Seriously, only five years? It seems like an age since we first heard of Maybe Mars and, to be honest, we’re a little surprised (and reasonably impressed) by how the young upstart has grown into the heavyweight label that it is today. In just half a decade, since the influential duo of PK14’s Yang Haisong and Michael Pettis of recently closed iconic venue, D-22, came together, Maybe Mars has helped usher in a new era in Chinese rock with its distinctively gritty, punky, noisy and hip aesthetic, catapulting long-cocooned Chinese indie bands beyond the Middle Kingdom and onto the international scene.

A huge slab of that success has no doubt been down to the status of its founders – but perhaps even more influential have been the outfits that they’ve astutely brought to the spotlight. Take, for example, Carsick Cars, the Beijing three-man long-heralded as China’s long-belated answer to Sonic Youth, who released one of the three albums which formed the first seminal triumvirate of Maybe Mars offerings back in 2007, or the likes of Shanghai experimental rockers Duck Fight Goose, garage-types The Gar and Guai Li, just some of the 30-plus stable of Maybe Mars signatories. They’re a venerable who’s who of Mainland indie – many of them marking the five-year milestone with a pan-China MM love-in.

Carsick Cars and AV Okubo head up the two-day Hong Kong stop, along with Mr. Graceless, Rustic, our own 31G and downer. Yeah, it’s just a small sample of the MM machine but enough to give you a taste of what all the fuss is about. The question is: could the next five years be anywhere near as fruitful?

Mark Tjhung

Go see them at Hidden Agenda Jul 14-15; Tickets: 9170 6073, www.hiddenagendahk.com