Mountains of Minority Music
Text by Laurent Hou
Shanren features four members, who all have a special history with Chinese ethnic minorities. Lead singer and guitarist Qu Zihan hails from Yunnan Province, home of many different Chinese ethnic minorities. He founded the band in 2000 with Ou Jianyun, who plays drums, who also comes from Yunnan along with bassist Sigao Ala. Xiao Budian, who plays various flutes as well as the bawu, jaw harp and kalilmba, is from neighboring Guizhou Province. Both Sigao Ala and Xiao Budian belong to ethnic minorities: Sigao Ala is Yi and Xiao Budian from the Buyi ethnic group. Sigao Ala can even make music with tree leaves.
The band has a strong passion for the musical traditions of the ethnic minorities of mountainous villages in southwestern China. The members enjoy visiting such places to study the local culture, write music, and most importantly, have a good time jamming with the locals. They draw great inspiration from such trips as they examine the subtle cultural and artistic differences from one village to the next. Such cultural heritage is in need of being recorded – many songs have never even been written down. They are only transmitted orally from generation to generation. With the modernization of China, young people often leave villages seeking employment in bigger cities and the population of folk musicians has dropped precipitously, except in places that became tourist attractions. Accordingly, some cultural treasures have become endangered. The members of Shanren hope that their victory on Sing My Song will help raise awareness about the preservation of China’s ethnic minorities’ rich and diverse culture.
Shanren meets Andean tribal musicians in Ecuador, 2014.
Shanren performs “Up and Down the Mountain” for the finale of Sing my Song with guest performer Summer Jikejunyi.
The band plays live in the studio for Radio Voice of China FM.
The band poses for a group picture.
The band during a photo shoot.
Shanren’s care for the culture of ethnic minorities even extends beyond China’s borders. Their desire to study new instruments and exchange with other people pushed them to travel and meet other ethnic minorities outside China. Shanren has been very successful abroad for years, largely thanks to their manager and guest percussionist Sam Debell, from the UK, who organized many shows abroad. This success allowed Shanren to meet with Native Americans of the United States, tribes of the Amazon forest, Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Maori. The band has fond memories of these different trips, but also painful ones, as Zihan recalls: “We had to walk a small path to visit a tribe in the Amazon. It rained the day before. People from the tribe told us it would take two hours, and because we ended up falling in the mud every two steps, it took us eight hours. We come from rural and mountainous areas of China, but this experience was on a whole new level. The living conditions are extremely basic. It was quite primitive even by our standards. It was really tough to adapt. But it was really wonderful to discover such people and their culture.” Sam also remembers: “We were having the same food every day and it was very plain. Luckily we brought some nice Yunnan chilies so we could improve things a bit. Of course we shared with the locals… and they liked it a bit too much: they finished all the chilies and we were left with dry taros for the rest of our stay.” The band is deeply inspired by instruments from different traditions such as South American flutes or the didgeridoo. When I met them, they brought a mbira, a traditional African instrument, to perform live on the radio.
Along with the traditions of ethnic minorities, the band is also deeply influenced by more contemporary musical styles such as ska, reggae, rock and even rap. On its official Facebook page, the band defines its style as “Chinese Ethnic Reggae Rock Fusion”. Although Qu Zihan loves traditional instruments, he admits that he most often plays the electric guitar. Various musical styles have influenced him: He started with classical music as a child, then The Beatles, and he even embraced heavy metal for a time. Xiao Budian can play an impressive variety of folk instruments, but he is also famous for his signature outbursts of lightning fast rap that often bring audiences to their feet. His contribution to the song “Up and Down the Mountain” made it a nationwide hit and secured them the trophy in the final round of Sing My Song.
After this success, Shanren is getting back to work, starting with a new album. They are also using their high profiles to support causes they cherish. On April 30, they played a show in Mojiang, Yunnan Province, and donated 100,000 yuan in proceeds to a charity organization helping children in poverty-stricken areas.