Talk with Yukes——“ Why I Prefer an Electronic Instrument, Instead of an Acoustic One?"

video upload by Meng Qi

"Yukes excels at all kinds of plucked string instruments. He told me His stage name Yukes is derived from the word 'Ukulele,' and when he put his name into Google Translate, it resulted in '玉刻' (Yukes), which means 'Jade Carve' literally in Chinese. In our culture, one well-known adage goes like this: 'Jade needs to be carved to become finest.' This string instrument player from the US seems to have a destined connection with Chinese traditional culture.

Later, he studied the Guzheng at NYU Shanghai and self-taught other Chinese traditional instruments, such as the Xiao and Zhongruan. Just as we marveled at how an American musician could show such extraordinary skills in Chinese traditional instruments, he surprised us once again by expressing his passion for electronic instruments or, more precisely, the electrification of traditional instruments. So, what exactly is it? Is it a corruption or betrayal of tradition? Can traditional instruments and electronic instruments coexist on the same stage? I hope that my interview with Yukes can answer these questions."