Lhasa de Sela
I found out about the passing of Lhasa de Sela on New Year’s Day 2010 early this morning on CBC Radio 1. I couldn’t sleep so I was distracting myself by configuring a new tech device and wasn’t paying attention to the content. However, I did hear the announcer mention her name and death before playing an interview from April of last year made around the time of her latest album release.
I’m not sure how it happened but all of a sudden the name clicked and I realized who I was listening to and felt immense sadness. I remember reading a review of her first Vancouver appearance in the late 90’s and how the critics were blown away by the emotional depth of her singing for someone of such a young age [25]. This video is a song from that first album:
So what did Lhasa do after her first album? She went to France and joined a circus.
I had the privilege of seeing Lhasa perform at the Vancouver Jazz Fest in June 2004. It was a great performance even though I understood very few of the words she sang. This is a video from that time:
Lhasa talent is almost ineffable and she will be missed by many, including me.
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