(Photo: CNA)
Chinese
Name: 曾雅君
Born: April 22, 1986
Birthplace: Hsinchu County (Northern Taiwan)
Yachun
Asta Tzeng grew up in a Hakka village in Beipu, Hsinchu. Her love in music
compelled her to learn composing, and she began writing songs as a fifth-grader
in elementary school. In 2009, she released her eponymous debut album, Yachun
Asta Tzeng. The album received much praise and won her various awards, such as
the 21st Golden Melody Awards for Best Hakka Album, the 1st Golden Indie Music
Awards for Best New Artist, and the 1st Golden Indie Music Awards for Best Folk
Music Single.
In
2013, she released her second Hakka album, Heart Land. On top of taking charge
of the lyrics and composing for all the songs in her album as was the case
previously, the artist self-funded her album release, providing a fresh
experience to all listeners. Tzeng clinched two major awards – the 25th Golden
Melody Awards for Best Hakka Album, and Best Hakka Singer – in 2014 with "Heart
Land."
Being
deeply influenced by western music, Tzeng created her music with various
elements of different genres, including rock and roll and funk; her music has
its own personality whilst is also heartwarming. In the wonderland she created,
one can almost feel a young girl with an old soul.
On
April 9th 2020, the list of nominees for the 18th Independent Music Awards was
released, and Yachun Asta Tzeng, the Hakka singer-songwriter from Taiwan, broke
through the ranks and was nominated in the Music Producer, Pop category with
her music album, "Yourself."
In
Yourself, Tzeng neither shoulders the heavy burden of carrying on the heritage
of Hakka mountain songs, as is the case with veteran Hakka singers, nor does
she seek to propagate the nuances of Hakka culture or history. In spite of
that, Tzeng maintains an insistence in creating works in the Hakka;
she rejected a contract offer from a big firm simply because the company requested
she released a Chinese-language album first.
Tzeng
stated, “Yourself is mainly about how everyone should accept every face of
themselves, and face them genuinely.” Tzeng is genuine with herself in her
music. In this album, she chose to dig deep and search for her inner self, and
she expressed her most authentic feelings through her creation. Moreover, she
employs a lot of string instruments as well as the piano as a means to express
her meandering emotions, at times tranquil and at times intensely emotional.
The arrangement of each melody, how they start, develop, shift, and conclude,
all meticulously interpret the secret thoughts of her inner world, unbeknownst
to others.
Tzeng’s Yourself is an intricate album that is both is restrained and honest. Not only does Tseng reflect on her inner world through her work, cleansing and elevating herself spiritually, she also carries hope that the beautiful melodies and lyrics can touch the hearts of more people to muster up the courage to accept their authentic self.
(Translators: Josh Huang, Scott Chen, Anita Chen, Tony Wei
In collaboration with Fu Jen Catholic University, Department of
English)