Biography
Born Zhu Zheqin in Guangzhou Province during the early 1970s, Dadawa became the first mainland Chinese artist to issue an international album since 1950 after traveling to Tibet for source material on her debut recording. Her father worked as a science editor, and she initially trained as a teacher before turning to professional singing in her early twenties. After winning a television talent contest, she was spotted by composer He Xuntian and his brother He Xunyou, who mentored her through a name change and arranged television appearances in France, Spain, and Sweden. The pair spent several months in Tibet during 1993 and began composing and tracking material the following year.
Warner Brothers International issued her first album, Sister Drum, in 1995. On the record Dadawa offered her own reading of Tibetan music supported by drum, horn, and flutes, generating a mystical and ethereal mood. The Chinese government’s suppression of Tibet provoked strong objections from observers focused on the forced exile of Tibetans and the repression of their religion; many viewed the project as an assertion of Han cultural imperialism, citing her appearance in a nun’s robe on the cover and her chanting of sacred mantras—sometimes mispronounced—over an ornate orchestral backdrop. The implication that Tibetans were ancient and backward yet still part of China further fueled resentment. Political tensions surfaced again with the single “Sister Drum,” which showed Dadawa embracing the wall of Jokhang, the sacred Buddhist temple closed even to international media. Despite—or perhaps because of—the debate, the album sold more than a million copies and marked the first international release to emerge from China in over forty-five years.
Dadawa selected Sire/Electra in the United States for her second album, Voices From the Sky, which appeared in February 1998. Her exotic, flexible voice floated above sustained synthesizers while revisiting the thematic territory of the earlier record. The tracks “The Sixth Dalai Lama’s Love Song,” “Himalayans,” and “Melodious Goddess” were performed in Chinese, with English translations supplied in the liner notes. Intended strictly for listening, the album invited neither singing along nor dancing.
Her third album, Yellow Children, came out on the Kiigo label in February 2001. Songs such as “The Sea Is Gone,” “The Unknown Father,” and “The Child Going Far Away” addressed release from the past, although the liner notes stated that the material had been recorded in 1992. Delivering the lyrics in her native Chinese, Dadawa combined passion with restraint against a backdrop of both Asian and Western instruments.
Warner Brothers International issued her first album, Sister Drum, in 1995. On the record Dadawa offered her own reading of Tibetan music supported by drum, horn, and flutes, generating a mystical and ethereal mood. The Chinese government’s suppression of Tibet provoked strong objections from observers focused on the forced exile of Tibetans and the repression of their religion; many viewed the project as an assertion of Han cultural imperialism, citing her appearance in a nun’s robe on the cover and her chanting of sacred mantras—sometimes mispronounced—over an ornate orchestral backdrop. The implication that Tibetans were ancient and backward yet still part of China further fueled resentment. Political tensions surfaced again with the single “Sister Drum,” which showed Dadawa embracing the wall of Jokhang, the sacred Buddhist temple closed even to international media. Despite—or perhaps because of—the debate, the album sold more than a million copies and marked the first international release to emerge from China in over forty-five years.
Dadawa selected Sire/Electra in the United States for her second album, Voices From the Sky, which appeared in February 1998. Her exotic, flexible voice floated above sustained synthesizers while revisiting the thematic territory of the earlier record. The tracks “The Sixth Dalai Lama’s Love Song,” “Himalayans,” and “Melodious Goddess” were performed in Chinese, with English translations supplied in the liner notes. Intended strictly for listening, the album invited neither singing along nor dancing.
Her third album, Yellow Children, came out on the Kiigo label in February 2001. Songs such as “The Sea Is Gone,” “The Unknown Father,” and “The Child Going Far Away” addressed release from the past, although the liner notes stated that the material had been recorded in 1992. Delivering the lyrics in her native Chinese, Dadawa combined passion with restraint against a backdrop of both Asian and Western instruments.
Albums