Lovers of Tibetan music will welcome the arrival of a solo album from one of Tibetan classical music’s most enduring icons. Sonam Tashi, known as Acho Danny to thousands of fans, has been studying, performing, and recording Tibetan folk, classical and contemporary music for the past 30 years. As a co-founder and band member of Chaksampa, he has endeared himself to countless Tibetans as an extraordinarily gifted songwriter and a natural dranyen player. As such, this debut solo album from one of the most popular Tibetan musicians will come as a pleasant Losar surprise to many a loyal fan.
Acho Danny was born in Shungpa, in Ngari province in Tibet. Crossing the Himalayas at the age of 5, he was among the first Tibetan exiles to escape Tibet and follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama into India. After spending nine years as a student at the Central School for Tibetans in Mussorie, he joined the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts to pursue a career in Tibetan performing arts. In 1982, he moved to the United States, where he co-founded Chaksampa, a foundation dedicated to preserving Tibetan traditional music and dance. During the years, his unwavering commitment to Tibet’s musical heritage and his religious devotion to his dranyen became common knowledge to Tibetan exiles. To legions of fans, he is nothing short of a living dranyen legend.
The album My Dranyen boasts an eclectic mix of traditional folk songs, modern Tibetan favorites, freedom songs, and a couple of adventurous dranyen solos that heralds the birth of a new genre of Tibetan music.
The CD, produced by John Hancock for Independence Productions, NYC (www.IndependenceNYC.com) will be launched at the Tibet House on Friday, January 28, 2005.
