Dubbed as the “Queen of Beijing Rock” or “Blondie of China” Helen, born in Beijng and raised in the US and Canada, has been a staple in the Chinese music scene since she moved back from Los Angeles to Beijing in 2002 when she was hired as VJ for MTV China. In 2004 she founded Ziyo自游 one of Chinas longest running and most popular indie bands (and renamed it Free the Birds in 2010 after changing musical directions) and subsequently became
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Dubbed as the “Queen of Beijing Rock” or “Blondie of China” Helen, born in Beijng and raised in the US and Canada, has been a staple in the Chinese music scene since she moved back from Los Angeles to Beijing in 2002 when she was hired as VJ for MTV China. In 2004 she founded Ziyo自游 one of Chinas longest running and most popular indie bands (and renamed it Free the Birds in 2010 after changing musical directions) and subsequently became radioshow host of The Rockshow a very influential program at Beijings HIT FM on China Radio International. In 2007 she co-founded the seminal Chinese electronic group Pet Conspiracy. Within the next three years she sang the theme song for Hollywood blockbuster The Mummy III, won several of the most prestigious Chinese Music Awards (Midi & Chinese Music Awards), hosted the Vice Creators Project, co-found FakeMusicMedia (with her partner Philipp Grefer) and toured Europe three times – a fact that until this day very few, if any, chinese bands have achieved. Upon culmination of her final whirlwind European tour as front-woman of Pet Conspiracy 宠物同谋 in fall 2010, Helen quit the band and took a few days off in Istanbul to prepare the next steps for Free the Birds自游. But the powers of the city had different plans and threw her and her partner DJ Metro Tokyo into raucous Raki-fueled nights through dizzying mazes of narrow alleys into the ancient discotheques of Constantinople. One fateful night, a chance encounter with Roman electronic-cowboy Rodion (Gomma Records) gave birth to NOVA HEART. After returning to Beijing, Helen sent her self-produced tracks 3000 miles down the silk road to Rome where Rodion would tap them with his magic disco wand. The outcome is a mix of sexy psychedelic disco with lo-fi ethereal pop vocals. A sinister disco beat buried under haunting soundscapes evoke images of naked ghosts dancing under a slightly run down mirrorball in an old, soon to be demolished Beijing hutong.. Members: Helen Feng (vocals, keys, hitting some poor toms) Bo Xuan (bass, bass, bass) Wang Hui (guitar) Shi Lu aka Atom (when she hits, you´d like to be the drums) Metro Tokyo / Rodion (on occasions)
