Alive
Artist: Sa Dingding
Label: Wrasse Records
Length: 10 tracks / 45 minutes 
 
This is the sort of disc that could either sink without trace or become a worldwide sensation, depending on how it catches the public mood. It is essentially a Chinese / Western fusion: the Chinese part at times reinforces the stereotype of the national sound, while the beats will be distinctly familiar and accessible to listeners on the other side of the planet. Its overall feel is ambient, with plenty of flutes, zither, horse-head fiddle, top end programming and twangy Eastern sounds – as if the principles of Enigma have been recreated as a multi-cultural soundtrack to the Summer Olympic Games (a remarkably fortuitous time for this disc to be re-released, having already sold two million in her homeland).

The inside of the liner booklet proclaims, “Sa Dinging – An unprecedented and mysterious artist”. The photogenic 25-year-old won a China Central Television singing contest in 2000 – for which, presumably, there would have been many entrants. Her voice has a diverse range of expression. Sometimes it is little-girl-lost, but often quite strong, with a brittle twist, and the obvious point of reference for her atmosphere and quirkiness (two songs are in a ‘self-created language’ that was inspired by her early years, when her Grandmother sang to her) is Björk.
 
Sa Dingding is from Inner Mongolia, which is a part of China, as opposed to the independent Mongolia. She wandered as a nomad in her early years and has championed Tibet’s culture in her music (although she is loyal to the government and avoids talking of politics). Recently, she won a BBC world music award, and she is set to play Womad this year.
 
Two tracks are repeated with different languages and they represent the spectrum ends of the disc. One is the six-minute “Holy Incense,” the piece most like an occidental Enya or Enigma (it even has a monk-like backing chant), with its organic percussion, Tibetan language and Buddhist spirituality; the other is the title track, which has the most pronounced slow grooves and the strongest vocal hooks.
 
It will be a personal taste, but I enjoyed Alive, and it is a pretty safe bet that anyone who likes Björk or world-based electronica would enjoy this immensely. 
 
Derek Walker