Rhythm of Chinese metropolitan folk moves city
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-31 09:45

Undeterred by the cloud-swept Easter skies, thousands gathered in the square outside the Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai's Pudong area.

Zhang Chu, the most anticipated singer at the festival [ynet]

Some had come from nearby cities like Nanjing and Hangzhou, and some from as far afield as Beijing.

The Chinese Metropolitan Folk Music Festival, the first of its kind, brought together some of the nation's best-known singers and bands, including Zhang Chu, Wang Lei, IZ, Xiao He, Wan Xiaoli, Yang Yi, Hu Mage, Wang Juan and Zuo Mingliang.

The group of musicians, mostly in their 20s or 30s, have been trying to create a contemporary folk music that reflects the life of today's urban youth.

This is the idea behind "Chinese metropolitan folk music," a term suggested by the festival's curator Sun Mengjin, a Shanghai-based concert organizer and critic.

"To differentiate it from the traditional folk music that exists mostly in the countryside, we call this kind of music 'Chinese metropolitan folk'," said Sun. "A minstrel-like way of composing, simple and natural music language and humanistic themes are some of the characteristics of metropolitan folk music."

A mix of styles from IZ's interpretation of traditional Kazak music to Zhang Chu's folk rock, and the reggae/dub music of Wang Lei and his Pump band, to name a few, meant that the festival was not in the puristic sense a traditional folk music fest, more a gathering of some of China's rich ethnicity.

Folk singer Wang Juan [ynet]

As Pump's bass player Ma Ti put it: "Labels don't matter. There are so many names, but there is only one music."

Ma, who was born in Belgium and studied with Jamaican reggae masters, injected the pulse of this lively music into Wang's original folk-rock style. The results are some irresistibly rhythmic songs.

As Wang and his band's music filled the air, thousands swayed and sang along.

"If reggae is different from the traditional folk music, it is also from the people," said Ma. "And we are creating reggae music with Chinese characteristics."

The folk festival, which started at 3 pm, lasted until about 10. Even when the rain arrived it failed to dampen the mood and most people stayed around for the entire seven-hour show.

When Yang Yi came on stage the mood softened and many people sat and imbibed his ballads.

The curator of the festival Sun Mengjin [ynet]

Providing his own guitar and harmonica accompaniment, Yang held his audience with his songs about the lives of the laobaixing - the common people - like the folks in his hometown, a man on the streets of Beijing selling sweet potatoes and the hardy farmers of Shaanxi Province.

He spoke few words, except his passing remark: "Hope to see you outside the National Art Museum of China in Beijing!" That's where he usually busks.

The IZ band got the crowd back on its feet and rocking again. Formed by Kazak singer Mamer from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest and some Han musicians, IZ was unique among the performing bands at the festival, with all their songs sung in the Kazak language.

But language proved no barrier. As the sound of the traditional Kazak plucked instrument the dombra, guitar, hand drum and Mamer's deep voice echoed across the square, the audience was at first curious and still, then moved and lastly, utterly captivated by their music.

Their last piece, a mainly improvised instrumental work, became the climax of the festival, and drew the audience clapping and dancing as the tempo got faster and faster.

The most anticipated singer of the day was Zhang, who became well-known through a very popular album "Shameful Being Left Alone" in the mid-90s, but for the last six years vanished from the limelight.

Drummer of IZ, Guo Long [ynet]

Though Zhang said his new album would be devoted to electronic music, he was still happy singing his old songs, mostly composed in the 1980s and 1990s. They proved to be the most familiar to the audience, and the crowd joined in with every song.

Most of the musicians who performed at the festival are based in Beijing, except Zuo Mingliang from Shanghai and Wang Lei from Guangzhou. Among the musicians or bands from Beijing, most of them were regular performers at the now defunct River Bar - a place of special importance in the development of contemporary urban Chinese folk music.

It was at the River Bar that some of their musical styles matured. It was also there that some live folk CDs were recorded.

"I used to perform at the River Bar every week, and it was during the improvisation in those performances that many of my songs began to take shape," said Xiao He, who recorded a live CD of his performance there in 2002. "It was such a good place."

The River Bar was the venue for some great music talent, including the first performance of the IZ band. The closing of the bar in 2003 was a blow to the contemporary urban Chinese folk scene, which is far smaller than pop and smaller still than rock.

Obstacles

The lack of an encouraging system seems to be hindering the development of contemporary Chinese folk music in urban setting. Only about half of the musicians at the Chinese Metropolitan Folk Music Festival have released formal albums. Other musicians have gone no further than the recording of demos of their works.

Wan Xiaoli released a CD entitled "Walking Here, Walking There" under the "badhead" label in 2002, but the royalties he made were minimal. To scrape a living he performs in the bars of Beijing. Occasionally he gets invitations from other cities, but his income is erratic.

For the most part Shanghai's folk singers are part-time musicians, as it seems even harder to make a living singing folk songs on the east coast. Zuo Mingliang, a technician at a local motor company, said he had tried making a living as a folk musician, but found it impossible.

The Chinese Metropolitan Folk Music Festival provided a rare opportunity for these musicians to perform in such an open and big setting. It was certainly encouraging, though perhaps more so spiritually, than materially.

"You can't change the general environment through one or two performances, but we desperately need such opportunities," said Guo Long, IZ's drummer. "Performing to thousands of people in a square is totally different from playing in a bar."

Guo believes the folk music market will get bigger and bigger, as it has more appeal than rock for many.

Distinctly Chinese

However, if countryside-styled folk songs from the 1950s and 1960s - like "Nanniwan" - were more popular among Chinese people, it is because of their distinct "Chineseness." Today's Chinese folk music is much influenced by its Western counterpart, which is probably the reason why it attracts a smaller following.

To address this a growing number of folk musicians are trying to relate to the Chinese folk music tradition. Some songs performed at the festival, like Yang's "Embroidering the Pouch" and Xiao He's "Hualing Mountain" were adaptations of traditional folk songs.

As curator of the event, Sun also recognizes this fact and for the next festival he plans to invite some traditional folk singers. This, he believes, will give a more comprehensive impression of folk music.

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