The normal abnormal

Fanzuixiangfa during a performance. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Punk band

Feola, also from the US, says Beijing has become a world-class music city. Feola is a drummer in a punk band called Subs, which he joined last year. He has been in Beijing since 2009 and first joined a Chinese experimental psychedelic rock band called Chui Wan, one of his favorite local bands.

"Most music I listen to is Chinese, because I live here every day and there is enough good Chinese music about. I love a lot of music that has come from Zoomin' Night (an event XP had staged once a week.) ... Some of it is very interesting, and there are a lot of fresh ideas coming out of the Beijing music scene."

For many expatriate musicians there is great appeal in trying to fit into such a vibrant local music scene with so many distinctive bands.

Alexander Fong, 35, a page designer for China Daily, is a guitarist with a post-punk band, Zhilaohu, or Paper Tiger, that he started with an Australian workmate, Joseph Catanzaro, and a Chinese drummer.

Fong, an American-born-Chinese, says his band is trying to broaden their audience by playing original music and, on occasion, tackling Chinese music using the Western rock tradition.

"I think that's one way of being engaged with being in China in a real, respectful way."

Fong says that when he was a teenager he saw the Chinese kung fu movie Once Upon a Time in China in the US and liked the theme song Strength of Men. Now he is working on an arrangement of it for his band.

"When I heard the HK pop music version of the song I didn't think we could cover it. But when I heard a Chinese orchestra play it I realized I could arrange it for a rock band."

At the same time, Fong and his band mates name the band Paper Tiger to appeal not only to expatriates but Chinese as well.

"I am ABC (American-born Chinese). On the level, I feel like I shouldn't just be existing in an expat culture. I want to be part of what's happening broadly in China. Many bands I really admire are Chinese, so if you are just appealing to the expat audience, that's boring. A lot of great bands are operating in China now, and if you engage with music in a real way, you shouldn't be exposed to just a single audience group."

For many expatriate musicians there is great appeal in melding modern and local music traditions.

Liem says he likes the idea of playing outside in a hutong, particularly a cucurbit flute accompanied by drum and bass, or of playing the traditional Chinese two-string bowed instrument the erhu with a guitar.

"When you go to see a live show you can see a lot of mixes. It doesn't always sound good, but it's interesting and really enjoyable."