Source: CCTV.com

02-02-2007 16:15

Zhu Zheqin (Dadawa) - a representative of China’s new music and a globally recognized musical talent. In this episode of Up-Close, we invite Dadawa to our studio to talk about her music and the inspiration behind it.

Dadawa, the third child in her family, graduated from Guangzhou Normal University in 1990. Most of you might not know that in 1990, she won second place in CCTV’s China Youth Singer TV Competition with her song, “A true story”. This was a big breakthrough, but instead of launching a professional singing career, she chose to continue learning music in Shanghai, Beijing and Sichuan.

In 1995, Dadawa’s album Sister Drum was released in 56 countries simultaneously, the first in Chinese history. The album led to Dadawa’s recognition as a world-class Chinese singer, and was a considered a milestone in domestic and international music circles for its Tibetan-inspired sounds.

Dadawa’s latest album, Seven Days, was also released globally. In the Up-Close studio, she said, she is an idealist who aspires for pure music; thus, she took a musical pilgrimage to South Asia to draw inspiration from places like Kashmir. She said her main motive for traveling is just to listen to music.

To try to further inspire Dadawa, we invited singers from Tibet and Inner Mongolia to perform traditional music from their ethnic group. Join us on Up-Close to hear Dadawa’s response to their traditional songs, and to hear the stories behind her life of music.