Chinese Rock had its origins in Northwest
Wind (西北风,
xibeifeng) style of music, which emerged
as a main genre in Mainland China. The new
style was triggered by two new songs, "Xin
tian you" (信天游)
and "I Have Nothing" (一无所有),
both of which drew heavily on the folk song
traditions of northern Shaanxi Province
in the northwest. They combined this with
a western-style fast tempo, strong beat
and extremely aggressive bass lines.
Northwest Wind songs were sung loudly and
forcefully. It represented the musical branch
of the large-scale Root-Seeking (寻
根,
xungen) cultural movement that also
manifested itself in literature and in film.
Northwest Wind music
has a special place in my heart as I was
born and raised in that region, in Lanzhou
Gansu province.
