Who is Lin Shengxiang?

Lin Shengxiang

Lin Shengxiang, born in Meinong Town, Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 1971, is a Hakka musician and the soul of the former Jiao Gong Band.

In 1998, after co-organizing the concerts "Crossing the Village to Seek Willows" and "Wandering on the Beautiful Island" with the Meinong Hometown Promotion Association, they decided to form a "Jiaogong Band" to use music to participate in the anti-reservoir movement. In April 1999, the Meinong anti-reservoir movement music album "I'll Sing Folk Songs" was released. The album won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award for Best Composer and Producer in the Non-Pop Category that year. In 2001, "Jiaogong Band" went to Europe for the first time to participate in the World Music Festival, and released its second album "Chrysanthemum Night March" at the end of the year. In 2004, he completed the album "Lin Darkness" and in 2006, he completed the album "Planting Trees". Won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award in 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2007.

On November 25, 2017, it won the Best Original Film Music at the 54th Taiwan Film Golden Horse Awards. On June 23, 2018, he won the Best Single Producer Award at the 29th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards for "With or Without".

Chinese name: Lin Shengxiang

Nationality: Chinese

Ethnicity: Han

Birthplace: Meinong Town, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Date of birth: November 25, 1971

Occupation: singer, musician, lyricist, composer

Graduation institution: Tamkang University

< p>Representative works: Planting Trees, Facing the Dark, With or Without

Main achievements: Best Composer at the 2000 Golden Melody Awards

Best Producer at the 2000 Golden Melody Awards

2005 Golden Melody Award for Best Band and Best Hakka Pop Music Album

2007 Golden Melody Award for Best Hakka Singer and Best Hakka Album

Profile

Lin Shengxiang, the former soul of the Jiao Gong Band. Born in 1971 in Zhutoujiazhuangtou, Meinong Town, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The music that he was most exposed to when he was a child was traditional music. The sounds of weddings and funerals in his hometown of Hecheng, as well as the Bayin, Beiguan, etc. that were indispensable in the temple fairs of Wangye Temple, were all part of his life. Among them, the playing of the suona and the folk song-like crying tone of women during the funeral shocked him and became a profound musical memory. In addition, since his home had a record player for a long time, Lin Shengxiang also listened to a lot of records. In the fourth grade of primary school, he heard Wu Shengzhi’s Hakka songs for the first time, and also began to get acquainted with the "Impression Choir", "Qiu Qiu Chorus" and other contemporaries. of other popular music. When I got to junior high school, I started to be exposed to Western music. In addition to the songs on the charts, I also listened to and sang a lot of old songs. But it was already in high school when I started to formally study music and plunge into the world of music.

In 1994, he joined the ranks of supporting the anti-reservoir movement in his hometown. In 1998, the band "Guanzi Music Pit" that Lin Shengxiang continued from his student days was disbanded (1992-1998). After co-organizing the concerts "Crossing the Village to Seek Willows" and "Wandering on the Beautiful Island" with the Meinong Hometown Promotion Association, Lin Shengxiang He decided to return to Meinong from other places and form a "Jiaogong Band" to participate in the anti-reservoir movement through music. In April 1999, the Meinong anti-reservoir movement music album "I'll Sing Folk Songs" was released, singing anger and hope with the people on various protest occasions. The album won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award for Best Composer in the Non-Pop Category that year. with the producer. In 2001, "Jiaogong Band" went to Europe for the first time to participate in the World Music Festival, and released its second album "Chrysanthemum Night March" at the end of the year. In 2004, it completed the album "Lin Darkness" and in 2006 it completed the album "Planting Trees". Won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award in 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2007.

Character experience

Lin Shengxiang left his hometown in 1988 and went to Tainan to study at Tainan No. 2 Middle School. He started learning guitar during the summer vacation of his freshman year of high school, and participated in the "Tainan City Fucheng Cup Guitar Playing and Singing Competition" in 1989. Although it was his first attempt at singing, he achieved outstanding results and attracted attention. So under constant invitations, he continued to play guitar. Singing in a folk song restaurant, these experiences will have a good impact on his future stage experience.

In 1991, he was admitted to the Department of Transportation Management of Tamkang University. For Lin Shengxiang personally, the biggest attraction of choosing this school is that it has a good music tradition, so as soon as he entered the university, he became active in various fields. He held music activities and learned from each other with his friends in the Philharmonic Orchestra. His first song "Guanyin's Hometown" was born in this atmosphere.

In 1992, Lin Shengxiang participated in the 10th University Town Singing Competition and won first place and the Best Lyricist Award. This achievement greatly inspired him, so writing poetry and composing music gradually became his life Focusing on his work, he formed a music group "Guanzi Music Pit" with his peers. In 1994, he officially held his first personal work presentation at the Student Activity Center in Tamkang. This performance received an unexpected response and also This prompted Lin Shengxiang to embark on the road of music without hesitation. After that, he took the band to tour and continued to create. In 1997, he released his first album "Crossing the Village to Chat".

At the beginning of his creation, Lin Shengxiang's works were mainly Mandarin songs. At that time, the subversive Hoklo songs of Lin Qiang, Chen Mingzhang and others had caused a shock in the pop music world. As a Hakka descendant, Lin Shengxiang was influenced by Inspired by this, the idea of ????composing modern Hakka songs naturally came up. At the same time, Cui Jian's album "Nothing", which turned Mandarin songs into rock, was also popular among young students. Therefore, "singing Hakka songs in the style of rock music" has become the keynote of Lin Shengxiang's creation. The album "Xiao Zhuang Chat" is his first exploration, and the performance song "Happy Reunion" is a rock music adapted from Hakka music. It's indeed quite different.

However, in 1998, when Lin Shengxiang returned to his hometown of Meinong to sing with enthusiasm for the birthday celebration of King Sanshan, he discovered that he thought that the content was based on Hakka records and was authentic. The music "can't leave home" actually "can't go home" - it cannot be accepted by the villagers. This fact made him start to think about whether to use traditional musical instruments to replace the accompaniment of Western musical instruments. At the same time, in the drama festival organized by the Cross-Border Cultural and Educational Foundation, he personally experienced representatives from all over the world using national instrumental music to express their respective cultures. The shock brought by his unique characteristics further strengthened his belief, so Yueqin, gongs and drums, pipa, suona, huqin, etc. all became his accompaniment instruments one after another. As he sang out the countless feelings and appeals in his heart in Hakka language, In his rock-style shouting, the background we hear and feel is the most familiar local instrumental music. His subsequent albums range from "You Tang Beautiful Island", "I'll Come to Sing Folk Songs", "Chrysanthemum" "Night March" and even "In the Dark" have not departed from this essence, and such a fusion of Chinese and Western not only found a new outlet for Lin Shengxiang's Hakka music, but also made them a scene in "world music", often He has been invited to perform at various "world music festivals". In addition to Taipei, Lin Shengxiang has performed in the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Canada, Singapore and other countries.

In April 1999, the Meinong anti-reservoir movement music album "I'll Sing Folk Songs" was published. They sang anger and hope with the people on various protest occasions. In 2000, Taiwan's first political party rotation , the government announced the suspension of the construction of the Meinong Reservoir, and the album "We'll Sing Folk Songs in a Wait" won the Taiwan Golden Melody Award for Best Composer and Producer in the Non-Pop Category.

In 2001, "Jiaogong Band" went to Europe for the first time to participate in the World Music Festival, and at the end of the year released its second album "Chrysanthemum Night March" to explore the difficulties faced by rural areas after Taiwan joined the WTO. In 2002, Jiao Gong Band won the Golden Melody Award for Best Band.

In 2003, the Jiao Gong Band disbanded. Jiao Gong Band is considered to be the most noteworthy independent band in Taiwan in the past 10 years.

In 2004, he completed the album "Lin Darkness". The content explores the situation of laborers migrating from rural areas to cities. In the composition, he tried to incorporate Hokola's death march, Gezi opera, and Yilan folk songs. The concept of the music was It’s the “soundtrack of life.” In 2005, he won the Golden Melody Award for Best Band, Best Lyricist and Best Hakka Album, and then went to Europe for the second time to participate in the World Music Festival.

In 2006, he completed the album "Planting Trees", which describes the rural youth who were born in Meinong in the late 1990s and returned to their hometowns from the city to find a way out and connect with other farmers. On the one hand, it affirms the farmers' simple attitude towards the value of life. , on the one hand, it repositions the important existence value of agriculture in modern society and points out possible ways for its future development. Won the 2007 Golden Melody Award for Best Hakka Singer and Best Hakka Album.

Participating bands: Lead singer, guitarist, producer of Qian Guanzi Music Pit (1993-1998)

Lead singer, guitarist, Yue Qin player and producer of Qian Jiao Gong Band (1999- 2003)

Shengxiang and Wayaokeng Three lead singer, composer, lyricist, guitarist, producer (2004-)

Style of work

As a child of a farmer's family , based on profound life experience, the lyrics of Lin Shengxiang's songs often present the emotions and scenes of the rural world. "One Long Time" depicts the living conditions of his hometown with the homesickness of a wanderer; "The Farmer" describes the changing society in Taiwan. The situation of farmers. "Bo Gong" shows the Hakka people's admiration and dependence on the Lord of the Land through a leisurely trip to the beautiful scenery of their hometown. In addition, due to his long-term special attention to social movements, Lin Shengxiang also focuses on caring for and criticizing the social environment. The "Organic" he created in recent years reflects the causes behind the "White Rice Bomber-Yang Rumen Incident"; and "I The entire album, "Come and Sing Folk Songs in a Wait", takes the Meinong anti-reservoir movement as its theme, and has a particularly social historical perspective and movement character. ), "Memory of an old farmer's mood" ("Night Bus"), "Memory of the 1993 Legislative Yuan Action" ("We'll Sing Folk Songs in a Wait") to "Dedicated to the Anti-Reservoir Comrades" ("Comrade, Be Well") In the transformation and connection of various scenes such as "Feeding to Sleep"), not only the appeal is clear, but the musical tension and drama displayed by the overall form really make people feel the epic courage and ingenuity. It is worth mentioning that in terms of lyrics, in addition to his own lyrics, Lin Shengxiang also has a long-term cooperative relationship with Mr. Chung Wing-fung, who has a background in cultural work and professional lyrics, which also makes the song works extra points in terms of depth and breadth. "I'll Sing Folk Songs in a Wait" is a very successful example, and it is highly recognized by both Hakka and non-Hakka circles.

Having invested in the creation of Hakka new music for more than ten years, Lin Shengxiang followed his own ideas and continued to release albums step by step. Each album has a distinct sense of local culture, and the structure of the instrumental music is all Have different focus points. Avoiding the noisy, exciting and provocative Western model, Lin Shengxiang uses ethnic instruments to lay out the background of rock music, and uses an alternative thinking model to rock Hakka music. This achievement has not only made him a finalist in various Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, He was recognized in the nominations and shortlists. Due to the characteristics of "world music", his music was unexpectedly favored in international "world music" activities, and its response and glory are also precious.

Main Works

"Crossing the Village to Chat"/Guanzi Music Pit (1997)

"Wandering on the Beautiful Island"/Guanzi Music Pit (1998)

"I'll Sing Folk Songs in a Wait"/Jiaogong Band (1999)

"Chrysanthemum Night March"/Jiaogong Band (2001)

"Late in the Dark" /Shengxiang and Wayaokeng 3 (2004)

"Planting Trees"/Shengxiang and the Orchestra (2006)

"Wild" Lin Shengxiang/Dazhuyan (2009)

"Dadi Study" Lin Shengxiang/Dazhuyan (2010)

Album

"Planting Trees" Time: 2006-10-06 Genre: Folk/Folk

"Late in the Dark" Time: 2004-04-29 Genre: Folk/Folk