Silver Ash () is a visual rock band from

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 ...

influenced by the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

visual kei , abbreviated , is a category of Japanese musicians that have a strong focus on extravagant stage costumes that originated in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima of '' Bounce'' wrote that visual kei is not a specific sound, but rather it " ...

movement.gd.sohu.com
''Sohu Online Interview'', August 21, 2004

Retrieved March 14, 2011 They formed in the year 2000 and are located in

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 ...

. Their music is a mix of

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

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 ...

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

and

goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

. After several member changes and a couple years of inactivity, Silver Ash currently consists of original members Ling (vocals) and Zhen (drums), guitarist Yue, and bassist Cain. They are known as the first Chinese visual rock band and have played a significant role in increasing the movement's popularity in China.China Daily
''Sights and sounds'', Chen Nan, January 9, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2011

History

The original line-up of Silver Ash included Ling (vocals), Lucy (guitar), Nancy (guitar), Hong (bass), and Zhen (drums). The band was produced by the Gorgeous Devil Studio and Scream Records from 2000-2005. Guitarist Nancy left the group before they signed to Scream Records. They toured China in 2002, performing in ten cities including

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, and

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. In 2005, they chose to leave Scream Records and were without a record label (and still are). Due to personal reasons, some of the Silver Ash members were forced to leave the band. Guitarist Lucy was replaced by Yue. After much deliberation, Hong had to leave the band and was replaced by new bassist Yu. From there, they added Bai Niao (''White Bird''), on keyboard. Previously, Bai Niao was the vocalist and keyboardist of another Chinese visual rock band called ''Frozen Blood'' (冻结的血液). Silver Ash has faced a lot of difficulties. The other band members had left Silver Ash temporarily to pursue their careers, leaving only Ling for a short period of time. They were also scheduled to tour the US in 2003-2004, but it was canceled due to the

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the virus SARS-CoV-1, the first identified strain of the SARS-related coronavirus. The first known cases occurred in November 2002, and the ...

scare. It was last heard that they were still without a record label as well, but were given various offers from Japanese record labels such as

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

. They were previously signed to

Toshiba-EMI , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Wh ...

but were released from the contract again due to government problems. They have not released an album since 2005, citing the slumping economy and reluctant

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

companies. Silver Ash held a live on August 30, 2006 with Japanese band

La'cryma Christi La'cryma Christi (Latin for "The Tears of Christ") is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991. After changing their name from Strippe-D Lady, the classic lineup of vocalist Taka, guitarists Hiro and Koji, drummer Levin and bassi ...

, particularly to be viewed by the production company Sweet Child. They have also performed with the Japanese bands

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and Gram∞Maria.

Relaunch of activities

In 2011, Silver Ash released a limited 1000-run press of a new single, "Pretty But Evil". The international digital release of the track on January 4, 2013, inaugurated the beginning of their comeback. They are currently working on a new release which is slated to drop sometime in March or April 2013, for which there will be both English and Japanese versions in addition to their native Chinese. They are currently being represented by EINSOF Marketing Group.

Discography

* Pretty But Evil (2011) #Pretty But Evil #Cosmo #MV: Control-live * 未尽集 (6/2005) #White Dream (白色的梦) #依赖 (Rely) #独舞 (Dancing Alone) #雪痕 (Snow Track) #樱雪 (Flowering Cherry Snow) #月残 X 樱雪 remix (Lunar Eclipse + Flowering Cherry Snow Remix) #珊瑚泪 (Coral's Tear) #葬花吟 (Flower Funeral Song) #SAD SONG (伤心的歌) #眩觉 (Feeling Dizzy) *蝶变: Out of Control (2004/5) #Control 控制 #Return 回歸 #Cry 泣 #蝶变 (Metamorphosis) #午夜 (Midnight) #殇 (Die Young it. Dying Before Your Time *Never End (2003/1/2) #序曲 (Overture) #眠 (dormancy) #Seduction #Never End #Never End (instruments only) *羽翼之祈愿篇 Home Video (2002) #MV：Liar #Home Video #MV：月残 *Silver Ash (2002/1/25) #Gorgeous Devil #风琴 (Organum) #谁 (Who) #Liar #风之断崖 (Wind of the Broken Cliff) #月残 (Lunar Eclipse) #弥沙 (Suffused Sand) #Twins-双生 #疏远 (Estrange) #6月24日-望 (Demo) (June 24: Look) *风琴 (2001/8/30) #月残 (Lunar Eclipse) #风琴 (Organum) #双生 (Twins) #Storm Blast Home Video (Live)【残月夜】

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Chinese rock music groups Musical groups from Beijing Gothic rock groups Musical groups established in 2000