Wu Bai And China Blue at Genting Highlands

MyStarHill > Chinese, Malaysian, Music > Wu Bai And China Blue at Genting Highlands

Author: teropong | August 17, 2007 - 3:59 pm

wu bai Fans of charismatic Taiwanese rockers Wu Bai and China Blue are in for a feast of sounds at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands tomorrow.

WHEN Wu Bai came to Malaysia 10 years ago, there weren’t any big stages or extravagant settings, nor were costume parties typical of many Chinese pop stars.

Instead, the Taiwanese king of live music toured the city pubs of Kuala Lumpur and Penang, making his musical connection a direct and resonant one, both for his audience and himself.

“It was a magnificent experience for me and the band (China Blue). Everyone was having fun, jumping and dancing to our music. It was really amazing to see so many faces from different races coming together to have a good time with us,” he recounted.

Wu Bai exudes a warm and friendly every-man personality.

Without even a hint of pretentiousness, he answers questions with a simple sincerity.

Perhaps it is this ability to strip down the pop-star-audience barrier so naturally that sets Wu Bai and China Blue apart from other artistes.

Wu Bai started off their Chinese mainstream music career about 15 years ago in Taiwan when the singer-songwriter made his name with the album, Loving Others is a Happy Thing.

At a time when Chinese mainstream music was saturated with generic bubblegum pop tunes, Wu Bai was among the first Chinese “alternative” musicians to create a new distinctive Taiwanese sound, blending traditional Min-Nan melody vocal renditions with classic rock performances.

Wu Bai and China Blue focused on live musical performance, bringing their brand of guitar-driven power tunes directly to the Taiwan working class audience in pubs and live-houses, which was also a rarity in Chinese music then.

Instead of being an unapproachable icon, the band’s Tai-Ke (Taiwanese culture) persona became the embodiment of the people’s voice.

But unlike Western rock music revolution’s obvious social and cultural messages, the Chinese perspective of music has always been about entertainment.

Thus, Wu Bai’s rise to fame merely signified a subtle need to carve and display a cultural identity.

However, his musical talents are genuine, as seen in his many contributions to various prominent Chinese pop artistes, including Andy Lau, Karen Mok, Emil Chau and Vivian Hsu.

The 39-year-old singer-songwriter has won multiple music awards, including the prestigious Taiwan Music Exchange Association (now known as the Taiwan Golden Melody Awards) Top 10 Best Albums and Songs Award for the album Summer Night Wind, while his music fanbase cuts across continents, including the United States, Canada and Australia.

Wu Bai and his band mates’ last Malaysian performance in December 2002 was well-received, but it was their first performance here 10 years ago that left an indelible impression.

“I have always had a special affinity for the Malaysian audience. They’re very warm and responsive to music and know how to enjoy themselves,” he said.

The pop singer intends to make his upcoming performance in Genting Highland’s Arena of Stars, a “revival” of those wonderful times.

Wu Bai promises a memorable show, different from all his concerts elsewhere. He will be performing the exact track listing from his pub performances and two new songs from the band’s latest Best of Wu Bai and China Blue compilation album.

The artiste has also invented a new special dance, called “Flower Dance”, reminiscent of Travolta’s funky dance moves in Saturday Night Fever.

The dance goes with his new song, You Are My Flower, and is inexplicably popular in Taiwan, especially among karaoke-going youngsters.

“I don’t know exactly how it caught on, but my friends told me they have seen kids putting on our song and dancing to it with my dance moves,” he said with a chuckle.

He revealed that the length of the show would depend on audience response, adding that although there would be no special guests appearances or “gimmicks”, the band is ready to rock for as long as it takes.

Wu Bai also said that he enjoys spontaneity in his performances.

“The less I know about what’s going to happen on stage the better, because then I won’t be stressed out worrying about whether everything is going smoothly. The best is to hang out with the band until the time comes and jump straight on stage to play and have fun … I’m looking forward to visiting the theme park too,” he said.

source : Mass Media

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