Richmond, VA – I have always been a fan of fusing the traditional with modern. I have been following NiNi for quite some time, hoping she would someday tour the eastern US. As fate would have it, her first east coast headline tour was just announced. NiNi sat down with me and answered a few questions about her background and her upcoming tour. I learned a lot!!! Check out the interview below.
Dave Pearson – Digital Beat Magazine (DBM): Hi NiNi!! Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and talk with us!! For those who may not know you, could you introduce yourself? Tell us a little about NiNi, your background and your training.
NiNi: Hello everyone! I’m NiNi, a musician from Taiwan who somehow ended up turning ancient Chinese instruments into weapons of folk metal chaos. I sing and perform using traditional instruments like the sanxian, zhongruan, and liuqin, but instead of quietly sitting in an orchestra, I decided to plug them into amplifiers and take them on tour around the world.
I’ve been playing these instruments since I was seven years old and performing on stage for almost my entire life. I trained in traditional Chinese music, graduated from conservatory, and have since toured across North America, Europe, and Asia. Along the way, I’ve played everything from street corners and festivals to television shows like America’s Got Talent.
My mission has always been simple: to show people that traditional culture isn’t something trapped in museums, it’s alive, loud, and capable of shaking the walls of a metal venue.
DBM: Which was first, a love for metal or a love for traditional instruments? What inspired you to fuse the two?
NiNi: Traditional instruments came first, without question. Even today, they’re still my greatest love.
Growing up, though, I was always the student asking, “What if we did it differently?” My teachers and the masters at my conservatory were incredible musicians, but they weren’t always thrilled when I tried to break the rules and experiment with sounds that didn’t belong in traditional music.
After graduating, I spent several years as a full-time street performer. That’s where everything changed. I started playing rock songs and heavier music on my traditional instruments simply because it was fun. Crowds would stop, stare, and ask, “Wait… is that really coming from that instrument?”
What began as experimentation slowly evolved into what NiNi Music is today: a collision between ancient melodies, folk traditions, and modern metal.
DBM: I understand you created your own special instrument that combines the past with the present. Can you tell us a little about what went into that process?
NiNi: I’ve actually built several one-of-a-kind instruments.
The most famous is the DaoYu, which translates to “Jade Sword.” “Dao” means blade or sword, while “Yu” means jade. It’s inspired by the legendary weapon of Guan Yu, one of the most revered figures in Chinese history and Daoist tradition.
I’m a practicing Daoist, and creating the instrument was my way of honoring Guan Yu while bringing that spiritual and cultural symbolism onto modern stages. I performed with the DaoYu on America’s Got Talent, but interestingly, I haven’t toured with it since. In many ways, I see it as a sacred object, and I wanted to show respect to the gods that I believe have given me this opportunity to share my culture with the world.
The second instrument is a giant battle axe inspired by weapons from ancient Chinese dynasties. It has interchangeable blades, so I can transform its appearance depending on the song or story we’re telling.
And yes, it is actually super sharp.
Which means that every performance comes with a small amount of danger. Metal musicians usually worry about feedback from their amps; I worry about accidentally cutting myself.
DBM: Your videos often convey the story and emotion behind your music. How do you tell those stories on stage?
NiNi: For me, a concert isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s a journey through legends.
Before many of our songs, I tell the audience the stories behind them: tales of dragons, warriors, gods, pirates, and heroes from Chinese mythology. One song might transport people onto the deck of Zheng Yi Sao’s pirate fleet, while the next takes them into battle alongside Guan Yu or into the mountains in search of mythical beasts.
We use costumes, visuals, audience participation, and even call-and-response sections to make people feel like they’re stepping into another world for an hour.
My dream is that people leave the venue not only remembering the music, but also remembering a piece of culture they had never experienced before.
Tour Questions – Changing directions a bit, going from the art to life on the road, let’s talk about your upcoming tour and some previous tour experiences!!
DBM: Your upcoming East Coast tour is your first headlining run in that region, and it looks intense. What do you do on your days off?
NiNi: People imagine that tour days off are glamorous, but in reality they’re usually spent doing laundry, driving, fixing gear, and eating whatever meal isn’t gas-station food.
That said, I actually love exploring local culture whenever I can. I enjoy finding small family-owned restaurants, visiting historical sites, and wandering through places I’d never otherwise get to see.
A tour is basically equal parts musician, athlete, truck driver, mechanic, and professional Tetris player trying to fit merch boxes into a van.
DBM: You’re touring with Seven Kingdoms. How did that happen?
NiNi: I’ve been a fan of Seven Kingdoms for a long time, so when the opportunity came up, it felt like a perfect match.
Even though our music comes from very different traditions, we share a love for storytelling, epic melodies, and larger-than-life performances. Power metal and folk metal both thrive on creating worlds for audiences to escape into.
We’re also bringing along Tamir Hargana, former member of Tengger Cavalry, who’ll be performing Mongolian throat singing and morin khuur with us. It’s going to be a really unique lineup, Taiwanese folk metal, Mongolian traditions, and classic power metal all sharing the same stage.
DBM: Do you have any fun tour stories you’d be willing to share?
NiNi: On the last tour I had a fan of mine reach out and ask if it would be okay for him to wear traditional Chinese clothing from the Yi people (ethnic minority in China). Of course I told him yes and was excited to see what he would wear. He showed up looking cooler than all of the bands on the stage!
After the show, the same fan walked up to me and my band as we were loading our van and he was a Traditional Yi Sanxian (instrument). He played some great traditional songs for us for a few minutes and then he GAVE ME THE SANXIAN! It was the coolest gift I have ever gotten from a fan and I have it in my studio now and play it often.
DBM: Are there any stories that weren’t fun at the time but have become NiNi folklore?
NiNi: Absolutely.
On one tour, we drove through an intense snowstorm in the mountains and thought we might miss the show entirely. Everyone in the van was exhausted, stressed, and wondering whether we’d make it. We put chains on the van (first time ever for all of us) and barely made it over the mountain range.
We eventually arrived with almost no time to spare, rushed onto the stage, and played one of the best sets of the entire tour.
Every tour ends up creating its own mythology: broken vans, impossible drives, missed exits, last-minute disasters, and somehow, against all odds, the show always goes on.
DBM: Is there any interview question you wish people would stop asking?
NiNi: No! i’m always happy to see what people are interested in!
Check out NiNi’s audition on AGT!
DBM: Is there a question you’ve always wanted someone to ask but nobody ever does?
NiNi: I wish more people would ask: “What do you hope your music means a hundred years from now?”
My answer would be that I hope future generations see traditional culture not as something frozen in time, but as something living and evolving.
Tradition survives because each generation adds its own voice to it. I’m simply adding distorted guitars, amplifiers, and maybe a little bit of chaos.
If, one day, a kid picks up a traditional Chinese instrument because they saw one of my videos and thought, “That looks awesome,” then I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished my mission.
DBM: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
NiNi: If you’ve never experienced folk metal or if you’ve never heard traditional Chinese instruments outside of a movie soundtrack, I invite you to come see us live and jump in the mosh pit.
Whether you’re a metal fan, a history lover, or simply curious, our shows are about bringing people together through stories and music. We’ll sing about ancient legends, travel through centuries of mythology, and for one night, hopefully transport you somewhere far beyond everyday life.
And to everyone who has supported this journey so far: thank you. The adventure is only beginning. Shout out to the NiNi Army!
Get Tickets for a NiNi show in your area HERE.
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And there you have it! Yes, there has to be a lot more to the story, but why read it when you can experience it!! Be sure to catch NiNi on a tour stop near you!!!
