interview | p.k.14 & carsick cars talk w/ the new york times ///

In early November the New York Times did a piece on the Chinese indie music scene.

While on their first US tour, Chinese musicians Yang Haisong (杨海崧) of P.K.14 and Zhang Shouwang (张守望) of Carsick Cars stopped by The Times‘ studio to have a chat with Ben Sisario, a veteran music critic with the paper.

This interview is full of great insights from Yang and Zhang. They talk about how rock in China has changed from the 70s to the 80s, and how Western music influenced them both as teenagers. They also answered a question that has been lingering in my mind for a while now:

Ben Sisario: When people write about your music, they can’t believe how good it is, they can’t believe how Western it is. You know, there is a lot of Western rock music in your music, a lot of Sonic Youth, a lot of 1990′s rock. Sometimes it is a good thing, sometimes it is a bad thing. What do you think about the influence of Western rock on your music?

Yang Haisong: It’s not like we chose the style, it’s like the style chose us.

Zhang Shouwang: It is not our job to make people think we are from China. Our job is just to make music we enjoy. I mean, German bands don’t play Beethoven all the time.”

These viewpoints are sound, and, actually, inline with what Adam and Sean mention in a recent interview with City Weekend – it’s always more still interesting to hear straight from the musicians themselves though.

When it came to sensitive topics such as whether the Chinese government has been hard on indie rock music, both Yang and Zhang were candid:

Zhang Shouwang: The government never paid attention to rock underground culture. It’s too small. The government cares about other stuff, always cares about other stuff.

Ben Sisario: Is it difficult to go to the States?

Yang & Zhang: No, not at all. It’s become a lot more easier.

Listen to the full interview (in English) here.

For more about Chinese indie music on NeochaEDGE, link here. /// CL

Carsick Cars ///

P.K. 14 ///