Ember Swift: It was Like a Past Life Experience

作者: 周敏萱(指导老师:吴梅红)发布时间:2022-10-08

Cue: Canadian musician Guo Ziyu, who has hold World Tour for more than 200 times, has been settled in Beijing for fourteen years. Beijing's prosperity and inclusiveness inspired her, so she started her own music company and created her own family here. You can easily find her in Beijing’s live houses or bars, where she likes to perform most. When you sit downstage, you will not only listen to her music, but also her love. The love to music, to family, to Beijing.

Minxuan has more to tell us.

ZiyuWhen I first came here.I felt like I'd been here before,like a past life experience maybe.

Back in the year of 2007, A fortuitous vacation allowed Canadian musician Guo Ziyu to embark on the road to Beijing. China, a country which she had only read in the books in university, was vividly displayed in front of her for the first time, but Ziyu felt quite familiar.

Fascinated by the enthusiastic Chinese people and the diverse, inclusive Chinese culture, she decided to make a home here in 2008, and deeply engraved her love for music and the city into the following fourteen years.

I can't help but ask, why did she choose Beijing?

ZiyuBeijing is a very, I guess a dynamic, buzzing city, there's a lot of action and growth and change, so that's great for inspiration. There's always something happening, something new happening, lots of innovation in the city. So I think

Beijing really lends itself well to songwriter for topics.

Later on, Guo Ziyu organized her music band here with other foreign musicians, who are determined to stay in Beijing for its creativity and inclusiveness. One of them is guitarist Gaibo, also from Canada.

Gaibo: For me I find that, a lot of people here have different requirements, sometimes it's rock sometimes it's pop, you know now it's jazz. I was playing with like for example, a Chinese artist called Siqingerile(斯琴格日乐) five years ago, and she was playing like traditional Mongolian music, so for me that was it's the kind of thing I wouldn't do in Canada you know, having to change side like this. So I find it's really good for for us to grow as musicians.

In 2009, Ziyu released her ninth album Lentic, also her first album in China. She made a bold attempt on her own musical path to mix electronic music with folk songs, representing Canada and China in her mind .

ZiyuBecause I was new here, and everything about Chinese culture musically creatively also about just society was new for me. So it was very special and I wanted to create something new for my audience back home. So I wanted them to understand what Chinese culture, how Chinese culture had influenced me. So it was important to do that mix. People really enjoy the mixture of traditional Chinese music and traditional Chinese scales. 

Ziyu was echoed by another band member, bassist Chapman.

ChapmanAt first at the beginning, I supposed that everyone here will have their own language. Sure it will be pretty hard. But about music, music gives some help. Because you can, even you can make more for friendship with people that you are around or next to without speak their own language. Like they don't speak English and we don’t speak Chinese, we cannot communicate. But about music we can make some empathy.

During these years, Ziyu majorly performed in live houses and bars. In her eyes, Beijing has provided musicians with fantastic performance venues and enthusiastic audiences. Among the audiences, Ziyu is looking for those who really like music.

ZiyuThere is night live music here, that’s quite cool.I mean there’s a style for everyone and there are many live houses and it’s pretty accepting and open-energy here. My favorite dynamic is to perform for an audience who is listening and who is very interested in what we're doing. Because sometimes we can play it in a live house, and it's the kind of night where everyone wants to party, but no one really is listening, they're just want to dance. And this is fun but not the best. So it really doesn't matter what the space is, it could be a concert hall, it could be a living room a private living room, it could be a small cafe, or could be a big live house it could be a stadium. As long as people are with you, listening to your songs, this is the best experience as a songwriter.

The night of Beijing gives Ziyu various options. When there was no performance, she would stay with her two children or other friends.

ZiyuEvery evening could be different. When my kids go to bed sometimes I have to do more work depends on the day. If I have the night off and I don't have my children then I might spend time with friends, or maybe watch a movie or something. Or take the opportunity to write another song.

After each performance, Ziyu always takes a taxi home with other musicians, and the online car-hailing platforms bring convenience to their lives. Group member Gaibo is particularly fond of it.

ZiyuI think it's very convenient. Well it would be great if subways open longer, but I just I still think that didi is amazing.

Gaibo:In west, it might be 10 times depending where you live,more expensive so I never take taxi in Montreal or in Canada in general. So I really enjoy take the taxi all the time and not going in the subway.

Is it crowded or why?

ZiyuBecause he is lazy.

Gaibo: Because when I grew up I always associated taking the taxi with like a big luxury but here is just every day.

Before arriving home, Ziyu would always stop at the overpass in front of her apartment, looking at the passing vehicles and falling into deep thinking of why she chose music.

ZiyuAnd I just always think every car is filled with its own family, its own story, and we're all linked by our shared humanity. And to me,even though I'm so far away living on the other side of the world. That's what music is about linking our stories and linking our humanity, so that's why I do this.