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Lang Ge: the apple fragrance wafts from the music

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Kang Haoyan) news: Lang Ge is a man with natural curly flaxen hair and wears a pair of dark sunglasses. The fitted bright-colored suit outlines his tall and thin figure. In early March, he was preparing for an evening performance at a hotel in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang, and was running a 38-degree fever when interviewed by the reporter.

At that time, he had just returned to Xinjiang from a performance in Chongqing, southwest China, and stayed briefly in Urumqi. After finishing the commercial performance that night, he would have to rush to many other places to attend activities. Since his popular songs such as “Apple Fragrance” and “Bistro on Gulimutu Road” have taken the online platform and offline KTV by storm, his performance invitations have been constant and a full schedule has been the norm. “It’s a blessing to be able to sing the songs of my hometown, and I cherish every opportunity.” He said so.

The original music impulse in the blood

Lang Ge puts his heart and soul into every performance. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Lang Ge, whose real name is Nurlan Zunong, was born in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang, and he loved singing, painting and sports since he was a child. Although he became an art teacher after graduation, music has always been his abiding love that is hard to give up.

In the 1980s, Lang Ge went to Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, to study painting, and his unquenchable homesickness made him write the song “Green Grassland” from his feelings. In 1994, the song “Green Grassland” won three golden prizes in composition, songwriting and singing in the song collecting event for the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang, and was determined as the song that represents the spirit of the people of the prefecture. As a result, Lang Ge became a famous local singer from a music lover.

“I think writing songs is not by inspiration or talent, but an inner urge to express.” Lang Ge said that he had not formally studied music arrangement, and his creations mainly came from the original rhythm at heart, as well as his life experience. When he was a child, his idols were several ethnic singers, and he regarded the abundant ethnic songs as treasures. Out of hobbies, he had translated some traditional ethnic songs and adapted the melodies passed down orally, and his understanding and love for music grew day by day. He was increasingly convinced that “Xinjiang people can sing the songs of Xinjiang better”.

After being immersed in music for more than ten years, Lang Ge started his creation outburst, with a dozen songs such as “Jinghe Beauty”, “Rainbow Love”, “Bistro on Gulimutu Road” and “Guitar Tears” being released one after another. The song “Bistro on Gulimutu Road”, which was written in memory of his mother, received 5 million hits on the Internet within two months; and the song “Today is a Good Day”, adapted from the traditional melody of the Tatar ethnic, was taken as the preferred ringtone by China Mobile Xinjiang Company.

In 2015, Lang Ge’s first original album “Lang Ge’s Voice” was released by Xinjiang Audio and Video Publishing House, and it has 13 songs. This album of local songs, which integrates multi-ethnic music elements and reflects Xinjiang’s characteristics, has been evaluated by Xinjiang Audio and Video Publishing House as “a messenger of Xinjiang’s culture dissemination and a model of intermingling ethnic arts”.

Love for the homeland growing out of the soil

“Red-billed geese fly back, reeds swing with the wind, whether Sauleytay is in the opposite side of the river today....” In the beginning of 2021, “Apple Fragrance” was released online and received a great response. Over the past two years, there have been many singers covering this song, and it has become a must-have song in KTVs all over Xinjiang, and the lingering melody makes people never get tired of listening to it. With this song, Lang Ge was invited to go out of Xinjiang and sang around in China.

The lyrics in 290 words summarize Lang Ge’s almost lifelong memories of his hometown. His childhood was in a time when colors were not abundant and people liked to paint their courtyards blue. Although he drank the bitter water of the river dam, his heart would always remember the sweet taste of the apple orchard. From the small courtyard to the outside world, he saw the streets becoming increasingly prosperous, bakeries and brisket stores opened, and then after the great development of tourism in Xinjiang, farmhouses sprang up everywhere, and young Kazakh girls started to operate homestay yurts, so that tourists could ride horses by the river and sing songs throughout the night. This is the inspiration source for the lyrics of “Apple Fragrance”. What makes this song so good is that it doesn’t mention a word of Ili in Xinjiang, but every sentence is about it; it says nothing about missing, but every sentence is pouring out his feelings.

“With love to support, the song has a soul, and with the love towards my hometown, I created the song ‘Apple Fragrance’.” Lang Ge said. This original taste rooted in the soil of his hometown can find its mark in almost all his songs. The song “Rainbow Love” composed for the Guozigou Bridge was born from his personal experience that people in the Ili Valley experienced the travel difficulties before, and his pride that the treacherous terrain has now become a smooth road; the song “Guitar with Five Strings” being composed was born from the tranquility and prosperity he felt in Urumqi of northwest China’s Xinjiang for several years, and the kindness and warmth passed by people in the city with brilliant lights.

“The advantage of local musicians is that we have lived in this land for many years and have personally felt the little changes in our homeland, which can naturally stir up Xinjiang people’s particular emotions in the lyrics and songs.” Lang Ge said he insisted on creating lyrics and songs by himself for many years, often repeatedly made deliberation of several thousand-word drafts, so that the emotions and love in his heart could coalesce in the creation.

Many people have told him that they hear a faint sadness in “Apple Fragrance”. He believes that “Apple Fragrance” is written for Ili but not only for it, and it is the lingering nostalgia for the hometown that is common in people’s memory that has made it a widely spread hit today.

The unceasing power of moving forward on the road

Son of the Grassland, a singing wolf in the West, an ecological and original music artist in Xinjiang, a soul singer lives like a song and dedicates himself to music... Over the years, Lang Ge has received uncountable high praises. In this regard, he said with a modest smile, “I am just a native song writer in Xinjiang, we can’t build roads and houses, but we can sing to let people know about Xinjiang, and we just do what we can for our hometown.” In his opinion, everyone is an artist in his own life, and he only loves music and is fond of his hometown.

Now 60 years old, Lang Ge is still on the road of creation. He is currently invited by the local cultural tourism bureau to create the “Ili Trilogy” with “Apple Fragrance” as the first piece, which will incorporate Kazanqi, Liuxing Street and other special scenic spots of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang. The birth of a good song is not easy, and the hardships of songwriters are difficult for others to understand. Lang Ge has been running around for many years, and after performances, he collects stories and melodies, hoping to accumulate more materials to tell the story of Xinjiang.

In 2020, Lang Ge opened a Douyin account, named “Lang Ge’s Bistro”, in order to record his performance and creation, and his footprints can be seen all over Xinjiang and beyond. There are countless videos of his songs being covered on platforms such as Douyin. He said, “Songs are written to be listened to and sung by others. I would like to see more people singing original songs from Xinjiang.” He never hesitates to share his accompaniments. When he releases a song, the accompaniment is also released simultaneously. “This is the open-mindedness of us Xinjiang people.”

“The development of society now gives musicians a broader platform, and it has become a responsibility for me to write and sing good songs.” Lang Ge said that generations of Xinjiang people who have experienced decades of social changes have now gained a peaceful, beautiful and rich life with their own efforts, and being able to sing about this happiness in songs is his firm motivation to move forward.

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