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.' Evidently, Cui wasn't as brutal as he says because Cui and Wang are to join forces again, this time for more than one piece and with more than one rehearsal behind them. As part of this month's Dashanzi International Art Festival, the pair will create a set of what is being called 'dub-and-bass', coloured with Cui's trumpet, Wang's dub sensibilities and an enormous catalogue of the samples the two have collected. Wang only discovered dub in the past five years, but feels it is the style best suited to China. 'It's a great form of music for Chinese musicians to study because of its mixture of traditional and modern styles,' he says. Wang takes this thinking to heart, complementing the bass-heavy rhythms with distinctly Chinese characteristics in the form of pieces of music and vocal clips from traditional opera. 'China needs electronic music,' he says. Wang's discovery of dub is the most recent in a career that has spanned virtually all points of the musical spectrum. As a child in Tongji, Sichuan, Wang studied opera, leading to his intelligent use of operatic samples in his electronic pieces. In 1988 he discovered breakdancing and moved to Guangzhou to pursue a career in the street dance form. After that, it was pop ballads and rock that got more experimental as the 1990s wore on. With Pump, he recorded his heaviest music right before discovering the laid-back grooves of dub and later reggae. Wang's dub development was aided by several trips abroad. In the past five years, Wang has performed in France, Spain and Finland, as well as around China in clubs and at the biggest music festivals over the past few years - including 2002's Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival and last summer's Helanshan Music Festival. In December 2004, Wang returned to Rennes, the first stop on the China Music Lab tour, to participate in Les Rencontres Transmusicales, one of Europe's premier music festivals. Next month, when Transmusicales comes to China, Wang will once again be on the bill. Plans are in the works for a summertime return to France and there is talk of North American shows as well. France has been particularly important in forming Wang's career. His overseas affairs are managed by a French promotions and production duo, and it's hard to imagine where he'd be today without the opportunities France has given him. The result of his first extended stay in France, in 2002, was his debut album of electronic music, Belleville, named after his Parisian home away from home in one of Paris' multicultural neighbourhoods. While there he met Lyon-based dub group, Hightone, who came to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in 2003. He spent a week living and playing with the band in France and came back to China with a new set of musical ideas. Last summer, as part of the China Music Lab tour of France, Wang spent five days with Hightone working out a set they performed in an Orleans club and to an audience of thousands at Eurockeenes, one of France's biggest music festivals. Wang has since returned to France and recorded three tracks with Hightone for the band's upcoming release. 'I'm really into reggae now,' he says. 'China needs reggae, so we're [Pump] doing it. It's peaceful music, simple music, and great music.' Wang and Pump got an intensive reggae education when they hosted Rico Rodriguez, a prolific session trombonist who played with Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Specials, and more, in addition to having a solo career. Rodriguez spent three weeks in Guangzhou and inspired Pump. 'He's a real rasta,' says Wang of the septuagenarian musician. 'We practised every day. He taught me stuff I didn't understand.' Beijingers will have to wait to hear Wang's reggae stylings, but should be more than satisfied with the ability to hear his work with Cui. Wang, for one, is excited about the prospect of not knowing what will come out of the two days of pre-gig rehearsals the pair has planned. 'It's kind of like doing a party,' he says. 'We're making music that our friends will come and listen to.' Although Xin has yet to be on the market for two months, Wang has already started on material for a new disc. Might this gig with Cui lead to a recording? 'If it goes well, maybe we'll do a record together,' says Wang, who remains focused on the more important part of the creative process. 'We're both people who love to play music.' Wang Lei and Cui Jian, Sat, May 14, 7.30pm, Yan Club, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, 798 Dashanzi Art District, Chaoyang, Beijing, 60 yuan (includes free CD). Inquiries: (86 10) 8457 3506; May 20, 10pm, Wang plays Yugong Yishan, 1 Gongti Beilu (north end of parking lot opposite north gate of Workers' Stadium), Chaoyang, Beijing, 40 yuan. Inquiries: (86 10) 6415 0687