Rediscovering centuries-old music and lyrics of ancestors

When Cai Kaidong first began listening to Nanyin, the ancient musical tradition of his hometown Quanzhou, Fujian province, he was not immediately impressed.

"I completely didn't understand it," he says. "When I was young, I didn't like it."

Like many teenagers, Cai preferred pop and rock. During his high school and university years, he played in more than 10 bands, writing songs and working in recording and music production. But after years of chasing new sounds, he unexpectedly found his way back to Nanyin.

In 2019, Cai began studying the centuries-old tradition in earnest. A year later, he formed Tiam Drop, a six-member group of young musicians from Quanzhou, all born between 1990 and 1999, dedicated to bringing Nanyin to contemporary audiences.

Tiam Drop is made up of music producer and founder Cai, fifth-generation Nanyin inheritor Zheng Mingming, Nanyin dongxiao (traditional end-blown vertical bamboo flute) player Shen Yijie, percussionist Zhang Rongpan, young sanxian (three-stringed lute) player Chen Sishi and erxian (two-stringed instrument) player Zhuang Jianjun.

Cai's description of what the group does is characteristically straightforward.

"We're basically a cover band," says Cai, who plays daruan, a large-bodied, low-pitched member of the ruan family (a family of traditional Chinese plucked lutes). "We cover music written by ancient people."

The joke contains a serious truth.

Rather than reinventing Nanyin, Tiam Drop places its traditional melodies, lyrics and instruments at the center, using contemporary arrangements to create a bridge to modern listeners.

This year marks the group's third appearance at the Heritage Resonance Music Festival, where it will perform at Dingzhou Examination Hall in Hebei province, the largest and best-preserved surviving ancient examination complex in northern China, first built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

For Cai, the setting could hardly be more appropriate.

"The music we play is ancient," he says. "To be able to perform in ancient buildings, heritage sites and places that are normally difficult to enter is already a great honor."

But performing in historic architecture has also taught the musicians a lesson in restraint.

"Modern performances can sometimes be very uninhibited," Cai says. "In an ancient building, you have to be restrained."

Volume and resonance have to be carefully controlled, allowing the music to reach audiences without overwhelming either them or the historic surroundings.

"You come and leave without leaving a mark," Cai says.

For someone who has spent years working in recording and mixing, Cai is also fascinated by the acoustics of old buildings. Wooden beams, aged walls and naturally irregular spaces can create a warmth and resonance that modern studios struggle to reproduce.

"Some of these old buildings sound better than any recording studio," he says.