Artists
Album Info
Release Date: 2024-08-14Label: 4000 Records
A statement accompanying the release on Bandcamp reads, "In a truly global venture, this album first began to take shape in Tenzin’s home studio in Brisbane, Australia, taking inspiration from his own Buddhist practice. It was shared and shaped with an international cast of talented collaborators and recorded in studios in Canada, UK, Japan and Australia.With each track Tenzin draws on his nomadic roots, skilfully blending elements of eastern and western music, while always holding his Tibetan lineage. The result is a deeply immersive album of hauntingly beautiful melodies and evocative lyrics.
The album’s opening track ‘Rawang Freedom’ contemplates the path to true freedom, inspired by the much-loved Heart Sutra, while the following track, ‘Kyema The Roof is Leaking’, marvels at one’s great fortune in attaining human form in this life.
Tenzin whispers a timeless mantra in ‘Dolma Whispering Sky’, a sublime interweaving of Tenzin’s voice and Indian bansuri, played by Taro Terahara.
Of special significance to all Tibetans is ‘Gyallu Tibetan Anthem’, composed around 1950 and sung in Tibetan communities-in-exile around the world. It’s performed here with no lyrics, as a reminder that singing this anthem is prohibited throughout Tibet.
Birds are a recurring theme in much of Tenzin’s music and so it is with ‘Jamyang Singing with Nightingales’, looking to the open sky, the stars, the sun and the moon.
‘Jhala I Fly to You’ expresses the longing to be with our loved ones once again, while in ‘Jampa A Big Hug’ Tenzin sends big, warm hugs to everyone.
The album’s majestic conclusion, ‘Kailash Roof of the World’ transports the listener to the Himalayan mountains in a sweeping soundscape which conjures up images of sacred peaks and endless horizons.
credits
released August 15, 2024
Produced by Tenzin Choegyal
Recorded and Mixed by Manao Doi, Hico Natsuaki, Marcello Milani, Chris Bruce, Tony White, Michael Askill, Liam Fox O'Brien, Linsey Pollak
Recorded in Toronto, New York, London, Tokyo, Nagano, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Mullumbimby
Mastered by Matt Hsu's Obscure Orchestra
Artwork by Phakpa Kyap & Tenzin Kouji (based on photography by David Kelly)
Collaborators
1. Rawang Freedom
Taro Terahara - bansuri
Ayako Ikeda - tabla
Manao Doi - guitar
2. Kyema The Roof is Leaking
Linsey Pollak - wind instruments, soundscapes
3. Dolma Whispering Sky
Taro Terahara - bansuri
Manao Doi - soundscape
4. Jampa A Big Hug
Tenzin Kunsang - vocals
Hico Natsuaki - piano
5. Tenzin Sings with Nightingales
Michael Askill - tuned gongs and glasses
6. Gyallu Tibetan Anthem
Matt Antal and Metta Strings - strings
7. Jhala I Fly to You
Morley - vocals
Chris Bruce - guitar
8. Kailash Roof of the World
Tony White - soundscapes
Evie - vocals
This project is supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland."