China was this year's protagonist on the international scene with the Beijing Olympics, but instead we should all be talking about something else from China: Sa Ding Ding (薩頂頂). This incredibly talented lady, of Han and Mongolian ancestry (she was born in inner Mongolia), writes her own music inspired by ancient Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan music, while stepping firmly on western music conventions, delivering an eclectic sound reminiscent of how Dead Can Dance would sound if they were born in China. She studied philosophy and music in Beijing. She released her first album at age 18, called Dong Ba La under the moniker Zhou Peng. She also plays traditional Chinese and Mongolian instruments, while her ethereal voice sounds as if Liz Frazer is singing in The Flying Daggers soundtrack. Want to feel more inadequate: she sings in Tibetan, Mandarin, Sanskrit and a language of her own to better evoke emotions in her songs (she said that before we start to talk, we know how to sing): two of the song in this album are repeated in different languages, but instead of being just a simple repetition, they sound intriguingly different due to the variations in phrasing and rhythm. The album Alive (万物生) is her first under her real name and was originally released in China in 2007, but reached the rest of the world in mid-2008. She's definitely one to watch for in the future and will surely make many ladies in the music industry have nightmares...Alive - Mandarin version
Holy Incense (Chinese Version)
α πολύ καλή, να'σαι καλά, δεν την ήξερα καν.
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