The sparkling flute sounds and the chattering sound of people leads us into today's China Beat on China Radio International.
Ma Tiao (L) and Lao Lang (R) were present on a concert, March 22, 2007. [File Photo: Tom.com]
Now, just imagine I'm not in the studio, but in a live music venue in downtown Beijing. And I'm among other excited audience-members, anticipating a folk performance in a couple of minutes. I guess you can probably hear the music from the loudspeakers whirling through the venue. Well, anyway, it's a live performance I recently attended, featuring the rising folk singer songwriter Ma Tiao.
Of course we can't expect the main character himself to unveil the curtain. But the one warming up the live stage was no small figure either. Recently signed to the same indie music label as Ma Tiao, Wan Xiaoli, a prominent folk rocker in the contemporary Chinese folk scene, first stepped onto the stage and brought the audience the song, Bird Language, from his latest, his second album, All Things Are Better Than You Imagine.
Well, as my little MD failed to record the live performance with satisfactory sound quality, let's just to listen to the song's recorded version. Here is Bird Language, by Wan Xiaoli.
(Bird Language)
Wan Xiaoli has been active in the Chinese folk rock scene for quite some time. And his first album gained him a strong reputation, not only for his witty and sharp lyrics, probing into various social phenomena, but also for his lively and free style of musicianship.
Well, as Wan Xiaoli and his band left the stage, a relatively large band got on the stage with a beautiful girl standing at the centre. The band was called Wood Nymph. The leading vocal Ayi Guli, a girl from Xinjiang Province, told us that she was going to sing some songs with no specific lyrics, or just contain some phrases of the dialect of her hometown. Can you understand what she's singing?
The band Wood Nymph has a big lineup, with Ayi Guli providing the leading vocal, Jiang Jie on guitar, Song Wenju on keyboards, Xing Sanling on bass, Zhou Wen on drums and Ye Bo as the percussionist. They are active in the Beijing live scene, and noted for the exotic flavours in their renditions of songs originating both in China and abroad. Now let's enjoy a taste of one of their original songs. It's called In One Day. How will you like it?
(In One Day) (Waiting - live recorded version by Ma Tiao & Lao Lang)
Well, it seems to me that the collaborators didn't sing perfectly in tune with each other in this live performance. But anyway, I could see these two figures on the stage were very good brothers. I'll first introduce them to you. The one playing guitar was Ma Tiao, and the other was Lao Lang, a very skilled and celebrated ballad singer who used to sing songs - especially songs about romances on campuses. Actually it's due to Lao Lang's introduction that Ma Tiao became acquaintanted with Lu Zhongqiang, the manager of the indie music company, The 13th Month, which subsequently offered Ma Tiao a contract. In this live performance. Lao Lang, appearing as a special guest, contributed the song, Waiting, to the audience. It's a piece written by Ma Tiao, and included in Lao Lang's latest album The Winter of Beijing.
And here's the title track of the album, The Winter of Beijing.
(The Winter of Beijing)
Lao Lang's appearance in this live show itself aroused a storm. But it was Liang Long's solo performance that gained the most laughter of the night.
Liang Long is the lead vocalist and the soul of the band Second-hand Rose. The band is known for combining western rock music together with the Chinese traditional art form Errenzhuan, a kind of duet performance of Song-and-Dance especially popular in Northeast China. The leading man, Liang Long is famous for dressing up like a woman, with thick cosmetics on his face. But tonight, he sings alone with an acoustic guitar in a rather personal style. The lyrics are still sarcastic, but somehow his singing sounds a bit more sincere this time. Let's hear a song off the band's eponymous album, Second-hand rose. That piece is called Tricks.
(Tricks)
That's the song, Tricks, by the band Second-hand Rose. Well, after listening to so much music from various performance of the night, now it's time to invite the featured folk singer Ma Tiao onto the stage.
(Ma Tiao's words at the live performance)
With no flowery words, Ma Tiao backed by his band, starts to sing for the audience, who have attended the live house especially to appreciate his music. After years of singing in various clubs in Beijing, the indie crowd have already won him a loyal following. Now we're hearing his song,
Sadly we won't be able to hear any more songs from Ma Tiao in today's China Beat, due to the limited time. But I assure you that the music will go on, and that Ma Tiao will tell you more about his life experiences and his music in tomorrow's China Beat. I'm Xu Jue, expecting to see you tomorrow.
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