Editor’s Note: In 2026, we are relaunching FM3.14, our music recommendation column at SSPAI, inviting experienced music industry professionals and passionate listeners to recommend outstanding Chinese indie and pop music. This year, we are also honored to once again collaborate with our longtime partner FiiO as the title sponsor of the column. FiiO currently operates several audio brands: the audiophile-focused FIIO brand centered on professional HiFi sound quality and audio features; JadeAudio, aimed at mainstream consumers seeking affordable HiFi products; and SNOWSKY, designed for younger users who care about aesthetics and personalization, focusing on stylish and expressive HiFi devices.

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As spring fades and early summer arrives, seasons continue their endless cycle, while culture quietly flows and survives through music.

Many of April’s selected albums revolve around the idea of “inheritance.” Taiwanese artist Raying preserves the warmth of his relationship with his grandmother inside his songs, hoping to protect that sense of completeness forever. Experimental musician Mamur returns to folk music, armed with nothing more than his voice and a guitar, singing the Kazakh folk songs of his youth. The Paiwan women’s vocal group TBT Taiwu Ballads Troupe collides traditional tribal chants with fresh modern rhythms, bringing ancient songs from their people into new life. The scholars and poets of traditional Chinese culture leap into modern electronic music, where the imagery and emotions of classical poetry grow new branches through electronic soundscapes. Meanwhile, talented singer-songwriters from Hong Kong continue breaking away from conventional Cantopop structures, searching for a new modern classic of Cantonese music entirely their own.

Music exists as something linear. It rarely emerges from nothingness. Every act of creation stands upon the shoulders of those who came before. Whether creators acknowledge it or not, each of them carries one baton in humanity’s endless musical relay race.

Bar xatteƣem, Bar ⱪayƣem — All Joy, All Sorrow

April 15, 2026

A One-Man Kazakh Choir

After spending years roaming through experimental music, Mamur returns to simplicity, singing Kazakh folk songs once again. Zhang Xiaozhou, who oversaw and supervised the album, described it as “a one-man Kazakh choir.”

Listen closely and you will notice that most of the songs are built from little more than overlapping acoustic guitar and layered vocal harmonies. A rough, smoky low voice filled with grain and texture handles the lower vocal parts, while gentler mid-to-high male vocals carry the main melodies. Woven together, they create the charm of a small choir. Although the arrangements are sparse and minimal, the music never feels thin or empty.

The album itself was born from a chance encounter between Mamur and a cheap secondhand acoustic guitar inside a Shenzhen recording studio. The sound of this guitar first appeared on his 2024 album Sleepless. While recording Sleepless, Mamur also played the same guitar while singing Kazakh folk songs, eventually gathering them together into All Joy, All Sorrow. According to Zhang Xiaozhou’s notes, most of the songs on the album were first heard by the teenage Mamur during the 1980s and 1990s through radio broadcasts and cassette tapes. Some of these folk songs came from Xinjiang, while others originated from Soviet-era Kazakhstan, all singing timeless themes — joy and sorrow.

At present, the album is only available for paid streaming and purchase on NetEase Cloud Music and Bandcamp, and has not yet been released on other platforms.

Kivaljuq – Songs in Bloom

April 22, 2026

Old Wine in New Bottles, Overflowing With Life

An elementary school teacher once traveled among Paiwan elders, recording nearly one hundred ancient Paiwan melodies word by word through oral storytelling and singing. He later taught these ancient songs to children, eventually founding the vocal group TBT Taiwu Ballads Troupe so younger generations could remember their people’s culture and help revive their artistic traditions.

The teacher’s name was Camake Valaule. He passed away from illness in 2022. The children who once learned to sing under him have now grown into adults, and after the death of their mentor, the group temporarily fell silent. Later, producer Wu Jindai stepped in, leading the young women back together, helping them continue rehearsing and rediscover confidence and direction through song. That journey ultimately gave birth to Kivaljuq – Songs in Bloom.

This is not a conventional folk preservation compilation. The album shines with flashes of modern rhythm and movement. Even while immersed in melodies polished by time itself, you never feel trapped by nostalgia or repetition. Constantly shifting rhythms and intricate harmonic aesthetics merge together into a rich and mesmerizing listening experience — truly old wine in new bottles, abundant and overflowing with life. Meanwhile, the women’s singing flows gracefully and elegantly, like a woven fabric carrying forward the soul and culture of an entire people.

Beyond the collision between ancient melodies and modern musical elements, TBT Taiwu Ballads Troupe also collaborated with Jiaxing Ancient Ballads Choir, a group formed by Paiwan elders, to release a companion album — Kivaljuq – Songs in Bloom: Heritage A Cappella Edition. In the raw, unadorned layering of human voices, the beautiful vision of ancient songs being passed down through generations quietly reveals itself.

自然律 (Laws of Nature)

April 20, 2026

Traversing Ancient and Modern Worlds Through Electronic Music

When it comes to the grand challenge of carrying culture through music, some artists choose restoration and reenactment. Electronic musician Laws of Nature instead chooses to ignite the engine of imagination, transforming the thoughts and visions of ancient people into electronic sound.

A journey through Sichuan inspired him with a question: in today’s fully modernized world, how should we interpret, understand, and even reconstruct traditional Chinese culture?

As he walked along ancient roads once traveled by Li Bai, gazed at Buddhist statues weathered by centuries, and listened to old roadside trees whispering in the wind, he suddenly realized that the ancients were not distant at all — they were present within the sound of the wind and the textures carved into stone.

Drawing inspiration from ancient texts, Laws of Nature used music to paint his own imagined visions of how people in the past once lived.

The album opens with a full 43-minute continuous version, where Laws of Nature personally introduces and explains each composition. These guide-like narrations weave together a series of vivid musical passages, making listeners feel as though they are truly embarking on a journey through history. The occasional appearance of flute and trumpet adds even more charm and atmosphere.

Of course, you can also listen to each track individually, allowing yourself to slowly savor the stories, references, and emotional landscapes hidden behind the music while imagining what figures like Bai Juyi, Li Qingzhao, and Tao Yuanming once saw, heard, and felt.

Unexpectedly, ancient Chinese poetry — long asleep in books — takes on an entirely new charm through electronic music, while electronic music itself somehow becomes unexpectedly elegant and refined.

脱轨 (Derailed)

April 9, 2026

Rap That Feels Closer to Who We Really Are

The rap music of 谢甜柚 feels much closer to the everyday experiences of ordinary people like us. The tone is approachable, the storytelling grounded and unpretentious. There is none of that forced posturing or awkward “rapper imitation show,” nor the performative anger aimed at imaginary enemies.

Derailed constructs a fictional story revolving around dreams and the inner workings of the self. A man wakes up on a train and, together with a shadow visible only to himself, becomes trapped inside a looping murder case. After enduring countless cycles, the man finally escapes the predicament and discovers the version of reality he is willing to believe in.

Beyond its solid and imaginative narrative structure, another standout aspect of the album is its genuinely careful composition and arrangement. The use of real instruments gives the record a refined texture, while the sincerity and groundedness of the creative process can be felt in the musicality of every beat.

The album is available on platforms including Spotify and YouTube Music.

春子 (Chunzi)

May 1, 2026

A Child of Spring Returns to Simplicity, Preserving Deep Love for His Grandmother

Born in spring, Raying released his third solo album Chunzi at the very end of spring itself.

Raying has previously been nominated for Best New Artist at both the Golden Melody Awards and Golden Indie Music Awards, and his talent has long been widely recognized. He is also one of the hidden gems personally recommended by Wu Bai.

Originally a drummer, Raying often builds energetic rhythms and constantly seeks breakthroughs and experimentation within his music. But on Chunzi, he strips away elaborate arrangements and chooses instead to return to simplicity — picking up an acoustic guitar and sincerely singing songs and telling stories.

Raying described the album as feeling like coming home with a cup of tea in hand, using simple melodies and storytelling to share moments with his grandmother, Chunzi.

“Chunzi” was his grandmother’s name, but the title also carries a double meaning, representing himself as a “child of spring.” Throughout the album, one can deeply feel Raying’s affection for his grandmother.

“Rather than saying these songs are dedicated to my grandma, it’s more accurate to say that because of her care and gentleness, I gained the softness to love the world and the courage to keep sharing,” Raying wrote in the album notes. The image that inspired the album was a childhood memory of his grandmother holding his hand while walking him home uphill from kindergarten.

For the recording process, Raying wanted to converse with the era in which his grandmother once lived. The opening track, the joyful Gentle Breeze, was recorded using an old walkie-talkie as a microphone. Its creative inspiration came from the classic song Rose, Rose, I Love You, carrying the nostalgic jazz atmosphere of old Shanghai and the romantic vows exchanged in letters between his grandparents when they were young. The album’s closing title track, Chunzi, was recorded using a Japanese antique microphone from the 1940s. Family members from the younger generation sing together in gratitude toward the elderly, while Raying’s grandmother softly learns to sing along near the end of the song — mirroring how the young Raying once learned to speak by imitating her as a child.

Raying hopes to open a door through time and return to his grandmother’s youth, beginning with imagined stories of her romance before ultimately returning to the present, preserving the deep bond between grandson and grandmother forever within these songs.

MeMe Collection — MeMe Collection

April 2, 2026

Youthful! Completely, Absolutely Youthful!

Neon Wei is a rising singer-songwriter heavily promoted by Mingtang Records, and the moment you hit play, you immediately understand why. This EP once again proves Mingtang’s excellent taste in music curation. “Catchy! Fun! Fantastic!” is the slogan they chose for Neon.

Neon represents a quintessential Gen Z voice — a Chinese-language musician born within a globalized cultural background, drawing inspiration from all over the world and channeling that universal energy back into her own music. The opening track You Are My Music, built atop infectious House dance rhythms, bursts forward with the energetic, carefree spirit of a younger generation that simply wants to live fully and freely.

Five songs, five different expressions. The musical influences shaping Neon are all seamlessly absorbed and transformed into something unmistakably her own. The songs contain direct confessions of love, reflections on relationships, and moments of looking back on growth, all wrapped inside stylish and vibrant arrangements. Meanwhile, her bright yet powerful voice becomes the secret weapon holding this entire youthful story together.

GO JERSEY GO

April 20, 2026

A Strong “Best New Artist” Contender Charging Fearlessly Away From Standard Parameters

A wonderfully surprising alternative pop record. A serious “Best New Artist” contender.

As a music creator with millions of followers online, Deng Zexi first entered our field of vision through this very album. It is a record overflowing with personality. At no point do you feel like she is imitating someone else, forcing a particular attitude, or struggling to hold herself together. By the end of the album, a very clear image of Deng Zexi forms in your mind — she pursues freedom, possesses refined taste, acts fearlessly and boldly, and has genuinely impressive vocal ability.

After spending two years questioning herself and viewing herself as someone outside society’s “standard parameters,” she arrived at one conclusion: the imperfections that deviate from social norms are precisely what prove her existence in this world.

The determined title GO JERSEY GO feels unmistakably like a way of cheering herself on. The album becomes a detailed record of her experiences navigating the world, while also speaking for every soul unwilling to surrender to standardized answers. If you possess even a slightly rebellious or freedom-seeking heart, GO JERSEY GO may very well become the background music to your life.

Deng Zexi fully demonstrates her command over a wide range of musical styles. On one hand, different arrangers help create a rich and constantly shifting listening experience blooming in all directions; on the other, her highly adaptable vocals move effortlessly between soft and ethereal emotional moments, rhythmic and carefree performances, and even occasional bursts of rap.

As she herself puts it: if you cannot become society’s ideal standardized product, then stop forcing yourself to fit. Go searching, go experiencing, go building strength — and then leap outward.

So let’s jump together. Go, go, go!

New Classics

April 9, 2026

A New Star, New Classics, and the Expanding Boundaries of Cantopop

Gordon Flanders and this new generation of singer-songwriters represent hope for Hong Kong music. Back when media channels and music production technologies were monopolized, the industry decided what kind of music people could hear, and audiences simply accepted whatever was served to them. It was the era itself that created those classics. Later, the internet opened people’s ears, and the traditional model of commercially manufactured pop idols became increasingly difficult to sustain.

Then came younger Hong Kong musicians like Garath T., Gordon Flanders, Moon Tang, and Kwan Ho Tak. The era of singers passively waiting for songs handed down to them has essentially ended. Writing and performing your own music is now the baseline. Although some younger artists still operate within the systems of the commercial music industry, their creativity and aesthetics have completely transformed. Gone are the heavy traces of traditional Cantopop formulas. What they create instead are stylish, universal, deeply personal expressions.

New Classics is Gordon Flanders’ first album after joining a major record label. Compared to his earlier work, the list of collaborators now includes major names such as Wyman Wong and MC Cheung Tinfu, yet their presence never dilutes Gordon’s own artistic identity.

Gordon is an exceptional composer. Just like the album title itself — “New Classics” — it functions both as self-encouragement and self-definition. The songs possess the smooth accessibility of pop music while still carrying the unmistakable personality of a creator. Tracks like Not Like express the various struggles encountered along the musical journey. Though the anxiety is never directly spelled out, the willingness to expose the reverse side of things already reveals courage and sincerity.

In interviews, Gordon has said that he does not want to be confined by older forms of music. He hopes to challenge the boundaries of Cantonese pop using new musical elements. He believes creators must first genuinely love their own work before others can be convinced by it; if one only blindly chases trends, uniqueness disappears.

During the creation of his first album, he wrote relatively few Cantonese songs and rarely had to consider audience expectations. But this “New Classics” project is written entirely in Cantonese, and after joining a larger company and collaborating with a new team, he inevitably has to think about listener acceptance. That reality naturally creates constraints during songwriting, but Gordon also recognizes that he must learn to find balance. The songs must satisfy his own artistic standards while also convincing the company. This balancing act represents his current stage of exploration and evolution.

When it comes to Cantonese music itself, Gordon occasionally feels conflicted. The Cantopop stars of the 1980s and 1990s were never lacking in bold experimental works, yet public perception of Hong Kong music remains largely limited to emotional ballads. Gordon wants to inject fresh new elements back into Cantonese music. If five songs on the album need to accommodate the market, then the remaining five songs must become the place where he creates exactly what he truly wants to make.

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Every month while listening through new albums, there is always an initial sense of uncertainty — worrying that no truly outstanding work will emerge, worrying that nothing powerful enough will appear, leaving behind a strange sense of helplessness. Yet every time the selection process ends, there is still satisfaction in the end. Remarkable albums always rise to the surface eventually. And at that moment, the heart fills once again with energy and hope, realizing how fortunate it is to encounter such powerful works born from the spirit of the times.

Everyone’s personal growth shapes their own listening preferences. The albums I selected are merely reflections of my own perspectives and standards, offered only as reference and discussion. So what great albums did you discover in April? Share your recommendations.