Capturing spirit of a forgotten folk pop genre

BEFORE the Internet and the age of YouTube, getting one's music heard must have been a gargantuan task. Yet a local movement flourished during the eighties and although xinyao - a brand of Chinese folk pop - has largely disappeared, it has been brought back to the big screen twice recently.

Such is its impact that the genre formed the backdrop of Chai Yee Wai's coming-of-age musical drama The Girl in Pinafor…