Sing from the city, sound of the valley

Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley attending a press conference held on July 20 at Carving Time cafe, Haidian district in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

When my friend invited me to interview Xiao Juan and Residents from the Valley, I hesitated, wondering, "Who are they?" And the next moment, I went online to find out.

And here's the first line on their Baidu Encyclopedia page, "Sing from the city, sound of the valley."

To be honest, I think the sentence cures.

For most people living in big cities, the valley is somewhat like a dreamland, where birds are twittering, streams gurgling. You can take as many deep breaths as you wish – something you absolutely dare not try in cities like Beijing.

I read on, and found what music critics say about the band: "You can smell the most intrinsic aroma of life" - quite intriguing a comment to me so that I began to wonder: how do they sing, and what are their voices like?

I went to Xiami.com, and tuned in to their broadcast. A warm, magnetic, and soothing man's voice flowed into my ears, murmuring poetic lines from the song Zaishuiyifang (In the water side).

"Grey is the grass, blurred is the fog; along the water side, lives my dream belle. Upstream I would go, only if, I could lie by her side," the man sings.

For the next hour, I was in a state of tranquil rapture, sitting still in my office chair, thrilled to have reclaimed something I had long lost to city life: inner peace and total relaxation.

I decided this is a band that I shouldn't miss. So I texted my friend back, "I'll go."