They’re the Lennons and Dylans of China, stripping away layers of slick grime and heavy polyphonic synths to play simple yet powerful acoustic sets to anyone who’s willing to lend an ear. These unpolished raw talents have been riding a new musical cultural revolution, roaming the crammed art-house bars under the radar, slipping past the watchful eye of the Chinese government.

Although behind the strings they are true pacifists, they are also informal dragons chronicling China’s unstable society, striving for positive change. Blind musician Zhou Yunpeng (周云蓬) sings like a seasoned minstrel and speaks like a grassroots radical. If it weren’t for the warm acoustics cradling the 42-year-old’s voice, the harsh familiarity of the lyrics from his seminal song Chinese Children – ‘don’t be a child of Chinese, when they starve they will eat you’ – would render you cold. The Karamay Fire of 1994 is also mentioned, as well as the infamous internet catchphrase ‘讓領導先走’ (let the leaders walk out first).

Yunpeng graces the 40th Hong Kong Arts festival this spring in China Rock Folk, a showcase featuring Mainland folk from across the country. Prominent (and oddly idiosyncratic) musician Wan Xiaoli, with his harmonious and deliberately ironic songs, represents the Beijing sound, Zhang Quan (張佺) brings northwestern flatland influences to the concert, with high-pitched, melodic warbling coupled with instruments such as the Kazakh dombra and the harmonica, and former members of the band Wild Children, which disbanded in spirit after the untimely death of their original singer and guitarist Xiao Suo (小索) in 2003, come together to relive their Lanzhou-inspired songs. Think of the showcase as an intimate Woodstock-esque gathering with friends.

Ysabelle Cheung

China Folk Rock takes place at the APA on February 11 & 12. Tickets: www.hkticketing.com.