266 pages Edited by Coraline Aim Text(s) by Coraline Aim 21 x 14,8 cm Language: French Paperback Publisher: Le Mot et le Reste 2018
Since China’s opening in 1978, alternative music has experienced a meteoric rise, mirroring the country’s evolution. In Beijing, the independent scene brings together a growing number of bands, labels, record stores, and clubs around a shared countercultural current that transcends traditional musical allegiances. Since the 1990s, communities of musicians seeking to distance themselves from state-manufactured pop music have explored Western rock, drawn inspiration from it, and used amplified music as a form of release.
Whether through political lyrics or chronicles of everyday life, artists give this music multiple forms, while remaining aware of the boundaries not to be crossed so as not to alarm the Party. Over forty years, China has seen the rise of the heirs of the Cultural Revolution, the one-child generation, and the generation shaped by the Internet and overconsumption: from an act of rebellion, rock has become a way of life and, despite generational clashes, embodies a shared desire for empowerment.
