Magdalen Hsu-Li (born Rochelle Li; 1970) is a Chinese American singer-songwriter, painter, speaker, writer and cultural activist.
[5] She attended college at the Rhode Island School of Design where she won accolades including the Florence Leif Award for Excellence in Painting, the Talbot Rantoul Scholarship and the Chicago Institute of the Arts Oxbow Fellowship.
[7] Her third album, Smashing The Ceiling, was released in 2005 and had performances by the drummer Matt Chamberlain, the violinist Eyvind Kang and the guitarist Timothy Young.
"[3] Hsu-Li's music has been described as "exquisitely furious, beautiful, and exciting" by The New York Times, and "an achingly gorgeous collection of piano-based rock recalling the finest moments of Tori Amos or Ben Folds Five" by Yolk magazine.
"A Magazine" wrote, "her blend of hard-grounded folk and sweet siren lyrics makes an enduring impression upon the American music scene her distinguishing factor is her cool, edgy, sound and courage to be sensitive, tender, and feminine.
As she carves her identity as an artist in an industry where Asian women are not thought of as musical powerhouses or innovators - Magdalen is a rare force with which to reckon."
About Fire, the Advocate wrote, "finely crafted, melodic, piano-based songs that borrow equally from pop, folk, jazz, blues and even punk.
"[11] Her songs visually portray what she sees as a trained painter while addressing universal themes about identity, spirituality, consciousness, love, loss, and relationships.