CANCELLED: China: Mamer

The province of Xinjiang lies in the far north-western corner of China. The enormous region is almost five times bigger than Germany (with a population of only 23 million) and has a very diverse landscape that includes the Altai and Tian Shan mountain ranges, the Taklamakan Desert and the grasslands of the steppe. The culture, 2,000 kilometres away from Beijing, is still influenced by the Central Asian Turkic population. One of the most important instruments here is a long-necked lute called the dombra. The singer-songwriter Mamer belongs to the Kazakh minority and has brought the dombyra from its centuries-old tradition, in which musicians sought to outdo each other with extremely fast playing, into the modern age – Mamer deliberately plays very slowly. He has also paired the instrument up with its modern-age cousin, the electric bass guitar.

Mamer grew up with the songs of the desert steppe in his home in Qatai. Today, his sound lives on meditative introspection. His solo performances mirror the expanse and solitude of the steppe and man’s oneness with the might of nature. These instrumentals are dedicated to the birds, the plants and the horses, and to contemplation of the heavens and the elements. The deep sound of the strings exudes an almost Zen-like peace. An introspective bard completely without words. Unless he picks up the bass guitar…