Stepping into the coffee house, the first sight I clap eyes on is a young lady sitting by the window. With her hair dyed brown and blue, and gorgeous eyes, she is Liang Zhu (梁竹), one of the lead singers with the band, “The Beginning of the Song” (歌之初).
She is warm-hearted and very approachable, as if she can see how nervous I am, doing such an interview for the first time.
I had prepped prior by learning as much as I could about the band. Formed in 2016, it is made up of eight Nanjingers, with two singers and two guitarists, along with a bassist, keyboardist, synthesist and drummer.
During their 8-year career, their achievements have come by the bucketload. Among them, a national tour in 2021 is perhaps the most memorable, for it demonstrating their strengths, both in singing and their huge fan base.
“It really surprised me a lot. Since we didn’t do any publicity compared to other bands in Nanjing, we were all worrying about whether enough people would come to our concerts. But the truth is, what inspires the audience is never the self promotion, but the high quality of the music and the sense of resonance when listening to the songs”, Liang told me.
When it came to the topic of how the band found the most suitable genre of music for them to perform, Liang smiled and said, “It depends on people’s real preference. For our band, we did try many different types of songs at the beginning, like rock and roll, jazz and other music that caters to popular tastes and trends”.
“But we soon found out that what we showed was not our true selves, and this was not what we wanted to convey. We want our fans to remember the events that have happened in their lives when they listen to our songs so that they can arouse sympathy and gain more strength to persevere in the things they love.”
Liang recalled that which left the deepest impression on her, during their tour when they played in Shenzhen. Coming off stage, a girl came to her, with tears welling up in excitement. She told them that their song, “Journey”, gave her the motivation to lose weight, from 115 kilograms to 75 kilograms.
“It is not only the happiness of creating the songs in itself, but also the sense of achievement we get when sharing the songs with our fans. They have always supported us, and the feeling that there is always someone loving you and your songs is the greatest power for our band to keep on going”, said Liang.
In her words, they have promised their fans to go on a national tour again because of the true affinity both the band and their audiences enjoy, by way of the process of communicating through music. Neither wanted that to stop, but unfortunately, their plan was disrupted by the sudden outbreak of COVID. Liang said that they will be on tour again in 2024, if the conditions are suitable, as they are all looking forward to fulfilling a promise to their fans.
When I finshed by asking her the reasons for the name of their band, Liang told me that it represents their band’s unwavering hope and the vision for their original intention.
“I think the most important thing in writing songs is to maintain the authenticity of the music, no matter how long you are engaged in this career”, she closed by saying.
My first musician interview over, I believe her passion for music will go on and on.
