A journey through the sounds and cosmology of Yunnan’s Wa Tribe in this short documentary by Luo Jian featuring rock band Shanren
Since Wa musician Ai Yong’s sudden death in 2017, his band, Shanren, stopped playing Wa music. Three years later, the band decided to take a pilgrimage back to Yong’s hometown in Ximeng, reuniting with their lost partner through rivers, trees, dreams and the sound of the Wa violin.
“Almost all of Yunnan have a language and a history passed down through music, so it’s more a part of the fabric of the culture rather than just purely for people to be entertained.”
Shanren (山人, meaning “mountain people”) was formed in the year 2000, and are best known for conjuring sounds from various cultures and atmospheres of the world, achieved through a wide range of melodies and instruments, both modern and traditional. Most of its members hail from Yunnan, in Southwest China — bassist Ah-La is from the Yi ethnic group, instrumentalist Xiao Budian is from the Bouyei ethnic group, the late Ai Yong from the Wa ethnic group — and vocalist Qu Zihan and drummer Xiao Ou are Han, while percussionist Sam Debell is from Britain…
Continue Reading: https://www.nowness.asia/story/shanren-into-the-mountains
#Culture #Yunan #Music #Traditions #EthnicMinority
_______________________________________
Subscribe to NOWNESS here: http://bit.ly/youtube-nowness
Daily exclusives for the culturally curious: http://www.nowness.asia
Behind the scenes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nownessasia
Like NOWNESS ASIA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nownessasia
Follow NOWNESS ASIA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nownessasia
Staff Picks on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/nowness
source
UCpYHEAhSUx1hBn2SkvXvTrg
