Among the world’s great singers, there are a rare few who become the
voice of a nation. After a decade of rapturous performances, recordings
and international acclaim, Yungchen Lhamo has become for many the voice
of Tibet.
As anyone who has heard her sing can attest, Yungchen’s voice is an
exquisite instrument. Free-flowing and enchanting, it can glide from a
mesmerizing chant to a booming mountain call in the space of a breath.
The pure sound of it can deliver its own message — one that goes beyond
words.
On Ama, her third album for Real World Records, Yungchen again brings
that voice to songs infused with the quiet spiritual power of Tibetan
Buddhism, but with a decidedly 21st century global feel. Trumpet,
strings, African kora, Middle Eastern percussion and the even, sweet
tones of a National Steel guitar are delicately woven around Yungchen’s
magical voice. With guest appearances by the British singer Joy Askew
and the incomparable Annie Lennox, Ama becomes that rare destination
where East really does happily meet West. No translators, or
politicians, required.
Ama, which means ‘mother’ in the Tibetan language, is dedicated to
Yungchen’s own mother, who raised her daughter amidst the violence and
persecution of the Chinese occupation of Tibet. She was a woman who
suffered greatly, whose father was killed and husband forced to flee,
who was beaten and even lost children to hunger in labor camps, but, as
Yungchen has said, “never talked about anger or revenge”. Those themes
of struggle, suffering, peace and forgiveness – embodied in the life of
her own Ama – remain at the heart of Yungchen’s life and work.
Musically, Ama builds on the adventurous melding of Tibetan songs
with modern sounds and production so strikingly achieved on her previous
album, Coming Home. The songs on Ama, all composed by Yungchen, and
produced and arranged artfully by Jamshied Sharifi, move from lyrical to
playful to mournful. Sharifi, an Iranian-American musician and composer
from Kansas City whose knowledge ranges from jazz to film scores to
Middle Eastern music, was evidently a perfect musical match for
Yungchen. “He is a genius and very open-minded,” she says. “He has so
many cultures.”
From lyrical prayers for Tibet and the Dalai Lama, to a playful song
of courtship, to the haunting 9/11 (her prayer for those who died in the
September 11th attacks), Ama is the musical document of a Tibetan exile
now living in the melting pot of New York, translating the pure strains
of her native art into a distinctly modern musical language.
A devout Buddhist, Yungchen is adamant about making her music for the
benefit of all. All religions, she says, share the concept of sanctuary
or refuge — found in meditation, in prayer or song — and that is the
goal she keeps in mind for her music. She calls on the highest deities
to bring blessings to those who hear her songs. That is a benefit one
doesn’t often get with the price of a concert ticket or a CD.
One audio cd.