Tuning into the comeback beat

Rock band Dada made a comeback on Wednesday with a new album, Hello!, nearly 20 years after its last album, to the delight of longtime fans.

The album was released by Modern Sky, one of the largest record companies in China.

The band also announced a nationwide tour, which will include Nanjing in Jiangsu province on Dec 18, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province on Dec 20 and Changsha in Hunan province on Dec 23.

"We've been waiting for a long time to finally release this album. I will read the comments. Hopefully, fans will say 'it was worthwhile to wait for'," said bassist Wei Fei in an interview on Dec 2.

Lead singer Peng Tan says: "I will sneak a peek at the comments and I am open to all kinds of feedback."

Guitarist Wu Tao and drummer Zhang Ming are dismissive regarding listeners' feedback.

"If you had some negative comments about the new album, please leave your messages to Wu Tao and Zhang Ming, because they won't read them," Peng says with a big laugh.

Through social media platforms, fans left messages about their anticipation for the new album and their feedback.

"The distinctive sounds of Peng Tan's voice have not faded over the years," says one fan.

"In a lot of ways, this album feels like a return to the exact Dada that I listened to when I was a student in middle school," writes another fan.

The album features 11 new songs, originally written and performed by the band. The songs talk about their past, present and future.

The album's title is named after one of the new songs, which delivers a message of the band greeting their fans, old and new, and welcoming their future.

"For the old fans, they will feel like tasting a meal that they are very familiar with — similar ingredients and similar recipe. For the new fans, they will get to know us like a new band," says Peng.

"The new album took us three years to finish. There are lots of emotions. It's great timing to release it as the new year is coming soon."

Even before writing the new songs, Wu had a concept for the album: past, present and future. It all started with the song See You Again, which was released in 2020 as a single.

The song continues in the band's music style, which is a mixture of catchy pop tunes and rock beats. Peng, the lead vocalist, still sings with a clean and soothing voice.

"When we did rehearsals together, I played a sequence of chords on my guitar, which sounded like the ticking sound of a clock. It inspired us to make an album about time," says Wu.

See You Again was considered as a reunion with their fans and an attempt to recapture things that had gone — the prime of youth, precious moments, dreams chased and sometimes obtained, and Dada's four members back onstage again.

Rise to stardom

Dada was formed in 1996 by Peng and Wei in their hometown, Wuhan, Hubei province. Later, Zhang and Wu joined.

In 2000, their first demo won them a record contract with Warner Music Group, making them the first ever Chinese mainland rock band to sign with the company.

The same year, they released their debut album, Angel, which was an instant success, commercially and critically.

Dada became one of the most recognizable and best-selling bands in China.

In 2005, Dada was at the peak of its popularity. With a large following, a number of music awards and sold-out live shows, they suddenly went silent. There was no announcement of a breakup, no visible signs of internal squabbling, just a sudden vanishing.

The band said in an interview that the rapid rise to stardom exhausted them.

In 2003, Dada released their second album, The Dada Golden Age, which was less successful than the record company expected.

"We didn't have full closure back then. So the song See You Again is for our fans, to whom we didn't say goodbye in 2005," says Peng.

During the years after the breakup, each of the four pursued their own careers.

In June 2019, they had the chance to perform together as a band again at an outdoor music festival in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The chemistry worked its magic once again, and they sang their old hits, such as South, which saw thousands of fans singing along.

"We felt it was the right thing to do — to be Dada again," says Peng.

The same year, Dada announced their reunion and signed to Modern Sky.

New show, new fans

In the summer of 2020, when they appeared on the second season of the popular reality show The Big Band, produced by video-streaming platform iQiyi, Dada enjoyed a warm welcome from their nostalgic fans and attracted new audiences.

During the reality show, the band performed their old hits and new songs, such as See You Again, To Someone and The Firmament, which have been included in the new album.

"We were not sure about going to the reality show in the beginning because we never did any reality show before. It exceeded our expectations. We made new friends, gained new fans and had some great shows recorded," says Peng.

On Nov 3 last year, they performed in Kunming, Yunnan province, which was their first stop of a nationwide tour. It was also the first time that Dada toured nationally, which saw them play in six cities.

"After the show, we went backstage and prepared to leave. The staff member told us that all the audience had remained in the venue, wishing us to go back to the stage. They were waiting there for over 10 minutes and no one left," recalls bassist Wei. "We didn't expect that at all and soon we went back there and performed another song."

Wei also mentions that he recognized an old fan of the band, who traveled to six cities to watch their shows during the tour.

"The fan stood in the center of the front row for each show. It was very touching," Wei says.