· Hua Dong - vocals, guitar
· Liu Min - bass, vocals
· Ma Hui - drums
Raised in a family of Nanjing intellectuals, charismatic, sinister Rebuilding frontman Hua Dong was immediately attracted to music in a way that was both unfocused and insistent. He spent a few inconclusive years writing songs, studying in Germany and drumming for seminal Chinese rockers PK14. After meeting bassist Liu Min, who had been playing in bands in the Nanjing punk underground, the pair drifted to Beijing where they were introduced to drummer Ma Hui.
What had been unfocused came suddenly into sharp detail and Rebuilding was formed in March of 2003. The trio began electrifying audiences in Beijing, the beating heart of China’s rock underground, with their riveting, explosive performances.
The trio went into the studio in fall of 2005 to record their debut EP Cut Off! and attracted the attention of legendary composer/producer and all-round nice guy Brian Eno, who was using the studio to record some of his Afternoon Ambient Works. Eno sat down with the band and contributed guest keyboards on several tracks. As Hua Dong puts it, “he wanted something exiting, and there we were.”
In over 5000 years of unbroken civilization, China has produced no analogues, no precedents nor peers for Rebuilding the Rights of Statues, and so they have built a catalogue of influence combed from internet piracy, black market CDs, and mix tapes worn thin from being passed from friend to friend. One can detect a careful ear to an international underground that was both hopelessly enchanting and heartbreakingly unattainable. Hua Dong credits bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division, Television, Pere Ubu, Blond Redhead, Modest Mouse, and the Futureheads among his greatest influences, and acknowledges the incongruities of developing their music in a Chinese environment.