Beijing and Shanghai are home to thriving experimental music scenes, comprising niche sounds such as abstract electronica and noise art. Then there are the art-rock bands, the post-punk acts and the independent acts that are earning the mainland a place in rock history.
One such band is Ourself Beside Me, an all-girl art-rock trio founded by Li Yangfan, the bassist in one of the mainland's most iconic punk acts, Hang on the Box. Ourself Beside Me played their first show in late 2007. Guitarist and lead vocalist Li, bassist Xie Hang, 21, and drummer Emi Namihira, 27, a Japanese student who arrived in Beijing to study Chinese for a year and never left, make up the trio.
The band are the subject of buzz locally and overseas - their name pops up on random hipster music blogs all over the US and Britain - for their eclectic sound that manages to reference Wire, Syd Barrett and the Velvet Underground without sacrificing that certain Beijing edge.
They're remarkably blas? about it all. They're unconvinced they have a huge following, and why anyone might like them simply doesn't factor into Li's concerns. 'People who buy our music ... they just have good taste,' she says.
That quiet confidence isn't misplaced - their tight, rhythmic rock is heavily influenced by New York East Village bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s, with jangly guitar lines and spacy effects that add a slightly ghostly ambience to their music. Sunday Girl, for example, is one of the band's most talked about songs, with a tinkly, almost romantic intro of melodica, flute and a bicycle bell, before segueing into psychedelic 60s rock fronted by Li's whispery vocals.
You can hear echoes of older western rock acts in their music, but it's all couched in oblique lyrics with the addition of odd instruments and sounds. 'Our music is selfish, childish and it's about dreams,' Xie says. Indeed, the band cite influences as diverse as the Beatles, experimental West German rock band Can and Brian Eno.