An iconoclast's power

Fu Han, lead vocalist of the indie rock band Queen Sea Big Shark.[Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Queen Sea Big Shark's lead vocalist Fu Han ventures into photography while riding a recent wave of renewed popularity for her style of rock

798 Art Zone, the hottest place to explore the contemporary art scene in the capital, is fully packed with weekend tourists. In one corner of the zone, dressed in retro high-rise black pants, white blouse and black winklepickers, Fu Han sips her iced coffee.

The lead vocalist of the indie rock band Queen Sea Big Shark, Fu is sharing laughs with the three other band members, guitarist Cao Pu, bassist Wang Jinghan and drummer Xiao Wu - when her cellphone isn't buzzing.

"If I knew we could do it (as a band) for 12 years, I wouldn't have done it in the beginning," giggles Fu. "Fortunately, playing music is still fun."

Queen Sea Big Shark, founded in 2005, is one of the capital's most popular rock bands. With its wild spirit, trendy music that blends rock, electronic and the retro sounds of the 1970s and 1980s, the band has been a fixture at Beijing's live music venues and at outdoor music festivals around the country for over a decade.

In March 2016, the band released its third full-length album, Beijing Surfers' Adventure, under Modern Sky, one of the country's largest indie record companies. Last year the rockers also kicked off a 12-city national tour.

On April 15, they released a documentary, Queen Sea Big Shark: Beijing Surfers' Adventure, at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in 798 Art Zone. The band also gave an unplugged performance after the screening.