Customer Reviews

Alive

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Contemporary in its high production values with layering of varied instrumentation and electronic accents, fine sonics, back-up vocalists, strong beats, and very melodic tunes sung in Tibetan, Chinese, Sanskrit, and Sa Dingding's own invented language (Asian scat?), this album is not what you would expect to reach American shores from China, but Shang-Hai has always been progressive and inventive. From the beginning, the album captures our interest with exotica. It would make a great soundtrack; indeed, it reminds me of the music to the film "Himalaya". It takes us from temples to discos, from mountaintops to tropical beaches. Sa Dingding seems to have found an atypical niche, an original East Asian popular sound. The insert includes lyrics, but they are in Tibetan, Chinese, Sanskrit, and transliteration of her own idiom. Some are mantras, anyway. Although two songs, Alive and Holy Incense, are repeated with the same arrangements, the strong difference in phrasing and rhythm between Tibetan and Chinese languages makes the respective vocals unique. The last song on the CD, however, is entirely out of character, being a simple Western style popular song with piano accompaniment. It seems to serve as a transition to ease us back to our customary life after this audio adventure. This album won the BBC 3 World Music Award for Asia/ Pacific recordings.

This is a beautiful album full of beautiful melodies, colours, sounds, rhythms, counterpoint and some lovely and very characterful singing. Sa Dingding was born in Inner Mongolia, the part controlled by China, and she is a young and highly talented artist.

Some rather limited and silly Westerners have called her an "Asian Björk". Silly and superficial as this sounds, I guess it may help or encourage a few more people to explore this singer.

Sa Dingding is a very talented singer and musician and she has a huge future in music ahead of her, I strongly believe this.

What is "Alive" like? It is an album of very haunting and lovely songs, presented by an artist who takes some risks and lets the music live with grace. Occasionally, the instrumental music dominates the songs, and that is a very fine thing, because the instrumental sounds, traditional and electronic, are so delicious and colourful.

Don't just sit there reading this silly review! Buy the thing!

I really don't know how to describe this music. New age with an edge? World music meets electronica? It often sounds like thoroughly modern pop, but some of her lyrics seem to come from religious texts. (They're not translated, so I can't say for sure.) Fascinating rhythms, vocal tricks, blends of Western and Chinese instrumentation -- just fascinating from beginning to end. And very, very addictive. Buy this for a magical musical adventure. And then wait anxiously for her next one!

I came across an article in Der Stern, a German magazine, in which I was introduced to Sa Dingding. When I went to her website I listened to some songs and was completely intrigued. This entire CD is thrilling and beautiful. The languages include Mandarin, Tibetan, and a self made up language. If you want to hear something differant. This is it.

First play had me wondering what I was listening to, but by CD end I was totally hooked. Subsequent playings have only increased interest in this unique artist. Have heard her descibed as a Mongolian Bjork, but some of her music is more remeniscent of Portishead. Definately a CD to add the unusual collection.