Beijing love song

You have to listen very closely to hear the foreign accents of those singing "Beijing Love Song." In the video, the Berliners Arseny Kaifel and Jacques Wecke, along with three others, praise the food and customs of their second home, the Chinese capital. They rap about dried meat, the bars and clubs, and about flirting with Chinese girls.

The song was an instant hit. Jacques Wecke, who is 23, says when he and his friends first noticed that the video had become so popular they set a goal to get matching tattoos after a million visits.

"So far we've only had around 450,000 hits," he says. “So we will have to wait a bit for our tattoos."

The band calls itself Feichang Fresh (Very Fresh) and already has half a dozen songs on Youku, the Chinese equivalent to YouTube. Kaifel and Wecke have been studying Chinese for a year. They say that although it is difficult to learn, it is perfect for rapping. "You can rhyme many words with each other," explains Kaifel. "Because they are so short. And there so many ways of saying the same thing, which is sometimes really hard when you’re learning the language, but it has its advantages when it comes to writing songs."

Can't please everyone

In the wake of their success on the net, Feichang Fresh have been asked to make TV appearances and already been offered recording deals. However, not all the offers were in line with the band members' understanding of rap. Kaifel explains that they were once asked to explain pro-China songs to appeal to larger audiences and "show how highly foreigners think of China."

Not everybody is impressed with the band though. Their video, where images of beer bottles and cigarettes are seen alongside the Chinese flag, is considered by some to be unpatriotic and offensive.

The members of Feichang Fresh, who can't really imagine pursuing a musical career in China, are also critical. They say Chinese show-business is monitored too much. Wecke says he is looking forward to taking a break from music and going home to Germany.

"I'm going to do my bachelor's degree at Potsdam University before coming back to China. You never know, I might run into Arseny and there’ll be a revival. But we don’t have any real plans for a long-term career in music."

Kaifel, on the other hand, is not so sure. He finds the music business in China quite appealing, even though the band has not really been able to earn any serious money. But what's definitely serious, is the five young Germans' love of Beijing.

Author: Ruth Kirchner (sb)

Editor: Anne Thomas