The absurd as normal
0 
Do you really understand Beijinghua (the local dialect of Beijing)? If you want an answer to that, go to Ziyue's concerts at the Poly Theater of Beijing on June 29 and 30.
Infused with Beijing slang and wordplay, the band's songs are often described as "Beijing-style rock", "folklore rock" or "xiangsheng (comic talk) rock".
Their lyrics are so full of local flavor that few can be translated into English. For example, "Ciqi", the title of one of their songs which literally means "chinaware", actually refers to "sworn friends" in the Beijing dialect.
It is difficult even to translate the band's name. In Chinese, "Ziyue" usually means "Confucius says", because Kongzi (Confucius) is often referred to as Zi to express respect.
|
|
|
Qiu Ye (middle), the front-man of Beijing rock band Ziyue, says the idea behind their music is living life as if it is a joke. [China Daily] |
However, pointing out that Zi is not a term reserved for Confucius but is also used in erzi (son) and nvzi (woman), who also have a right to speak out, the band's front-man Qiu Ye claims that it is wrong to translate the band's name as "Confucius Says", as some English-language media have done.
For their first CD, the band used the English name "It Says". For their second, however, they created a new one - "Umeit", a random combination of "you, me, and it", which is what the band's music is all about. As to the future, Qiu says he's not sure as yet.
Zi, a suffix in Chinese with no specific meaning but used after many nouns, seems to dominate Ziyue's thinking and writing.
"To live rizi (daily life) as a duanzi (joke), is the idea of our music," Qiu says.
Ziyue's music also defies an easy definition. While the group is seen as a rock band, Qiu's singing is often reminiscent of quyi, the traditional ballad singing of northern China, which makes their songs unlike any other. It is only recently that Qiu has come up with a term for their style: Chinese fusion.
Founded 16 years ago, Ziyue has established itself as a well-known group in the rock music circle, but is far from a household name.
Actually, Ziyue's music has already been heard by many, although most might not be aware of it. The popular TV commercial for Naobaijin, a healthcare brand, features the music and singing of Qiu, who also sings the theme song for the TV drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" ("Shediao Yingxiong Zhuan"). Another TV drama, "Struggle" ("Fendou"), which received one of the highest audience ratings in 2007, used Ziyue's song "Face to Face".
Qiu has also composed for several films, and acted in two theater works. He admits that he has "not been attending to his proper duties," for it's been eight years since the band released their last CD.
"The old form of writing songs and performing no longer excite me, so I have been looking for new interaction and inspiration in other fields," he says.
Another reason for the delay, Qiu says, is the current situation in the Chinese music industry, where piracy and illegal Internet downloading are making the producing of a CD a philanthropic undertaking.
"Why make a CD if I can't sell it?" Qiu asks. "Nowadays, the music is only yours when you are composing it at home. As soon as the music is out, it has nothing to do with you."
He examined this anomaly in "That Night, We Play Music", a drama that premiered last year in which Qiu starred and also co-authored.
In contrast, composing for TV commercials is much more profitable. Qiu says the Naobaijin TV commercial, which is 15 seconds long, earned him more than a whole year of performances and records.
However, having composed five editions of music for the commercial, he has now decided to stop.
"People begin to sing the Naobaijin (tune) as soon as I go up on stage. If I don't stop, the Ziyue band will become the Naobaijin band," he says.
The band is, at last, recording their new CD, after having accumulated enough songs for two albums. The new CD is due to be released in the fall, although Qiu is not sure they can recover the cost by selling it.
"I feel that we must speak now, because many abnormal things are becoming normal in society," he says. "Although I don't think we can change much, at least we can point out the problems."
And he has decided to speak to a wider audience - through the upcoming concerts at Poly Theater, a venue known more for mainstream music and theater performances. It has never before hosted a rock concert.
"I think at the Poly Theater we might have an audience that is a little different from that of the live houses. Many of them have, probably, not really seen a live performance of rock music, but associate such music with long hair and drugs," Qiu says.
"I used to consciously keep out of mainstream society, but now I want to show our music to more people."
Titled Living Beijing, the two upcoming performances of Ziyue are not simply rock concerts, but will involve many theatrical elements. Eighteen songs will be strung together with a plot that explores people's inner conflicts, while three actors will perform on stage, with Qiu himself playing a commentator of sorts.
"I believe that the charisma of Ziyue is second only to that of China's 'godfather of rock music' Cui Jian, but given the environment of Chinese rock music, it's hard to predict the box office proceeds," says Liu Xiaoyi, general manager of the Beijing Jindian Culture and Art Corporation, which is behind the concerts.
"I think there are two possibilities: awfully brisk, or awfully miserable."
Go to Forum >>0 Comments