A Uygur singer's road to music(2)

Still, he showed little interest in the folk music of his hometown.

In late 1990s, he became part of the rock and roll movement that swept across China, growing his hair long and obsessing with heavy metal. At one point, he considered a tattoo, he said.

But his attitude toward traditional Xinjiang music changed while he studied painting at the Xinjiang Arts University in Urumqi, the regional capital.

During a folk performance, he spotted his friend, also in the rock and roll bandwagon, wearing a folk costume and playing a traditional musical instrument.

"For the first time in life, I noticed the beauty of Xinjiang folk music and realized this is what I want," he said.

After that, he began blending Western rock and roll with Chinese folk elements, using the style to found a band named Qetiq in 2005.

The band earned small, but livable wages by singing in bars. While performing at such venues, Perhat Halik would occasionally sneak in original songs, but many guests, who were used to listen to familiar songs of famous singers, complained.

Eventually his band members tried persuading him to give up his original works and continue singing cover songs. But Perhat Halik insisted he continue, believing the audience would come to accept his music if he gave it more time.

He was proved right. "Some guests told me they felt uncomfortable if they didn't hear my songs for a long time," he said.

More recently, his mixture of traditional musical instruments like Dutar and Tambur with guitar, as well as his husky voice, attracted a German musician, who invited Perhat Halik to perform in Germany in 2010.

The tour was a success with his band becoming popular among European audiences. They now frequently travel to Europe to perform and last year Qetiq released its first album in Germany.

"The audience shows respect and tolerance to different music. They see it as an art," he said.

Now Perhat Halik often performs in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but he says he will never leave Xinjiang, the soil of his musical roots.

PERSON WITHOUT DREAM

On the stage of "Voice of China," when a judge asked Perhat Halik his dreams, he replied: "I do not have any dream. I just do the things I really love. When the things are done well, dream will come to me."

The unorthodox answer surprised many audience members, including the judges.

"Perhat Halik is like a mirror. Looking at him, I know what I have lost these years," said Wang Feng, a Chinese musician and composer and Perhat Halik's coach in the "Voice of China."

A song can become popular overnight, but half a year later, can anyone remember it? It's a question Perhat Halik always asks himself.

Pureness, simplicity and hope may be what people who really understand Perhat Halik and his music feel from his songs.

"I don't understand music, but Perhat Halik's songs make me cry and let me know I have tears and dreams," wrote a 64-year-old fan named Jian Shixian on Sina Weibo.