Living the indie dream

The tickle of Tango

He says that he felt so alive and touched when listening to folk music, which "has inspiring lyrics and comforting rhythms" and has enriched his life.

While juggling classes he hated and immersing in the indie music, Cui started to sell secondhand cassettes and CDs on campus and later online, which, to his surprise, made lots of money.

With good profits and passion for indie music, Cui confirmed his idea of giving up his major after graduation.

In 2000, Cui came to Beijing with several bags of cassettes. He also sold DVDs of art films and T-shirts, and sought opportunities to pave other ways related to indie music.

He made friends with some singer-songwriters and music critics, who later became the writers of his magazine.

He continued branching out and expanding his passions. In 2007, Cui established his own music company, Sounds Great, and organized the first tour by taking German singer-songwriter Maximilian Hecker to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

In 2012, he took another risk by organizing the first Dreamer International Music Festival, which he dreamed of making into a Utopian event.

Unfortunately, due to the fierce competition of the music festival market in China, Cui's music festival didn't turn out as he envisioned. On the worst day only five people watched the show. But it didn't break the optimistic man.

"Indie music has somehow been reborn lately," he says. "There are more commercial opportunities. University shows combine mainstream and indie acts, introducing the alternative acts to new, younger audiences."

Shen Lihui, founder of influential Beijing-based indie music label Modernsky, agrees.

"Now everything about indie music is exciting. Many bands break into the mainstream and become true staying powers of the music scene in China," he says.