After two years of absence from the music scene, popular Malaysian
singer Ah Niu has again taken the Southeast Asian music world by
storm with a comeback album this year entitled
Peach Blossoms
Are Blooming. Music fans across Southeast Asia and the Chinese
Mainland are opening their arms wide to embrace Ah Niu's new album,
which is mostly a continuation of his lovely and simple music
style.
The title track Peach Blossoms Are Blooming is a track
that has been suggested as one to be enjoyed by all. Simple but
joyous-sounding, the song is reminiscent of traditional Chinese
celebration tunes.
The inspiration for the song came from one of Ah Niu's visits to
the Chinese Mainland. Ah Niu saw a large area of blossoming peach
trees. He suddenly thought of how numerous people were working in
other cities, away from their homes. They will return to their
family at the Lunar New Year Festival time, which falls in the
spring. So Ah Niu wrote this song to describe how when a person
returns home, all his beloved ones are waiting earnestly for his
return under the peach blossom tree. Truly, the festive mood and
the warm, simple and genuine happiness expressed in the music make
it an ideal song for the traditional Chinese Spring Festival
celebration. Now let's enjoy this track.
Ah Niu's original name was Chen Qingxiang. Before 1997, he was
very popular in Malaysia and Singapore only. After his song was
sung by Taiwan pop singer and actor Richie Ren, Ah Niu quickly
became recognized by the public and generated a large following in
Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. His most unforgettable
previous hits include Girl In Front, Look At Me, Love
Me Forever and Hug the Little Koala. In addition, he
also composed a few hits for famous Taiwan and Hong Kong pop
singers like Rene Liu and Karen Mok.
In 2003, A Niu temporarily hid away from public view, because,
as he said, he was overwhelmed by too many things that life had
granted him and he needed time to digest them.
Now, the album Peach Blossoms Are Blooming is made up of ten new
compositions, all of which were composed and produced within less
than three months.
Say I Love You with the Passion of Malaysian Weather
was adapted from a traditional Malaysian folk tune. The title
seemed a little confusing at first sight. But Ah Niu explained that
it is because Malaysia has only two seasons, the dry season and the
Monsoon season. So the title means I love you with a passion that
matches the extreme hot weather or the fervor of the heavy rain in
Malaysia. This meaning is also expressed in its lyrics. The
intertwining traditional folk ballads give the song a tropical
flavor. Let's hear it.
Ah Niu's music style is very down to earth. As such the style is
often easy approachable, like the singer himself. The following
track entitled Say Sorry is a funny rendition of the scene of a
couple bickering over trivial family issues. The husband comes back
from work and lazily stretches out on the sofa to watch TV. The
wife asks him how was his day? But he doesn't care to answer her,
telling her he wants to watch TV and asks her to bring him a
coffee. Feeling hurt, the wife then complains that the man leaves
all family duties to her and gets angry at her even for things like
the toothpaste getting used up. Realizing his fault, the man
guiltily apologizes to his wife. Now let's hear this humorous
piece.
Before we conclude on Ah Niu's new album, we have one more track
for you. I Want To Sing A Song For You is a work composed
for Ah Niu's little daughter who is still in the stage of enjoying
bossing her father about. The melody is comforting and the lyrics
are sweet and full of emotion. But Ah Niu says his daughter may not
understand what he's singing about until she grows up, or maybe
after he's handed her over to the arm of another man. Now let's see
what feeling this track leaves us.
(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)
