Indie / Rock Music?

[Lost in Mong Kok]

I'm looking for blogs / websites which cover Indie and Rock music in China. I'm struggling to find anything that covers anything other than the standard popular genre of love songs.

I know that such music isn't mainstream and even Chinese friends have struggled to name any bands.

The only place in north-eastern Asia where I have found a "scene" is in Korea. Really hoping someone has a few recommendations for China / Taiwan!

[gato]

Douban.com would be your best bet. It's a social networking/review site focused on books, music, and movies.

Try these, for example:

http://site.douban.com/mrgraceless/

http://www.douban.com/people/wooozycn/

[Koxinga]

http://www.rockinchina.com/w/Main_Page

As you can tell from the URL, it's a wiki about rock in China. And it's in English.

[gougou]

There's quite a vibrant scene in Beijing, and Shanghai is catching up quickly. Hong Kong is still a bit dead, I'm afraid.

You can follow some of the blogs, such as Beijing Daze, or have a look at the artist pages of the Beijing Gig Guide.

[feihong]

I've found Douban's music site very helpful for finding indie music from China. Their music page has a "hot songs" chart (divided by genre): http://music.douban.com/. Also of note is their "hot artists" chart: http://music.douban.com/artists/. These charts don't seem to include very many mainstream artists, although the occasional Western artist sneaks in. If you sign up for the site and "like" some artists, Douban will give you a personalized "hot artists" chart.

Both charts get updated about once or twice a week, and you can play the songs in your browser. You can also download songs by using the "inspect element" feature of your browser and visiting the MP3 link directly.

Here are a few 摇滚 recommendations:

http://site.douban.com/nanwu/

http://site.douban.com/thegar/

http://site.douban.com/gala/

http://site.douban.com/miserablefaith/

http://site.douban.com/carrchy/

http://site.douban.com/perdelband/

http://site.douban.com/omnipotent/

http://site.douban.com/ershoumeigui/

[G_String]

Are you searching in simplified or hanzi?

I like Dao Lang - he features on a lot of sinablogs. Hong Kong produced the Tat Lau and Raidas and a lot of Beyond stuff.

Some of the younger guys like the Chen guy who covers that famous Radiohead hit "Sing" Does more of the acoustic folk rock stuff.

I confess I don't read the blogs much. Just look for the albums ;)

[Ruben von Zwack]

So Mongkok, have you found interesting music in the meantime, and maybe can share some recommendations?

I find this label interesting, especially PK 14 and Dear Eloise is to my taste:

http://www.maybemars.org/

I am a big fan of 萨顶顶 / 薩頂頂 / Sà Dǐngdǐng. Her style is not rock, but Indie. Comparable to Björk maybe.

I like 刀郎 Dāo Láng as suggested by G_String too.

[Joseph Kimbrell]

Is there a lot of music similar to Visual Kei in China? I know Gackt and some others are pretty popular there (or rather, I've heard he is).

I've heard the Chinese music scene is really beginning to grow. I really want to visit sometime.

[iremembersnow]

To reply to the original poster, may I humbly suggest: F Yeah Chinese Indie

 

I would estimate FYCI posts to be 85% Taiwan, 10% Mainland, and 5% HK.  Sources include YouTube, Douban, Facebook, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Tumblr and many others.  

[amytheorangutan]

Resurrecting this thread. There is a possibility that I might go to Beijing next year for holiday, if this pandemic situation ever get under control. Would love to go and see some bands while I'm there  Anyone has any favourite venues or current fave bands? 

 

My brother introduced me to: 

https://site.douban.com/hedgehog/

https://site.douban.com/dirtyfingers/

 

[mungouk]

The Beijinger usually has plenty of info on venues and gigs... 

https://www.thebeijinger.com/ and WeChat: theBeijinger

 

Be wary of reading old information out there though as venues can come and go very quickly, and many seem to have closed due to the impact of the pandemic.

 

[amytheorangutan]

@mungouk Thanks! I did have look at some venues from that site and found out that a few were closed down. I guess I’ll have to research more closer to the time ?

[carlo]

Really liked Hiperson's Bildungsroman. Their first album (I think) 我不要别的历史 is also a favourite.