LAST DECEMBER, Wang Lei, the Guangzhou-based rock musician turned electronic artist, took to the stage at a Beijing nightclub to perform his new electro-dub material.
While most in attendance were familiar with Wang's decade-long journey through pop, rock and industrial metal, they were perplexed by his latest incarnation, which sees the former guitarist take to electronic boxes and effects units to create experimental electronic music featuring Jamaican dub rhythms and a sprinkling of Sichuanese opera.
If the music being performed by Wang was a shock to the audience, there are no words to describe fans' reactions upon seeing rock legend Cui Jian take to the stage with Wang to perform the closing number. What's more, Cui - who left his classical trumpeting gig with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra in 1989 - was toting a horn and several effects units rather than his trademark guitar.
The two rock musicians then proceeded to tweak, twist and sample their way through several minutes of trumpet-laced dub-flavoured electronica, which came as a result of a last-minute - and late-night - 'practice' session the night before.
Both Cui and Wang had been into electronic music for some time, but you can forgive their fans for not being aware of their shift. It was not until six months after the show with Wang that Cui's latest record, Show You Colour, hit the streets and clued the world in to the fact that the rock and rap star had gone electro. As Cui's record came out, Wang released his second electronic album in two years, Xin. Meanwhile, he and his band, Pump - which as recently as late 2002 had been a ferocious industrial-strength rock outfit - had been performing around the country as a reggae act.
Recalling their collaboration, Cui was less than glowing: 'Wang Lei was awesome, I was brutal.' But he was eager to try again. 'If there's another chance, I'd love to. Playing with him, I don't feel like we need to communicate much. We understand each other.'
