Cars, clothes and booming construction are not the only Chinese
industries attracting world attention. The Middle Kingdom's infant
dance music scene is now luring the world's best DJs to the
mainland, including Carl Cox, one of the biggest and best.
Cox has been spinning through Chinese mainland dance clubs this
week spreading his gospel of groove and playing electronic dance
music that many Chinese have never heard before.
He began his China tour in Beijing last weekend to packed
audiences, performed in Shenzhen last night and is playing at
Hangzhou tonight.
It is only his second mainland tour after a short visit last
year, and he believes his beloved electronic dance music is a genre
that will allow Chinese DJs to share their sounds with the
world.
"Chinese pop music has a big problem spreading around the world
because of the language issue; however, dance music doesn't have
that issue," he said.
"We have beats, grooves, rhythms, baselines, crescendos, drops
and different moods that cross over all language barriers.
"China is happening and is ripe for this now, for this sort of
music. It can grow organically, and it won't be just a hype thing,
which will boom in two years and go away."
Cox knows about the hype. When electronic dance music first
emerged in Detroit (techno) and Chicago (house) in the early 1980s,
many critics said this beat-driven sound was just a fad. However,
the sound conquered the world, and by the late 1980s, had swept
through Europe's nightclubs.
Cox was there in the beginning and is one of the spin kings with
his own multi-million dollar music empire. The 44-year-old
Englishman is a DJ, producer, and songwriter who has worked with
mega stars, such as Madonna. His recent 49th album "Fact" sold more
than 250,000 copies.
Most Western audiences pay more than 400 yuan (US$50) a ticket
to see him play, however, considering clubbers were only charged 50
yuan (US$6) a ticket for his Beijing shows, his China tour is not
about the money. It's about spreading the dance music message.
"China is booming with fabrics, construction, cranes and new
cars and the music industry and club culture is growing with it
too," he said. "There is a group of Chinese people now with high
disposable incomes who want to dress up and go to night clubs that
play this type of music.
"As I said, China is a happening place, and that's why I'm
here."
(China Daily December 15, 2006)