Multi-award-winning Tibetan singer-songwriter and producer Ansa GaRangDengZhen, aka Zen in English, recently released “Alaye.”
Zen’s sound blends traditional Chinese folk music with elements of contemporary electronic music and dance music, creating breathtaking sonic compositions.
Zen became a global sensation after winning a Chinese talent show and was recognized as one of the top ten singers of the year. This earned him a place as a regular special guest performer for CCTV and many other TV stations. He rejuvenated Chinese folk music to the public during his world tours. In the process, he received the American Love and Art Contribution Award, the British Charity Artist Honor and Performing Artist Award in Australia, Egypt, Qatar, and Canada.
While promoting folk music overseas, Ansa GaRangDengZhen strives to spread the essence of Tibetan culture – Tangka Art. He cooperated with Canada Vancouver Cultural Centre in 2019 and presented Vancouver’s largest Tibet Tangka Culture and Art Exhibition. bringing Chinese ancient arts overseas, attracting tens of thousands of people.
He has a long history of activism, charity, and humanitarian work that is reflected in his transformative art. Throughout his 20 + years of singing, composing, and performing, he has won over 20 awards in China and overseas as well as contributing music and raising funds for stem cell research, earthquake relief, leukemia, the International Children’s Fund, and other human welfare causes. Zen has been named ambassador for the Canadian Liver Fund, the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and the Tibet Aid and Development Foundation. Zen has also proudly served as the Vice Chairman of the Tibetan Performing Arts Alliance.
“Alaye” opens on shimmering layers of sound riding rumbling, syncopated percussion. An evocative piano and trilling flutes imbue the song with glossy sonic tendrils. Quavering yet flavored with delicious timbres, Zen’s exotic vocals soar on bright, lustrous undulations atop the music.
As the rhythm takes on thrumming essence, the harmonics reverberate with booming tones, adding resonance and echoing shadows. When the song culminates, the leitmotif shifts, adding flavors of jazz.
With “Alaye,” Zen Ansa GaRangDengZhen demonstrates his gift for merging Chinese folk music with modern electronic tangs.
Zen Ansa GaRangDengZhen will perform at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for his “Songs from the Himalayas” tour in Vancouver on August 13, 2022. Tickets for the highly anticipated Vancouver performance are available here.
