Shanren
Formed in 2000 Shanren, literally ‘mountain men,’ are the original Yunnan band that started it all, and have become one of China’s top indie folk bands. Winners of China’s CCTV3 2016 national competition ‘Sing My Song’ which showcases original music and artists, Shanren are now effectively household names in China despite their alternative style which fuses indigenous music with modern styles, while showcasing a huge variety of traditional instruments.
Shanren’s international career, based on the strength of their infamous energetic live shows has taken them to festivals all over the world, including WOMAD NZ, Womadelaide (Australia), Rainforest World Music Festival (Malaysia), Balispirit (Indonesia), Rotterdam Unlimited (Holland), FMM World Music Festival (Portugal), Paleo (Switzerland), Otavalo Roots (Ecuador), Sound Beat Asia (Japan). Their 2013 album “Left Foot Dance of the Yi and other Chinese Folk Anthems” released by Riverboat Records was nominated for best Rock album at the 2013 MIDI music awards, Best Folk album at the Golden Melody Awards and received Best Folk Roots album at the Golden Folk Awards 2014. It was listed as number 51 in the 2014 Annual European World music album charts.
山人乐队
山人乐队是一支不同民族背景的乐队，成军十余年来参加了国内几乎所有大中小型音乐节上千场演出，近年来进军国际市场，足迹踏遍几十个国家，其中有美国英国法国瑞士荷兰葡萄牙西班牙加拿大意大利斯诺文尼亚厄瓜多尔澳大利亚新西兰日本韩国泰国马来西亚…已成为中国最具代表性的民族摇滚乐队。并在2016年获得中央电视台大型综艺节目《中国好歌曲》全国总冠军。对民族音乐的传承与传播起到了重要的领军作用。
Puman
Pioneers of Yunnan Reggae
Puman are one of the originators of Yunnan Reggae, a sound that has developed among the ethnic tribes in the rainforest region around China’s Southernmost borders with Lao and Myanmar. The band invokes the melodies, traditional instruments and, most importantly, the spirit of these traditions with resonant and catchy original compositions and a danceable reggae vibe that has made them arguably China’s most influential reggae band to date.
Their self-titled debut album has had more than 20 million streams globally and produced a UK Number One Reggae Vinyl release (Juno Vinyl DUB charts) - 'B'lang Beauty' - released by UK based DNA Records, inspiring a popular remix by French Reggae/Hip Hop duo L’Entourloop. They are also responsible for a viral Chinese dance craze that involves stomping around carrying a progressively more outlandish collection of household furniture! With a surprising international reach that overshadows almost all other Chinese Reggae (10k+ monthly listeners on Spotify and 3M+ streams on Youtube), Puman's international career, initially held back by Covid, is now ready to take off with a vengeance.
濮曼
云南雷鬼
来自云南，成立于2015年。乐队由布朗族、彝族、佤族、哈尼 族和纳西族几个不同民族的成员组成。濮曼将少数民族情怀、洒脱的 天性融入音乐创作中，搭配现场表演时自由的舞步、惬意的氛围，使 得每一首作品、每一次演出都富含感染力。
代表作:《三跺脚》《昆马调》《山间马帮为谁来》
Manhu
Ethnic Roots with a modern twist
Manhu present a fascinating reinterpretation of the music of Yunnan's Yi people, most specifically from the Sani people of the Stone Forest region, an area geographically cut off from other Yi populations and hence developing it’s own unique musical and cultural identity. Manhu have been playing together since 2003 and all members are from the Sani farming community, rarely leaving except for performances, which have included two US tours with over 90 concerts and workshops and shows at prestigious venues such as Beijing’s National Theatre. Extremely authentic, all the band members are multi-instrumentalists, proficient in a range of Yi instruments and singing styles and their upbeat interpretation of these often inaccessible traditions features many locally iconic instruments that help forge a quirky and original sound.
Their 2020 debut album 'Voices of the Sani', released by the World Music Network, spent three months in the top 20 of the Transglobal World Music Charts reaching a high of No. 8, with many very positive reviews including the BBC Music Magazine, Songlines, World Listening Post etc and being rated as No.1 on Global Village for two months. Manhu can also been seen on the front cover of ‘The Rough Guide to World Music Unplugged’, an outstanding recognition for a collection of humble and gentle folk of such remote origins.
蛮虎乐队
蛮虎乐队成员来自“阿诗玛”的故乡一石林，成员为彝族支系撒尼人。 乐队自成立以来便一直致力于发扬和传承撒尼民族音乐文化。2019 年，发布专辑《四季》。2020年的开头，蛮虎乐队受邀参加由中央宣 传部、中央文明办、文化旅游部国家广播电视总局、中国文联联合主 办的“我们的中国梦”文化进万家活动。
代表作:《阿诗玛》《打歌》《春夏》《三胡情》《跳菜》
Bagedai
STOMPING FUN WAZU REGGAE
Bagedai are one of the latest signings to Sea of Wood Records. Hailing from one of China's most remote counties, Ximeng, homeland of the Wa people, one of the most charismatic and culturally unique of all of Yunnan's many ethnic groups. This homeland is limited to two remote forested enclaves divided by the separatist Wa State in northern Myanmar. For a hunter-gatherer community that was still practicing head-hunting within living memory, the Wa have embraced modernity in fine fashion and stamped their identity on the Chinese music scene with a reputation for excellent musicianship, exuberant performance, and a string of successful bands that have been highly influential in the Chinese Reggae scene and beyond. At the heart of this success lie the robustly melodic and infectious traditional songs of the Wa people. This is what Bagedai present - no more no less - modern, danceable arrangements of one stompingly good tune after another. Fronted by five female lead singers/dancers backed by some of the most experienced Wa musicians, Bagedai are guaranteed to bring the house down at every show they play.