Dadawa
Country of origin:
China
Type of music generally:
Ethereal, traditional (and trad-based), world music
Status:
Most recent release, Moonrise (2013)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry on Dadawa
Comparisons:
Yungchen Lhamo; I've seen her called a "Chinese Enya" but I wouldn't necessarily say that myself. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Covers/own material:
Mostly compositions by He Xuntian. Writes some lyrics.
General comments:
Dadawa has one of those crystal clear voices that can transport me and take my breath away. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Recommended first album:
Sister Drum
Recordings:
- Yellow Children (1992, rereleased 2001)
- Sister Drum (1995)
- Voices From the Sky (1997)
- Seven Days (2006)
- Moonrise (2013)
Sister Drum
Release info:
1995—Sire Records—7559-61889-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Dadawa (Zhu Zheqin)—vocals
Guest artists:
He Xuntian—music composition and arrangement
Produced by:
He Xuntian
Comments:
i got sister drum at a used cd store, and for some reason, i guess i'd heard the name before but didn't know much (or anything) about the singer, i actually thought it was a native american group. i must have gotten it/her confused with something/one else. anyway, dadawa is a singer from china and the album sister drum was inspired by tibetan music by a chinese man (He Xuntian) who had collected lots of tibetan folk songs and then subsequent trips to tibet. regardless of what the politics of all that might be, it is a really beautiful album. lots of interesting notes about the making of the album, the meaning of the songs (which are printed in chinese characters and english translations.) well worth checking out. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Voices From the Sky
Release info:
1997—Ufoco Group Co. Ltd—31008-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Dadawa—vocals
Guest artists:
He Xuntian—percussion, composition, arrangements
An Dong—keyboards, midi
Du Cong—xiao and bamboo flute
Liu Ying—suo na
Laozai—guitar
Huo Yonggang—ban hu and er hu
The Tibet Chorus—chorus
The Shanghai Chorus—chorus
Produced by:
He Xuntian
Comments:
This album, also inspired by Tibetan music, but less obviously so than Sister Drum, is softer and takes a few listens to appreciate, but then the beauty of the vocals, the music, and the silences really come through and reveal more of themselves on repeated listens. I especially like the "Sixth Dalai Lama's Song". (JoAnn Whetsell)My copy is a Taiwanese Warner/UFO Group disc (0630 18768 2). Elegant bilingual (Chinese-English) booklet. Best recorded sound from China Record Company's Shanghai studios. (That's coming from someone who buys CRC imports when he's in Chinatown). Awesome scoring and vocals (check out "Seven Drums," "The Sixth Dalai Lama's Love Song," and "Question from the Other Shore"). And a gold-plated CD to boot. :-) (philipdavid@earthlink.net)
Further info:
Dadawa contributed vocals to the Chinese Box soundtrack.
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
