Drummer embraces rhythms of local ways

When Alimu Ablaiti plays 11 small drums passionately on stage, leading a performance by several other percussionists, audience members are unable to tear their eyes away from the musician, whose face wears a happy, engaged expression.

They perform a harvest-themed song in Grape Valley, a tourist attraction in Turpan, a city famous for its grapes, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The drummers nimbly create a cheerful rhythm that matches the harvest atmosphere in the valley of the lush vines and ripe fruit.

"I perform with all my heart and soul－after all, percussion is my profession and I love it," Alimu said. Having graduating from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, majoring in percussion, he is proficient on various drums, including the hand drum, the Naqara and Western drum kits.

For the harvest-themed music, the ensemble plays the Naqara, a popular percussion instrument among the Uygur people that is usually played in pairs.

Alimu uses 11 equal-sized drums, which are held together by an iron frame and pitched progressively higher in tone.

The musicians play the drums standing up and beat their instruments with drumsticks. Unlike in Western drum kits, the wooden drumsticks they use are short and bend out at the upper end. They display various bark patterns, and are of different lengths and thicknesses.

"They are made from willow. We choose the wood, and fashion them ourselves. There are no standards, as long as we feel good," Alimu said. The rustic drumsticks match the group's free and passionate performances.

The harvest piece they play was written by Alimu and other musicians from the Turpan Song and Dance Ensemble, which has been invited to give shows in many different places.

In 2007, Alimu was asked to join the ensemble thanks to his excellent hand-drum skills. Inspired by his father, who played a fretted stringed instrument in the band Alimu has had a strong interest in music since he was a child.

When he was in junior high school, he chose to learn percussion as his father encouraged him to help fill the shortfall of local players, and the drums happened to interest him.

After graduating from high school in 2007, he joined the ensemble. There, he began learning to play the Naqara under the guidance of a band member.

Gradually, Alimu felt that his playing had hit a plateau and he needed more professional training. In 2013, he enrolled at the conservatory to study.

After graduation, he got a job playing in a band affiliated with the university, but in early 2018 Alimu gave up the high-paying gig and returned home.

"I want to make a contribution to my hometown," he said.

With the development of local tourism and the protection of the folk culture heritage, Alimu and his colleagues are becoming increasingly popular and busier as they illustrate the charm of local music on different stages.

Guo Shuxuan, Wang Jialin, Chen Gai and Li Jiazhi in Turpan contributed to this story.