Some people describe Urenna as "the most beautiful Mongolian female voice of our time". She was born and raised in the Ordos grassland of Inner Mongolia. She was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of 21, majoring in dulcimer. Since then, she has lived in Germany, Egypt, Italy and other places, and is active on the world music stage. She has won multiple music awards including the German Ruth Music Award for "Best International Artist". From singing on the grassland to the world stage, she has touched people all over the world with her vast, free and open music.
Recently, Wu Renna started the "Gift" 2024 national tour. Following the Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen stations, the Guangzhou station of this tour will be held at the Central Station Performance Center on November 16. Before the concert started in Guangzhou, Wu Renna accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News. She has been living in Europe for many years. When she talks about China after being away for several years, her tone is full of excitement: "I go from Beijing to Hohhot. Now it only takes more than two hours by high-speed rail. It used to take more than ten hours. It's so surprising." I’m so happy.”
Urenna was born and raised in the grassland, and singing is like instinct for her. Traveling around the world over the years, she has often felt that modern people are getting farther and farther away from music. She said that this tour is a "spiritual gift" to the Chinese audience. She hopes that even if the experience is not satisfactory, people can use music to comfort their souls.
“Music is very vital”
Yangcheng Evening News: What impact did the experience of growing up on the grassland have on you?
Urena: My grandma is very good at singing. I was still very young at that time, and I went to the grassland to herd sheep with her. I still remember her sitting on the grass singing with her eyes closed, and there was a prairie in front of me, and the swaying grass seemed to be dancing, like watching a movie. There are no music classes in the grassland, but we can sing anytime and anywhere, and I sing along all the way. Mongolian songs are passed down orally. In the early 1990s, I returned to the grassland to collect songs from old herdsmen, and I found that even if it was the same song, everyone sang it differently and had their own characteristics. Music is such a vital thing.
Yangcheng Evening News: The foundation of your music is Mongolian long tunes, but you have collaborated with musicians from different countries and regions over the years, giving the music a richer color. Why do you do this and how do you choose the musicians to work with?
Urena: Music is boundless. The world is like a huge grassland. Nomads will not stay on the same grassland forever. We are always looking for new things. For example, the band Kroke and I heard their performance in Berlin in 1999. The accordion in one of the songs moved me very much. At that time, I thought, "If I want to collaborate with an accordionist, it must be him." Later, the cooperation was promoted through the introduction of a friend. The collaboration with the Iranian Persian drum master DJmachid Chemirani's family came about because I heard a very good drum sound on a CD, but I never got in touch with this musician. Unexpectedly, he happened to be in front of me during a performance in Belgium. Acting, that’s how we got to know each other. The communication between the musicians is very open and it is a pleasure to work with them.
Yangcheng Evening News: You have lived in Europe for many years. The culture and living environment here are very different from China and the Ordos grassland. Does it have an impact on your music?
Urena: I spend half of my time in Germany and half of my time in Italy. I lived in a city in Germany, but where I lived in Italy was very much like the prairie, with almost no neighbors nearby. I often say that there is day and night everywhere, and so is life. No matter where I go, I observe and learn. Wherever my heart is, I am there. I have always had countless melodies like spring water in my mind, and I can sing them at any time. So I often tell my manager that I want to perform more shows, and I really want to share this music with all mankind, my audience and my friends.
"People should treat singing as a companion"
Yangcheng Evening News: You describe your hometown of Ordos grassland as "the ocean of songs", and you have lived in songs and stories since you were a child.But when music became a career, did you ever get burned out on it?
Urena: For me, singing is a very natural thing. I never thought of this as my career. When I was young, the audience was the prairie and the sheep. Now it’s just a different audience. I've always considered myself very lucky to be able to live off the things I love most.
Yangcheng Evening News: But in many cultures, music is not a necessity of life. It takes courage for people to open up and sing.
Urenna: It is indeed the case, and everyone seems to be more and more shy about singing. I chatted with elderly people in Europe, and they said that in the past, one person would pick up the guitar and the others would sing together, but now this scene is becoming less and less common. But I think people should treat singing as their companion, and everyone can sing. When I was giving a music workshop in Europe, I once met a woman who refused to sing for the first two days. It was not until the third day that she finally started singing. She had the best voice in the whole workshop. It turned out that when she was 8 years old, she was criticized by a teacher for having a "voice like a crow", and she never dared to sing again. The universe is so big and there are countless voices. We must dare to make our own voices heard. Moreover, singing can mobilize different muscles in the body, which is very good for the body.
Yangcheng Evening News: Would you consider returning to the Ordos grassland to settle?
Urenna: If conditions permit, of course. Living in Europe now is mainly for the convenience of performing around the world. If one day I don’t need to travel, I can go back to the grasslands and be a herder, no problem at all.
"Hope to meet domestic music fans more often"
Yangcheng Evening News: The theme "gift" of this tour comes from your song "beleg". Why did you choose this as the theme of this tour?
Urenna: The reason why I wrote the song "beleg" is because I saw many disasters happening in the world at that time, and many people - especially children - were suffering, and I always wanted to do something. It wasn't until I was on a plane from Germany to Spain for a performance that this song suddenly appeared in my mind. As I wrote the lyrics on paper, the melody was born in my head.
I haven’t performed in China for nearly five years. In the past few years, the whole world has experienced a lot of difficult things, so this time I especially want to give a spiritual gift to my fans and audience friends, and use my music to spend a good time with everyone. , named the tour "Gift".
Yangcheng Evening News: Your old partner, Kroke, a band from Krakow, Poland, also participated in this China tour. Are there any collaboration stories you can share?
Urena: "Beleg" was the first piece I collaborated with Kroke's accordionist Jerzy Bawol, in 2003. I remember very well that at the end of the first rehearsal, Jerzy's tears fell and he said that this song moved him very much.
Let’s talk about another Kroke artist, Tomasz Lato. This China tour is his first time to travel by plane for such a long time. He plays the double bass really well, but because he used to be so afraid of flying, he was never there when we played shows in China or Asia. This time he finally overcame his fear, which can be said to be a miracle. This is also the gift this tour brought him.
Yangcheng Evening News: How does it feel to see the domestic audience again after five years? What are your expectations for the upcoming Guangzhou show?
Wu Renna: We have just finished our performance in Shanghai. The atmosphere was really good. I hope to meet domestic fans more often in the future. The last time I came to Guangzhou was in 2019, and I still have a deep impression. After the performance, many people came to us to sign autographs and take photos. It was a very beautiful memory. Although the repertoire of each performance on this tour is roughly the same, our performance, my breathing and singing are all different each time. It can be said that each performance has a different color and taste. I hope the audience can feel it too. at this point.
Some people describe Urenna as "the most beautiful Mongolian female voice of our time". She was born and raised in the Ordos grassland of Inner Mongolia. She was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the age of 21, majoring in dulcimer. Since then, she has lived in Germany, Egypt, Italy and other places, and is active on the world music stage. She has won multiple music awards including the German Ruth Music Award for "Best International Artist". From singing on the grassland to the world stage, she has touched people all over the world with her vast, free and open music.
Recently, Wu Renna started the "Gift" 2024 national tour. Following the Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen stations, the Guangzhou station of this tour will be held at the Central Station Performance Center on November 16. Before the concert started in Guangzhou, Wu Renna accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News. She has been living in Europe for many years. When she talks about China after being away for several years, her tone is full of excitement: "I go from Beijing to Hohhot. Now it only takes more than two hours by high-speed rail. It used to take more than ten hours. It's so surprising." I’m so happy.”
Urenna was born and raised in the grassland, and singing is like instinct for her. Traveling around the world over the years, she has often felt that modern people are getting farther and farther away from music. She said that this tour is a "spiritual gift" to the Chinese audience. She hopes that even if the experience is not satisfactory, people can use music to comfort their souls.
“Music is very vital”
Yangcheng Evening News: What impact did the experience of growing up on the grassland have on you?
Urena: My grandma is very good at singing. I was still very young at that time, and I went to the grassland to herd sheep with her. I still remember her sitting on the grass singing with her eyes closed, and there was a prairie in front of me, and the swaying grass seemed to be dancing, like watching a movie. There are no music classes in the grassland, but we can sing anytime and anywhere, and I sing along all the way. Mongolian songs are passed down orally. In the early 1990s, I returned to the grassland to collect songs from old herdsmen, and I found that even if it was the same song, everyone sang it differently and had their own characteristics. Music is such a vital thing.
Yangcheng Evening News: The foundation of your music is Mongolian long tunes, but you have collaborated with musicians from different countries and regions over the years, giving the music a richer color. Why do you do this and how do you choose the musicians to work with?
Urena: Music is boundless. The world is like a huge grassland. Nomads will not stay on the same grassland forever. We are always looking for new things. For example, the band Kroke and I heard their performance in Berlin in 1999. The accordion in one of the songs moved me very much. At that time, I thought, "If I want to collaborate with an accordionist, it must be him." Later, the cooperation was promoted through the introduction of a friend. The collaboration with the Iranian Persian drum master DJmachid Chemirani's family came about because I heard a very good drum sound on a CD, but I never got in touch with this musician. Unexpectedly, he happened to be in front of me during a performance in Belgium. Acting, that’s how we got to know each other. The communication between the musicians is very open and it is a pleasure to work with them.
Yangcheng Evening News: You have lived in Europe for many years. The culture and living environment here are very different from China and the Ordos grassland. Does it have an impact on your music?
Urena: I spend half of my time in Germany and half of my time in Italy. I lived in a city in Germany, but where I lived in Italy was very much like the prairie, with almost no neighbors nearby. I often say that there is day and night everywhere, and so is life. No matter where I go, I observe and learn. Wherever my heart is, I am there. I have always had countless melodies like spring water in my mind, and I can sing them at any time. So I often tell my manager that I want to perform more shows, and I really want to share this music with all mankind, my audience and my friends.
"People should treat singing as a companion"
Yangcheng Evening News: You describe your hometown of Ordos grassland as "the ocean of songs", and you have lived in songs and stories since you were a child.But when music became a career, did you ever get burned out on it?
Urena: For me, singing is a very natural thing. I never thought of this as my career. When I was young, the audience was the prairie and the sheep. Now it’s just a different audience. I've always considered myself very lucky to be able to live off the things I love most.
Yangcheng Evening News: But in many cultures, music is not a necessity of life. It takes courage for people to open up and sing.
Urenna: It is indeed the case, and everyone seems to be more and more shy about singing. I chatted with elderly people in Europe, and they said that in the past, one person would pick up the guitar and the others would sing together, but now this scene is becoming less and less common. But I think people should treat singing as their companion, and everyone can sing. When I was giving a music workshop in Europe, I once met a woman who refused to sing for the first two days. It was not until the third day that she finally started singing. She had the best voice in the whole workshop. It turned out that when she was 8 years old, she was criticized by a teacher for having a "voice like a crow", and she never dared to sing again. The universe is so big and there are countless voices. We must dare to make our own voices heard. Moreover, singing can mobilize different muscles in the body, which is very good for the body.
Yangcheng Evening News: Would you consider returning to the Ordos grassland to settle?
Urenna: If conditions permit, of course. Living in Europe now is mainly for the convenience of performing around the world. If one day I don’t need to travel, I can go back to the grasslands and be a herder, no problem at all.
"Hope to meet domestic music fans more often"
Yangcheng Evening News: The theme "gift" of this tour comes from your song "beleg". Why did you choose this as the theme of this tour?
Urenna: The reason why I wrote the song "beleg" is because I saw many disasters happening in the world at that time, and many people - especially children - were suffering, and I always wanted to do something. It wasn't until I was on a plane from Germany to Spain for a performance that this song suddenly appeared in my mind. As I wrote the lyrics on paper, the melody was born in my head.
I haven’t performed in China for nearly five years. In the past few years, the whole world has experienced a lot of difficult things, so this time I especially want to give a spiritual gift to my fans and audience friends, and use my music to spend a good time with everyone. , named the tour "Gift".
Yangcheng Evening News: Your old partner, Kroke, a band from Krakow, Poland, also participated in this China tour. Are there any collaboration stories you can share?
Urena: "Beleg" was the first piece I collaborated with Kroke's accordionist Jerzy Bawol, in 2003. I remember very well that at the end of the first rehearsal, Jerzy's tears fell and he said that this song moved him very much.
Let’s talk about another Kroke artist, Tomasz Lato. This China tour is his first time to travel by plane for such a long time. He plays the double bass really well, but because he used to be so afraid of flying, he was never there when we played shows in China or Asia. This time he finally overcame his fear, which can be said to be a miracle. This is also the gift this tour brought him.
Yangcheng Evening News: How does it feel to see the domestic audience again after five years? What are your expectations for the upcoming Guangzhou show?
Wu Renna: We have just finished our performance in Shanghai. The atmosphere was really good. I hope to meet domestic fans more often in the future. The last time I came to Guangzhou was in 2019, and I still have a deep impression. After the performance, many people came to us to sign autographs and take photos. It was a very beautiful memory. Although the repertoire of each performance on this tour is roughly the same, our performance, my breathing and singing are all different each time. It can be said that each performance has a different color and taste. I hope the audience can feel it too. at this point.
text | Reporter Hu Guangxin picture | Artist provided
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