Sa Dingding
Sa Dingding | |
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![]() Sa Dingding in concert | |
Chinese name | è–©é ‚é ‚ (traditional) |
Chinese name | è¨é¡¶é¡¶ (simplified) |
Pinyin | SÃ DÇngdÇng (Mandarin) |
Birth name | Zhou Peng (周é¹) |
Born |
Inner Mongolia, China[1] | 27 December 1983
Occupation | Singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, choreographer |
Genre(s) | Electronica, pop, folk |
Instrument(s) | Guzheng, Morin khuur |
Label(s) | Wrasse, Universal |
Years active | 2006–present |
Ancestry | Han Chinese and Mongol |
Official website |
SaDingding |
Sa Dingding (simplified Chinese: è¨é¡¶é¡¶; traditional Chinese: è–©é ‚é ‚; pinyin: Sà DÇngdÇng, born Zhou Peng (周é¹), 27 December 1983) is a Chinese folk singer and songwriter. She is of mixed Han Chinese and Mongol ancestry, and sings in languages including Mandarin Chinese, Sanskrit, Standard Tibetan, as well an imaginary self-created language to evoke the emotions in her songs.[2] She also plays traditional instruments such as the guzheng and morin khuur.
Biography
Born in Inner Mongolia,[1] Sa is of Han Chinese ancestry from her father's side and Mongolian ancestry from her mother side and she was influenced by Mongol music while living with her grandmother in Inner Mongolia until age six.[1] She also became interested in Buddhism and taught herself Tibetan and Sanskrit. Later on, she moved to Beijing to study music at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Art.
At age 18, she released her first album entitled Dong Ba La under her birth name Zhou Peng, awarding her with the title of China’s Best Dance Music Singer.
In 2006, "Holy Incense" was used as the theme song for the movie Prince of the Himalayas, directed by Sherwood Hu.
In mid-2007, she released Alive, now available physically and as a download in many countries. The Hong Kong release of the album features a DVD containing music videos, a remix of "Alive", making of footage and a Chinese version of "Mama Tian Na", not featured on the album.
In 2008 she won the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music for the Asia-Pacific region, earning herself the chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall to a Western audience. In the same year, she also released a two track single called "Qin Shang".[3]
Dingding composed a song with Éric Mouquet of Deep Forest called "Won't Be Long" to raise funds for disaster relief after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The song was made available on Mouquet's Deep-Projects website. Mouquet and Dingding have collaborated on a forthcoming album Deep China.
Most recently, Dingding has appeared at World of Music, Arts and Dance and the Harrogate International Festivals in the UK. On October 6, her official English website was updated with information about a European tour, going from November 7 to 17, making stops in Germany, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Las Palmas, Australia and New Zealand.[4]
For Chinese composer He Xuntian's 2008 album, TathÄgata, Dingding contributed the vocals for the second track, entitled "DátÇŽjiÄdá" (达塔伽达).
Her latest album, released in January 2010 is Harmony (天地åˆ), with nine songs in Chinese. The album also contains three remixes of the title track, one by Paul Oakenfold.
There has also been news of Dingding singing the theme song for the film Gasp (气喘åå), called "GÄ“chà ng De Lìlià ng" (æŒå”±çš„力é‡), in working with Howie B.[5]
Discography
- Albums
- (2001) Dong Ba La (咚巴啦)
- (2007.08.28) Alive (万物生) - Universal Music, Wrasse Records
- (2010.01.26) Harmony (天地åˆ)
- (2012.07.03) The Coming Ones (æå¦‚æ¥è€…)
- (2014.05.14) Wonderland (Remix Album) (幻境)
- (2015.11.20) The Butterfly Dream (庄周梦è¶é›†)
- Singles
- (2008.07.30) "Qin Shang" (ç´ä¼¤) - Wrasse Records
- (2009.11.13) "Tiandi Ji"/"Ha Ha Li Li" (天地记) - Universal Music Group
- Soundtracks
- The theme song of 14 Blades (锦衣å«)
References
- 1 2 3 The Independent - My Secret Life
- ↑ BBC - Awards for World Music 2008 - Asia/Pacific, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four television.
- ↑ BBC - Awards for World Music 2008 - Winners, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four television.
- ↑ Sa Dingding Official English Site
- ↑ è¨é¡¶é¡¶ä¸ŽU2制作人åˆå”±ã€Šæ°”å–˜åå》主题曲
External links
- Official UK website
- Official blog (Chinese)
- Official Japanese website (Japanese)
- Fans Page on Facebook (English)
Interviews
- "Freedom is the first thing I learnt from Music" Laptoprockers, December 2008
- Sa Dingding interview from Global Rhythm magazine, August 2008
News articles
- "Sa Dingding: China's New Age chanteuse" CNN
- "Made in China: the singer poised to sweep the globe" The Independent
- Sa Ding Ding, the Asian Bjork. The Times
- The Guardian, Friday March 28, 2008
- Biography from Universal Music
- Biography at Livedoor.com (Japanese)
- "Why Sa Dingding has China in her hand" The Daily Telegraph, 18 July 2008
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