Music a two-way street

While he's rhapsodic about Shanghai, "each of the cities that we visited brought its own splendor: the giant pandas of Chengdu (not to mention the spicy food). Shanghai's beautiful Huangpu river. Its vast and colorful bridges. The Bund. Suzhou's sheer beauty. Beijing's wonderful Forbidden City and Great Wall. The splendor of the Zhangjiajie mountains. The sheer beauty of Hangzhou's West Lake I could go on and on!"

He can't say enough about the Chinese people he met "so absolutely kind, humble and hospitable". Fortunate to be in a business that's allowed him to see the world, Mackridge says when he's asked where he'd like to go if he could go anywhere in the world, "the answer is Shanghai, China!"

Mackridge went to expose Africa's music to China but the revelation worked both ways.

"I was given the gift of a CD pack, explaining and highlighting the many Chinese instruments, both contemporary and historic. Listening to this is my form of relaxation," he says.

"I have realized that even Chinese music has progressed rather dramatically. While we all expected the official Shanghai expo to feature the 'old', we were surprised to find that the music and singing were extremely contemporary, with a hint of the traditional."

The singing styles he and his musicians experienced were absolutely world class, he says. "While I enjoy adapting old songs to China," he says, referring to the Elvis covers he's written about the country, "I plan to write songs for each of the cities at which we have performed."

While such music exchanges have become common and influence both sides, he says indigenous music must stay true to itself.

"I sincerely hope that Chinese musicians of the future will not become too hung up on Western sounds and influences," he says. "The inclusion of traditional Chinese instruments in their contemporary music keeps it essentially Chinese. This should never change."

Some of his musicians are crazy about Chinese cuisine and have really taken to rice and noodles. And when he comes to China with a group of African musicians, "we often bring samples over for our facilitators, the most popular being our 'biltong' (beef jerky) and South African chocolates. I have also taken over mini bottles of South African brandy which the Chinese guys absolutely adore. Our dream is to introduce them to the wonders of the South African 'braai' (barbecue)".

michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn