Wild Children comes of age

Wild Children. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wild Children, a folk band of Northwest China, will present a concert in Beijing in October to celebrate 20 years of its inception. Founded in 1995 by Suo Wenjun and Zhang Quan, singers from Lanzhou, Gansu province, the band has been influenced by the region's people as evident from their music.

A year later, the duo came to Beijing, where they found a new member in drummer Gao Hui.

In 1999, the band released its debut album and was invited by the Institute of Contemporary Arts to perform in London. The band was dismantled in 2004, when Suo died of cancer, aged 34. Zhang, the then-lead vocalist, left the band in sadness.

In 2008, Zhang reconnected with Gao and got other musicians into the fold. Wild Children was born again.

"The band and its music are our faith. It will never change," Zhang said.

Last year, Wild Children produced their albums under the banner of Tree Music, a Beijing-based independent record company, and took off on a national tour.

Prior to starting the band, Suo and Zhang had traveled further north along the Yellow River in Shanxi province, listening to farmers and shepherds sing.

Such impressions are reflected in their songs Ballad of the Yellow River and Gone.

"We all have experienced some unforgettable events in our lives" Zhang Weiwei, another band member, said.

Folk veterans Wan Xiaoli and Zhou Yunpeng, and rock singer Xie Tianxiao, are also expected to perform in the Beijing concert.

If you go

7:30 pm, Oct 24. Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, Gongti North Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 400-670-8865.

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