Ahead of the Chinese New Year, computer maker Lenovo released a new video of indie folk band Varihnaz’s new track “The Song of Ten Thousand Grains”. Lenovo shares that both the music and the video were co-created between the brand and the group, with the support of Lenovo’s latest AI PC.
The song compares the ordinary people of China to grains of seeds that are “thrown into the dirt” but will sprout and blossom. The video is comprised of several storylines of people from all walks of life trying to make a living, while integrating viral moments from 2023, as well as the band sowing seeds in their field and cooking the rice from their last harvest.
Art house film auteur Jia Zhangke reposted the video on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent. In a long introduction, Jia wrote that he was deeply moved by the “seed” metaphor and shared that some characters in his films are seeds like ordinary people as well. The post received 2,469 likes and 795 reposts on the platform.
Varihnaz, sometimes spelt as Vareihnaz, is an indie folk group from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The name of the band comes from the Zhuang language, meaning a field of rice flowers. Formed in 2006, the band have been crafting songs with a strong folk influence of the Guangxi region, especially from the members’ Zhuang ethnic origin. Based in their rural headquarters, the band have been keeping a low profile and describe themselves as “half music, half farming”.
The band broke into the mainstream when they wowed the guests and audiences at the music variety show The Big Band season 3 in 2023. Their presence was described as grounded and their songs touching, resonating with many. Lenovo’s tagline of the collaboration campaign is that the AI PC will help make all content creators’ lives easier with its AI functions and make music creation accessible for all. Creating a video with the indie phenomenon that spoke to many, with the theme of ordinary people’s struggles, the campaign aims to reach everyday creators, regardless of their disciplines. Jia’s reposting certainly helped to break the message to that demographic.
