The Rough Guide To The Music of Yunnan (2022)

Perhaps the closest Chinese equivalent to La France profonde is the province of Yunnan. In the country’s south-west, bordering Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Tibet, its landscape ranges from mountains to deep forests. It is ethnically and culturally diverse — and, with a population of nearly 50mn, easily merits its own Rough Guide compilation. The album has been curated by Sam Debell, a British musician based in provincial capital Kunming. Debell’s credentials include running the record label Sea of Wood, which showcases Yunnan bands, and playing percussion with Shanren, probably the local band best known outside China. Most of the music here is traditional, though the melodies are often reworked in modern ways. Puman’s version of “Bulang Beauty”, for example, begins with deep-voiced singing over a drift of organ but, after a minute or so, acquires a slow reggae beat, the overall effect similar to Oki Dub Ainu Band marrying northern Japanese traditional song with Jamaican rhythms.|

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