Erica Dee Mah is a singer-songwriter, storyteller, and contemporary guzheng player based in Whitehorse, Yukon. In 2022, she released "The Sargasso Season", an original collection of songs written on the traditional 21-stringed Chinese zither. The album is an exploration of sounds and possibilities on the versatile instrument, and seeks out a place for the guzheng in Canadian folk-roots music. Erica writes about transoceanic journeys, Chinese-Canadian identity across generations, and finding connection in new landscapes. Exclaim! Magazine named her one of the "must-hear" emerging artists in Canada, and she was featured on CBC Music alongside artists like the Polaris Music Prize finalists, Pantayo, who are incorporating Asian heritage into their music.
Erica has performed at festivals and arts centres across Western Canada, and is known for weaving well-crafted stories into her performance. She often performs with her husband, Darcy McCord, a classically-trained cellist, and together they create a unique orchestral folk sound. Erica's performances are intimate, innovative, and captivating, sure to transport audiences to another world.
Read this CBC MUSIC article about The Sargasso Season project.
NEW RELEASE! “PAPER WEALTH” EP is out now.
When I released “The Sargasso Season”, I wrote that “by the time this music reaches your ears, I will likely be hearing and playing the guzheng differently, as there is so much left to learn”. That holds true, both then and now.
Paper Wealth is my second offering of original guzheng songs. It incorporates many traditional guzheng sounds and techniques that I have been working these past few years. These songs reflect on the privilege of being born in Canada, and celebrate the ways that Chinese-Canadians continue to connect to their heritage across many generations.
REVIEWS
The Sargasso Season is a transfixing orchestral-folk album full of perseverance and hope.- Exclaim!
Erica Dee Mah’s music is a beautiful expression of how the past connects to our present. - Dominionated
Masterful use of the guzheng, engrossing vocals & dreamy imagery - Earshot! Distro
The Sargasso Season resounds with mellifluous beauty. - Songlines Magazine
Add Erica Dee Mah to the list of world class musical talents and innovators to come out of Smithers, B.C. - Roots Music Canada
Photo credit: Erik Pinkerton
Contact
For bookings and all other inquiries, please submit here, or contact ericadmah (at) gmail.com
I acknowledge the support of the following institutions:
