Taiwan, an island country, has a vitality which comes from the influx of many different peoples whose vibrant cultures have come together. We've heard that the aborigines who first arrived on the island from across the seas, continue to sing their songs with voices that fill the valleys and transverse the waters, withstanding two subsequent waves of immigration. We've also heard the music of the Chinese who arrived from across the straits, with voices that transverse the planes—bringing music that represents the vitality of the earth.

Their voices speak of the land—of the beautiful rice seedlings and expansive mountain ranges. Our warriors sing hunting songs in the mountains. The women of our tribe have already constructed a victory arch, and are waiting to put flowers garlands on the warrior's heads. We will forever have rice, laughter and the sounds of our folk songs.

Wild Fire Music, Taiwan
Accompanying a group of people who grew up singing folk songs was a journey along the path of culture and music. Their voices are like an undying fire, which only grows stronger in the spring wind. They've brought their robust voices from the mountains to the plains, singing for the people who have come to inhabit this land. They've brought their music with them across the ocean to sing in an even more distant place, using their musical voices to tell people of different cultures and ethnicities:

“I'm an aborigine from Taiwan, and I'm singing my own music. We have a rich, multi-faceted culture, and we come from aboriginal tribes with beautiful, resonant voices. The ocean is our background music, and we are a group of people that simply loves to sing.”

The music of Taiwan's aborigines is an important starting point in the realm of World Music. In fact, there are already large numbers of people on the world music stage who are raving about these forms of music from Taiwan. The purpose of the Ignite Fire Concert Series was to create a true form of World Music that is uniquely Taiwanese. Through the music that they have created, Taiwan's aborigines can realize their own cultural ideals. Together they sing the songs, thereby planting new seeds which grow into plants that spread even more seeds. Through this process, the entire world can hear the music and voices of Taiwan's aborigines.