Mu Ma (center) performs with Third Party at Poly Theater's Denoise concert on Tuesday. Photo: Li Hao/GT

When referring to rock music, what comes to many people's mind is often heavy and loud sounds created by electronic instruments and synthesizers. But something unusual is taking place this week and it's happening at a place you might least expect.

Tuesday night in Beijing's Poly Theater was one of the few chances fans can enjoy a Chinese rock'n'roll concert in a high-end theater. As the lights projected beyond the stage into the audience and the rhythm began to take control, the crowd could not hold in their cheers.

The performance was one of six "unplugged" concerts scheduled at the venue this week. Started on June 25 and running until July 1, the concerts, under the theme "Denoise" (Jiang Zao), feature six local musicians or bands including Mu Ma, Brain Failure, Shuangzi & Friends, Miserable Faith, and Ziyue Qiuye.

Unplugged rock

To those who are not rock fans, unplugged may be a new term. It refers to music that no longer depends on electronic amplification and features acoustic guitar or traditional piano.

In an interview with Beijing Daily, mainland musician Luan Shuwei, who used to be a record producer and sound engineer for singer Han Hong and Xu Wei, said that "not every band dares to unplug." It's because unplugged rock requires higher skills when sounds are no longer modified by a synthesizer and masked by heavy tones. Many details in the sound, therefore, are exposed to the listeners.

Yet, unplugged does not mean getting rid of all electronic devices. Microphones and lighting effects are still used.

Unplugged is not a new thing in the West, though. It was popularized by the US MTV series starting in 1989 - MTV Unplugged. The style was inspired much earlier in late 1960s by informal gigs like Elvis Presley's TV special in 1968 and The Beatles' studio jams for their movie Let It Be (1970).

In China, bands like Beyond and musicians like Cui Jian also tried it.

Coming to the theater

While most rock concerts in China are held in stadiums, bars, or in the open air, "Denoise" chose Poly Theater as its performing stage.

According to Yin Liang, director of music center at letv.com and person in charge of "Denoise," allowing rock 'n' roll to enter a respected theater like Poly means a welcome from the mainstream and is "a milestone in Chinese rock music."

Also, doing unplugged rock in a theater reflects a need for diversified content at the venue, according to Yin.

"[The performances] cannot always be constrained in live houses and music festivals… Chinese rock music cannot stay where it was 20 years ago," Yin told the Global Times, adding that to preset a new way of performance and make rock music accepted in the mainstream and high-end places is what they are aiming for.

Rock'n'roll musician Huang Liaoyuan shares the same feeling.

"In the traditional idea, rock music seems not to belong in theaters. [But] when you play rock 'n' roll in a different way, and listen to it from a new angle, you may find something new in your familiar rock music," Huang told the Beijing Daily. He further explained that in the West many classic rock performances are done in music halls or theaters to give audiences a different feeling.

'Life is Live'

The one-week concert series is one program of Life is Live launched by letv.com last August. Yin introduced that this program is carried out in a season format where each season has one theme and contains four or more concerts.

"Denoise" is the third season. Previously, they worked with musicians like Xiao Ke (composer of the 2008 Beijing Olympic theme song), Zheng Zhihua (an influential pop singer in the 1990s), and rising star Chen Chusheng.

When deciding the rock bands for this season, Yin explained that the six bands chosen represent today's rock'n'roll circle in China.

Yin said another reason Life is Live is different from other music concerts is that all the performances are broadcast live on letv.com, and can be watched later as well.

Though to attend a concert gives the best experience, with the help of lights and atmosphere, Yin still thinks there's a need for the online version.

"It is like watching a football game. The feeling is different when you watch a live broadcast compared with being at the scene. But a greater number of people are not able to be at the scene, and that's who our live broadcast is for," he said.

In an interview with the Beijing News, rock musician Mu Ma noted that though the environment for music performances becomes larger and larger, few people have enjoyed rock music via broadcasting. "There are rock elements in some TV programs, but such music seems only to serve as a wrapper or embellishment," said the musician who gave the first concert together with rock band Third Party on Tuesday.

As it was their first time doing unplugged music, Mu Ma told the Global Times that his team spent half a month experimenting with different ways of playing for this concert and the result turned out to be quite satisfying. "For a moment, I had the feeling that the roof of the Poly theater was about to be lifted," he said.