Cobra (眼镜蛇乐队 ''Yanjingshe yuedui'') was an all-female rock band from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. 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 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 A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. N ...

that played popular Chinese folk songs and English-language

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

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