The cover photograph of musician Mamer's album All the Joys, All the Pains looks like an ordinary family snapshot.
Taken in 1985, it shows a group of young people posing with guitars beneath a banner celebrating China's first Teachers' Day. At the center stands Mamer's eldest brother, then a teacher at a middle school in Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The guitar in the photograph is the very instrument he later gave to Mamer, who has since become one of China's most distinctive experimental musicians.
For Mamer, the image is more than a family keepsake. It is where the story of his latest album begins. Titled All the Joys, All the Pains, the album revives Kazak folk songs through an unusual approach: every vocal part is sung by Mamer himself. Layering up to six voices into intricate harmonies, he creates the illusion of a choir while remaining the album's only singer.
The repertoire draws from many sources — traditional melodies from Xinjiang, songs once heard on the radio, settings of Kazak poetry, and several of Mamer's own compositions. What ties them together, he says, is quality.
"It has to stand the test of time. If you listen to it decades later, then it's worth singing again," he says. The recordings were never meant to become a formal project. They emerged spontaneously over several days in 2023 after Mamer discovered an inexpensive secondhand Japanese acoustic guitar in a Shenzhen studio in Guangdong province.
Captivated by its warm, distinctive tone, he first used the instrument to record his experimental solo guitar album, Sleepless. Between those recording sessions, he began revisiting Kazak folk songs using the same guitar, allowing two sides of his musical world — avant-garde experimentation and folk tradition — to meet.
Yet, Mamer rejects the idea that he is "returning" to folk music. "There is no return," he says. "These songs have always been in my heart."
That belief also shapes his understanding of tradition. "Tradition cannot exist without the present," he says. "There must be new ideas and new ways of creating."
The title All the Joys, All the Pains comes from a line in one of its songs, Unbosom Myself. The phrase captures the emotional breadth of a collection that mourns a fading nomadic culture while celebrating the enduring humanity within its music.
Mamer spent his childhood surrounded by Kazak and Uygur communities, where the sounds of the dombra and rawap formed part of everyday life.
His musical imagination expanded during the 1980s and 90s, when radio stations and cassette tapes carried a mix of influences across Xinjiang.
"There were Kazak broadcasts, Uygur music, pop, and rock bands such as Cui Jian and Tang Dynasty," he recalls. "We could also hear radio shows playing Kazak rock music."
Later, imported recordings introduced him to more avant-garde composers. Mamer first gained recognition as a master of the dombra and a modern exponent of Kazak folk music. Over time, he has evolved into one of China's most prolific and adventurous musicians, bridging tradition and experimentation across more than 40 albums.
He currently leads eight bands, including IZ, Kunakar and 51-RAYON. Each band explores a distinct style.
"I simply have too many ideas," he says. "Music is bigger than myself."
His upcoming solo tour reflects that same philosophy. Although his album was built from carefully layered studio recordings, he has no intention of re-creating it note for note onstage.
"Studio recordings and live performances are different," he says. "That's why I enjoy both. They complement each other."
He will perform with a different guitar and effects pedals, and promises that each concert will have a different set list.
