^{The Hidden Musical Revolution}

^{How can China, the world’s most populous nation and second-largest economy, remain such a blind spot on the global music map? This question reveals one of modern music’s most fascinating paradoxes. For many global music experts and enthusiasts, the very notion of a vibrant “underground” music scene in China remains perplexing. How can a country with the largest population and the second-largest economy in the world be such a pronounced blind spot on the global music map?}

^{The answer lies not in economics alone, but in understanding the unique ecosystem where Chinese musicians create. It’s not simply a matter of economics or abstract authoritarianism. The conditions under which musicians operate are radically different from what we are accustomed to in the West, ranging from the necessity of VPNs to access common platforms to the constant presence of plainclothes officers in venues.}

^{Historical Foundation: From Revolutionary Control to Musical Liberation}

^{The Era of Musical Conformity}

^{China’s underground music scene cannot be understood without examining its historical constraints. Much like other communist countries of the 20th century, music in China was compelled to serve the government’s political interests. Mao Zedong declared in 1942 that music should “awaken and move the popular masses,” galvanizing them into unity and struggle.}

^{During the Cultural Revolution, this control reached extreme levels. Purely entertainment-focused music was deemed bourgeois. During the Cultural Revolution, this control intensified drastically: academies were shut down, instruments destroyed, and musicians sent to the countryside to work as peasants.}

^{The First Crack: When The Beatles Arrived}

^{Unlike the Soviet Union, where Western music gradually infiltrated through smuggled records, China remained largely isolated. By the 1960s, young Soviets could already access music from bands like The Beatles through smuggled records. However, this openness didn’t occur in China. In fact, it wasn’t until 1980, after Mao’s death, that millions of Chinese heard The Beatles for the first time. This happened during a central television station’s evening news segment reporting on John Lennon’s recent passing, which included fragments of Beatles songs like “Strawberry Fields Forever.”}

^{The Gradual Opening: Scrap Tapes and Hidden Treasures}

^{From that moment on, China’s gradual opening to the outside world allowed Western music to slowly filter in. Initially, it arrived via records brought by international students. Later, it entered in the form of “daco” scrap tapes and CDs sold to China as reusable plastic.}

^{Even then, accessing Western music required ingenuity. Chinese customs often cut tapes to render them inaudible, not yet ready to permit the free distribution of all Western music. Despite this, ingenious fans found ways to restore these damaged recordings.}

^{The Birth of Chinese Rock: Cui Jian’s Revolutionary Sound}

^{One of those young people was Cui Jian. Often dubbed China’s “first rockstar,” his music, though perhaps more akin to 80s power ballads than “dirty” rock and roll according to the source, was immensely important to the psyche of Chinese youth at the time. His song “Nothing to My Name” (“一无所有”) became a symbol of the poverty and emptiness people felt at the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution.}

^{The music transformed into anthems for the pro-democracy student movement. Cui Jian even performed in Tiananmen Square in May 1989. Weeks later, “you know what” happened. But for our purposes, it was a decisive moment: the era of domestically produced Chinese rock music had officially begun.}

^{Key Pioneers: PK14 and the DIY Revolution}

^{Yan Hai Sun: The Producer Behind the Movement}

^{By 1997, all kinds of music had entered China. Fans of stranger, wilder sounds began to find each other, albeit in very small numbers. In Nanjing, 23-year-old Yan Hai Sun joined a group of music enthusiasts who gathered, bought cut tapes, and listened to bands like Joy Division and The Clash. Their own punk scene was tiny, perhaps with only five bands in total, and they were strongly despised by their families and neighbors. But that year, Yan formed a group that would change the course of Chinese indie music forever: PK14.}

^{PK14 drew inspiration from Fugazi’s “DIY” ethic, English post-punk, and the protest folk of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. After moving to Beijing in 2001, they became a major force in the emerging indie scene through their lyrics, music videos, and “insane” live shows. They pushed the boundaries of what a recently opened China was ready to accept. By self-releasing their music and touring by train and bus, at least in their early days, they paved the way for countless underground bands that would follow their example.}

^{Carsick Cars: Breaking International Barriers}

^{In the mid-2000s, he played a role in another crucial moment by producing the first album by Carsick Cars, formed by university students in Beijing. Carsick Cars achieved a delicate balance between pop-punk and “noise freakouts.”}

^{Their song “Jinan Hai,” named after the cigarette brand of the same name, was simple enough to be sung by almost anyone. It’s probably no coincidence that they were one of the first bands to attract attention outside of China.}

^{In 2007, they opened two dates for Sonic Youth on their European tour. The following year, they played at All Tomorrow’s Parties in London and later at South by Southwest (SXSW).}

“This Is China”: Key concepts.

^{The Digital Divide: China’s Separate Internet Ecosystem}

^{Understanding the Great Firewall’s Impact on Music}

^{One of the most significant barriers to the visibility and understanding of the Chinese music scene outside the country is the nature of its internet. To say that China operates on a separate internet is not an exaggeration.}

^{Instead of Facebook, they use WeChat. Instead of Twitter, they use Weibo. YouTube is Youku. Spotify is Tencent.}

^{For someone in China, accessing the “forbidden version” of the internet is not impossible; they just need a VPN and a bit of “know-how.” However, this has created an environment where very few Chinese converse with people outside their country, and very few of us converse with them. This digital separation is a crucial factor that hinders the discovery and dissemination of Chinese underground music globally.}

^{Operating Under Pressure: Censorship and Venue Challenges}

^{The Precarious World of Live Houses}

^{Although the music scene was growing and maturing, it’s important to note that it remained quite niche, at least relative to the country’s size. In Beijing, the capital and center of the indie scene, at the time of the source there were perhaps four or five very small café-like venues to play, three or four medium-sized venues, and one large venue. This infrastructure of live music venues, called “live houses” in China, changes rapidly. Every five years, some venues close and new ones open.}

^{The main reason for venue closures is “something from the government.” The government “doesn’t support much” and sometimes venues, located on small streets, generate complaints from neighbors about noise. However, even without complaints, bands and venues can become victims of their own success. Rock venues are often unceremoniously shut down due to zoning changes or the presence of plainclothes officers who harass patrons if there are rumors of drug use.}

^{The Censorship Process: Navigating Unclear Guidelines}

^{Censorship is not limited to venues. All record labels have to go through an “esoteric” censorship process. This process involves submitting lyrics, recordings, and band members’ identification cards to a publishing house partly owned by the government. There is no clear list of what is allowed and what is not. If an album is rejected, it is resubmitted to a different publishing house until someone approves it.}

^{The Sound Spectrum: Genres in China’s Underground}

^{Post-Punk and Psychedelic Dominance}

^{Contrary to the perception that Chinese music might be monolithic or lack diversity, the underground scene is a breeding ground for a surprising variety of genres. Trying to summarize the “sound of China” with a simple label is difficult.}

^{The scene is also rich in styles with more Western roots but with a distinctive interpretation. Post-punk is prominent, represented by bands like Retros, PK14, and Backspace. Psychedelic music is found in bands like Backspace and Dream Camp. Indie is the general term encompassing many of these bands, including pioneers like PK14 and Carsick Cars, as well as more recent acts like From Chengdu, Fazi, Rubber, and Backspace.}

^{Declining and Emerging Trends}

^{Metal, for example, is not as popular, and its popularity is declining. Shoegaze was popular but is also in decline. There is a “very rare” genre called city pop, described as “relaxing, love, beach, summer,” which has roots in Japan.}

^{The Reality TV Revolution: “The Big Band” Changes Everything}

^{From Underground to Mainstream}

^{On the other hand, indie rock has become more popular than ever, thanks in large part to the successful reality show “The Big Band.” The reality TV show “The Big Band” changed the lives of many bands. Before the show, a band’s income per concert could be only about 2000 RMB (approximately 300 USD). After the show, their income improved significantly.}

^{This program, available to watch online with English subtitles, is “surreal.” It has all the elements of an American Idol-type show: witty judges, dramatic personal stories, on-camera confessionals, and, of course, a dominant beverage sponsor. But the surprising thing is that the music is “pretty good.” Retros, the industrial post-punk band heard at the beginning of the video, won last year’s competition! This is described as “almost like Death Grips winning America’s Got Talent.”}

^{The Positive Impact of Commercialization}

^{The show’s success has a very positive side. Bands became popular, have a better life, and more people know their music. The best aspect is that “most live houses were full of people, and some bands wanted to book the venue but couldn’t because it was too popular.” While there is concern that a “subversive” indie scene could be “diluted” or “watered down” by becoming more mainstream, the narrator considers it, overall, a “good problem” to have. Having a debate about “sell-outs” and “authenticity” seems like a rite of passage for an emerging music scene.}

^{Current State: Resilience and Innovation}

^{Recent Musical Developments}

^{In addition to the impact of the reality show, the scene continues to produce notable music. Some of the best records the narrator heard had come out in the last two years, such as “Persephone’s Seasons” by the Shanghai band RUBUR, or “almost anything” by the band Backspace. Backspace, a personal favorite from the list, hails from a small town in southern China. They relocated to Beijing, the capital of the indie scene, where they signed with Maybe Mars. Their most recent release, 2022’s “Face of the Night,” includes the epic “Face Mask Tragedy.”}

^{Adapting to Modern Challenges}

^{From this perspective, it seems that the Chinese indie scene continues to do its own thing. It remains subversive, strange, and fun. It adapts in the face of lockdowns and restrictions and remains creative. For those of us observing from abroad, regardless of what we think about politics and current events, the hope is that the indie scene remains this way for many more years. Its resilience, creativity, and the way it navigates restrictions, finding new ways to express itself and reach audiences, is a testament to the avant-garde spirit of this new Chinese underground culture.}