Chen Jiannian

Biography

Chen Jiannian (Chinese: 陳建年; born 1 August 1967), tribal name Pau-dull, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer. In 2000, he won Best Male Mandarin Singer and Best Composition for the song Legend from Samingad's Wild Fire, Spring Wind at the 11th Golden Melody Awards. After retiring from policing to focus on music, he won Best Aboriginal Album (Indigenous Languages) for pongso no Tao at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards.

Early life

Chen was born on 1 August 1967 in the Puyuma Sakuban Community in Taitung, Taiwan. His maternal grandfather Senbao Lu was a composer and educator. He is the uncle of singers Samingad and Jia Jia.
Learning to play the guitar at a young age, he started a folk quartet with his brother and friends in 1982. In 1984, they entered a songwriting competition in Kaohsiung and recorded a compilation album with the other participants.
He studied architecture at National Taitung Junior College and then attended Taiwan Police College.

Music

In 1999, Chen released his first album The Ocean.
In 2002, he released his second album The Earth.
From 2000 to 2018, he composed the soundtracks for several movies, including Trekking the Way Home, The Rest of Life - Seediq Bale, and Black Bear Forest. In 2007, he won Best Instrumental Album for I-yen-mei-leg Village No. 3 at the 18th Golden Melody Awards. In 2019, he won Best Instrumental Album Producer for Black Bear Forest at the 30th Golden Melody Awards.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with various artists, such as his niece Samingad and The Nanwan Sisters, a trio of Taiwanese indigenous singers. In 2009, he won Best Album Producer for The Nanwan Sisters at the 20th Golden Melody Awards.
In 2021, he released his third album pongso no Tao.
On 12 February 2022, he held his first large concert with Japanese band Tokyo Chuo-Line at the Taipei International Convention Center, along with Abao as guest. They also performed at Kaohsiung Music Center on 9 April 2022.

Law enforcement

Chen graduated from police academy in 1986 and was first assigned to a station in Guanshan, Taitung. He also worked in various locations throughout Taiwan.
He worked in Lanyu until his retirement on 1 September 2017.