Ashin Chen Hsin Hung
Encyclopedia
Ashin born on December 6, 1975, Taipei
, Taiwan
, is a Taiwan
ese singer, music composer
, songwriter
, author
, and an actor
. His legal name is Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏). He is the lead vocalist
of the Taiwanese rock band Mayday. Even though he majored in art during high school and college, Ashin started his career as a musician after graduating from college. Ashin made a huge influence on both the clothing and music industry. Mayday is one of the most successful rock bands in Taiwan
and his clothing line Stay Real has been popular among teenagers ever since it came out. Other artists frequently ask Ashin to sing with them as a duo or compose music for them.
, Taiwan
on December 6, 1975 under the name Chen Hsin-Hung, but was later given the nickname Ashin. Ever since then, he was known to everyone as Ashin rather than Chen Hsin-Hung. His family members consist of his parents, himself, and a younger brother. When Ashin was little, his family owned a record store, which was said to inspire his passion towards music. Ashin's childhood dream was to become a singer, but he realized that his tone was too low, and that he was unable to sing in a high Pitch (music)
. Ashin did not give up and continued to practice his singing skills. He often makes fun of himself for being the king of Break (music)
, and being an "eating pig" because his hobbies are eating and sleeping.
, The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University
, where he majored in visual arts. Ashin joined the guitar club in the high school and was promoted to the president of the guitar club a year after. It was in the guitar club that he met the other members of Mayday: Monster (musician), Masa, and Stone. At the age of 19, he began to compose and his own music and lyrics. The first song he composed was "Hao Ju Hao San", which was published in Richie Jen's 2001 album "Fei Niao." After graduating from high school, Ashin attended Shih Chien University
, where he majored in interior design. While he was still attending college, Ashin continued to compose music and perform with other members of Mayday. Before he graduated from college Ashin had already gained popularity and even had a fan club
. Aside from his singing, Ashin can also play the guitar and drums.
. SoBand performed at major bars and restaurants even after its members went to different colleges. In the band, Ashin was both the lead vocalist and the guitarist. The members of SoBand said that the Ashin could play the guitar well while singing. In 1997, Stone joined SoBand as a guitarist and the members decided to rename the band Mayday. Ashin's role in the band is now the lead vocalist. Mayday is heavily influenced by The Beatles
in terms of style and beliefs.
. In 1999, Mayday published their first official album. In 2006, Mayday and a former director of Rock Records
, Chen Yong-Zhi(陳勇志), founded B'in Music Co. Ltd (相信音樂). Mayday has fans all over the world. They have held concerts in Taiwan
, Singapore
, U.S.
, Japan
, Hong Kong
, Malaysia, Korea
, China
and Australia
. Their reported aim is to be the Beatles of Asia.
Ashin also composed a significant number of songs for other renowned artists. Some of his works include:
Zai Mei Bian(在梅邊) by Leehom Wang (王力宏), Hou Niao (候鳥) by René Liu
(劉若英), and Rainbow (彩虹) by Fish Leong
(梁静茹).
to create the MusiQ dog tag MP3 player. The development process took 8 months with the help of top designers from China
and Taiwan
. In 2007, Ashin and No2good designed a symbolic lion figure toy named Jr.Q for BenQ
. In the same year, Ashin and No2good publicized the clothing line Stay Real in Taiwan
.
, Lo Ta-yu
(羅大佑), Wu Bai
(伍佰), Mr. Children
, and China Blue. Ashin's works are heavily influenced by his favorite artists and bands. Ashin is bilingual in Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien because his parents and grandparents are fluent in both languages. The strong foundation in both languages enabled Ashin to sing fluently in both languages. Because of Ashin's ability to sing and compose in both languages, Mayday's songs are in both Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien.
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, is a Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese singer, music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His legal name is Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏). He is the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
of the Taiwanese rock band Mayday. Even though he majored in art during high school and college, Ashin started his career as a musician after graduating from college. Ashin made a huge influence on both the clothing and music industry. Mayday is one of the most successful rock bands in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and his clothing line Stay Real has been popular among teenagers ever since it came out. Other artists frequently ask Ashin to sing with them as a duo or compose music for them.
Early life
Ashin was born in TaipeiTaipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
on December 6, 1975 under the name Chen Hsin-Hung, but was later given the nickname Ashin. Ever since then, he was known to everyone as Ashin rather than Chen Hsin-Hung. His family members consist of his parents, himself, and a younger brother. When Ashin was little, his family owned a record store, which was said to inspire his passion towards music. Ashin's childhood dream was to become a singer, but he realized that his tone was too low, and that he was unable to sing in a high Pitch (music)
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
. Ashin did not give up and continued to practice his singing skills. He often makes fun of himself for being the king of Break (music)
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
, and being an "eating pig" because his hobbies are eating and sleeping.
Education
When he was young, Ashin attended a public elementary and middle school in the Beitou District. After graduating from middle school, Ashin was accepted into one of the top high schools in TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University
The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University
The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University , is considered a top school among Taiwan's high schools. It is ranked second among all the senior high schools in Taiwan, with requirement of PR99 and 98 on the National Senior High School Entrance Exams...
, where he majored in visual arts. Ashin joined the guitar club in the high school and was promoted to the president of the guitar club a year after. It was in the guitar club that he met the other members of Mayday: Monster (musician), Masa, and Stone. At the age of 19, he began to compose and his own music and lyrics. The first song he composed was "Hao Ju Hao San", which was published in Richie Jen's 2001 album "Fei Niao." After graduating from high school, Ashin attended Shih Chien University
Shih Chien University
Shih Chien University is a private university in Taiwan，It has two campuses, one in Dazhi, Zhongshan District, Taipei, and the other in Neimen District, Kaohsiung....
, where he majored in interior design. While he was still attending college, Ashin continued to compose music and perform with other members of Mayday. Before he graduated from college Ashin had already gained popularity and even had a fan club
Fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
. Aside from his singing, Ashin can also play the guitar and drums.
SoBand
In 1995, together with Monster (musician) and the previous drummer Qian You-Da, Ashin formed the rock band known as SoBand. During the same year, Masa joined SoBand as the bassistBassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
. SoBand performed at major bars and restaurants even after its members went to different colleges. In the band, Ashin was both the lead vocalist and the guitarist. The members of SoBand said that the Ashin could play the guitar well while singing. In 1997, Stone joined SoBand as a guitarist and the members decided to rename the band Mayday. Ashin's role in the band is now the lead vocalist. Mayday is heavily influenced by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
in terms of style and beliefs.
Mayday
Mayday first started off as an underground rock band. They created a demo of their songs and sent them to several record companies for evaluation. Their talent was spotted by the executive Jonathan Lee (李宗盛) of Rock RecordsRock Records
Rock Records is a Taiwanese record label founded in 1980 by Sam and Johnny Duan . The record label had their first multiseller in 1989 with Sarah Chen.It is now Asia's largest independent record label....
. In 1999, Mayday published their first official album. In 2006, Mayday and a former director of Rock Records
Rock Records
Rock Records is a Taiwanese record label founded in 1980 by Sam and Johnny Duan . The record label had their first multiseller in 1989 with Sarah Chen.It is now Asia's largest independent record label....
, Chen Yong-Zhi(陳勇志), founded B'in Music Co. Ltd (相信音樂). Mayday has fans all over the world. They have held concerts in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Malaysia, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Their reported aim is to be the Beatles of Asia.
Vocalist
In addition to being the lead vocalist of Mayday, Ashin has performed as a duo with other artists. Some of his renowned works include: Zou Huo Ru Mo (走火入魔) with Ding Dang (丁噹) and Escape to the Moon (私奔到月球) with Cheer Chen(陳綺貞).Composer/song writer
The first song he composed was "Hao Ju Hao San", which was published in Richie Jen's 2001 album "Fei Niao."Ashin also composed a significant number of songs for other renowned artists. Some of his works include:
Zai Mei Bian(在梅邊) by Leehom Wang (王力宏), Hou Niao (候鳥) by René Liu
René Liu
René Liu was born June 1, 1969. She is a Taiwanese actress and singer. She is the first to win Best Actress awards at the Asia Pacific Movie Festival in both television and film productions...
(劉若英), and Rainbow (彩虹) by Fish Leong
Fish Leong
Fish Leong is the stage name of Jasmine Leong, a Malaysian Chinese singer in the Mandarin pop scene who has had much success in Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan...
(梁静茹).
Author
In 2006, Ashin published a book called Happy.Birth.Day. The book is based on Ashin and how he views the world as a musician. In the book, Ashin wrote that he thinks writing lyrics is a much harder and more meaningful task than composing music. Therefore, the book includes a selection of his personal favorites of the lyrics that he has written. At the age of 19, Ashin wrote his very first song and has currently written over 100 songs. Ashin believes that his best gift is being able to write lyrics. He has noted that lyrics have the ability to create a fantasy world and to convey ideas through that world.Other collaborations
In 2006, Ashin and his high school buddy No2good (不二良) were invited by BenQBenQ
BenQ Corporation is a Taiwanese multi-national company that sells and markets consumer electronics, computing and communications devices under the "BenQ" brand name, which stands for the company slogan Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life .- Company :BenQ sells and markets technology products,...
to create the MusiQ dog tag MP3 player. The development process took 8 months with the help of top designers from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. In 2007, Ashin and No2good designed a symbolic lion figure toy named Jr.Q for BenQ
BenQ
BenQ Corporation is a Taiwanese multi-national company that sells and markets consumer electronics, computing and communications devices under the "BenQ" brand name, which stands for the company slogan Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to life .- Company :BenQ sells and markets technology products,...
. In the same year, Ashin and No2good publicized the clothing line Stay Real in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Influences
As a child, Ashin always had a passion for music. He enjoys listening and singing along to music. Some of his favorite artists and rock bands are: The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Lo Ta-yu
Lo Ta-yu
Lo Ta-yu or Luo Dayou is a Taiwanese singer and songwriter who, during the 1980s, affected Chinese pop and rock music with his melodic lyrics, his love songs, and his witty social and political commentary that he infused in his more political songs, often to the point that some of his songs were...
(羅大佑), Wu Bai
Wu Bai
Wu Bai on 14 January 1968) is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean "Dino" Zavolta on drums, Yu Ta-hao on keyboards, Chu Chien-hui on bass guitar and Wu Bai himself on lead guitar and lead vocals...
(伍佰), Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...
, and China Blue. Ashin's works are heavily influenced by his favorite artists and bands. Ashin is bilingual in Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien because his parents and grandparents are fluent in both languages. The strong foundation in both languages enabled Ashin to sing fluently in both languages. Because of Ashin's ability to sing and compose in both languages, Mayday's songs are in both Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien.
Commercials
- 2006: MusiQ MP3
- 2007: Guerlain
- 2008: 2008 Taipei International Book ExhibitionTaipei International Book ExhibitionThe Taipei International Book Exhibition , abbreviated TIBE) is a book fair organized by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation and supervised by the Government Information Office. It was established on 15 December 1987 at the National Central Library and focused on distribution and copyright negotiations...
- 2009: 7-Eleven7-Eleven7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
- Coffee