Changing Faces: former rock star throws Chinese ‘music parties’ in Helsinki and New York

People in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, will have a chance to attend an outdoor music festival organised by a Beijing-based music company Modern Sky on August 28 and 29. The company will also stage two outdoor events in October in New York and Seattle. The festival’s founder, former rock singer Shen Lihui, says his aim is to teach the world that Chinese entertainers can perform a wide variety of music and are not only associated with traditional musical instruments or lion dances performed on special occasions. He said Chinese musicians can perform at the “most fashionable and coolest” events in the world – music festivals.

How have your musical festival plans been expanded? 

Last October we held the first two-day Modern Sky Festival in New York’s Central Park. It created a lot of media interest in the US. Half of the musicians playing at the festival were from China, with the rest from countries around the world. I was pleased that more than 7,000 people attended our “music party”, including many Chinese expatriates living in the US and Canada. Even so, we lost a lot of money hosting the festival, but it was within the level we felt was acceptable. I was actually expecting to make a loss before the project began. So why did I decide to expand things abroad this year? It’s because we gained from last year’s event in other ways, quite apart from money. I think the market needs patience, energy and time for incubation. What we are doing now is spreading the seeds. I believe I am doing the right thing and going in the right direction.

Why did you choose New York as your first overseas venue?

I like the city very much. The Big Apple and Beijing are quite alike – they share the same genes, and are open to different cultures. I had an impulse to be a part of New York, and don’t have this feeling for other international metropolises. In 2006 my company opened an office there, so I am familiar with the local market.

What will your forthcoming events in Helsinki and the US be like?

The Helsinki festival has the theme, “New Asia meets New Nordic”, and half of the performers are from Asia and the rest from around the world. Their performances will be very experimental and international. We chose Helsinki as the first stop in Europe because our New York office has cooperated with institutions there before. For the two US projects we’ll have more Chinese singers performing since there are more Chinese expatriates living in the US. I don’t think there are that many hurdles between our domestic musicians and foreign audiences. Our Chinese singers play various types of music and they are international, given that they often play abroad. Some people claim we are trying to export Chinese culture or ideology, but in response I’d simply say that music is boundless and that our music festival is the best example of this point. We present many kinds of music and our festival is an integration of different cultures from around the world.