Folkobit: Lhasa

Lhasa - the Canadian-based Mexican-American singer-songwriter - has died, it has been announced.

Born Lhasa de Sela, she started her career singing in bars of Montreal from her late teens. Her work combined Spanish, Mexican, American and French influences (she spent a lot of her time in France). Debut album La Llorona was released in 1998 and attracted a mixture of praise and awards (Juno Best Global Artist and a Quebec Felix Award, amongst others).

She spent some time touring as a member of a family circus-cum-caberet group before releasing a second album, The Living Road. She also found time to guest on a Tindersticks track, Sometimes It Hurts on Waiting For The Moon.

Her last album, Lhasa, was released last year - "charming in many ways" concluded The Independent.

Lhasa was just 37; she had been ill with breast cancer.