Dadawa
Encyclopedia
Dadawa is the artist name of Zhu Zheqin (朱哲琴), a singer/songwriter/indie producer, who is well-known for her vocalization. She was born in Guangzhou
, Guangdong
, China
. Dadawa is sometimes referred as the "Chinese Enya
" by fans. Many fans also describe her as China's Ry Cooder, given her eclectic forays into World Music including one recording and tour with Ireland's The Chieftains.
She collaborated with composer/producer He Xuntian
for all of her albums. He Xuntian is a Shanghai
music professor. In 1994, He Xuntian and Dadawa travelled to Tibet to research Tibetan culture and beliefs. The result, Sister Drum (1995), was an international success. Following that, Dadawa's album Voices From The Sky was released in 1997. Dadawa is the first contemporary Chinese musician to have her music released worldwide, for which she has received an Asian MTV award for her contribution to Asian music.
In recent years, Dadawa has developed a reputation as a world traveller and adventurer, visiting many countries and immersing herself in a variety of cultures around the world. She has also worked in television journalism, in particular her hosting of a major Chinese television documentary, "Into Africa", which introduced that continent to hundreds of millions of viewers.
After many years of not releasing a solo album, finally in August 2006, she released "Seven Days". This album did not contain any Tibet
an elements, but still maintained lyrical references to Buddhist ideas. Musically, the concept headed more toward Chinese traditional folk songs with pan-Asian elements. However, her trademark beautifully sung melody lines, East Asian percussion, and ambient electronic and classical instrumentation persisted. Meanwhile she created a band made up of Canadian musicians including Ron Korb
, George Gao
, Bill Bridges, Paul Hoffert
, Lew Mele, and Ben Riley and toured in China
to introduce her new music to the Chinese public.
Dadawa's work on "Seven Days" was nominated for a BBC
World Music Award in 2007. The same year Dadawa won the prestigious Tom.com award for the "Most Influential Woman in Chinese Music" and was voted a Top Ten album in China by both Sina.com
and the Beijing Evening News
. "Seven Days" also went on to win the award for best world fusion album in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. In 2007, she completed a documentary film of her musical sojourns in India, Nepal and Tibet, co-directed with Oscar winner, Ross Kauffman. In January 2009, Dadawa was appointed a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador in China, with a focus on preserving ethnic music and handicrafts.
She also provided her voice for He Xuntian
's album Paramita (波罗密多) (2002) (selected tracks only). She guests on one track of Jonathan Elias
' Prayer Cycle: Path to Zero (2011).
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, 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...
. Dadawa is sometimes referred as the "Chinese Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
" by fans. Many fans also describe her as China's Ry Cooder, given her eclectic forays into World Music including one recording and tour with Ireland's The Chieftains.
She collaborated with composer/producer He Xuntian
He Xuntian
He Xuntian is a modern Chinese composer and also a music composition professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He studied music theory by himself from the age of eight and composition followed...
for all of her albums. He Xuntian is a Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
music professor. In 1994, He Xuntian and Dadawa travelled to Tibet to research Tibetan culture and beliefs. The result, Sister Drum (1995), was an international success. Following that, Dadawa's album Voices From The Sky was released in 1997. Dadawa is the first contemporary Chinese musician to have her music released worldwide, for which she has received an Asian MTV award for her contribution to Asian music.
In recent years, Dadawa has developed a reputation as a world traveller and adventurer, visiting many countries and immersing herself in a variety of cultures around the world. She has also worked in television journalism, in particular her hosting of a major Chinese television documentary, "Into Africa", which introduced that continent to hundreds of millions of viewers.
After many years of not releasing a solo album, finally in August 2006, she released "Seven Days". This album did not contain any Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an elements, but still maintained lyrical references to Buddhist ideas. Musically, the concept headed more toward Chinese traditional folk songs with pan-Asian elements. However, her trademark beautifully sung melody lines, East Asian percussion, and ambient electronic and classical instrumentation persisted. Meanwhile she created a band made up of Canadian musicians including Ron Korb
Ron Korb
Ron Korb is a Canadian flautist, composer, songwriter, and record producer, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is also known as Dragon Flute in China, Thunder Blessing in Taiwan and Prince of Flutes in Japan-Musical style:Korb is known for writing culturally diverse...
, George Gao
George Gao
- History :George Gao was born in 1967, in Shanghai, China. Gao began studying the erhu at the age of six. In 1982, he won First Prize at the Shanghai Junior Instrumental Soloist Competition and a Silver Medal at the China National Junior Instrumental Soloist Contest. His performance skill exempted...
, Bill Bridges, Paul Hoffert
Paul Hoffert
Paul Matthew Hoffert, CM is a recording artist, performer, media music composer, author, academic, and corporate executive. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. He later studied music composition with Samuel Dolin and music theory with Gordon Delamont...
, Lew Mele, and Ben Riley and toured in 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...
to introduce her new music to the Chinese public.
Dadawa's work on "Seven Days" was nominated for a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
World Music Award in 2007. The same year Dadawa won the prestigious Tom.com award for the "Most Influential Woman in Chinese Music" and was voted a Top Ten album in China by both Sina.com
Sina.com
SINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
and the Beijing Evening News
Beijing Evening News
Beijing Evening News is a Chinese language newspaper in the People's Republic of China from Beijing. It was founded on March 15, 1958. Mao Zedong wrote the title for it in 1964....
. "Seven Days" also went on to win the award for best world fusion album in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. In 2007, she completed a documentary film of her musical sojourns in India, Nepal and Tibet, co-directed with Oscar winner, Ross Kauffman. In January 2009, Dadawa was appointed a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador in China, with a focus on preserving ethnic music and handicrafts.
Discography
- Yellow Children (黄孩子) (1992)
- Sister DrumSister DrumSister Drum is an album by Chinese singer Dadawa, which is heavily influenced by the music of Tibet. The album is notable for being the first Asian CD to ship over one million copies in China. The use of Tibetan folk music as the basis for some of their recordings has aroused some controversy in...
(阿姐鼓) (1995) - Voices From The SkyVoices from the SkyVoices from the Sky is the third album by Chinese singer Dadawa. The album is a follow up to her second album Sister Drum, which met with controversy, critical and commercial success.-English track listing:#"Melodious Goddess" - 6:26...
(央金玛) (1997) - Seven Days (七日谈) (2006)
- Main Title Theme (一首歌) (2007) - main title theme of Taiwan's anime "MAZU"
She also provided her voice for He Xuntian
He Xuntian
He Xuntian is a modern Chinese composer and also a music composition professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He studied music theory by himself from the age of eight and composition followed...
's album Paramita (波罗密多) (2002) (selected tracks only). She guests on one track of Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias is a U.S. composer and record producer, known for his movie soundtracks, production for several pop and rock acts, and his award-winning advertising music including the PBS logo instrumental from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989....
' Prayer Cycle: Path to Zero (2011).
Sources
- Dadawa's Poetry Hides Politics
- Dadawa: Voices from the Sky at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, original site closed - Ectophiles Guide
- Dadawa.net at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, original site closed - Celestial Voices
- Dadawa's Blog
- BBC's entry on Dadawa
- China Tibet Information Center - Total Eclipse of the Heart
- Answer.com entry on Dadawa
- Dadawa Fan Club