| Ashin | |
|---|---|
"Ashin" Chen Hsin Hung at 2008 Taipei International Book Exhibition |
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| Chinese name | 陳信宏 (Traditional) |
| Origin | Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| Born | December 6, 1975 Beitou, Taipei, Taiwan |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, host, actor |
| Genre(s) | Mandopop, rock |
| Label(s) | Rock (1999-2008) Universal Music Group (2009-present) |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Associated acts | Mayday |
Ashin (Chinese: 阿信; pinyin: Āxìn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: A-sìn), born on December 6, 1975, Taipei, Taiwan, is a Taiwanese singer, music composer, songwriter, author, and an actor. His legal name is Chen Hsin-hung (陳信宏). He is the lead vocalist of the Taiwanese rock band Mayday. Even though he majored in art during high school and college, Ashin started his career as a musician after graduating from college. Ashin made a huge influence on both the clothing and music industry. Mayday is one of the most successful rock bands in Taiwan and his clothing line Stay Real has been popular among teenagers ever since it came out. Other artists frequently ask Ashin to sing with them as a duo or compose music for them.
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Ashin was born in Taipei, Taiwan on December 6, 1975 under the name Chen Hsin-Hung, but was later given the nickname Ashin. Ever since then, he was known to everyone as Ashin rather than Chen Hsin-Hung. His family members consist of his parents, himself, and a younger brother. When Ashin was little, his family owned a record store, which was said to inspire his passion towards music. Ashin's childhood dream was to become a singer, but he realized that his tone was too low, and that he was unable to sing in a high Pitch (music). Ashin did not give up and continued to practice his singing skills. He often makes fun of himself for being the king of Break (music), and being an "eating pig" because his hobbies are eating and sleeping.
When he was young, Ashin attended a public elementary and middle school in the Beitou District. After graduating from middle school, Ashin was accepted into one of the top high schools in Taiwan, The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, where he majored in visual arts. Ashin joined the guitar club in the high school and was promoted to the president of the guitar club a year after. It was in the guitar club that he met the other members of Mayday: Monster (musician), Masa, and Stone. At the age of 19, he began to compose and his own music and lyrics. The first song he composed was "Hao Ju Hao San", which was published in Richie Jen's 2001 album "Fei Niao." After graduating from high school, Ashin attended Shih Chien University, where he majored in interior design. While he was still attending college, Ashin continued to compose music and perform with other members of Mayday. Before he graduated from college Ashin had already gained popularity and even had a fan club. Aside from his singing, Ashin can also play the guitar and drums.
In 1995, together with Monster (musician) and the previous drummer Qian You-Da, Ashin formed the rock band known as SoBand. During the same year, Masa joined SoBand as the bassist. SoBand performed at major bars and restaurants even after its members went to different colleges. In the band, Ashin was both the lead vocalist and the guitarist. The members of SoBand said that the Ashin could play the guitar well while singing. In 1997, Stone joined SoBand as a guitarist and the members decided to rename the band Mayday. Ashin's role in the band is now the lead vocalist. Mayday is heavily influenced by The Beatles in terms of style and beliefs.
Mayday first started off as an underground rock band. They created a demo of their songs and sent them to several record companies for evaluation. Their talent was spotted by the executive Jonathan Lee (李宗盛) of Rock Records. In 1999, Mayday published their first official album. In 2006, Mayday and a former director of Rock Records, Chen Yong-Zhi(陳勇志), founded B'in Music Co. Ltd (相信音樂). Mayday has fans all over the world. They have held concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, China and Australia. Their reported aim is to be the Beatles of Asia.
In addition to being the lead vocalist of Mayday, Ashin has performed as a duo with other artists. Some of his renowned works include: Zou Huo Ru Mo (走火入魔) with Ding Dang (丁噹) and Escape to the Moon (私奔到月球) with Cheer Chen(陳綺貞).
The first song he composed was "Hao Ju Hao San", which was published in Richie Jen's 2001 album "Fei Niao." Ashin also composed a significant number of songs for other renowned artists. Some of his works include: Zai Mei Bian(在梅邊) by Leehom Wang (王力宏), Hou Niao (候鳥) by René Liu (劉若英), and Rainbow (彩虹) by Fish Leong (梁静茹).
In 2006, Ashin published a book called Happy.Birth.Day. The book is based on Ashin and how he views the world as a musician. In the book, Ashin wrote that he thinks writing lyrics is a much harder and more meaningful task than composing music. Therefore, the book includes a selection of his personal favorites of the lyrics that he has written. At the age of 19, Ashin wrote his very first song and has currently written over 100 songs. Ashin believes that his best gift is being able to write lyrics. He has noted that lyrics have the ability to create a fantasy world and to convey ideas through that world.
In 2006, Ashin and his high school buddy No2good (不二良) were invited by BenQ to create the MusiQ dog tag MP3 player. The development process took 8 months with the help of top designers from China and Taiwan. In 2007, Ashin and No2good designed a symbolic lion figure toy named Jr.Q for BenQ. In the same year, Ashin and No2good publicized the clothing line Stay Real in Taiwan.
As a child, Ashin always had a passion for music. He enjoys listening and singing along to music. Some of his favorite artists and rock bands are: The Beatles, Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑), Wu Bai(伍佰), Mr. Children, and China Blue. Ashin's works are heavily influenced by his favorite artists and bands. Ashin is bilingual in Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien because his parents and grandparents are fluent in both languages. The strong foundation in both languages enabled Ashin to sing fluently in both languages. Because of Ashin's ability to sing and compose in both languages, Mayday's songs are in both Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien.
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