Dutch-born, Eddy Kneefel, a recognized singer on the music scene in Kunming supports himself as a guitarist and songwriter. Content he is with the life in this city, 'cus it allows him to express his feelings freely and to develop his musical career at his own pace.

On a sunny afternoon in April we sat at Salvador’s. Eddy expressed his joy for music. He debuted on the stage at 8 years old and made his first record at 13. His brothers were in a band, so he always wanted to be part of them and grew up listening to their songs and going to their shows. "We were truly a musical family and I got to stand on the first row from the very beginning."

"Music is like a little niche to me wherein I can create my own special feelings. It’s my ever dream to be surrounded by it, because I can come closer to myself." For the past 5 years in Kunming he has taken the incredible opportunity to work as a musician. He has written songs and played many concerts.

Sea Loving Mammals was his first band in Kunming, starting from 2010 and breaking up two years later. Admittedly, it was hard to go through the split, but he never gave up on the power of rock music. After a short hiatus he found a few other musicians and started a new chapter.Neuville was established in December, 2012. Now six months later it seems that the band has found their core members. Besides Eddy, the band consists of pianist Franck Bourjini from France, on bass Janis Selis from Latvia and on drums Gary Giss from America.

The band experiments with a new sound and crafts some of his previous songs into different styles. For Eddy this is interesting, because a song is never finished. Like a painter he picks up the pen and paints with words. Once they were in a rehearsal and the drummer added an alternative beat which became essential to the song. It gave its character "We can always put something new into it. This is our freedom of expression. Though one is always bound to work with melody and structure. But within this form one can still explore different sides."

 Neuville in concert [Provided to InKunming]

 My Guitar (Photo/E. Kneefel)

A musical joyride with Eddy

Rocking is more about the spirit for singer-song writer Eddy. It’s a certain feeling of letting everything go. Even if it’s just for a few minutes or two hours. To be un-connected in a way is to become closer to oneself. When songs go straight into the hearts of people and they are singing and dancing to the beats or even noisy and hysterical sounds. In that moment it’s like releasing a lot of anxiety and problems. It’s the most natural way, because it's honest and daring.

Daydream is a soft song he wrote for himself during some gloomy days in Amsterdam. "I have hidden my feelings in this melancholic, though hopeful melody.With Franck arranging the piano part, the song only became better. And it makes me happy to see that a little acoustic song can become more then it was before."

Years of living in this town turned him into a "Kunming city boy" who is in love with the cafes, the community and all the nice friends. Mayuanshiren, Li Siwei and Muyangren are his favorites among the local bands. They impress him with their original music. Mayuanshiren creates deep rock with sullen sounds. Li Siwei explores the guitar like no other and Muyangren spreads sunshine and love.

In 2011 he collaborated with local rapper, Lao Xu. They recorded Yell Song in English and Kunming dialect. Eddy "yells" to empower people to let them make their own choices in their life. Lao Xu is more talking about being fed up with a certain way of life that young people live today. Though their thoughts differ, but their energy matches perfectly with the drums and trumpet in the background.

Photography also halos his art talent. He took part in an exhibition at the Dutch pavilion on the 2010 Shanghai world expo and at the same time published a book called "China", but mentioned it lightly as a sense of accomplishment while growing up as a person. He has captured a lot of special photos from Kunming, but now photography isn't the main point of focus anymore. But still once in a while he will get together with members of KK to organize an art-exhibition.

Having spent such an amount of time in Kunming, he sincerely started caring for the city. Kunming is developing so fast, but it seems that it lost its heart. It has one by one sacrificed its old architecture and erected tall new buildings without character. In Europe, people have been preserving their architectural heritages for centuries. Cities like Paris and Amsterdam are young of age compared to China’s history. But when you are walking in these cities and getting lost you will find out that those houses were made in 1620. The square, the fountain and the pebbles have been touched by many people. And on that little wooden bench lovers held hands before. Kunming can never turn back time, but it could whole heartedly focus on its future and create a healthy and beautiful city. "We need more parks and bike lanes. We need to build a city that we can love, a city that inspires us."

Ceramic figurines (Photo/E. Kneefel)