The five are “Return to Reality (虛空現下)” by Huang Yu-han (黃宇寒); “Mountain of Doom (滅人山)” by Ayugo Huang (黃連煜); “Today is a Wild Horse (今本日係馬)” by Lo Sirong & Gomoteu (羅思容與孤毛頭); “Tracing Hakka Roots in Foreign Lands (他鄉尋客)” by iColor (愛客樂); and “Chien (塹)” by Boiii P (彭柏邑).
In a radio interview, Huang Yu-han said the album “Return to Reality” focuses on the social issue of cyberbullying, a phenomenon that some netizens stay hidden in the virtual world to hurt other people. Huang hopes that the public can pay more attention to online aggression and think twice before submitting comments on the Internet.
Spending 12 months on the album “Mountain of Doom,” Ayugo Huang said this work tells a story about how Hakka ancestors overcame all the difficulties to survive after they immigrated to Taiwan over 200 years ago. Huang created his music with modern elements to present an ancient history, dedicating this album to his Hakka forebears who risked everything to cross the sea to the island.
(Photo credit: Ayugo Huang’s Facebook page)
The album “Today is a Wild Horse” by Hakka band Lo Sirong & Gomoteu encompasses a diverse range of musical styles such as country music, folk ballad, experimental rock, the blues, bossa nova, swing jazz, and New Age music, dealing with different subject matters, including birth, family affection, diaspora, wounds, love, and faith.
In the album “Tracing Hakka Roots in Foreign Lands,” the two-person band iColor invited Hakka poets Yeh Jih-sung (葉日松), Chiu Yi-fan (邱一帆), Fan Wen-fang (范文芳), and Chen Mei-yen (陳美燕) to write lyrics for their songs and featured singer Vita Chang (張芮菲) and Malaysian Hakka YouTuber Rambo Chai (蔡阿保).
The title of the album “Chien,” produced by Boiii P, originates from Chuchien (bamboo pit, 竹塹), the earlier name for today’s Hsinchu. In his musical pieces, the young Hakka singer expresses his affection for his family and hometown, his observation and reflection on the city where he grew up, as well as his imagination and creativity in Hakka music from the perspective of a member of Generation Z.
