Magdalen Hsu-Li
Magdalen Hsu-Li has lived in Seattle and currently Boston, “but really the road has been my home for the past few years,” she says. Hsu-Li initially moved to New York to become a painter, but after making friends with musicians, she decided to explore becoming a musician.
“Life has a funny way of letting you know where you should be. I felt so empty inside, like ‘How can I get this part of me going that is dying to sing and perform and express myself musically?’ I think there was a defining moment where I threw caution to the wind and went ‘This is what I have to do to be happy…come what may’.”
Hsu-Li, who’s a Chinese-American bisexual, feels that she has always been supported by queer audiences. “Sometimes people don’t just instantly get that I am ‘family.’ I am bi and it’s not totally obvious from the way I look. However I don’t let that stop me. My life and my path is mine alone.”
Hsu-Li is currently adding more dimensions to her folk-pop-rock sound by experimenting with genres such as blues, jazz and funk. “I think for me to feel that freedom I felt as a painter I need to be able to be that fearless as a musician…to be able to create and improvise in the moment.”
Performing under Chinga Chonga, Magdalen recently did a drag album called F**k Bush and her newest album Smashing the Ceiling is out and available at iTunes and cdbaby.com.
SD
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