- Chinese Name: 羅思容與孤毛頭樂團
- Year of Establishment: 2007
- Founder: Lo Sirong
- Did You Know That …?
- The band's name "Gomoteu” is a sarcastic word in the Hakka language that is used to describe a person who is strong-willed, rebellious, and devious. By using this name, the band hopes to break free from traditional social restraints and create music embodying cultural insights and compassion.
- Website: https://losirong.wordpress.com/
Lo Sirong & Gomoteu is an innovative band that creates new Hakka folk music in Taiwan's contemporary music scene. The band's creative music has earned it numerous awards, including the Golden Indie Music Awards for Best Folk Album and Best Folk Singles, and the Golden Melody Award for Best Hakka Album.
Formed by Lo Sirong, a singer-songwriter who sings about lives of women from a female perspective, the band currently consists of Lo as lead vocalist and guitarist, guitarist Huang Yu-can (黃宇燦), cellist Chen Chu-hui (陳主惠), mandolinist and banjoist David Chen (陳思銘), and harmonicist Conor Prunty.
Without bass and drum, the band composes music based on the steel-string acoustic guitar, creating new dialogues between traditional Hakka tunes and American blues. It also takes elements from Chinese opera, Japanese enka, and aboriginal, rock, and country music to present songs with poetry as lyrics.
Lo Sirong & Gomoteu has released two albums - "The Flowers Beckon (攬花去)” and "More Than One (多一個).” Both albums strive to express female empowerment and beauty of the Hakka language, telling collective memories and observations on society from women's perspectives.
Music critic Ma Shih-fang (馬世芳) once said: "I never thought that Hakka poems could blend into the blues music that originated from Mississippi Delta so delicately and perfectly.” He also compared the band to Mother Earth - the songs are like a ritual performed by ancient priestesses, giving off a whiff of earthiness and echoing the sound of rushing rivers.
The band's songs have been used by Hakka TV series and Hakka opera troupe Playpuppet (戲偶子劇團), and are featured in the movie soundtrack of "Let the Wind Carry Me (乘著光影旅行).” The band also made Hakka songs and music for children's theater shows, such as "Toads and Frogs (蟾蜍與青蛙)” and "Vines Wrapped around Trees (藤纏樹).”
In addition, the band has recently collaborated with Water Reflection Dance Ensemble (水影舞集), a dance troupe that integrates classic ballet with modern choreographic techniques, to present a performance combining poetry, music, and dance.
Based on the idea that the world should be filled with diversity and the wonders of human imagination, the band has been seeking possibilities among different cultures, and presenting the inner power of women and their relations with nature, society, and culture through music.