Tibetan devotional singer Yungchen Lhamo is one of the most original voices in world music—and one of the most dedicated. An exile from her homeland, she trekked the high Himalayas to join her countrymen in the North Indian town Dharamsala to practice her religion unmolested and, from there, bring her musical message to the world.
Born in a labor camp outside Lhasa in Chinese-occupied Tibet, Lhamo's name was given to her by a Tibetan lama when she was a baby and translates to "Goddess of Melody and Song." In keeping with this name, her grandmother instructed her in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhist devotional songs—a practice that had been driven underground by the Chinese occupation.
In 1989, the teenage Lhamo fled Tibet on foot—a journey of over 1,000 miles across the Himalayas to India. There she saw Tibetan refugee life up close, and received a blessing from Dalai Lama himself, who encouraged her to share her voice and culture with the rest of the world.
After a move to Australia, she began her singing career in earnest with the release of Tibetan Prayer in 1994. This impressive debut showcased her ethereal, otherworldly voice in spare, haunting arrangements. Combined with an international tour remarkable for her near a cappella stage performances, her debut made her a world music star and led to her signing with Peter Gabriel's Real World label in 1996.
The result of Lhamo's ongoing association with Real World has been a series of intensely personal and reflective albums, including Tibet Tibet (1996) and Coming Home (1998) that track her growth as an artist while further spreading her devotional message. Her most recent release, Ama (2006) is another quiet, contemplative ode to stillness and a richly cultivated inner life.
In 2000, Lhamo moved to New York City, to capitalize on her earlier success - and her profile has been on the rise in the United States ever since. She has collaborated with singer Natalie Merchant, appeared on the compilation disc Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music, and on the soundtrack to the film Seven Years in Tibet, and in a handful of documentaries. Yungchen was also one of the artists featured in a one-hour music television special by National Geographic called Songs Under a Big Sky.—Tom Pryor
