Cobra (

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 眼鏡蛇樂隊;

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: 眼镜蛇乐队;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Yǎnjìngshé yuèduì'') was an all-female rock band from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The band formed in 1989, becoming the first all-female rock band in mainland China. With only one album out, they disbanded in the late 1990s. Their style was a gloomy, bluesy type of

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

with slight touches of new wave and

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

. Cobra was very popular in the beginning of their career. Group members included Yang Ying, Yu Jin, Wang Xiaofang, and Xiao Nan. Additional members that were in the band included Lin Xue and Suo Yi.

Career

Cobra was founded in the spring of 1989 by four female musicians in Beijing. It was initially a cover band that played popular Chinese folk songs and English-language

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

songs. Cobra saw the start of their popularity when they appeared at the "Concert of Modern Music" event in 1990. They soon released a single, "My own Paradise" in 1992 which appeared in a compilation album called ''Rocking Beijing''. In 1992, one of the early members, Yang Ying, left Cobra. That same year, the band recruited Suo Yi and Lin Xue (Lin Xue would later leave Cobra in 1999). In 1994, Cobra released their first album titled ''Hypocrisy'' and released their second album, ''Cobra II'', in 2000. The band soon after disbanded in late 2000, citing the nascent nature of the Chinese rock scene, where chances for better financial rewards and artistic acclaim were few.

Reception

Due to the uniqueness of Cobra being an all-female Chinese rock band, they received significant attention not only from Chinese media but also in Western circles. Some western commentators viewed the band as a progressive force for Chinese feminism.

Discography

*1994 - First released as ''Hypocrisy'' (Germany 1994, USA 1996) republished as ''Yanjingshe'' (China 1996)Chime: Newsletter of the European Foundation for Chinese Music ... 1999- Issues 12-13 - Page 153 Cobra recorded their first solo-CD 'Hypocrisy' after a successful tour through Germany in 1993. It was published by Network Medien GmbH'. Frankfurt. 1994. in cooperation with the Hans der Kulturen tier Welt. Berlin Later, the record was also published in China under the title Yanjing she (Cobra), by the China Record Corporation. Guangzhou. 1996 In the course of time, the music market *2000 - ''Cobra - Yangjingshe II '' (China)

References

Sources

*Wong, Cynthia P. (2005). "Lost Lambs": Rock, Gender, Authenticity, and A Generational Response to Modernity in the People's Republic of China." Ph.D. dissertation. New York, New York: Columbia University, 2005.

External links