years of festivals being cancelled at the last minute by nervous officials and police fearing social chaos would erupt as soon as an angry amped-up guitar player mounted the stage. "I would say that the role of the Midi Festival in developing rock and roll in China has been to let the government know that rock and roll is not dangerous," Zhang said. "We have advocated more tolerance for rock bands and we want equal treatment with other music genres for air play on the (state-controlled) television and radio." Even after 20 years, there is still no radio station dedicated to rock music, with very little coverage on television and only a smattering of rock magazines. Meanwhile, pirated CDs have made it nearly impossible for bands to make money through records. China only boasts one rock and roll superstar, Cui Jian, who in the early 1980s is credited with launching the genre here when he sang on national TV what would become an anti-establishment anthem: "Nothing to my Name". He is known as the first in China to have linked social and political commentary with electric, guitar-backed music. Now in his mid-40s, Cui has stuck to his sharp social criticisms while making a career out of dodging censors and staging impromptu and unapproved concerts. Cui won international recognition last month after singing "Wild Horses" with Mick Jagger when the Rolling Stones played their first-ever China concert in Shanghai. Lucifer Jones, also known as Dr. 666, a Los Angeles guitarist who fronts a Sino-American band called the Supernaturals, agreed with Zhang that China's rock and roll industry was poised to finally do something big. "Beijing is a place bigger than New York, but there are only about five live music clubs here. But still the potential is great, kids all over the country are flocking to rock and roll despite all the difficulties," he said. "I think rock and roll is ready to explode here." Jones has been performing in Beijing and the northern Chinese city of Harbin for about half a year and says he is surprised at the number of bands and the enthusiasm for rock, especially in the universities where he has taught. "He is teaching us to put English words in the songs we sing," Wu Kejia, frontman of the Beijing band Easygoing, said of Jones' influence. "Other than Cui Jian we really don't have any musical influences in China. I think it is important to listen to Western bands first, only after we study Western rock can China develop its own brand of rock and roll." Meanwhile more sponsors are being attracted to events such as the Midi Festival, ensuring that major costs are paid and providing a blueprint for other festivals. This year's Midi Festival attracted the backing of the likes of US clothing firm Lee, local beer maker Yanjing and guitar maker Gibson. "I'm hoping the Midi Festival will become a model for other cities in China to study, so that in the future they can put on music festivals," Zhang said. "It may have taken 20 years to get this far, but in a place like China, which has never had anything like rock and roll, this is to be expected."
Festival brings rock's bad boys to conservative China (2007-09-07)Father of Chinese rock faces long march to acceptance (2006-06-12)Beijing's festival putting rock and roll on the map of China (2006-05-07)Rolling Stones push boundaries in China debut (2006-04-08)Stones Play to Packed House in Shanghai (2006-04-08)
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