Perfect combination

American composer Nathan Wang and Chinese musician, Song Nan, were also part of the project.

"The music we planned to present in the movie is visualized in a scene that involves an old, shabby car carrying various musical instruments - everything sounds noisy and looks crazy but in a harmonious way," adds Liang.

The movie is about two friends, who hope to make a fortune from an alien and catch the attention of a mysterious Western force. It also stars American actors Matthew Morrison and Tom Pelphrey.

For the music, Liang uses the suona, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, to match Western symphonic arrangements. And he sings in heavy dialect of his hometown.

The suona, typically creates a high-pitched sound and is the main instrument used in errenzhuan performances, a traditional art form featuring ballad singing and dancing that's popular in northeastern China.

Liang grew up watching errenzhuan and he combines the unique folk elements with rock, which is seen as the distinctive character of his band, Second Hand Rose.

"The suona is very versatile. It supports the crazy story in the movie," says Liang, adding that his work with Ning also inspired him to expand his vision to movies.

So, during the recent trip to his hometown during Spring Festival, he visited some local errenzhuan artists, hoping to shoot a documentary on the art, which is regarded as old-fashioned and struggles to survive now.

Before he moved to Beijing to pursue his music dream in the early 1990s, the self-taught musician used to spend time in the countryside, listening to farmers singing folk tunes.

So far, his band, featuring guitarist Yao Lan, bassist Li Ziqiang, traditional instrumentalist Wu Zekun and drummer Sun Quan, has released four studio albums, including the latest one, Blossom, in November 2018.

Speaking about the band, music critic Huang Liaoyuan, an influential promoter on China's rock scene, who helped launch the band's career about two decades ago, says: "Second Hand Rose is unique and their style is distinctive. They have no competitors. So, the only people they need to surpass is themselves."