Abao

ABAO, born Aljenljeng Tjatjaluvy in 1981 in Taiwan’s Taitung country, was born to a Paiwan family. Whilst she grew up in Taiwan’s second city – the southern metropolis of Kaohsiung, ABAO spent summer and winter vacations in her home village immersed in the Paiwan way of life.

ABAO’s career started in 2003 when her and Amis singer Brandy released their debut album, winning a Golden Melody Award for Best Vocal Collaboration. However, the following year saw the duo disband, with ABAO electing to return to university and work as a nurse.

This changed however, when her grandmother, wishing to preserve traditional Paiwan songs, convinced ABAO to take up music once again. Recording her grandmother’s singing, the album “The East Payuan Folk and Three Generations” was released in 2014, covering 22 ballads and representing a fusion of modern and traditional singing techniques for which ABAO would become known.

After discovering the beauty of the Paiwan language and its music, ABAO released the album “Vavayan”, under concept that people need not to understand the language in order to enjoy the music. The album was well received, winning the 2017 Golden Melody Award for Best Indigenous Language Album.

However, it was ABAO’s next album that would make the largest impact on Taiwan’s music scene – “Kinakaian”. 2020 saw Taiwanese indigenous singer ABAO sweep Taiwan’s top music awards, the Golden Melody Awards – winning the Album of the Year with “Kinakaian” and the Song of the Year with the track “Thank You”. Abao hoped that “Kinakaian”, which is Paiwan for “Mother tongue”, fostered more understanding of life as one of Taiwan’s minorities.