Wan Xiaoli is a folk-rock singer, guitarist, and harmonica player from China. He was born in 1971 and is originally from Ci County, Handan, Hebei but moved to Beijing in 1997. He has released two albums, in 2002 and 2007.
A Taiwanese singer, actor, and commercial model from Taiwan, Vic Zhou (which also translates into “a completely changed person,” has starred in many Chinese dramas. However, on the first track on his album, Vic Zhou wants to send the message that he is no longer Hua Ze Lei, and that people should recognize him as a respectable artist in his own right.
A singer, composer, actor and director, Nicholas Tse was born on August 29, 1980 in Hong Kong. Born to parents being actors themselves, he entered the entertainment industry at a young age of 16. Many recording companies were ready to sign him up; but he choe to join Century Recording Company and started his music career there.
May 1997 marked the release of Nicholas Tse’s first album entitled “My Attitude” and immediately became a best seller, with two of the album’s tracks topping the charts. In 1999, his album “Believe” became HL’s No. 1 best selling record immediately after two weeks of its release.
A punk-rock band based in Beijing, China, Brain Failure’s music has been influenced by bands lie The Clash and Rancid. Their lyrics often cover politics.
The band has toured with Dropkick Murphys, The Business, and The Unseen from Boston, Massachusetts. The band has recently released a split E.P. with another Boston band, Big D And The Kids Table, on February 20, 2007.
Wu Bai is the stage name of the rock singer Wu Chun-lin. One of the biggest rock stars in Mandarin-language music, his music is also marketed in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
With fans in Japan and the United States, Canada and Australia, he has also released a number of works sung in Taiwanese Minnan. He has also held numerous sold-out concerts in Taiwan, Singapore Malaysia, and has also performed in North America as well.
Often referred to as one of the pioneers of Chinese rock music, He Yong is a Chinese rock musician who has been around the music scene since the 1980’s.
He Yong’s lyrics are often outspoken in nature and has earned him a controversial status in mainland China and Hong Kong. His only album, Garbage Dump, displayed his often negative yet nostalgic view of life as it is.
Silver Ash is China’s first visual kei band which debuted in 2000 and combine glam rock and goth rock in their music. Although facing a lot of difficulties, with some of the band members leaving Silver Ash to pursue their own careers, they have literally paved the way for other bands with the same music genre.
Dou Wei is a popular Chinese musician that continues to experiment with the music he creates. Unlike some of his counterparts like Cui Jian, Dou Wei’s music is not politically-oriented. Rather, he focuses on his feelings and his experiences in life when creating music. Although his music may range from pop-rock to goth, most of his work still retains its poetic characteristics and it’s ever-appealing charm to its fans.
Below is a video of Dou Wei with his ex-wife Faye Wong performing Na La La x1. The video doesn’t show much though; but you can hear the lyrics and the audio really well.
A musician, songwriter, trumpet plater, guitarist, and a composer, Cui Jian is often referred to as the “Father of Chinese Rock” as he was the first artist to break away from traditional Chinese rock and incorporate Western rock into his music.