China Rocks America

Will this Beijing punk trio capture the hearts and minds of punters in the world's biggest music market?

This is the doco companion to the rock music chapters of Beijing Blur, my book out very soon through Penguin books Australia. Read more about the book here.

Shot in New York City, the piece follows Rebuilding the Rights of Statues as they tour America - one of the first Chinese bands to ever do so.

Here's an extract from the book about the first time I heard the band in Beijing.

The first time I heard this band on CD, I knew I’d discovered the soundtrack of my Beijing. They sounded like getting out of a taxi and having your face filled with dust. But underneath the vocal rage and thick punky chords, they had a tender underbelly. If there was one band likely to cut it on the international stage, it was these guys.

I first saw them play at Dos Kolegos. The lead singer Hua Dong contorted to the music, at times up on his toes like Michael Jackson, sweeping his arm across his neck and flicking his hand. Liu Min, the tiny bassist, added occasional back-up yelps and morbid squeals like an elf deprived of Christmas. The drummer’s beat was unrelenting. They were efficient musicians with racy lyrics: ‘Hang the police, hang the police before we’re all murdered’. They also sang about a mother mourning the loss of her son in Tiananmen Square.

On stage the threesome faced slightly inwards, like they were singing to each other. I found that defiant and secretive – just like Beijing.