Nan Quan Ma Ma - Nan Quan Mama's Summer (Released in 2004)
Rating:
*****5
Nan Quan Ma Ma? What a weird name? Hard to pronounce and remember, to some. My friends go ??? when I mentioned their name. "Who are them?" was their first question. According to some sources, "Nan Quan" (a Chinese martial art) symbolizes the "power" and "Ma Ma" (Mother) symbolizes "Love & Warmth". Thus exactly explains the beauty of music and how they get their name.
My favourite track in this album is, none other than, track 4. It is a rap rock track, brave enough to reminds u of Linkin Park. Bravo!
Nevertheless, there might be some tracks which might remind u of Jay unintentionally:
Track 2 - Xiang Cao Ba Pu, a refreshing jolly song with scratch and spin sounds.
Track 3 - Wa Jie (Disintegrate), a piano piece that has the most Jay factor in the whole album.
Track 6 - Ha Li Lu Ya (Halleluyah!), featuring a memorable piano tune. In the bridge, there is a very brilliant presentation of music.
and Track 8 - Ye Zhong (Night Cloak). U can actually hear the sounds of insects in the night in this track.
But rest assured, Nan Quan Ma Ma is a totally separate entity on its own that can be differentiated with its good mix of rock tunes which run through its veins. For example,
The intro track - Xiao She Hou (Childhood), with a sea waves sound starting symbolizes peace at the time of childhood. They also sing in Hokkien in some parts of the song, which makes it even more interesting. It certainly adds languages variety to the song to stimulate your interest.
Track 7 - a ballade.
Track 10 - Jia (Home), a Hokkien song which starts off with an acoustic guitar. This song reminds me of Ah Niu a lot. Personally, I would classify this song as folk.
Track 9 - Shuo Ni Xu Yau Wo (Said U Need Me), which happens to be one of my favourite tracks. It rocks!
Yeah not to forget, please take of Track 11 which has the most interesting intro. Sounds of fireworks and cheers of crowd. Classical intro!
This album certainly will grab your attention with its good mix of R&B, rock and hip- hop tunes. Talk about making good music, this guys certainly have no compromise! Certainly a good buy. Could have been mistaken as Jay's 5th album. Makes me wonder if music fans are bias sometimes. If this album were to be released in Jay's name, it would have reached platinum sales. But I would say, Nan Quan Ma Ma, u certainly deserves a 5 star for this album on your own name!
Nan Quan Ma Ma Biography
Members:
Ju Pao - Concert producer for Jay Chou's The One World Tour. Into British rock
Gai Rui - Recording engineer for most of Jay Chou's albums. Loves hip-hop.
Dan Tou - Jay Chou's basketball mate. Currently pursuing a business degree. Enjoys listening to R&B.
Yu Hao - University student, majoring in chinese music. Jay Chou's secondary school music classmate. Into romantic ballads.
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