China News Service, August 5th. According to a report by Qiaobao.com, "I drove a long way on a hot road. The rusty car climbed to the sky, half collapsed, half flamed, and suddenly a post station appeared in front of my eyes. , But I don’t want to stop, the brilliant life is waiting.” Doug McGee, the lead singer of Eluvia Yi band, sang his band’s new song "Rest Stop Town" in fluent Chinese.

band

　　In 2002, Doug McGee went to China for the first time since Hawaii. Now he has lived in China for 19 years. "Brother Dao" is his Chinese name.

In 2011, Brother Dao formed his own band in China, named Eluvia Yi Band.

　　Brother Tao introduced to reporters that Eluvia is a geological term, which is related to soil, soil and water.

"With the passage of time and the passage of rain, everything becomes good soil. Eluvia is like these soil deposits, representing the story of our lives. If we open our hearts and express our entire lives through art and music, It will produce good things and bear good fruits."

　　The Eluvia Yi Band mainly uses acoustic instruments to play and incorporates traditional Chinese instruments.

"We like to combine different music styles to draw inspiration and create. At the same time, our members also come from different countries, such as the United States, China, etc., everyone gathers together to make our favorite music." Dao said.

　　The Eluvia Yi Band, known as the "Original Rock and Roll", has its own unique style, including acoustic rock, American country, reggae... and even joined the Chinese national musical instrument Yangqin. Some people say that they form a "Chinese and Western" world style. Rock Band.

　　In addition to the lead singer Dao, guitarist Ben Whitmore is from Missouri, USA. He has lived in China for 8 years and is a music producer and orchestral player.

Bassist Hilbert Alexander is from Dominica in the Caribbean and has been in China for 12 years.

Jason Coffey from the United States and Nick Trombetta from China are the two drummers of the band.

Chris Gaertner is a banjo player from the United States.

There is also a special musician in the band, Fan Wenting, a Yangqin player from China. She plays the Yangqin to connect "China and the West". Everyone affectionately calls her Tingting.

　　Fan Wenting is not only the dulcimer of Yi Band, but also the music director of Ivy Dad Company. She makes good use of music to compose music for ancient poems and has done a lot of music related to poems.

Fan Wenting, who was born in a musical family, began to learn Yang Qin from his father at the age of 3, and was admitted to the Conservatory of Music of the Central University for Nationalities at the age of 12.

Group photo of Eluvia Yi band members.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Get to know

　　In 2008, when Dao was working as a recording engineer for a live music project, she met Fan Wenting who played the Yangqin for the first time. Her yangqin playing skills left a deep impression on Dao.

"Tingting is a musician who has received a super high level of traditional music training, but she also likes to improvise. Tingting can play all of our songs on the Yangqin at once. Nine years ago, when we played together for the first time, she Use the dulcimer to play blues, rock, jazz, reggae, etc."

　　Is it possible for the Yangqin and the guitar to cooperate?

Fan Wenting told reporters that Brother Dao is a very creative musician. He has made his own national musical instruments and added these elements to her original "White Pigeon and Red Dragon" to show the sound of the dragon.

"So we played music together and became friends. We have known each other for many years. We gradually discovered that the dulcimer and guitar might have the possibility of cooperation. Before that, I had already released an album with my American friends. Interest, naturally we formed Yi Band."

　　Fan Wenting introduced that the Yangqin is easier to integrate with other instruments than other national instruments such as Guzheng and Erhu, and can also be adapted to the rhythm of Western music.

Born in a folk music class, she has also studied a lot of Western music history, based on traditional music, and absorbed Western music culture.

"For further development, I want to be in line with internationalization, but this should be grown in the national music itself, and through the combination with the Western characteristics, the characteristics of Chinese national music can be brought into play."

Members of the Eluvia Yi band play the Yangqin battle guitar.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　"Our dulcimer made me fall in love with the dulcimer." Guitarist Benn bluntly said that he fell in love with Chinese folk music and fell in love with the dulcimer.

"Any instrument is wonderful to play well. Strings are my best instrument. I think the glide of the erhu is really beautiful, and the guzheng is very soft but also powerful." Bassist He Bente also said that in the tradition Among the musical instruments, playing the guzheng has been included in his life wish list.

"I want to play some very beautiful music, such as Guzheng or Pipa."

　　In the performance of the Eluvia Yi band, the resonance of the dulcimer, guitar and bass brings a perfect interpretation of the combination of Chinese and Western music.

"Music itself is a language. For example, when I play "The White Pigeon and the Red Dragon", they will also edit their parts and cooperate with each other. Everyone uses music to communicate." Fan Wenting said.

　　Because of their obsession with music, this group of young people from different countries got together.

"Beijing is a very big city, but here you can still find friends who have the same interests and like-minded people. It can become a small community. In this way, everyone meets in a community that loves music and creation, and plays rock and roll together. Making music because of the common vision and love for music." said Brother Dao.

Douglas McGee, the lead singer and captain of the Eluvia Yi band, sang the band's original song "Post Station".

Overseas Chinese News

ten years

　　When the Yangqin battle guitar, when the American country meets Chinese folk music, from punk, heavy metal to world-style acoustic rock, Yi band gradually found its own unique style. They rehearse in their music studio every two weeks, and often Performing in the bar, always insist on making your own music.

　　What keeps Fan Wenting's memory still fresh is that he once performed for a group of autistic children in a live house in Beijing.

“It’s the first time we met so many children with autism. When we started playing the piano, they became very excited and started to stand up and dance. We all played and formed a circle with them. Everyone was very excited. The children’s parents were there at the time, and they shed tears and said that they would like to thank us for doing such a performance and fundraising activities. At the time, the mothers said, thank you for giving the children a happy evening."

　　"Music knows no borders." Fan Wenting said that the band Yi has toured nearly a hundred shows in China since its establishment. This year, they ushered in their tenth anniversary.

"Ten years is an amazing journey." During the interview, Brother Dao smiled and told reporters, "I think we should have a party to celebrate." Just like the meaning of the band's Chinese name "Yi", Brother Dao According to the introduction, "Yi" and "Eluvia" complement each other. The "Yi" of "standing" represents unswerving, like ancient, ancient, and deep-rooted, "It represents that we have withstood the test of time."

　　Nowadays, Yi Band often releases short music videos or music live broadcasts on social media platforms to share their positive music energy with the audience.

Just like Beien said, making music together is a very special experience.

To them, superstars don’t seem to be that attractive. On the contrary, everyone likes to work together, come up with ideas, and maybe have differences to try different things, but everyone works towards one goal, that is, as much as possible. Make the best music.

　　Bain told reporters that he likes to make music in China.

Even though the culture and language are very different, when we play music and sing together, we all have the same desires and emotions.

"Music is like a privilege. People start to look at each other with love. Through music, people get together. I think the world needs more of these things." (End)