Queen Sea Big Shark's singer ventures into photography but says playing music 'is still fun'

The hottest place to explore the contemporary art scene in Beijing is 798 Art Zone and today it is packed with weekend tourists. In one corner, dressed in retro high-rise black pants, white blouse and black winkle pickers, Fu Han sips iced coffee.

Fu, lead vocalist of the indie rock band Queen Sea Big Shark, is sharing laughs with the three other band members, guitarist Cao Pu, bassist Wang Jinghan and drummer Xiao Wu-when her cellphone isn't buzzing.

"If I knew we could do it (asa band) for 12 years, I wouldn't have done it in the beginning," Fu says, giggling. "Fortunately, playing music is still fun."

Queen Sea Big Shark, founded in 2005, is one of the capital's most popular rock bands. With its wild spirit and trendy music that blends rock, electronic and the retro sounds of the 1970s and 1980s, the band has been a fixture at Beijing's live music venues and at outdoor music festivals around the country for over a decade.

In March last year, the band released its third full-length album, Beijing Surfers' Adventure, on Modern Sky, one of the country's largest indie record labels. Last year, the rockers also kicked off a 12-city national tour.

On April 15, they released a documentary, Queen Sea Big Shark: Beijing Surfers' Adventure, at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in 798 Art Zone. The band also gave an unplugged performance after the screening.

The documentary follows the production of the album and latest tour, with stops in cities the band visited for the first time, including Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet autonomous region.

"A young man drove 500 kilometers to see us in Urumqi, along with his mother and sister," recalls guitarist Cao. "I had to take oxygen during the performance in Lhasa for altitude sickness."

The new album, which combines jazz, hip hop and indie music elements, took the band six years to finish.

After that, the band members spent three months traveling independently, without any contact.

"I went to a music festival in Texas (United States), the others went to Indonesia, the Philippines and the Grand Canyon," says Fu. "We did it intentionally, because we wanted to have some time 'alone'."

"We have known each other for many years. We are so close, like family. We agreed that it's good to separate for awhile," adds Fu.

Their trips and days of separation inspired them to write songs, including Bling Bling Bling, Beijing Surfers and Drifting on the Earth for the new album.

Timed with the screening, Fu launched her photography exhibition Playing on the Earth. Eighty photos taken by Fu were selected from over 3,000 taken between 2008 and 2016.

The exhibition at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art continues through May 30.

"Is tarted my passion for photography from taking pictures of myself. Then I realized that photography is not just about documenting everyday life, but also about self-expression," Fu says.

In her photos, Fu started focusing on her friends, including the band members, audiences and the places to which she traveled.

Among the images displayed is a girl in a tight blue skirt and rooster-shaped headgear looking into the mirror. The photo, titled Mysteries, was taken in 2013 by Fu when she was in New York, taking in a Halloween party.

Another photo, of a skinny girl sitting on a motorbike, captures a high school classmate of Fu's.

"She is the coolest person I have ever seen. She rode that motorbike from Beijing to Lhasa to be a volunteer teacher. She also traveled to Inner Mongolia to live on the grassland alone for a year," says Fu. "She has no desire for material things. She enjoys the freedom and lives her life at her own pace.

"It seems to be a luxury to be oneself and stay true to oneself," Fu adds. "She is my idol."

The interview is constantly interrupted by fans, who want pictures, autographs and chats.

"My 2-year-old daughter enjoys your songs very much. I took her to your show in Beijing's Star Live last December. She likes listening to the song Beijing Surfers before she goes to bed every night," says a woman, who claims to have been a band fan since she was a university student. She watched Queen Sea Big Shark's performance for the first time at the Strawberry Music Festival.

"It feels good to see these people, who have been with us for years," says Fu, giving the woman a big hug.

The 30-something Fu, a Beijing native, was born to a pianist mother and a doctor father. She attempted to learn piano but failed.

"I was not a quiet girl. Iwas very naughty and couldn't sit down for hours to practice playing the piano. Thankfully, my parents are open minded and they are very supportive of my choice," says Fu.

Fu, who has a bachelor's degree in architecture from Beijing University of Technology and a master's in graphic design from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, was influenced by the indie rock bands in the capital then, including Joyside and PK14. She founded Queen Sea Big Shark with guitarist Cao, her classmate at Beijing University of Technology.

Then Cao introduced the two other members of the band.

All the band members are Beijing natives and often hang out around Beijing's Houhai Lake, once a peaceful, scenic spot that's become a tourist site.

"We just wanted to have fun with music and didn't plan anything," says Fu.

In 2007, the band released its self-titled album, which featured Chinese and English lyrics, on the Modern Sky label.

Besides the dance rock tunes, the band members also won fans' attention for their stage presence, especially Fu, who reflects her fashion sense in her stage outfits.

"I design my stage clothes myself. I collect cloth pieces, fabrics and accessories," says Fu, who also designs posters and album covers for the band.

In 2009, Queen Sea Big Shark embarked on a tour of the United States, opening for famous acts such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

In 2010, the band released its second album, Wave, which has strong electronic beats. A year later, they performed at Summer Sonic in Osaka, Japan.

"In the past, we just had dozens in audiences to our shows, but now we perform in front of hundreds of thousands of people. The change of the country's indie music landscape is also obvious. People are open to different types of music," Fu says.

Last year, the band initiated a show called Young Friends' Concert, inviting their musician friends, including bands like Carsick Cars and Youth.

"We want to make this concert a series that aims at introducing original Chinese indie rock bands," says Fu. "We want to do something for people like us."

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(China Daily European Weekly 04/28/2017 page18)