PK14

Hello and welcome to this edition of China Beat on China Radio International. I'm Xu Jue. On today's show, we're going to feature a post-punk band from the city of Nanjing. They're called Public Kingdom for Teens, or PK14 for short.

Let's start with a quick listen to their music.

This song's called "Strangers Come to Visit".

(Strangers Come to Visit)

That's Strangers Come to Visit, a greeting from out feature band PK14.

It is the opening track off the band's third album "White Paper" (picture on the left). And its compelling rhythm and intensity has got our show off to a flying start today.

Well, let's travel back 10 years in time, when PK14 first formed as a post punk band in Nanjing.

Some compared them to bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Stooges or the Sonic Youth.

But the lead man of the band, Yang Haisong, says they just used this style of music to express their youthful anger and depression.

Coming up is a song called "Game of Time". It's the opening track from the band's first demo.

(Game of Time)

That was "Game of Time".

As the song begins, you can barely perceive the dynamite contained in the steady drum and bass, plus the eerie vocals.
But as the music proceeds, you can hear the melodic guitar line driving up the tempo and atmosphere. Then it suddenly explodes into a crescendo of volume and emotion.

It kind of sums up PK14's sense of aesthetics. Or, rather, their purpose.

Lead singer Yang Haisong says sorrow, pain and loneliness inspire him to write.

Yang Haisong is the only person remaining from PK14's original 1997 lineup.

He's often called the kernel of the band in alternative circles. He's known as a poet who's "steadfastly anti-bourgeois". He puts all his energy into reading, thinking, writing and singing.

He says he's interested in all subculture. And his biggest influences are the French existentialists and the Beat Generation.

One of PK14s songs had such a big impact on China's alternative scene that some of the kids born in the 70s and 80s started to call themselves "The Rotten Generation" in its honor.

Let's have a listen to it. It's called "Moon Blue".

(Moon Blue)

In this song, Yang Haisong sings I can't shake off the fetters on me. And I can never get your beautiful eyes out of my mind. Why can't we ever understand each other? Are you well prepared? I've started to rot away.

But Yang Haisong says "Rotten Generation" is actually a satire. It's way for people to express their refusal to enter mainstream society. These young people refuse to conform to conventional standards and values. Perhaps their parents think they're rotten. But they enjoy their marginalized state and go their own way.

Coming up now is a song called "rush into division" from the band's first album, "Go Upstairs and Turn Left" (picture on the right).

(Rush into Division)

That was "Rush into Division". I find the bass line very intense and catchy. It may sound a bit repetitive and lacking in variation but it somehow expresses a very blunt and unswerving spirit.

PK14's first bass player was a woman called Sun Xia. But serious illness forced her to leave the band in 2002, right after they signed with the Modern Sky record label.

Lots of independent Chinese bands showed their sympathy by performing at a charity concert held in her honor. It was a very difficult period for PK14, who had to decide whether they should - or rather could - go on expressing their emotions through music.

We're almost at the end of today's China Beat, so I'll leave you with the song "End of Summer, Start of Fall".

After people weather a hard time, they often have the opportunity to step onto a new stage.

That's certainly true for PK14, who turned a corner and returned with a new lineup, featuring Yang Haisong as lead singer, Xu Bo on guitar, Ren Jie on bass and Swedish drummer Jonathan.

We'll hear the new set of songs they created on tomorrow's show.

I'm Xu Jue. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow.