Ember Swift Interview Part 1 – How China Changed Her Music

Ember Swift
Ember Swift, performing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. (photo by Frederick Ellert)

She’s an independent Canadian musician and singer-songwriter with her own label and 11 albums to her name (including one in English and Mandarin Chinese), whose eclectic style defies categorization. She writes for Herizons, Beijing Kids and China.org, and also publishes stories about her intercultural relationship and Chinese family life in her smartly written blogs. And did I mention she’s married to Guo Jian, the lead singer/bassist of Long Shen Dao, China’s hottest reggae band?

Meet Ember Swift, a talented artist — and outstanding yangxifu — that I’m proud to introduce to you. You can purchase her music at iTunes and her website, check out her must-read blogs, and also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Sina Weibo.

In Part 1 of our interview, I asked Ember about her career — from how China transformed her sound to what’s next for her as a musician and a writer. Continue reading “Ember Swift Interview Part 1 – How China Changed Her Music”

8 Bands to Help You Learn Mandarin Chinese, Pub’d on Matador

Screenshot of my article, 8 bands to help you learn Mandarin Chinese
Check out my latest article at Matador

Matador just published another piece of mine titled 8 Bands to Help You Learn Mandarin Chinese. In it, I recommend eight bands and artists, primarily folks who write and sing their own original music, that can help boost your Mandarin Chinese studies. Here’s a snippet of it:

HEAVY APPLICATION OF THE “KARAOKE METHOD” has improved my Chinese and taught me some conversational phrases like bùzhībùjué (unnoticeably) and búyào jiànwài (don’t be a stranger).

 To find out what bands and artists I recommended, read the full piece at Matador now. And if you like it, share it. Thanks!

The Story of Our Chinese Love Song, Cǎihóng by Yu Quan

Yu Quan, 羽泉
The Chinese pop duo Yu Quan, 羽泉 (photo from baidu.com)

On our first official date together, John happened to slip a CD in my portable CD player, Lěngkù Dàodǐ by Yu Quan. I gave him one of the earbuds, turned the CD player on, and we listened to it all the way to the vegetarian restaurant. I’ll never forget how I felt the moment Cǎihóng, or Rainbow, came on, a song in Chinese that described the ultimate love as more gorgeous than a rainbow. Much of their music captured the kind of innocence and beauty that surrounded my love with John, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he even chose that CD on purpose. Let’s just say this: by the time John and I arrived at that restaurant, I already fell in love twice — with him and this new musical group. Continue reading “The Story of Our Chinese Love Song, Cǎihóng by Yu Quan”