Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Iron Maiden and seafaring folk the world over have used the albatross as a metaphor for any number of different reasons.
Sammy Wei has now joined that exclusive list and is using the large migratory bird to dream big.
Wei is one of the principal organizers of the upcoming Albatross Music Festival, which runs Sept. 14 and 15 at Hastings Racecourse.
Aimed primarily at Asian-Canadians and international students, the albatross was chosen as a linkage between the West Coast of North America and South Asia.
“I think the albatross is a lot like us, whatever generation immigrant that we are,” said Wei, who splits time between Shanghai and Vancouver.
Wei is the founder and CEO of larger team called MUBI Entertainment Management Group, which works in the field of event production and live entertainment. The company’s founders are all of Chinese-Canadian descent, which led to the genesis of the festival to begin with.
In laying out the marketing plan, they needed to wrap their minds around how to stick out amongst the myriad of festivals in southwest B.C. It’s there that the idea was hatched to appeal to a handful of target audiences: new immigrants, second and third generation immigrants, international students and others looking for a distinctly Asian cultural experience.
To that end, the artist roster is rooted in Korea, China, Mongolia and other points east: Edison Chen, Hyukoh, Queen Wei, Nair Band and Vancouver-based pop singer Wanting Qu are among the confirmed acts.
Though the home bases may be static, their collective music is not and instead spans indie rock, hip-hop, reggae and folk.
“We want to appeal to the second and third generation immigrants and there are a lot of people in Vancouver who are very cultural and love getting to know about different music,” Wei said. “[Korean pop] is growing, Chinese pop is growing and they’re becoming more trendy. I’m hoping that people come back to this part of themselves.”
Outside of Vancouver being her adopted home turf, it’s that sentiment that drew Qu to the gig as well. Having never played a festival in Vancouver previously, Qu will tailor her set appropriately: a bit of upbeat, mixed with a bit of ballad.
“It’s very engaging, because I like to tell stories while I’m on stage,” she told the Courier. “But outdoors are different than theatres so I would say you can expect energy on stage but also moments where it’s very emotional.”
Emotion is central to all music, but perhaps more so on Qu’s upcoming third album, which is slated for release this fall. Entitled “LLL,” short for Love, Loss, Latitude, the album is described as a blend of rock, electronic and singer-songwriter. Qu was romantically linked to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson from 2015 until May of this year.
“It starts with when you’re in love and you’re passionate and crazy,” Qu said of the album’s inspiration. “It’s like a cycle — falling in love, falling out of love, having love in your life and then not having love in your life.”
Tickets for the Albatross Festival are available online at albatrossfest.com.
