Sub Rosa presents a 4-CD anthology of experimental music (1992-2008) from Mainland China (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guilin, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Shanxi, Harbin), and from countries within the Chinese area of influence, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Featuring 48 diverse artists, this collection is designed as a journey through what is currently happening underground in these regions, tapping a seemingly endless wellspring of new, hidden talent. It also looks at the recent past and the key role of pioneers like Wang Fan, Dajuin Yao, and also Hong Kong-based Li Chin Sung aka Dickson Dee who, for almost two decades, has been spreading the word about experimental music in Mainland China. This album was curated by Dickson Dee on Guy Marc Hinant's invitation and includes an enlightening presentation on the short yet intense advent and history of the Chinese noise explosion, co-written by Zbigniew Karkowski and Yan Jun, The Sound of the Underground: An Overview of Experimental and Non-Academic Music in China. The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in one way or another eradicated most of the existing and emerging culture in China. At the same time as intellectuals were sent to rural labor camps, countless ancient buildings, antiques, books, paintings and various artifacts were destroyed. This period created an enormous intellectual, cultural and artistic vacuum in China -- destruction that in a sense, time is still healing. So the tradition of music culture and especially non-academic, purely experimental music, started from scratch sometime in the '80s. With the market economy introduced in that decade and further media developments in the '90s, there was an explosion in youth culture that had been held back for decades. Movements and music scenes that previously never reached China -- for instance, psychedelic music, punk or neo-Dada -- started to appear and expanded at an astonishing pace. The birth of these alternative rock and punk music scenes that later developed into even more experimental trends is a direct result of global capitalism and profound change in China's position within the World Order. Documented for the very first time, this release provides a complete panorama of the roots and buds of an ever-growing, promising experimental community in China and beyond, with nearly 5 hours of music.
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