Mandarin, a band established in March 2019 in Shanghai, consists of three top musicians in their respective fields: An Yu (drummer and percussionist), Chace (lead vocalist, keyboardist, guitarist), and Xiao Jun (guitarist and synthesizer player). Rooted in alternative rock, experimental electronic, and dance music genres, these young musicians are representatives of a new generation not content with the status quo and are constantly exploring the vast possibilities under the name of ‘Ordinary People’. An Yu is a Chinese youth jazz musician and educator, a member of Mandarin band. After graduating from the Nine Beats Music School, he was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music for a major in jazz percussion in 2013. He then went on to further his studies in jazz at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in Amsterdam. He has performed on stage with many masters such as Jojo Mayer, Shinobu Tezuka, Dom Famularo, and Virgil Donati. Upon returning to China, he has collaborated with numerous jazz musicians, including Monique Klemann, JQ withcomb, Alec Haavik, Toby Mak, Li Quan, Li Xiaochuan, Huang Jianyi, Tian, Ren Yuqing, Zhang Xiongguan, Li Shihai, Cao Kan, Zhou Men, and other well-known jazz musicians. He has been invited to visit countries such as India, the UK, and Australia for performances and teaching activities. He is the first Chinese representative of YAMAHA jazz and has participated in many popular music programs, such as ‘Dance with the Stars’ and ‘Star Show’, as a frequent guest of the famous musician Li Quan, participating in the recording of the ‘Song’ festival. In 2020, at the Aranya Ordinary Weekend Music event, An brought a public solo performance ‘Calm Seas’. Chace, whose real name is Zhu Han, is a music producer, singer-songwriter, and DJ, and the lead vocalist of the Mandarin band. Influenced by his family, he began learning jazz and piano in his childhood and released his first experimental album ‘Alpha Test’ in 2012. In 2016, after signing with the famous Dutch label Barong Family, he released his first solo EP ‘Destination’, which broke into the Top 10 of Apple Music and iTunes music charts. With his rapidly rising popularity, he became the first Chinese DJ to perform at Tomorrowland in Belgium and the first Chinese artist to appear on the main stage of Tomorrowland. Later, under the label of American music producer Diplo’s Mad Decent, he released his first solo EP ‘Definition’, toured various electronic music festivals in Europe, and was invited by the world-famous DJ Martin Garrix to participate in a themed performance at Ushuaia in Spain.
In addition to this, he has worked closely with numerous international producers in a professional and practical manner, including DJ Snake, Axwell & Ingrosso, Yellow Claw, Tchami, GTA, and others. Upon returning to his home country, he co-founded the music label HOWSHOOD with Hugo and created his own label MontiArk, signing with Live Nation Asia in 2020. Xiao Jun is a renowned jazz guitarist, composer, and a member of the Mandarin band. He is a signed artist with Dada Ao, a representative of Mono and Gearxxx, and currently teaches at Nanjing University of the Arts. After completing his undergraduate studies in jazz guitar at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2014, he went to New York to further his studies in jazz guitar performance and composition at Suny-Purchase College. He was recognized as one of the top 25 musicians in the school’s 25-year history in 2017. In 2016, his band was selected by the Montery Jazz Festival as one of the top 6 young bands in the United States. The original jazz album ‘Triangular Prism’, produced by JZ Music and released by Sony Music, was nominated for the Best Instrumental Recording Album at the 9th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards in 2018. In the same year, it received a nomination for the Best Jazz Performance Album at the Golden Melody Awards. That same year, he was invited to participate in the KATOWICE and KRAKÓW International Jazz Festivals in Poland. In 2021, he collaborated with the Swiss avant-garde group Encor Studio, bringing an innovative audio-visual music performance to the ‘Border’ section of a regular weekend music event, breaking the traditional limitations of jazz music performances. The event is open on November 9th, starting at 19:30 on Saturday, and will last approximately 90 minutes without an intermission.
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