A fusion of erhu and electronic music: Carrefour Art Season’s Rock & Traditional Chinese Music Weekend Debuts

Text by MOOK Travel Life Net's Chen Guanxin, compiled and reported

 

Who says playing traditional Chinese music has to be all formal and serious? The “2013 Carrefour Culture and Arts Season,” jointly organized by the Taichung City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Carrefour Foundation for Culture and Education (a public foundation), will debut tomorrow (the 19th) at 19:30 at the Taichung Fulfillment Amphitheater. The event will feature a performance titled “Eastern Legends: Rock & Traditional Chinese Music” by the 13-member ensemble “Cai Feng Yue Fang” (Wind Gathering Troupe), whose average age is just 23. With cool makeup and punk hairstyles, the group blends rock energy with traditional Chinese music. Set against a dazzling stage and lighting design, the performance invites the audience to rock along to the beat. Free admission opens to the public at 17:30 on the day of the show.

This performance not only includes arrangements based on Taiwanese folk songs, indigenous music, and classic pieces for various instruments, but also features multiple original compositions by Huang Zhengming, the artistic director of Cai Feng Yue Fang, and pop music creator Zhan Xunwei. The music channels a bold, rebellious yet passionate and pure creative style. It successfully integrates “rock music” with “traditional Chinese music,” combining distinctive traditional instruments such as the erhu, pipa, and suona with Western DJ mixing, electronic music, and rock elements.

 

The repertoire is refreshingly novel, and the performance style will completely reshape the public’s impression of conventional traditional Chinese music shows. The musicians must perform entirely from memory and also undergo dance and movement training with celebrity choreographers. While executing technically demanding pieces, they’ll also take on popular street dance moves. Dressed in leather jackets, riding boots, with eye-catching makeup and punk hairdos, set against a luxurious stage and vibrant lighting, the show transforms into a dynamic, fashionable musical performance—more explosive than ever. More event details can be found at www.carrefour.org.tw.

 

 

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