Cui Jian: Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST 2023

For the third consecutive year, NPR teamed up with globalFEST in January 2023 for a thrilling online music festival we call Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions hosted by African pop star Angélique Kidjo. Now, we're posting all the sets from our festival as individual Tiny Desk (home) concerts. To see the translations on these videos, please click the 'CC' button.

The most influential rock musician in China is Beijing-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and vocalist Cui Jian. The former leader of Chinese rock band Ado, Jian's solo music is continually embraced by new generations: his albums having sold more than 10 million copies in Asia. The Wall Street Journal said, "Cui Jian continues to be an inspiration for China's disenchanted youth." However, Jian's prime inspiration comes not from politics, but from personal issues. He said, "I talk about serious things in my heart and people's lives, including, of course, love. But, mostly it's about Chinese culture, the modern culture. They're not political songs. It's just the truth, the modern truth. I talk about our life in China."

SET LIST

• "Fake Monk"
• "Go On"
• "Wild in the Snow"

MUSICIANS

• Cui Jian: lead vocals, guitar
• Liu Yuan: saxophone
• Eddie Randriamampionona: guitar
• Liu Yue: bass 
• Lu Chao: drums
• Gao Xing: hand percussion
• Wu Na: Chinese guqin
• Zhou Tian: vocals
• Li Yanan: vocals

CREDITS

• Art Director: Cui Jian
• Executive Producer: Yoyo
• Executive Director: Ken Deng
• Live Music Recording Engineer: Li Feng
• Live Music Supervisor: Wang Zheng
• Live Recordist: Zheng Xiaofei
• Program: Wang Zheng
• Live Monitor Sound Engineer: Xu Xuan
• Audio Equipment Coordinator: Wang Chaojie
• Sound Mixing/Mastering: Li Make
• Musician Assistants: Yang Haitao, Gao Shuo
• Videographers: Ken Deng, Li Bingwei, Xu Zhu, Li Qianpeng, Jiao Mingjie, Jin Siwei 
• Assistant: He Chang
• Gaffer: Sun Qunliang
• Assistant: Sun Xujie, Cao Yawei, Wang Xinqiao, Cao Junfei
• Coordinator: Wang Zebin, Sira 
• Special thanks to East Shore Jazz Club

TINY DESK TEAM

• Creative Director: Bob Boilen 
• Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin 
• Series Producer: Bobby Carter 
• Editing: Joshua Bryant
• Tiny Desk Team: Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer

GLOBALFEST TEAM

• Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer and Bill Bragin
• 2023 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin and Meera Dugal
• Event Producer: Ian Thake
• Host: Angélique Kidjo
• Legal Services: Tamizdat
• Legal Services: Duane Morris
• Video Production: Karim Tabbaa

FUNDERS:

• The Mellon Foundation
• The National Endowment for the Arts
• NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

SPECIAL THANKS:

• Ken Umezaki
• Fabian Alsultany
• Steven Kirkpatrick
• David Komar

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.