Yungchen Lhamo
b. 31 December 1963, Lhasa, Tibet. The eldest of six children (two of whom died of malnutrition), Lhamo worked as a carpet weaver as a young girl, but was encouraged to concentrate on singing by her mother and grandmother. In 1989 Lhamo, along with her young son, trekked across the Himalayas to Dharamasala, the home of the exiled Tibetan community in India. Here she received the blessing of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and subsequently worked with a theatrical company made up of former political prisoners from Tibet. Moving to Sydney, Australia, in 1993, she began to perform alone and unaccompanied as an expression of her feelings of cultural and spiritual isolation, receiving acclaim for her compelling stage presence as well as for the power and purity of her singing. Tibetan Prayer, her debut, was released in 1995 on a small independent Australian label. It won the Australian Record Award for Best World Music/Folk Album for that year. The beautiful Tibet Tibet was her first international release. Recorded at Real World Studios in England, it featured Lhamo singing a cappella and with minimal, traditional backing, provided on one track by the chanting of a group of Tibetan monks. In the same year she toured in Europe and the USA, appearing at the Knitting Factory in New York and at various WOMAD events, including a concert at the Barbican in London. 1997's Coming Home was produced by Hector Zazou (best known for his work with Bj”rk and Suzanne Vega), who presented Lhamo's voice in an ethno-rock/new age setting, with backing from an international line-up of musicians including guitarist Dave Rhodes from Peter Gabriel's band, and, on one track, Gabriel himself. 1997 also saw her making a number of high-profile live appearances, including a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall for New York's Tibet House, where she performed alongside Patti Smith and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. She continued to perform at various venues in the USA as part of the Lilith Fair tour with other female artists such as Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris. Lhamo also appeared alongside Lou Reed and Philip Glass at the Meltdown Festival at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Listen to Yungchen Lhamo at Finetune.

Albums
Top Tracks
  • Lhasa
  • Coming Home
  • Lama Dorje Chang
  • Dream
  • Om Mani Padme Hung
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