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 Pinafore (2013).

It is also the subject of documentary maker Eva Tang's The Songs We Sang, which premiered at last year's Singapore International Film Festival, and now has been deservedly given a theatrical run.