Indie folk singer/songwriter Huang Jie (黃玠) doesn’t try to bowl listeners over with suave pop craftsmanship — he aims much higher.
“Most musicians in pop music are technically outstanding,” Huang said. “But I want to create music that moves people’s hearts.”
Huang will perform a concert aptly titled Huang Jie: A Song to Move You (黃玠一首歌曲感動你) at Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) tomorrow night. The set list will be drawn from the results of a poll conducted by Huang’s label for which fans were asked to select the singer’s songs that move them the most. He’ll also sing several covers.
Photo Courtesy of A Good Day Records
Huang won the KKBOX Independent Creative Spirit Award in January for his second album, My High School Classmate (我的高中同學), which was released in September last year.
“The title song is about my choice to pursue a music career instead of a typical nine-to-five job,” Huang said. “The creative process is full of satisfaction, even if I can’t always afford the luxury of big, fancy meals.”
Huang is acclaimed for his unadorned folksy music, which pitches his earnest vocals against a mostly acoustic backdrop.
He cited Mando-pop maestro Jonathan Lee (李宗盛) and Damien Rice as his idols. “They don’t flaunt their over-the-top technicality, but simply move you with what they have to say,” Huang said.
Huang started playing guitar and writing songs during his college years. He went on to sign to A Good Day Records.
“Writing songs is like having a dialogue with yourself: You ask all these questions but the answers can never be found,” he said. Huang carries around a notebook to jot down his thoughts and says he wrote more than 10 songs during his compulsory military service.
Huang is most acclaimed for his track Shangri-La (香格里拉), the opening song on his debut EP The Green Days (綠色的日子).
“This song is about the constant struggle between ideals and reality,” he said. “Whether you were once very happy or very sad, when these emotions turn into a song, you are relieved because the emotions become immortalized.”
Tomorrow night, Huang will perform in his trademark sparse, ungarnished style. “I will be backed by one guitarist only,” he said. “The music will do the talking.”
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