Thursday, August 12, was the sold out debut performance of the Twelve Girls Bank at UCLA’s Royce Hall, as the female ensemble launched their first ever promotional tour of North America.  Coming all the way from the People’s Republic of China, they have been hailed as “among the most gifted musicians in the world” and while that is most likely quite true, they may lack the creative production many music fans desire.

The Twelve Girls Band, comprised of twelve multi-instrumentalists, who have played with such orchestras as the China Academy of Music and the Chinese Nationals Orchestra, aims to create music through a fusion of ethnic sounds and modern melodies.  To name a couple, they performed Coldplay’s “Clocks” and “Reel Around the Sun” from Riverdance.  Some of the classical instruments they play include the gu zheng, an ancient zither with 16-25 strings, pipa, a four-stringed pear shaped lute, yang qin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer, erhu, a two-stringed Chinese fiddle and dizi, a bamboo flute.

The group, individually taking out time throughout their concert to introduce each instrument, spent about five minutes displaying the aesthetic euphoria each ancient instrument offers.  Briefly, each instrument was played, as an entirely new emotion- filled sound rung through the ears of the audience, so close to the heart, a tear could surge at any moment.  It was during these informative sessions that one realizes how the music emitted from such exotic instruments is cruelly hidden by the redundant modern reproductions of Twelve Girls Band. 

Solely reproducing modern day melodies into an orchestral creation, not to mention the disappointing use of a drowning synthesizer as background music, hinders an appreciation of the phenomenal instruments the group makes an effort to emphasize in performance.  One gets to thinking that a couple a capella’s would have been nice.  One group member commented after playing the exquisite erhu, “Now isn’t that a beautiful sound?”  The answer was most definitely an enthusiastic, can’t contain myself, jumping up-and-down yes, but such feelings were surfaced only in a solo display of the instrument’s sound as opposed to five songs previously performed. 

Time Asia Magazine stated that there is “just enough Chinese flavour to create an exotic sheen without alienating listeners unaccustomed to the moan of the erhu or the plink of the pipa.  The finished product is about as Chinese as Enya is Celtic- but their culture-shockproof tunes travel well across borders and in elevators.”  Some may believe otherwise, heralding them as a group without true ingenuity, overshadowing the so-called “moan” of the erhu or “plink” of the pipa.  In a United States accustomed to western harmonies, and worn out from popular songs already overplayed on local stations, people may in fact seek the exotic power in a more innovative eastern sound.

Somehow, however, the band has managed to hit it off in the east.  The band’s debut album, Beautiful Energy, sold more than 2 million copies in Japan, remaining at the top of the charts for 30 weeks.  They were named “International Artist of the Year” at the 2004 Japan Golden Disc Award ceremonies, alongside such past recipients as Madonna, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.  Ubiquitous in Japan, they have also stared in commercials for chocolate and cell phones.

Producer Xiaojing Wang, otherwise known as the father of Chinese rock music, created a band of twelve, a figure of significance in Chinese numerology.  There are twelve months in a year, and in ancient Chinese mythology, there are twelve jinchai, or golden hairpins that represent womanhood.  Thus, a unique idea, the Twelve Girls Band, was born. 

Currently touring North America to coincide with the August 17 release of their latest album, Eastern Energy, the Twelve Girls Band uses their raw instrumental talents to draw a crowd.  Whether or not their spreading global fame will extend itself to the west is a question yet to be answered.  The awe inspiring instrumental precision these young women are capable of is irrefutable, yet the music relayed is anything but a refreshing fusion.