Dechen Shak-Dagsay
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Dechen Shak-Dagsay is a contemporary singer of traditional Tibetan Buddhist mantras. She is the Tibetan-born daughter of the Venerable Dagsay Tulku. Born in 1959, in first year of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, Dechen fled with her family to Switzerland in 1962, where she has resided ever since.[1]
Strongly committed to "preserving Tibetan culture in the West," Dechen studied and performed traditional Tibetan music and dance throughout her childhood and adolescence. However, she considers herself to be truly a product of Eastern and Western culture. As an adult, she pursued a successful career as a marketing executive in Zurich.[1]
In 2001, Dechen recorded and released Dewa Che: The Universal Healing Power of Tibetan Mantras. Although the album was intended as singular creative side-project, its success far surpassed the artist's expectations. In 2002, Dechen was signed to PolyglobeMusic Austria and signed an additional contract with the US-based label New Earth Records in 2004, thus affording her music access to North American markets.
In 2005, Dechen left her job to pursue her career in music full-time. 2006 saw the release of Shi De: A Call For World Peace. The artist describes the album as "A collection of powerful Tibetan peace songs that calls on all people to participate in the healing of the world."
- “I hope I can reach out as far as possible with these songs of peace—they are a strong statement about community-in-action and about working together toward a common goal. Together, we can make a difference. Together we can make our world a better place.”[1]
In May, 2006, Dechen was accompanied by Swiss National Television on a trip to Tibet to follow-up her social projects including a central clinic and orphanage schools.
