Rocker Cui Jian says his music hasn't changed but China has

Growing personal wealth among Chinese has created the chance to travel and take control over their private lives, Cui said, a far cry from the tightly controlled society of the 1980s.

[...] other things haven't changed, says Cui, wearing a stylish business suit and his trademark white baseball cap adorned with a red star.

Cui's first album in 11 years is called "Frozen Light" and he says he hopes his music will inspire Chinese to think about how some things remain static, then "think about whether you take it or you just try to warm it and change it or break it."

The 54-year-old began his musical career with a six-year stint playing trumpet in the Beijing Philharmonic, writing songs and forming a band on the side.

Despite that, Cui says there's greater freedom of expression today and was surprised he'd faced no demands to change the lyrics on "Frozen Light" when he submitted them to authorities, as all artists in China must do.

In at least two or three songs, I think I create the groove, which is reggae but it's not like 'on the beach' kind of reggae, not like dance floor music, it's really a heartbeat, with hurt feeling and suffering feeling.

Appraising China's modern rock scene, Cui says that, unlike well-supported but superficial pop acts, China's most talented rockers exist underground without record contracts or management teams.