Zhu Zheqin

Dadawa

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. She is more likely better described 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 came out with "Seven Days". This album does not contain any Tibetan elements, but still maintains lyrical references to Buddhist ideas. Musically, the concept heads more towards Chinese traditional folk songs with Pan Asian elements. However, her trademark beautifully sung melody lines, East Asian percussion and ambient electronic and classical instrumentation persists. 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. In 2007, she completed a documentary film of her musical sojourns in India, Nepal and Tibet, co-directed with Oscar winner, Ross Kauffman.