A band led by an aboriginal singer from Taiwan was on stage at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Beijing, and the leader attributes its sounds to the laid-back nature of the ethnic groups there.

Matzka, a singer-songwriter born in Taiwan, performed in front of about 300 people at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Beijing recently. "I am from a small village in Taitung county. From an ethnic tribe called Paiwan. We love to party, to sing, and to dance. Tonight you are the people of my tribe. So, let's have a party," he says. The round-faced singer-songwriter, who sports shoulder-length dreadlocks, was at the first branch of New York's famous jazz club to perform his reggae fusion songs, along with his band, Mr WooHoo.

The day before the show, Matzka signed contract with Universal Music at the same venue, accompanied by his band members: guitarist Sun Wennan, keyboardist Yan Peng, drummer Boodhoo Yan Jonathan and bassist Grenade Henry Frederic; the latter two members both from Mauritius.

Matzka and his band plan to tour Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Chengdu, Sichuan province and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, till September.

The band will return to Beijing for a concert on Dec 28. This summer, the newly born reggae band made its debut on The Big Band, a reality show hosted by the iQiyi video platform. It won over the audiences with its reggae beats and improvised sounds.

Matzka met his band members in Shanghai when they performed at the Shanghai Jazz Festival last September and soon they decided to play music together.

Speaking about the band's music, the bassist Frederic, who moved to Shanghai 13 years ago and played many kinds of music styles, like Latin, electronic music and jazz, says: "I love the traditional music of Mauritius, which is known as sega music. I play sega after mixing it with reggae. It's like how Matzka combines reggae with his ethnic sounds. So I am very interested in his music."

Matzka, the main songwriter for the band, attributes his music to his ethnic Paiwan ancestry.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter says: "I grew up in a village surrounded by hills and oceans. There is a lot of Taiwan aboriginal music in my sounds, which come from the laid-back nature of the ethnic groups there. The older generation passed down the DNA of rhythm and optimism, so my music sounds relaxed and happy.

"Even when we are not happy, we deal with our troubles with a positive attitude."

Matzka also invited his mother, Gulari, a veteran singer, to perform at the show. They performed a song together, which Matzka wrote and named after his mother.

His mother also performed an excerpt of Spanish folk song, called Quizas, and danced onstage.

"I watched her performances in local pubs almost every night when I was a kid. I've seen how hard singers like her worked to make money and how versatile they were," Matzka says. "So, I dedicated the song to my mother and the singers of her generation in Taiwan."

Matzka started his music journey at 15 when he moved from Taitung county to Taipei and sang in local live house venues and in bars. In his songs, he showcases his beautiful hometown and its people.

For example, one of his songs, Handsome Boy from Taitung, laments about how young people from aboriginal tribes pursuing their dreams in Taipei have forgotten their origins. In his song, Red Sun, he talks of a Paiwan wedding, where people sing and dance for a month to celebrate.

In 2010, Matzka founded a band, called Matzka, with a few young people, including drummer Atuhuy, guitarist Sakinu and bassist Alisin from the Paiwan and Puyuma aboriginal groups. His goal was to win the prize money of a local band competition in Taipei.

Recalling those days, he says: "I was so poor then that I even stole food from my landlord.

"But luckily my landlord was very nice to me."

The band performed the song, Mado Vado, which means "like a dog" at the competition and won the first prize. The song sung in Paiwan language, featuring reggae and rock, talks about the struggles of a young man from a small village who works in a big city.

"I didn't expect that the song would win as Paiwan language is usually considered as out-of-date and boring by many young people in the tribes. But it is unique and cool to me," he says.

In 2011, the singer-songwriter got his big break by winning the best band award at the Golden Melody Awards with his self-titled album. In 2016, his album, VuVu Reggae, earned him a nomination for best male singer at the same awards held annually in Taipei.

Speaking of Matzka's work, Arai Soichiro, a music producer and percussionist from Hong Kong, who has been friends and a music collaborator with the singer-songwriter for years, says: "When Matzka started writing songs, he didn't know what reggae was. But his songs are full of reggae beats and his unique sense of humor, which he inherited from his ethnic people. His music came from the place where he grew up, which was natural.

"He just plays the music that comes out of his head, and it's relaxing and fresh."