Yungchen Lhamo

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Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo Concert in New Zealand.jpg
Background information
Born1960s
OriginLhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
GenresNew-age, traditional, world
Years active1990–present
LabelsReal World Records
Websiteyungchenlhamo.com

Yungchen Lhamo (Tibetan: དབྱངས་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ, lhamo meaning "goddess of song") is a Tibetan singer-songwriter living in the United States. She won an Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) award for best folk/world/traditional album in 1995 and was then signed by Peter Gabriel's Real World record label.

Life and career[]

Lhamo's name means "goddess of song" (lhamo), a name given to her by a Buddhist monk.[1]

Lhamo left Tibet in 1989 to make a pilgrimage to Dharamsala.[2] She was inspired to reach out to the world through her music. She moved to Australia in 1993,[1] then to New York City in 2000.

Lhamo's Australian debut album, Tibetan Prayer, produced by John Prior, won the ARIA Music Awards for best folk/world/traditional music release in 1995.[3] The success of that record led to her signing with Peter Gabriel's Real World label. Her first record for the label, Tibet, Tibet, mainly features a cappella renditions of original compositions—authentic Tibetan Buddhist prayers and songs. Her next recording, Coming Home, was a collaboration with producer Hector Zazou, showcasing her voice and also featuring chanting by Tibetan monks, a wide range of mostly modern Western instruments and the benefits of multi-track recording which enabled Lhamo's voice to be layered repeatedly.

According to the Times Herald Record, Lhamo has toured extensively in at least 70 countries, singing a combination of her own songs and traditional Buddhist chants and mantras. She has performed and recorded with a number of other artists, including Natalie Merchant, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Billy Corgan, and Bono.[1] Lhamo's recordings have been used in the film Seven Years in Tibet and many Tibetan documentaries.[citation needed] She has performed at venues such as London's Royal Festival Hall, New York City's Carnegie Hall, and Berlin's Philharmonic Hall.[citation needed] She has also performed at the Lilith Fair festival and toured as a part of the WOMAD world music festivals.[citation needed]

Lhamo's album Ama (which means "Mother" in the Tibetan language) was released in April 2006 and was produced by Iranian-American musician Jamshied Sharifi.[citation needed] Featured artists include Annie Lennox on the song Fade Away[4] and on the song Tara.[5]

In November 2007, Lhamo accompanied a site-specific dance work called "Walking The Line" by American choreographer Bill T. Jones at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The performance, which also featured solo percussion by , took place in a 300-foot space stretching from Michelangelo's statute The Dying Slave to the foot of the staircase leading to the sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace.[6]

Lhamo's fifth album, Tayatha (meaning "It Is Like This") was released in June 2013 by Cantaloupe Music. On this album she collaborated with Russian pianist Anton Batagov.[7]

Lhamo's work with mentally ill and homeless people was covered by Newsweek.[8]

Discography[]

  • Tibetan Prayer (1995)
  • Tibet, Tibet (1996)
  • Coming Home (1998)
  • Ama (2006)[9]
  • Tayatha with Anton Batagov (2013)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Horrigan, Jeremiah (March 25, 2013). "Acclaimed Tibetan singer now calls Kingston home". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Musa, Helen (April 14, 1995). "Goddess sings of Tibetan pilgrims". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 13. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "Winners by Year 1995". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  4. ^ Denselow, Robin (March 30, 2006). "Yungchen Lhamo, Ama". The Guardian. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "Rock/Pop Listings". The New York Times. May 5, 2006. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Riding, Alan (November 24, 2007). "Serenading Sculptures in Dance at Louvre". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Lohr, Michael. "Yungchen Lhamo Interview". New Renaissance Magazine. Renaissance Universal. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  8. ^ "A Tibetan Singer Helps Mentally Ill Patients Find Their Voice", Newsweek,|July 10, 2015.
  9. ^ Denselow, Robin (March 31, 2006). "CD: Yungchen Lhamo, Ama". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 4, 2020.

External links[]

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