Zhu Zheqin, also known as "Dadawa", is a new age singer and songwriter of Tibetan-inspired music.
With a pure and natural voice, Dadawa stirred up the global music scene with her 1995 album Sister Drum.
The singer has only released three albums in last ten years and then disappeared from the public eye for several years.
But now she has returned to the stage at Beijing's Star Live Concert Hall at the end of this past month, dazzling audiences with her penetrating voice and exotic bare-foot dancing.
Dadawa's long-anticipated new album Seven Day Talk has also been released recently, as well as her documentary The Journey of Sound.
The new album has seven songs, co-written by Zhu and He Shuntian, her long-time partner in former albums. Meanwhile, the Tibetan music elements which she was known for are not evident in the album any longer. Instead, the album shows inspiration from a broader range across Asian countries.
Dadawa's new documentary, The Journey of Sound, can be regarded as a visual additional to the album.
It features Dadawa's four-country tour across South Asia, from Kashmir to Old Delhi, Nepal, and Varanasi, then across the Himalayas and back to Tibet.
The documentary mostly revolves around local music in the areas she visited, including street artists, Gypsy musicians, and religious music.
The album Seven Day Talk was released at the end of last month, together with the documentary.
(CRI August 8, 2006)
