Returning Money is about a man who's crazy to get back money he lent. Study pokes fun at Yunnan natives who speak Putonghua with an accent. Thirty Years is about the difficulty people from the provinces have finding jobs in big cities. Shanren uses many Chinese instruments, most of which are from Yunnan's non-Han ethnic groups. They include xianzi, a plucked instrument of the Yi ethnic group; bawu, a Hani wind instrument; and the Jino's sun drum.
Shanren used the standard Western rock format of guitar, bass and drums when it was founded in 1999. But they found the instruments' limitations made it difficult to forge their own style.
"We couldn't make breakthroughs with Western instruments but discovered endless new possibilities with Chinese instruments, especially those belonging to ethnic groups," Qu says.
"We also learned different harmonies when we visited Yunnan's folk musicians."
They often dance onstage, because they believe dance is inalienable from music.
"Only when you dance can you really feel the music," Qu says.
Qu and drummer Xiao Ou are ethnically Han, while Ai is Va and Xiao Budian (a stage name that translates as "The Little One") is Bouyei.
No comments:
Post a Comment