Jigme Drukpa Bhutanese Folk Music CDs

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Internationally known musicologist and folk musician Jigme Drukpa is the Bhutanese artist perhaps most readily available to international ears. As a scholar, divining the sounds and instruments of traditional Bhutanese folk music, he is unparalleled. As a living example of Bhutan's proud heritage, he is distinguished. As a symbol of this small Himalayan kingdom's music, he is admired all over the world.

Drukpa is adept at playing many traditional instruments. His arsenal includes the most famous Bhutanese instrument, the dranyen (a lute), for which he has written a textbook in an effort to inspire Bhutanese children to keep the instrument relevant in the future. Furthermore, Drukpa has mastered the yangshin (a dulcimer), various lingm (types of flute), the kong-tha (a mouth harp), and the piwang (a fiddle). In addition to these, he performs in both styles of traditional singing, zhungdra and boedra.

Drukpa is an activist, both musical and political. In addition to keeping Bhutan's musical tradition alive, he was an outspoken critic of the arrest of Ngawang Choephel, a Tibetan musician and filmmaker, who was sentenced to eighteen years in prison in 1995 by the Chinese government.

Drukpa objected, eloquently pointing out at a meeting of Amnesty International that the filmmaker was merely trying to film traditional Tibetan dance and music, rather than let them die out. (Choephel was freed in 2002, three and a half years after Drukpa helped bring the matter to international attention.)

Collaboration with Bløf
In addition to preserving Bhutan's music, Drukpa has played with international artists such as Norwegians Sondre Bratland (a folk singer) and Annbjørg Lien (a fiddler), with whom he toured Norway and Bhutan as a trio, and Dutch pop group Bløf. With the latter, Drukpa has played live and recorded, contributing to a song on their 2006 album Umoja.

Although not a typical look at Jigme Drukpa's work, the song "Een Manier Om Thuis Te Komen" from the album features an interesting collaboration that spans not only continents but also, obviously, genres. Jigme Drukpa sings and plays on this track.

Endless Songs Of Bhutan
In 2000 Jigme Drukpa released an album called Endless Songs Of Bhutan, which is far and away the best introduction to traditional Bhutanese music. It is an incredible CD, made invaluable by the scope of its music and the rarity of Bhutanese folk music recordings. This album features several tracks played on a variety of instruments, such as the dranyen, yangshin and piwang, to name a few.

This CD is the single best way to hear true Bhutanese folk music. To be able to listen to the old melodies played on the wonderful Himalayan instruments of this region is a true treat, and Drukpa also demonstrates the stylized (and surprisingly difficult) singing style of Bhutan's folk songs. The album is one of the requirements of any Asian folk music collection.

Jigme Drukpa continues to play in Bhutan and in his adopted home of Norway.

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Jigme Drukpa CDs