With recordings by Pete Seeger, Ella Jenkins, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly and more already in their extensive catalogue, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has now revealed a new entry will come from avant-garde icon Laurie Anderson.
Anderson has teamed up with Tibetan multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal and composer/activist Jesse Paris Smith (daughter of Patti Smith) for Songs from the Bardo. The 14-track album is set to arrive through the label on September 27.
The collection of music and spoken word poetry is said to be "a guided journey through the visionary text of the Tibetan Book of the Dead," in which the trio "fuse modern compositional techniques with the mystique of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to make these visionary traditions more accessible to a new generation of listeners and to reveal the ancient wisdoms contained within."
Songs from the Bardo finds Choegyal, Smith, cellist Rubin Kodheli and percussionist Shahzad Ismaily in charge of musical accompaniment for Anderson's narration of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Smith is credited with playing piano, crystal bowls and gong on the release, while Choehyal plays Tibetan instruments such as lingbu (Tibetan bamboo flute) and dranyen (Tibetan stringed instrument), in addition to gong, singing bowls and chants.
The first taste of the ensemble can be heard below with "Lotus Born, No Need to Fear." Songs from the Bardo is now available for pre-order.
Songs from the Bardo:
1. Homage to the Gurus
2. Heart Sutra Song - Gone Beyond
3. Awakened One
4. The Three Jewels
5. Brilliant Lights
6. Listen Without Distraction
7. Gong
8. Dancing With the Crescent Knife
9. Jigten
10. Natural Form of Emptiness
11. Lotus Born, No Need to Fear
12. Dividing Line
13. Moon in the Water
14. Awakened Heart
Anderson has teamed up with Tibetan multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal and composer/activist Jesse Paris Smith (daughter of Patti Smith) for Songs from the Bardo. The 14-track album is set to arrive through the label on September 27.
The collection of music and spoken word poetry is said to be "a guided journey through the visionary text of the Tibetan Book of the Dead," in which the trio "fuse modern compositional techniques with the mystique of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to make these visionary traditions more accessible to a new generation of listeners and to reveal the ancient wisdoms contained within."
Songs from the Bardo finds Choegyal, Smith, cellist Rubin Kodheli and percussionist Shahzad Ismaily in charge of musical accompaniment for Anderson's narration of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Smith is credited with playing piano, crystal bowls and gong on the release, while Choehyal plays Tibetan instruments such as lingbu (Tibetan bamboo flute) and dranyen (Tibetan stringed instrument), in addition to gong, singing bowls and chants.
The first taste of the ensemble can be heard below with "Lotus Born, No Need to Fear." Songs from the Bardo is now available for pre-order.
Songs from the Bardo:
1. Homage to the Gurus
2. Heart Sutra Song - Gone Beyond
3. Awakened One
4. The Three Jewels
5. Brilliant Lights
6. Listen Without Distraction
7. Gong
8. Dancing With the Crescent Knife
9. Jigten
10. Natural Form of Emptiness
11. Lotus Born, No Need to Fear
12. Dividing Line
13. Moon in the Water
14. Awakened Heart