Taiwan’s up-and-coming all-female Musou Band breaks a lot of rules with a new sound that incorporates modern elements with classical Chinese music. Wearing sexy outfits that defy the conservative Chinese orchestral traditions, the band is currently promoting its debut top-selling album, Musou.

The band’s 10 eye-catching members, all in their early 20s, play traditional Chinese instruments, yet aim to perform outside the confines of the classic genre through smashing stereotypes. The group adopted a pop culture name from the brutal Japanese video game, Musou or Dynasty Warriors, marking an official departure from Chinese orchestral groups long associated with traditional elders.

The group, which blends female musicians with pop interpretations of orchestral works, draws natural comparisons with the 12 Girls’ Band from China, the female pioneers of Chinese musical fusion.

However Musou Band aspires to present an entirely unique music style: mixing pop and youth elements with a cross-section of influences.

“This is not only an art performance, rather this symbolises popular culture,” said Liu Shiue-shiuan, an orchestra composer who created the band and wrote all 12 songs in its first album, “I created this band to purposely break the limited box of Chinese orchestra. I want to make this music mainstream.”

Musically and visually, Musou Band strives to challenge the many fixed formats in Chinese orchestra.

With Chinese instruments ranging from liuqin (a four-string mandolin), yangqin (a hammered dulcimer), middle ruan (moon-shaped guitar), erhu (Chinese violin), bamboo flute, to guzheng (a bridge-shaped string instrument), the band fuses Eastern sounds with Western instruments such as cello. Departing from centuries-old Chinese musical tradition, Liu’s songs evoke a video game or movie soundtrack, incorporating traces of pop, alternative, techno, dance music and the computerised beats of video game music.

By focusing largely on video game-style music, the band targets gamers as their main audience. “Guys spend a significant amount of time playing video games. By adding video game music, I hope the image of Musou Band will appear as they play the game,” Liu said. He envisions the girls to be associated with musical superheroes and hope to make a Musou video game soundtrack.

Wearing matching mini-cheongsams, short and sexy versions of the traditionally conservative Chinese dress, Musou band turns convention on its head, all while flashing plenty of leg.

“I am used to wearing more conservative clothes, so I did feel awkward at first when wearing high-heels and a mini cheongsam,” said the 24-year old liuqin player, Cream Chen.

The visual package of their stunning looks was carefully selected: Liu spent six months comparing photos of hundreds of women on the social networking site Wretch and held auditions at various music schools. The band emphasises that, while their sex appeal might be occasionally distracting, the musicians bring both beauty and talent to the stage.

“I don’t care about this kind of criticism (of Musou Band’s looks), because I am in fact marketing this as a pop band,” Liu said.

Band members are not worried their talent will be overshadowed by their beauty and physiques.

“Liu created this band to tell the public that beautiful girls have talent too!” said flautist Vicky Lee, 23.

All the members have music majors and years of rigorous training. “Friends think it is easy to play,” said Ayaki Jiang, 23, who has been learning guzheng for 14 years. “Inner beauty is more important!” she said. “There is an old Chinese saying: when a woman reaches her 40s, her outer looks become a mirror reflecting her inner self. I hope when I reach 40, my inner beauty will shine through my wrinkled face. (By Cynthia Huang in Taipei/ The China Post/ Asia News Network)