Yungchen Lhamo

Biography

Yungchen Lhamo (Tibetan: དབྱངས་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ, meaning "goddess of eloquence" or Sarasvati) is a Tibetan singer-songwriter living in the United States. She won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 1995 and was then signed by Peter Gabriel's Real World record label.

Life and career

Yungchen Lhamo is the Tibetan translation of Sarasvati, a name given to her by a Buddhist monk at her birth.
Lhamo left Tibet in 1989 to make a pilgrimage to Dharamsala. She was inspired to reach out to the world through her music. She moved to Australia in 1993, then to New York City in 2000.
Lhamo's Australian debut album, Tibetan Prayer×Tibetan Prayer1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Om Mane Padme Hung3:532Ari-Lo3:563Gyalwa Tenzing Gyaltso4:144Tenyung1:155Omar Chung Chung2:166Gong Shey1:247Sangye Choe Dan Tsog6:388Lama Dorje Chang5:119Gi Pai Po Yul Cho-La3:42, produced by John Prior, won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 1995. The success of that record led to her signing with Peter Gabriel's Real World label. Her first record for the label, Tibet, Tibet, mainly features a cappella renditions of original compositions—authentic Tibetan Buddhist prayers and songs. Her next recording, Coming Home, was a collaboration with producer Hector Zazou, showcasing her voice and also featuring chanting by Tibetan monks, a wide range of mostly modern Western instruments and the benefits of multitrack recording which enabled her voice to be layered repeatedly.
Lhamo has toured in at least 70 countries, singing her own songs and traditional Buddhist chants and mantras. She has performed and recorded with artists that include Natalie Merchant, Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Billy Corgan, and Bono. Lhamo's recordings have been used in the film Seven Years in Tibet and many Tibetan documentaries. She has performed at venues such as London's Royal Festival Hall, New York City's Carnegie Hall, and Berlin's Philharmonic Hall. She has performed at the Lilith Fair festival and performed in WOMAD festivals.
Lhamo's album Ama (Tibetan: 'Mother') was released in April 2006. It was produced by the Iranian-American musician Jamshied Sharifi. Featured artists include Annie Lennox on the song Fade Away, and Joy Askew on the song Tara. In November 2007, Lhamo accompanied a site-specific dance work called "Walking The Line" by the American choreographer Bill T. Jones at the Louvre in Paris. The performance, which also featured solo percussion by Florent Jodelet, took place in a 300-foot-long (91 m) space stretching from Michelangelo's statue The Dying Slave to the foot of the staircase leading to the sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace.
Lhamo's fifth album, Tayatha×Tayatha25 June 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Good Times Will Come7:532Medicine Buddha8:033Flying Dakini7:034Ungrateful Child9:025Your Kindness16:166White Palace7:397My Mother’s Words12:56 ('It Is Like This') was released in June 2013 by Cantaloupe Music. On this album she collaborated with the Russian pianist Anton Batagov. Her work with mentally ill and homeless people was covered by Newsweek in 2015.
Lhamo released Awakening Album in 2022, which explores the relevance of compassion-based spirituality to our modern-day, interdependent lives—each song reflecting topics that have become ever-more highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Awakening was produced in collaboration with Julio Garcia. Produced in Madrid, it features "Loving Kindness", in which Yungchen is joined by flamenco legend Carmen Linares. Lhamo stated: "Awakening aims to appeal to those who are interested in sound healing and spiritual awakening, and, unlike previous albums, uses only English song titles. It is also my first album to include a song in Mandarin. I truly believe that voice has vibrational energy to connect, empower, heal and transform all human beings. I hope these new songs will help bring inner peace and true happiness to everyone who hears them."
Lhamo has also continued her work with the One Drop of Kindness Foundation, and she has helped to raise funds for humanitarian projects. In 2023, she released the album One Drop of Kindness×One Drop of Kindness8 September 2023 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Sound Healing5:212Awakening Through Sounds4:493Overcoming Obstacles6:134Perfect Compassion4:315Being Courageous6:526Dedication to My Teacher5:527Dream Song4:50, co-produced with John Alevizakis.