Instead of making planes, he creates indie music

Cui Renyu, founder of music label Pocket Music, is pleased to see indie music embraced by a wider audience. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Living the indie dream

The tickle of Tango

Cui Renyu studied aircraft manufacturing at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province-but instead of constructing planes, he started creating indie music after graduation.

"I have been living my dreams. Nothing has been like what I expected it to be," says Cui, 36, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his music label, Pocket Music, on Dec 28 with a concert titled The Beauty of Indie Music.

Eight indie singer-songwriters, including Zhang Qianqian, Zhao Zhao and Du Kun, who have released albums and held tours under Cui's record company, performed at the concert in Beijing.

Though the venue was not packed, Cui was content and enjoyed the show in a corner along with about 300 people.

In the past 10 years, Cui launched 18 issues of a magazine called Pocket Music, released 78 albums-both of foreign and Chinese indie musicians-organized more than 400 live shows around China and staged one music festival.

In 2014, he will continue his music dream by organizing more than 400 live shows, and in 2015, he plans to hold the second Dreamer International Music Festival.

"I am not a realistic person. Sometimes I am even naive and ridiculously positive. As long as I could make ends meet, it's enough. I choose musicians I am interested in and share their music with like-minded fans," he says.

Describing himself as a daydreamer since his youth, Cui chose the aircraft manufacturing major because he longed for freedom and wanted to be creative. But he did not do well in the university since he was not interested in physics, statistics and theories.

He wanted to drop out. But for him, a young man who grew up in a village in Tianjin, obtaining a university degree means a better life and a bright future. He persevered.

The boring university years, however, opened another door for him. Cui spent his spare time listening to various kinds of music from China and abroad, among which he likes quiet, light-hearted folk songs most.