Rockin’ Hutong
Text by Gong Haiying Photographs by Laurant Hou
Marie-Claude LeBel performs at DDC with her band Mademoiselle et Son Orchestre.
May 7, 2016: Cui Jian, “Father of Chinese Rock,” plays the trumpet at DDC.
Ali Mujiang from the U-Dastan ensemble, a band under Dusk Dawn Label, prepares a rehearsal.
On March 2, 2016, DDC GRAND JAM ran from 9:00 p.m. all the way until 5:00 a.m. at Dusk Dawn Club (DDC), which is tucked deep in an old lane in Dongcheng District, Beijing. More than 40 artists including Cui Jian, hailed as “Father of Chinese Rock,” took the stage.
It was the second such event at DDC since February, and the club hopes to permanently host similar shows on the first Wednesday of every month. They’ve staged three shows so far, featuring a wide variety of bands from many countries. Dozens of musicians improvised and jammed at each event, which all maxed out DDC’s capacity of 200 spectators.
DDC was founded in July 2014. In less than two years, it has become one of China’s most buzzworthy concert venues. Since its opening, its stage has featured 700 independent bands from around the world, giving its patrons myriad styles of rock music.
DDC founder Zhang Jincan became obsessed with indie rock while he was at university. “Commercial profit is not what indie musicians work for,” he asserts. “Rather, they seek independent musical ideas and foster the courage to make break-throughs, innovate, and express themselves, all flavored with straightforwardness and naivety.” From the day it was founded, his philosophy about the function of his DDC has remained steadfast: Provide a professional performance site and high-quality sound equipment for independent bands from all corners of the world.
Zhang dubbed his club an “Open Source” independent cultural platform. “By ‘open source,’ I mean that anyone can promote an event at DDC using the internet,” illustrates Zhang. “What we do is curate the quality and rhythm and provide supporting services.”
DDC has excelled at finding and presenting “fresh blood” indie rock acts from both home and abroad. Guo Xiaohan, former journalist-turned-vice president of Musikid, a supporting platform for music programs in China, wrote, “It was in DDC in 2015 that I discovered my favorite band, Horseradio, which led listeners on a journey from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the Silk Road and up to outer space.”
According to Zhang, Horseradio is a Mongolian power-ballad band from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The group has performed in bars across Beijing, including DDC. After receiving Zhang’s backing, they have participated in Chinese music festivals and toured Russia and other European countries. “It’s all worthwhile when DDC catapults emerging bands onto a larger stage,” grins Zhang.
Almost all livehouse founders, Zhang Jincan included, have their own musical ambitions. On November 17, 2015, the U-Dastan Ensemble became the first group to sign a contract with DDC. Consisting of five highly-experienced Uygur musicians from Xinjiang, the band features the best traditional Uygur musical instruments such as Rawap, Tanbur, and tabour, yet plays pop music accompanied by Western instruments such as a bass guitar. A new rap version of Muqam (a Uygur musical legacy, world cultural heritage and comprehensive classical art form consisting of songs, dances, and melodies), was staged there.
“I acted like an agent for the U-Dastan Ensemble,” Zhang explains. “I suggested they establish a band as early as 2013 when I was working in a Beijing bar. But I never expected the chance to sign a contract with them.”
Zhang is extremely confident about the future of the U-Dastan Ensemble. “I’ll get them into lineups of foreign music festivals.”
“I hope DDC inspires young people in China and helps them find their favorite music and accept the spirit of independence promoted by independent music,” he adds.
Aiys Song performs with the band Gelou.
A dancer performs during Indian musician Sayak Barua’s concert.