They considered my style as ‘weird’. But I wanted to prove to them that songwriting could be different.” Li Jianqing, singer-songwriter MUSIC FOR THE MIGRANT
Li Jianqing has spent the last decade in Beijing and his first album pays tribute to the outsider. Chen Nan reports.
When Li Jianqing took part in a singing competition in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in 2005, winning was not his aim.
Instead, he wanted to impress one of the jury members, veteran Taiwan producer and singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee.
At that time, Li, then 28, who is a classically trained violinist, was with the Guangxi Symphony Orchestra and wrote his own songs.
He also performed as a lead vocalist in a pop band called Purple Sun.
However, the young man was struggling because few of his peers shared his ideas about music.
“They considered my style as ‘weird’,” says Li. “But I wanted to prove to them that songwriting could be different.
“I grew up listening to Lee’s songs and I believed that he would understand me.”
So, he recorded a sample of his music on a CD and wrote his phone number on it.
Later, Li got the CD passed to Lee, who is referred to as “Taiwan’s pop music godfather”.
A few months later, Li received a call from Lee, who offered him a job in Beijing.
For the past decade, Li has worked as Lee’s assistant and has written songs for pop stars such as Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam and Taiwan singer Aska Yang.
Li released his debut EP, Still An Outlander, in July, comprising six songs for which lyrics were written by Lee.
Li performed the songs at a concert on July 24 at Blue Note Beijing, the first branch of New York’s famous Blue Note Jazz Club in China.
Wearing a white shirt, black trousers and a pair of black sneakers, Li walked onto the stage after his mentor Lee’s brief introduction.
Then, with his guitar he joined a band, including a keyboardist, a bassist, two violinists and a cellist.
“People may know my songs but not me,” says Li.
“Today, I want to formally introduce myself, and let music do the talking.”
Indeed, you might not notice this skinny soft-spoken 39-year-old until you listen to his music.
In 2015, Li released his first single, In A Flash.
The song, for which Lee wrote lyrics, is about migrants who live in a big city.
However, he did not release any more music until the recent EP.
The EP is about Li’s observations on life in Beijing over the past decade through songs like Journey Home and Things That Will Never Change.
Lee, 59, who is the producer of the EP, says: “These songs are special not just for Li but for me, too.”
About four years ago, Lee returned to Taipei because his mother’s health was bad. Before that, he had spent nearly 12 years in Beijing and two years in Shanghai.
So, when Li, who was born and grew up in Guilin, shared his feelings about working and living in Beijing, Lee decided to write about their feelings.
Lee is known for his storytelling and conversational lyrics about romance, life and memories.
In Journey Home, Lee writes about people leaving their hometowns.
Speaking about his feelings, Li says: “One of my band members, a bassist, was an ambitious rocker. But he now runs a roast duck shop in our hometown.
“One day, I saw his photo on his WeChat, in which he was wearing an apron and had his son in his arms, with his wife standing nearby.
“His smile was so warm,” says Li. “I then thought about going back home. But I am too proud. For me, it is harder to return home than to leave.”
In the EP, Li also has two songs based on contemporary poems — one of them is Grandmother, written by Chinese poet Lan Lan.
Li’s grandmother died before he was born. And, according to Li’s mother, his grandmother lived on boat and earned a living by fishing until she met Li’s grandfather, who was a carpenter.
“Lan Lan’s poem reminds me about my grandmother,” says Li.
Li’s family was poor and from a young age he tried to prove that he could be as good as his peers. His father was good at chess and one of his chess mates was a violin teacher, who introduced Li to music at 7.
His first violin cost his father a month’s salary — 12 yuan — in the 1980s.
“I found an outlet in music but self-doubt was never far away. But eventually, I got the confidence to put it out there,” says Li.
Before working with Lee, Li dreamed about being famous and releasing an album. But, now his goal is to study with Lee.
“The past 10 years with Lee make me want to slow down, to learn and to think,” says Li.