China's underground music scene | Unreported World

this week unreported world gains rare access to China's underground music scene where rappers hip-hop stars and punk rock veterans are taking heed risks to speak what they see as the truth about their country but as Marcel through reports how long can these unlikely champions of free speech operate in a country where the government is increasingly censoring access to everything from live-streaming to social media Marcela began his journey on a Saturday night in Beijing [Music] I'm in Beijing China's capital and I'm on my way to a gig across China the Communist Party is firmly in charge and doesn't allow any opposition it tries hard to control what people see in here but the hot ticket tonight is n-bomb a rising star in the underground music scene alongside him is his fellow rapper Savin [Applause] in a country of strict censorship n-bombs making a name for himself as someone who dares to tell the truth [Music] [Applause] [Music] what about n mom wraps with a defiance that's rare in China where censorship has been steadily increasing over the past few years [Music] [Applause] his shows have won him a small but passionate following what is it about n-bombs words that you like so much Davis will apologize right come here on my soon ciao granny gun girl hazardous n-bombs arranged something for later and he invites me along this is where n-bombs told me to meet him it's quite a bizarre location it's an underpass just to the north of the city after midnight I follow the music and discover n-bomb helped by his collective dungeon Beijing making his first video he says the song is called born to die his lyrics are about struggling to be free in a conformist world [Music] he's going to post the video on Billy Billy China's version of YouTube YouTube itself is banned here but his friend saber says everyone in China has to watch what they say and over there is a lot where is the line drawn by posting the video n-bomb is exploiting the limited freedom of China's Internet the Communist Party has put in place a vast system of Internet censorship that people call the Great Firewall of China everyone who uses the internet but the internet they see is the one the government wants them to see while I'm here I can't get on YouTube Google Facebook and loads of other websites they're all blocked n-bombs invited me to dinner at his home his outspokenness has brought him fans in Beijing but not much money he lives at home with his mum dong Shiu Li your son's very talented she tells me she's always believed in letting him do what he wants are you ever concerned about him don't you're not one weekend old Baron had a unit [ __ ] you're the girl why a quinoa quinoa done the [ __ ] up one day Nocturne time when I take over ha ha till you tell me on the tools are your children do what so James Woodham party he got these all so - how are you sir fortifying the Georgian you don't show me the chin job now she will change a lot yes sure kanthamma quad - amulet insertion from that fella sweetie you are know you heard low Tiamat oh sure be done in Canada this is your room as microwave it's nice he wants his video to be a hit when he posts it but he knows that success may alert the authorities to what he's saying from Allah does Allah yum yum too hard one true that refer to her eases or her Tony your video Shah Mardan Oh Hannah and Rulon is roarin Elrond you know no matter who you are there is censorship in your country you're not free to say whatever you like what our opinion is yep aha yeah yeah door perfer you go so yeah hurry up aha sure that's why was she too short to water on Iran was your water power hmm n-bombs trademark is his defiant attitude he's part of a small group that's pushing the limits and getting away with it for now the market for entertainment is vast in China almost half a billion people listen to music online I've got a special invitation to Chongqing a city of more than 30 million people 1,000 miles from the capital the invitation is from TF entertainment a company that's cracked the formula for success under Communist Party rule yeah on the 18th floor I find the hit factory where they're grooming candidates for China's next big boy band these guys are trying to follow in the footsteps of China's most successful boy band ever ten boys are being put through their paces and the best will form a new supergroup [Music] the people running this hip factory know what they're doing [Music] they masterminded the tfboys whose songs about school and puppy love have made them the biggest boy band in China there's nothing to worry the sensors here [Applause] in fact the government uses them to headline prestigious state events they're even brand ambassadors for the country's space program [Music] the trouble with boy bands is that they get old which is why the company is building TF Boris mark to their training includes instruction on how to project the perfect image what kind of values do you want the boys to show how much foundry to learn without you thumb any integer you wish it would be how much doubt what is this in here 15 year old Marge Archie the newest trainee Idol takes me to the room where they store the tfboys costumes for him it's a shrine to his heroes dr. venture woman why are you so proud of the tfboys in josh's san Tong Tong were the e-tron Church in Johnny and I don't wanna know your holy araújo which is the chalice entire change super saiyan OD somewhere interest to you know your and we ching chong go [Music] the original tfboys have been quite clear which team they're on in 2015 they released this wearing the red scarves of China's young communists and it's striking a chord with their fans who are you fans for this you the one everyone it looks to the hole who needs you or heard your voice your gun at the end of a long day Marge Archie invites me to the trainees flat what do you think of this place Alton to me ha it's amazing dare to take a film kalanadi button and kind of tango when they went Johnny man you don't she the new tfboys are being groomed for a life of unimaginable celebrity and wealth yeah two of your own balcony yeah to rally to by Thomas or where you gonna try using wrong it may be stressful but the potential rewards for making music that the Communist Party approves of are vast I'm back in Beijing n-bomb has invited me to sit in on a recording session his friend has built a studio in his spare bedroom this track is for n-bombs first album he tells me it's about China's rampant materialism [Music] to avoid the bureaucracy of the sensor it'll have to be a small underground release the higher you go children because outgoing terawatts Pluto his producer is another rapper in dungeon Beijing style to know for sure she was cons were you air to eat report for the year would you gather ambough so we water from water they don't just a part of the it's not just Chinese music that censored South Korean k-pop is massive here but when South Korea installed an American missile system China stopped kpop acts from touring [Music] this is a crush a new Chinese Greek that's filling the gap in the market they look like a kpop boy band but they're all Chinese girls they're androgynous look is designed for an appealing edginess but one that won't offend the censor their record label is based in jinhua south of Shanghai I'm here to meet the manager Wang Chun hi who tells me Chinese k-pop is taking off well later on with you buddy shall I tell you something will you what what are doing little plants in that why did the government limit their Korean bats a particular length you do your waiter upstairs I find a band working late warming up to practice the dance routine for their next release the bed's unbelievably slick but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised they've got serious money behind him the song was written by a German composer the words by top Chinese lyricist and they've got a dance teacher from South Korea their parent company is determined to make them a success the band members were chosen for their tomboyish looks but there's an unexpected difficulties their management is worried their appearance could be misinterpreted under new government guidelines banning depictions of homosexuality online Nihao morning how are you hello the next day when I meet the band they explain their look isn't to do with sexuality but with style what are you trying to say with your appearance what kind of reaction do you get from people it's 7 a.m. and a crusher on the road their management has set up an event to reinforce the band's mainstream appeal the band's driven three hours unbelievably hot it's Saturday they've come here to this animal sanctuary and the idea is to film them interacting with cuddly animals and post it online to encourage a rapport with their growing legion of fans [Music] the amazing thing about this is it's being live-streamed on Weibo China's answer to Facebook and 3,000 fans are watching Lucca Ren mop that floor and they're feeding back in real-time saying oh don't get too hot look after yourself and the numbers are going up and up and up it's like a brand being built before my very eyes as well as helping the cuddly animals they're showing their fans the government-approved values of hard work and selflessness what are you doing by doing yoga yoga hi even this type of harmless PR stunt will soon be on the wrong side of the law the government censors struggle to keep up with live-streaming so they've just decided to ban it onwe ball and two other major sites [Music] this is yang Shuang a resort town more than 1,000 miles south of Beijing it's home to a musician who's watched censorship Titan I've come here to meet someone who knows what it's like to fall afoul of the Chinese government he's a legend of the underground music scene but his outspokenness has got him into trouble he's finding it hard to play live and his music has been blocked wu wei is the leader of SM ZB China's biggest punk rock group will wait I see with the Mohegan he's had four albums banned and says his support for democracy has earned him unwelcome attention simple just changing with a solji because your email cause a Coco's he died out in 1907 on come nigh bashing on the talking wu wei was one of the signatories to charter Oh 8 a 2008 manifesto calling for democracy and free speech nowadays he helps run this bar he and his band smz be still perform but he says it's getting harder ya Yin tuo luo wei sons heart since i will i be younger how do you would haven't put me me me yet from japanese so my really yeah and oh good [Music] he's laying down tracks for his first solo album not in a recording studio but out of hours in the bar from your floor I go there to about our show for this week that's all the quantity the lodges and beer was so simple certain largess and being to force an AIDS of the soreness under this new song draws on the tails he's heard from the drinkers he serves [Music] there's a thunderstorm and the bar isn't soundproof when the rain clears he takes me to a quiet place so we can talk politics what are the things that the government is sensitive about so one can push you along for the don't sort hammer them in the father don't touch the talent honey it's this way yoshiji useful yeah when you is a shaker sometime the talking cuz I'm talking so that I can dump it again people will watch this and wonder why you're daring to say this to us unless you've got nothing or was it up what solution to come or the year a good suit got oh what a comeback it is busy I'm your dad what's the worst thing that can happen to an outspoken artist whose pop here enough to really annoy the government that is a warm haven't you the warm though Yianni it's worth a la the whole warmth and welcome to your city knuckle sandwich a human who ain't you she sure is transient akashi code squinty and una no no but it's too much a man who's a man respected but poor his albums banned and with no clear future in China Wu Wei shows what can happen to diehard rebels I'm back in Beijing to say some goodbyes let's see dungeon Beijing yeah was a dungeon Beijing in the house hey nice to see you [Music] n-bomb and saber are rehearsing because in a few weeks there'll be a big gig to celebrate n-bombs first album at the same time the Communist Party will hold a Congress to set out its plans for the next five years no one expects freedom of speech to be high on the agenda [Music] [Music]

Channel: Unreported World

Views: 107,830

Rating: 4.826087 out of 5

Keywords: ffc acrush, acrush band, acrush members, fcc acrush, tfboys, tf, tfboy, tf boys, tfboys2017, music in china, music of china, chinese music, music china 2017, censorship in china, china internet censorship, internet censorship in china, bilibili 動画, acfun, 下載 bilibili, 百度, bilibili 下载, youku, bilibili download, bilibili tv, bilibili app, bilibili live, kpop, 韓国, 韓国 k pop, k-pop, k pop 2017, china, chinese, unreported world, unreported world youtube, channel 4 unreported world

Id: 14BbagW3lbA

Length: 23min 45sec (1425 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 01 2017