The Black Heidis Photo: Courtesy of Swiss embassy in China

 
The Swiss Embassy in Beijing was transformed into a mini-rock music festival on Thursday night with performances by The Black Heidis, an indie rock band from Switzerland, and Tulegur, a nomadic rock band from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in North China. The concert was attended by Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri.

The Black Heidis were invited by the embassy and its consulates general to China for a music tour across the country from March 7 to 24, 2024. The talented trio of females, Yeelen, Sandrine and Gea, call themselves "The Black Heidis" because the main vocalist Yeelen is of African descent. Also, the popularity of the book Heidi has resulted in the name being associated with Switzerland. The name of the band mirrors the "modern Swissness," in which Heidi can also be black. Meanwhile, they want to show the multicultural side of the country as they were born and raised in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of the country, and now live in the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. Their music is a captivating blend of indie rock, groove, and a touch of psychedelia sung in French, Italian and English.

The embassy also invited a Chinese band to perform on stage, showcasing multiculturalism in both countries. Hailing from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region's grassland, Tulegur consists of vocalist and guitarist Gangzi, drummer Gao Zilun and bassist Bai Lu. With many songs sung in Mongolian and based on traditional Mongolian tunes, Tulegur mixes the magic of Khoomei (throat singing) with guitars and percussion to create psychedelic nomadic rock music. The band has taken part in many prestigious music festivals around the world, including the iconic Paléo Festival Nyon in Switzerland in 2015.

The evening closed with two songs, "Le mammifere" and "Horse Riding," performed together by both bands, connecting the performers and audience across cultures and languages.