Post by lenah on Feb 28, 2012 10:23:19 GMT -6
As part of web campaign in support of their first North American tour, MusicDish*China announced that Southern China's indie folk band Shanren has launched a remix project in partnership with music platform ClubCreate. Stems of their track "Drinking Song" have been made available to ClubCreate's international community and Shanren fans to create their own remixes at www.clubcreate.com/studio/shanren
"Working with Shanren exemplifies our goal of bringing the world together with music," said ClubCreate Co-Founder & President Craig Swann. "Music is the international language and we strive to connect all musical styles and walks of life to join together and celebrate through music. This project is the first, in what we hope to be many, uniting the music and people of the East and West. We're excited to see what our community of creators will do to transform this song into something completely new and different."
Earlier this year, Shanren (literally "Mountain Men"), traveled across China's Yunnan province to take in and film the rich indigenous musical traditions. The band members, whose own songs mix folk melodies with rock and world music influences, visited rural villages of Yi, Lisu, Nu, Tibetan, and Wa minorities. While joining the villagers in song and dance, they found the music so tied up in the drinking culture-downing copious amounts of the local equivalent of moonshine, fiery homemade liquor distilled from rice or sweet corn-that they turned the boozy footage into the video for their "Drinking Song."
"Our focus for this web campaign was to find innovative ways to connect fans with Shanren's rich music and cuture from China's southwestern Yunnan and Guizhou provinces," noted MusicDish*China Founder Eric de Fontenay. "I can think of no better way to acquaint people with the music than a remix project and ClubCreate has been a great partner in getting it off the ground."
In addition to the remix project, Shanren earlier launched a crowdfunding campaign through RocketHub as a means to connecting with fans. Through the campaign, the band has been offering unique opportunities to fans such as private music lessons and handmade instruments. rockethub.com/projects/5431-shanren-tour-shangri-la-to-north-america
Signed to Beijing Jade Bird Music, Shanren bring together a group of four musicians with members representing the Wa and Buyi ethnic minorities. Employing instruments like the xiangzi and qinqin (four-stringed plucked instruments) and xianggu (a type of drum), they play both original compositions and reworkings of traditional folk songs, adding touches of rock, reggae, and ska. While the band members preserve their cultural heritage and update it for a 21st-century audience, the result is a global dance party along the lines of Gogol Bordello, Manu Chao, or their countrymen Hanggai.
www.facebook.com/shanrenband
ClubCreate is a premium interactive music platform that stands at the intersection of music, technology and culture. ClubCreate provides free cloud based music and video creation tools that transform consumers into creators, connects artists with fans and empowers personal creativity and customization. You can see how ClubCreate is redefining the future of content at www.clubcreate.com