Lin Shengxiang (Mandarin: 林生祥)(November 25, 1971–) is an independent music composer born in Meinong, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, known for his Hakka compositions that are concerned with his hometown.

Lin Sheng Xiang
林生祥
Lin Sheng Xiang (right) sings the anti-media monopoly war song at the Anti-Media Monopoly March.
Lin Sheng Xiang (right) sings the anti-media monopoly war song at the Anti-Media Monopoly March.
Background information
Born (1971-11-25) November 25, 1971 (age 52)
Taiwan
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, lyricist, composer
Instrument(s)Yueqin, Singer

Biographic sketch

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Lin Sheng Xiang performs at the 2016 Presidential and Vice Presidential Inauguration Ceremonies

Lin Sheng Xiang graduated from Tainan No. 2 High School and Tamkang University. During his college years, he founded the Kuan Tsu Music Pit (Mandarin: 觀子音樂坑) and served as guitarist and vocalist. After returning to Meinong, Kuan Tsu Music Pit reformed into "Labor Exchange Band" (Mandarin: 交工樂隊), playing guitar, Yueqin, sanxian, and vocals, and after Labor Exchange Band disbanded, Sheng Xiang and Wajao Pit 3 (Mandarin: 生祥與瓦窯坑3) formed for the release of the album "Getting Dark" (Mandarin: 臨暗), playing guitar and vocals. After that, he played guitar, Yueqin and vocals for "Sheng Xiang & Band" (Mandarin: 生祥樂隊) with an indefinite number of members.

After Labor Exchange Band disbanded in 2003, Lin Sheng Xiang continued to collaborate with Chung Yung Feng (Mandarin: 鍾永豐) on lyrics, and since the album "Planting Trees" (Mandarin: 種樹), he has been working with Japanese guitarist Ken Ohtake (Mandarin: 大竹研) on his music. Bassist Toru Hayakawa (Mandarin: 早川徹) joined the band in the spring of 2010 on Ken Ohtake's recommendation, and they have been working together since the album "The Land Is My Study" (Mandarin: 大地書房), and in the summer of 2011, percussionist Alex Wu (Mandarin: 吳政君) joined the band before they went to Japan to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival, and in July 2012, the band changed its name because their friends made a stroke of their name and thought that it would be good luck for the band to be named "Sheng Xiang & Band" (Mandarin: 生祥樂隊). In 2012, the band commissioned luthier Liu Zhi-Wei to make a six-stringed Yueqin, Kanaji Kawabaka (Mandarin: 川畑完之) to make an electric moon organ, and customized a unique moon organ.

In 2015, he recorded the anti-air pollution concept double album "Village Besieged" (Mandarin: 圍庄), including the second part "Village Besieged" and the third part "Moving On" (Mandarin: 動身) of the "I-Village Trilogy" (Mandarin: 我庄), with musicians Ken Ohtake, Toru Hayakawa, Noriaki Fukushima (Mandarin: 福島紀明), Alex Wu and Huang Po Yu (Mandarin: 黃博裕).[1] The "Village Besieged" concept double album sought to raise funds on online platforms in 2016 as it did not receive record label investment.[2] The Village Besieged double album was released on May 21, 2016, and has been on campus tour since of October 2016, eventually winning the Golden Melody Award Jury Prize.[3]

In 2017 Lin Sheng Xiang and Wang Zhao-hua (Mandarin: 王昭華) collaborated to produce the movie soundtrack of "The Great Buddha+" (Mandarin: 大佛普拉斯), which won the Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Song and the Golden Melody Award for Best Single Producer.

Musical works

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Kuan tsu music pit period

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  • Chatting in the Village (June 1998, Lin Sheng Xiang, Chung Shing Tat, Chung Shing Fu, Chan Kwun Yu)
  • Touring Beautiful Island – Kuan Tsu Music Pit 98' Come and See the Land Tour (August 1998, Lin Sheng Xiang, Zhong Cheng-Da, Zhong Cheng-Hu, Guanyu Chen)

Labor exchange band period

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  • Let Us Sing Mountain Songs (1999)
  • The Night March of the Chrysanthemums (2001)

Shengxiang and the wakao pit 3 period

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  • Getting Dark (2004, Lin Sheng Xiang, Chung Yufeng, Rio Lu, Peng Jia Xi)

Sheng xiang and band period (生祥與樂團)

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  • Planting Trees (2006, Lin Sheng Xiang, Takashi Hirayasu, Ken Ohtake)
  • Growing Up Wild (2009, Lin Sheng Xiang, Ken Ohtake)
  • The Land Is My Study (2010, Lin Sheng Xiang, Ken Ohtake, Toru Hayakawa)

Sheng xiang and band period (生祥樂隊)

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  • I-Village (published May 2013, Lin Sheng Xiang, Ken Ohtake, Toru Hayakawa, Alex Wu)
  • Village Besieged (published May 2016, Lin Sheng Xiang, Ken Ohtake, Toru Hayakawa, Alex Wu, Noriaki Fukushima, Huang Po Yu)
  • Village Besieged Live in Concert[4]
  • Water Snowflake Goes to Market (Release Concert November 28 & 29, 2020)[5]
  • The Night March of the Chrysanthemums 15th Anniversary Concert Live Recording Highlights
  • Kafka on the Rivers-and-Lakes (October 8 & 9, 2022)[6]
  • I-Village Trilogy Concerts Selected Live Recordings (Recorded National Concert Hall Selections April 16, 2021)[7]

Awards

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Year Issue Album Awards Finalists Result
2000 The 11th Golden Melody Awards Let Us Sing Mountain Songs Best Composer Lin Sheng Xiang-Let Us Sing Mountain Songs Won
Best Lyricist Award Chung Yung Feng-Let Us Sing Mountain Songs Nominated
Best Album Producer Chung Yung Feng, Lin Sheng Xiang, Guanyu Chen-Let Us Sing Mountain Songs Won
Best Ethnic Music Album [Non-Pop Music] Award Let Us Sing Mountain Songs Nominated
2002 The 13th Golden Melody Awards The Night March of the Chrysanthemums Best Band Labor Exchange Band-The Night March of the Chrysanthemums Won
2005 The 16th Golden Melody Awards Getting Dark Best Hakka Album Getting Dark Won
Best Composer Lin Sheng Xiang-Getting Dark Nominated
Best Lyricist Award Chung Yung Feng-Getting Dark Won
Chung Yung Feng, Lin Sheng Xiang Nominated
Best Arranger Lin Sheng Xiang, Peng Jia Xi、Rio Lu, Chung Yufeng Nominated
Best Album Producer Lin Sheng Xiang, Chung Yung Feng, Chung Shefong-Getting Dark Nominated
Best Band Shengxiang and the Wakao Pit 3-Getting Dark Won
2007 The 18th Golden Melody Awards Planting Trees Best Hakka Album Planting Trees Won
Best Hakka Singer Won
Best Song of the Year Planting Trees Nominated
Best Composer Nominated
Best Lyricist Award Chung Yung Feng-Planting Trees Won
Best Album Producer Lin Sheng Xiang, Chung Yung Feng, Chung Shefong-Planting Trees Nominated
2010 The 21st Golden Melody Awards Growing Up Wild Best Album Package Luo Wenzen, Wang Liang-Growing Up Wild Nominated
The 1st Golden Indie Music  Awards Best Singer-Songwriter Award Growing Up Wild Nominated
Best Folk Album Won
Best Musician Lin Sheng Xiang/Yueqin, Guitar Nominated
Best Folk Single South Nominated
2011 The 2nd Golden Indie Music  Awards The Land Is My Study Best Album The Land Is My Study Won
Best Artist Won
Best Folk Album Won
Best Musician Lin Sheng Xiang/Guitar Nominated
The 22nd Golden Melody Awards Best Album Package Luo Wenzen-The Land Is My Study Nominated
2013 The 4th Golden Indie Music  Awards I-Village Best Album I-Village Won
Best Artist Nominated
Best Rock Album Nominated
Jury Award Won
Best Musician Lin Sheng Xiang/Yueqin Won
Best Rock Single Grass Nominated
2014 The 25th Golden Melody Awards Best Lyricist Award Chung Yung Feng-I-Village Nominated
Best Album Package Luo Wenzen-I-Village Nominated
2016 The 7th Golden Indie Music  Awards Village Besieged Best Album Village Besieged Won
Best Singer-Songwriter Nominated
Best Rock Album Nominated
Jury Award Won
Best Musician Ken Ohtake/Guitar Nominated
Best Rock Single Calling for Guidance from the Guardian of Good Healt Nominated
Best Folk Single The South Wind Won
2017 The 28th Golden Melody Awards Album of the Year Village Besieged Nominated
Jury Prize Won
Best Album Binding Design Luo Wenzen-Village Besieged Nominated
2018 The 29th Golden Melody Awards The Great Buddha+ movie soundtrack Song of the Year To Have, or Not To Have Nominated
Best Lyricist Award Nominated
Best Single Producer Won
2020 The 31st Golden Melody Awards A Sun's movie soundtrack Song of the Year Distant Journey Nominated
Best Composer Nominated
2021 The 32nd Golden Melody Awards Water Snowflake Goes to Market Best Band Sheng Xiang & Band-Water Snowflake Goes to Market Nominated
Best Album Binding Design Luo Wenzen-Water Snowflake Goes to Market Nominated
The 12th Golden Indie Music  Awards Best Folk Album Water Snowflake Goes to Market Nominated
Best Folk Single The Tofu Guy Nominated
2023 The 34th Golden Melody Awards Kafka on the Rivers-and-Lakes Best Band Sheng Xiang & Band-Chung Yung Feng Nominated
Best Album Binding Design Chia-Lin Wu-Kafka on the Rivers-and-Lakes Nominated

Other awards

  • In 2014, he was shortlisted for the Best Folk Artist of the Year, Best Other Dialect Album of the Year ("I-Village"), and Best Hakka Song of the Year (Yanshu/"I-Village") at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards.[8]
  • In August 2017, he won Best Band (Lin Sheng Xiang "Village Besieged") and Best Album Design (Luo Wenzen "Village Besieged") at the 17th Chinese Music Media Music Awards Open Awards with the double CD Village Besieged.[9]

Civic engagement

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On August 14, 2013, Lin Sheng Xiang, director Ko I-Chen (Mandarin: 柯一正), writer Neil Peng(Mandarin: 馮光遠), environmental lawyer Robin Winkler, writer Nan Fang Shuo, and retired professor emeritus of National Tsing Hua University Ming-Fui-Pang (Mandarin: 彭明輝) launched the "Constitution 133 Practice Alliance" to promote the recall of legislators who are "following Ma and violating public opinion, to show that democracy is not only about elections held once every four years, and recall is not only an empty word written in Article 17 and Article 133 of the Constitution. The Alliance issued a "Statement on Citizen's Recall Campaign",[10] but because the threshold for recalling the president is too high, it will mobilize to recall Ma's legislators from each constituency.[11][12][13][14]

Anecdotes

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  • In 2007, Lin Shengxiang was awarded the Best Hakka Album and Singer at the Golden Melody Awards.In 2007, Lin Sheng Xiang won the Golden Melody Awards for Best Hakka Album and Singer. However, he refused to accept the two awards based on language, arguing that music awards should be categorized by genre, not by language.[15][16] This was the first time since the Golden Melody Awards that someone refused to accept the awards, and caused a public debate. The prize money was donated to a Meinong voluntary tree planting team, Meinong's community newspaper, an organic farming magazine, and Yang Rumen (Mandarin: 楊儒門),[17] a rice bomber who advocates for domestic agriculture in Taiwan[28] After 2010, Lin Sheng Xiang no longer applied for the language category of the Golden Melody Awards, and in 2017, the Golden Melody Awards set up a language-neutral Album of the Year award in an attempt to transcend the language barrier.


References

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  1. ^ "生祥樂隊新專輯錄製完成 錄音記事透露環境反思概念". 16 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  2. ^ 最終2555人次贊助,募得2,641,705元,突破flyingV平台的專輯出版募資款項紀錄。生祥樂隊《圍庄》概念雙唱片│出版募資計劃 Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "生祥樂隊「圍庄」校園巡迴十月十場". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  4. ^ 生祥樂隊《圍-{庄}-》概念雙唱片│出版募資計劃 https://www.flyingv.cc/projects/11090/posts/11107?lang=en Archived 2022-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ 生祥樂隊【野蓮出-{庄}-】發片演唱會,淡水雲門劇場 https://foothillsfolk.kktix.cc/events/rpq118w Archived 2020-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ 生祥樂隊《江湖卡夫卡》發片演唱會,淡水雲門劇場 https://foothillsfolk.kktix.cc/events/e4qrty Archived 2022-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ 我庄三部曲演唱會 現場錄音精選 https://fgmusic.com.tw/product/%E6%88%91%E5%BA%84%E4%B8%89%E9%83%A8%E6%9B%B2%E6%BC%94%E5%94%B1%E6%9C%83-%E7%8F%BE%E5%A0%B4%E9%8C%84%E9%9F%B3%E7%B2%BE%E9%81%B8/ Archived 2023-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ ""華語金曲獎2014"廣州影音展公佈提名". Archived from the original on 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  9. ^ https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzAwNDg3ODM3Mw%3D%3D&mid=2650277805&idx=1&sn=f36dfc47a8c836cdad8587c295090935&chksm=83299ee7b45e17f17c89ea40d45f3dfc565c7d926cf6a308b89151cfa093b4a1021aa05b9b57&mpshare=1&scene=1&srcid=08304adSRCDdfvmgpl3RBdPF#rd 第17届华语音乐传媒盛典獲獎名單
  10. ^ 聯盟在聲明中表示「馬英九無能還到處放火,上任後不僅633跳票,執政無方導致經濟疲弱,不思國營事業改革,卻悍然堅持油電雙漲,無視民生疾苦。這個政權以野蠻的態度回應人民理性的訴求,以粗暴的權力踐踏臺灣的民主 自由,罔顧民間反對聲浪,護航危害後世未來的恐怖核四,背棄基本誠信,縱容土豪強奪民地,黑箱作業急忙密簽禍國殃民的服貿協議,馬政權根本是一個無法被文明說服的獨裁寡頭。只有具體的行動,才能矯正這個政權的傲慢偏差!」
  11. ^ 憲法133聯盟成軍 推罷免「馬意」立委 Archived 2013-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, 新頭殼 newtalk, 2013.08.14
  12. ^ 倒馬 馮光遠發起罷免馬系立委運動 Archived 2016-04-12 at the Wayback Machine, 蘋果日報 (台灣), 2013年08月14日
  13. ^ 馮光遠等人發起 罷免馬家軍立委 Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine, 公共電視, 2013年08月14日
  14. ^ 罷免馬系立委 馮光遠抱病喊話 Archived 2013-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, 民視, 2013年08月14日
  15. ^ "拒領金曲獎的省思/郭力昕". Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  16. ^ 拒領金曲獎,鼓掌/中時電子報網路主筆室,何榮幸 Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "相關紀錄". Archived from the original on 2010-01-10. Retrieved 2010-09-21.