Yao Shuo, managing director of CPAA, agrees and says that since the Olympics there have been new challenges in terms of presenting events with an international and youthful edge. "Although we already have clubs with this kind of music and lifestyle it is a good opportunity to put on a different kind of outdoor activity that is lively and fashionable," he says.
Asked whether he was aware of rave music's associations with illegal activities and drugs, Yao says: "I don't really know about the past and all those things. The point is electronic music is a form of art - it sounds fresh, fun and will be a healthy way for young people to enjoy themselves, within the regulations."
The party also gets a thumbs-up from the Goethe Institut, which promotes German culture worldwide and whose sponsorship has given the event added diplomatic gloss. Moreover, the European country also supplies one of the headliners at INTRO in the form of Chris Liebing, a winner of Germany's "Best National DJ" award.
Someone with a firm grasp of the history of electronic music in Asia is DJ @llen, also known as the "Godfather of Electronic Music in Taiwan", who currently plies his trade in Beijing. An organizer and DJ of Taipei's first rave in 1995, he says it was a do-it-yourself operation, using his own turntables and rented loudspeakers.
"It's harder to do DIY parties here because of the police and government. It (the mainland) has skipped most of the DIY stuff and gone straight to the commercial this is a very professionally organized event - just look at the promotion and list of sponsors."
He is dubious about INTRO's status as China's first electronic music festival and cites O2culture and the Yen DJ collective as being among this country's pioneers. Underlining this assertion is the fifth anniversary of the Yen Electronic Music Events series that will be held next month, also at the 798 Art Zone.
Acupuncture Records' Wong acknowledges other festivals have had electronic music stages and illegal rave parties have taken place "among friends" but insists INTRO will be a first in China because of its legal status and the number of performers.
Not that everyone is celebrating. "It's crazy, people just yelling and jumping around," says Amy Sun, a Beijing postgraduate student, about electronic dance music. "There's no aesthetic pleasure involved. I think it's popular among young Westerners but its not mainstream music here, it's underground."
Conversely, Ray Zhang, a Zhejiang province student working at an architecture design company in Hong Kong, just wants to party and doesn't associate electronic music with drugs. He first heard techno when he bought a magazine with a free CD and likes listening to it when he is working out at the gym or surfing the Internet.
"The music is very important to me. I will certainly go to the concert in Beijing if I can take time off work. I love the atmosphere, the crowds, the noise and the high you get from being there."
Wong is also expecting celebrities at INTRO. The event's slick handbook contains quotes from actress Zhou Xun and rocker Cui Jian, among others, backing the event and saying they hope to be there.
"A lot of celebrities come to our parties," Wong says. "These people come to our parties for fun. Hollywood types are party kings and queens. It's not like that here yet but it's heading in that direction."
(China Daily May 21, 2009)
