Life and Leisure

These guys know why folk rocks

By Chen Nan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-21 08:06

East meets West, folk meets rock, and presto! A new genre is born.

And this fusion of Western rock rhythms with traditional Chinese tunes has been taking the live music scene by sonic storm.

Su Yang is one of the genre's most active tinkerers.

The title song of his first album in 2006, Xian Liang, or Virtuous, whisks listeners to the countryside along the Yellow River in northwestern China, where men work on the farm and women do housework.

The lyrics go: "Guava flowers in spring and then the leaves turn yellow. She is a good woman named Xian Liang. You are a legendary woman in the world, and I want to give a bunch of flowers, which smell very sweet."

Life is hard on this barren land, and people work hard. But they still cherish hopes of a brighter future, Su explains.

The song is sung in the dialect of Su's hometown, Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui autonomous region, but has struck a chord with people from around the country. It won millions of fans online and became one of the most popular songs at music festivals and live houses.

"I was surprised to know this kind of rock music existed," 20-year-old China Agricultural University student He Fan says.

He heard the song for the first time in 2008 at Yugong Yishan, one of Beijing's most popular live music venues, which hosts nightly indie performances.

And he plans to attend Su's concert on Dec 24, where the singer will release his second album, Like a Grass.

Su says his new album also grows from his northwestern musical roots. Its anthems blend rock with traditional sounds from his hometown and lyrics that bring local life alive.

Such songs as Fresh Flowers in Full Bloom are adaptations of Ningxia's folk songs and include some spoken-word parts in the middle.

Su's living environment has shaped his music's unique contours. He grew up listening to local songs, and they run in his blood, he says.

He struck out for Beijing and formed his band in 1995, regularly traveling between his hometown and the national capital. Su stumbled across a CD of African tribal music in 2002 and noticed it shared similarities with the music of his hometown. This inspired him to focus on the local music he knew.

"I wondered why African-American music had over time developed into various styles, like blues, jazz, and R&B, while traditional Chinese music had long languished on the verge of oblivion," he says.

He believes every culture's folk songs are more powerful than its pop.

"They evolved from communities over time rather than from individuals. As such, they are more works of instinct than of technology," he says.

Su's good friend Ma Tiao, whose music takes roots in his hometown in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, recently released his new album, You Found the Wrong Place.

The 40-year-old's concert at Starlive attracted more than 500 people on Dec 17.

Ma was born in Xinjiang's Karamay city and grew up surrounded by vast desert and various musical instruments.

He came to Beijing and became a bar singer in 1994.

Ma wrote songs for other folk singers until he released his first album, which bears the essence of Xinjiang music, in 2009.

His new album is simple and primitive. Live performances of its tunes are given in front of a backdrop that flashes with nature scenes, cityscapes and images of Ma's old friends.

Feng Fang from Starlive says Su and Ma are regular performers at the venue, and their shows often attract a large crowd of fans.

"Sometimes you can't even get a ticket because they are too popular," Feng says.

The venue will also host Second Hand Roses' 10-year anniversary show on Jan 2, 2011.

Second Hand Roses fuses rock with errenzhuan, a comical form of theatrical song and dance popular in Northeast China, where lead singer Liang Long comes from.

The singer is distinguished by his folksy attire and makeup, and by his humorous lyrics.

"Folk-rock music is booming in China," indie label Thirteen Month's founder Lu Zhongqiang says.

Thirteen Month produced Su's and Ma's first albums and toured the country.

Lu points out singers who present folk music with rock elements have stable followings. While not yet mainstream, they are propelling Beijing's live music scene, especially when the record market is down.

China Daily