April 24, 2019

Beijing rock scene - what comes out of isolation?

The indie bands of the Chinese capital have their own raw, distinctive sound, partly because they are so isolated from the rest of the rock'n'roll world - BBC reports from Beijing. Like Sydney's music scene in the 1980s, Beijing's creativity has been accentuated by being further away and less visited. The sound itself is raw, less polished, with mountains of enthusiasm and commitment to nothing more than the love of music for its own sake (like, say, P.K.14). Another thing that limits the Beijing scene is the authorities, but most musicians seem to know the limits of what can be said. They grew up with it. But actually most artists here are singing about young love, heartbreak, hangovers, the streets where they live, the people they miss, BBC says.