While thousands of music lovers will be heading south this weekend to partake in what could well prove to be the largest holiday-weekend party the tiny seaside town of Kenting, if not Taiwan, has ever seen, some of the nation's more sedate and earthy artists will be holding a less hectic concert of their own at Taipei's Huashan Music House (
Entitled, Songs of the Earth and the Sea (
Needing little if any introduction, Golden Melody Award winner, Chen -- who is still on the payroll of the Taitung Police department -- recently transferred to Orchid Island where he recorded his most recent album, last year's, Mother Earth (
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUASHAN MUSIC HOUSE
Formed in 1993, Am Band, or A-minor as it is sometimes called, is made up of Aboriginal musicians hailing from various tribes of Southern Taiwan. The band began performing its blend of traditional Aboriginal sounds and Western folk in the streets of Taipei.
Seven years' hard work and several line-up changes later, the Am Band released its debut album on Taiwan's leading folk label, Taiwan Colors Music (TCM,
Although the band has yet to release a follow-up album, members of the band have appeared as backing musicians on many a TCM release, and perform regularly in Taipei.
In addition to the blithe talents of Chen and the Am Band, long-time musician and Aboriginal activist, Kimbo Hu, will be adding his own voice as well as his unique brand of guitar style to the evening's events. All of which, according to the organizers, will add up to an evening of simplistic, yet original and soulful odes to Taiwan and Mother Nature performed in varying styles and musical forms ranging from authentic Aboriginal tunes to Western folk-inspired numbers.
Songs of the Earth and the Sea will take place at 9pm tomorrow evening at Huashan Music House (
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