It's been 13 years since there was a Beijing music party in Hong Kong. How much has changed in the interim. Back in 1994, when the Coliseum hosted a group of rock acts (including Tang Dynasty, China's first and most popular heavy metal band), it was a new beginning for Beijing. The rock scene was just starting to flourish and the bands came to Hong Kong as eager upstarts in the shadow of the local scene. Fast forward to today and Tang Dynasty play together only occasionally. Wong Chi-chung - the Coliseum show's producer and a popular radio DJ at the time - is now a music critic and bar-owner. And, most strikingly, Beijing has surpassed Hong Kong to become the nation's epicentre of rock. It's about time we had another mass invasion. This weekend, as part of a double-act dubbed the Beijing Explosion, four rock bands and two top DJs will be in town to perform. On Saturday and Sunday, laptop artists Dead J and Sulumi will play at Wong's SoHo bar PopBites, bringing with them the best of China's electronica and dub/techno - with a dash of Gameboy. Sunday night will also be dancing time at the Fringe as bands affiliated with Beijing's Modern Sky label rock it up large: indie stalwarts New Pants and Re-TROS, fresh from a US tour that included a spot at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, will be joined by punk-rockers P.K.14 and sunny-pop artists Hedgehog. The music scene in Beijing has never been better, says Wong. It's far more diverse than Hong Kong's and has evolved rapidly during the past decade. Wong remembers Modern Sky as a modest start-up whose founder he invited onto one of his TV shows not long after the label was set up 10 years ago. Today, the label is a commercial and musical success, with a publishing arm, its own festival and a host of sub-labels. Beijing is also coming under the international spotlight for its Midi Music Festival, an outdoor event held during four days that features more than 100 acts. So why don't we hear more from our neighbours? 'Who would finance them?' asks Wong. 'Who would sell the records? Which media would take the lead to do that?' On this occasion, we have the Cure to thank, says the concert promoter, who goes by the name of Kap. She set up her company, Crazy Young Master, a year ago to bring international music to Hong Kong and to promote local musicians abroad. Her friends help out, but it's not easy. 'You have to be crazy to do this,' she says (hence the name of her company). 'It's tough because you have to do a lot of work, you might not get much reward in terms of money. But I get a lot of satisfaction from it.' Kap was in Beijing a couple of months ago hanging out with a friend who works for Modern Sky. Her friend told her there were some bands from the label going down for the show, who were big Cure fans. That triggered the idea for the bands to perform while they were in Hong Kong. The Cure has had a huge influence on mainland bands. The lead-singer of pop-punk band New Pants, for instance, sounds like an upbeat version of Robert Smith singing in Putonghua. New Pants released its first album in 1998 and made its only appearance in Hong Kong the next year. This year, its Dragon Tiger Panacea won best rock album and nabbed them the title of best rock band at China's Pepsi Music Chart Awards. The Cure have also had a profound effect on P.K.14, originally from Nanjing. The band's lead singer, Yang Hoisung, says the Cure was the driving force behind the band's formation. Yang is looking forward to his first trip to Hong Kong although he doesn't know what to expect because there aren't many channels to access Hong Kong music on the mainland. He understands that Beijing's music can seem even more remote. 'It's natural that people outside the country don't pay attention to the bands in China, but with the Olympics coming, they're getting more and more attention from people all over the world.' Whereas Yang describes P.K.14's punk rock as influenced by anarchist attitudes, Hedgehog has a decidedly more positive outlook. Singer Zo cites bands such as Sparklehorse, the Raveonettes and New Order among their chief influences, alongside the Cure, and says they want audiences to enjoy themselves. 'Playing music is a very happy thing,' says Zo, who is a computer programmer. Hedgehog wants to transcend other Chinese bands' pet themes - complaints about the government and bemoaning difficult lives - and provide an escape. Meanwhile, Wong hopes that the Beijing Explosion will trigger a new era of co-operation between the cities in the pursuit of musical excellence. There's no need to talk about the Hong Kong scene in opposition to the Beijing scene, he says. Instead, the two should be feeding off each other. 'This is a good opportunity to open the door for these two great cities to collaborate again,' he says. Beijing Explosion: Dead J and Sulumi, PopBites, 3 Old Bailey St, Central, Jul 28 and 29, 9pm, free New Pants, P.K.14, Re-TROS, Hedgehog, Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central, Jul 29, 7.30pm, HK$200 (advance), HK$250 (door). Tickets: Fringe Club 2521 7251; WhiteNoise 2591 0499; Zoo Records 3188 2303; PopBites 2525 4141
