JAM's Page

Relationship Status:

Single

Hometown/Country:

Xinjiang

Where are you now?

Beijing

I'm looking for...

Friends, Networking

About Me:

In Uyghur, the word “Jam” means "reunited". The five band members “reunited” as a group in 2005 in the Chinese capital of Beijing to pursue their shared musical dream.

The band specialises in a fusion of Uyghur ethnic music, Spanish Flamenco and Cuban rhythm, while exploring the mingling of Arabic, Gypsy-Indian, Turkish influences in there musical forms. Such music reflects the Uyghur artistic spirit, the people’s out-going and explosive temperament; and the cheerful and fun-loving character of Uyghur young people. Their music creates that distinctive “glocal” sound of World Music appealing particularly to the contemporary generation. It transcends cultural borders, resists nationalistic stereotype, and captures brilliantly the sensitivity of the postmodern globalised world.

JAM had already caught the attention of the international world music scene and members have been invited to play in festival occasions in Europe and the US.

All five members grew up in Xinjiang cities. Their early days were immersed in a predominantly Uyghur cultural environment. Uyghur ethnic music has constituted the most fundamental elements of their creativity. Their flamenco and world music influences emerged when members discovered The Gypsy Kings, Paco de Lucia, and the Uyghur's own star, Afanti. By contrast JAM has resisted the lure of commercial success and continues to play music that speaks not to the people’s pockets but to their hearts. They communicate their creativity to the audience without it being mediated by commercial tastes, and inspire feelings in their audience without resorting to pedestrian sentimentality. For that reason, they write their lyrics mostly in Uyghur language, sometimes English, never in Chinese, so that there is no danger of the both commercially and culturally dominant Chinese language changing the texture and fabric of their “Uyghurness”. They use a mixture of Uyghur, Spanish and Portuguese phonemes to fill out and swell the notes of their songs.