Daily Inspiration: Meet Nini Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nini Music.

Hi Nini, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I grew up in Taiwan and have played Chinese Traditional Folk instruments for over 20 years. I started at the age of 7 and have grown to love playing and performing more and more as time goes on. I have been fortunate enough to have seen many of the world doing live performances. I have toured Europe, the USA, Canada, China, Japan, and all of my home country of Taiwan, playing in orchestral and rock settings. I have always been a rebel when it came to music. I was taught by traditional masters who were highly opposed to pop and rock music. Too many people in the traditional music world, it is unheard of to play anything but traditional music on my instruments, but I have chosen to do just that. I blend traditional sounds with modern rock, EDM, and metal music. This is done to put my music and culture on an international stage and bring attention to their beautiful sounds.

Due to COVID, live performances came to a complete halt for nearly two years. I missed performing live and decided to be streaming online. I was offered several great opportunities through the connections I made streaming online from 2020-now. To my delight, I quickly gained a large fanbase on multiple streaming platforms. I competed in various talent shows and lived online festivals. I won 2020s Gamers Got Talent on Twitch.TV, and was a competitor on 2022 America’s Got Talent. I was also able to successfully fund 3 different kick starters with this newly found fanbase. I funded 2 albums and recently completed funding on the first-of-its-kind musical instrument I designed. I am now on a journey to create my unique sounds using traditional instruments and my newly built crowdfunded DaoYu (electronic lute/guitar hybrid instrument) and share my culture with the world.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The life of a musician always comes with a lot of struggles. I have been doing music full-time since the age of 12. I had months and years of my life where I could barely afford to eat and pay rent, but all of my dedication and hard work have paid off. I have also struggled to be accepted in the music scene as a foreigner that plays instruments that people have never seen or heard before. To get past this, I always have a positive attitude and am excited to share my music and culture with the world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am best known for my instrumental skills and musical fusion and variation. I hold a world record for speed playing on my traditional Chinese instruments. can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Qn1CKV8zY

I am most proud of the original music that I have created. I have received over 8 million views on TikTok, 500,000+ streams on Spotify, and hundreds of thousands of views on youtube for my original songs. The songs and music I make tell stories of ancient Chinese history but with a modern twist.

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ninimusic.me
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4iggZUAEXfBeJH9DjKwccm
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/NiniMusic

No one else is out there playing the music style I play with the instruments I am using. The Chinese Ruan (Moon Guitar), San Xian (Shamisen), and Liuqin (Lute) are not common instruments even in Asia, and I was the first in the world to electrify them and play heavy metal, modern pop, and EDM with them.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was very outgoing, interested in learning, and open-minded. I began my creative journey learning Traditional Asian Dance and instruments at a very young age and fell in love with the culture of my ancestors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ninimusic.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninimusic1001/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NINIMUSIC1001/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/NiniMusic
• Other: https://linktr.ee/ninimusic1001