ADO

Ado Kalitin Pacidal is a singer, songwriter and TV presenter from Taiwan. Her music fuses contemporary sounds with traditional melodies and rhythms associated with the folk music of the Amis tribe. The Amis people are the largest surviving aboriginal tribe in Taiwan, their land and culture long being threatened by the successive colonization of Taiwan by the Japanese and Chinese.

The natural beauty of her ancestral home and folk-tales of the tribe’s former agricultural and hunting lifestyle are the basis for much of Ado’s musical inspiration. The struggles faced by the Amis people in contemporary Taiwanese society also feature in the themes and lyrics of her music. Ado blends traditional Amis chanting patterns with jazz, blues and rock and encourages audiences to answer her mesmeric vocal choruses. This kind of singing and answering is fundamental to the passage of Amis traditions from one generation to the next.

Ado performs in variety of arrangements, sometimes taking the stage with her guitar to perform solo, accompanied by a cellist as she plays the piano or fronting her backing band. Ado’s choice of singing in her native Amis language has made commercial success in Taiwan difficult where the music industry is dominated by Mandarin Chinese acts. During the rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the speaking of aboriginal languages was prohibited. Singing is seen by the Amis as a force for cultural cohesion between generations, and Ado strives to preserve this heritage while making her music accessible to new and culturally diverse audiences.

Despite rejections by mainstream record companies on the grounds that her music was not commercially viable, Ado personally financed the production of her debut EP, released in 2010. This material was well received by audiences in Cannes, London, Japan, Singapore, Canada and USA. Ado has recently returned to the studio to complete work on her first album.