Jigme Drukpa

Multi-instrumentalist

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. 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.

Activist

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.)

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 vocals and instruments to a song on their 2006 album Umoja.

Jigme Drukpa has released an album called Endless Songs of Bhutan, which is far and away the best introduction to traditional Bhutanese music. He continues to play in Bhutan and in his adopted home of Norway.