P.K.14's trademark guitar feedback and snaking bass lines aren't by any means typical of Chinese pop-music – there's no threat of a sugar-induced diabetes attack with this group. Indeed, P.K.14 delivers raw and energetic rock (somewhere between garage and punk circa 70s/80s UK) that will get your blood pumping. Influenced by Joy Division, David Bowie and The Cure, Yang Haisong's lead vocals somehow combine the best of all three. Add to the mix noise samples, emo music and elements of 80s US indie rock and you end up with a sound that is totally wired. Formed in Nanjing in 1997, this foursome (three Chinese plus a Swedish drummer) relocated to Beijing in 1999. In 2002, they signed with the Beijing-based label Badhead/Modern Sky and released their second album Who Who and Who Who Who. In early 2005, just prior to the recording of White Paper, the band took part in the Stockholm Culture and Art Festival and toured eastern and northern Europe. In September, they toured China. If Cui Jian is the godfather of Chinese rock, then P.K.14 might be his honorable offspring. That is if headshaking is an attribute passed on through DNA.
Badhead/Modern Sky

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue