Originally Posted in the May 2014 Edition of the Sound Streams Newsletter
In the March edition of “Sound Streams”, I wrote that “Chen Dren”, a new recording featuring Lama Tashi, would soon be available as an exclusive digital download. I am very pleased to tell you that finally, after many, many years, “Chen Dren” is now available in our Exclusive Downloads Section.
As noted in that article, Lama Tashi is a well known Tibetan Monk who has often taught at our Healing Sounds Intensive. It was my honor to record and produce Tashi for the 2006 Grammy nominated “Tibetan Master Chants”. I thought you might enjoy this picture of Tashi & I at that very auspicious event. Lama Tashi was (and to my knowledge still remains) the first solo Tibetan Monk to ever be nominated for a Grammy.
In that article from the April “Sound Streams”, I described how Lama Tashi once visited me several years before the Grammys (and the recording of “Tibetan Master Chants”). During his stay, I asked him to demonstrate different Tibetan chanting styles which I could record. He did so, chanting “Chen Dren” which translates as an “Invocation to the Holy Ones”. Some days later he returned to the Drepung Loseling Monastery where he was serving as Principal Chant Master. I was guided to experiment with the recording I had made of “Chen Dren”, taking the different chanting styles and mixing them in a most curious fashion. It definitely felt like I was being guided to do this. What resulted was definitely one of the more psycho-tropic recordings I have ever created and certainly one of the most intriguing Tibetan Chant recordings I had ever heard. This was shortly after the turn of the millennium. However, my inner guidance suggested that the time was not right to release this recording and that the next time Lama Tashi came to visit, I should create something much more traditional. Several years later, “Tibetan Master Chants” manifested from this intention.
As sometimes happens, various projects occasionally vanish from my psyche (and perhaps from the physical plane as well). Then, mysteriously they reappear. This was the case with “Chen Dren” which quite mysteriously manifested again last year. When it had first been created, it seemed a bit too different for those expecting a recording of traditional Tibetan chanting. But upon listening to “Chen Dren” at this later time (this new listening took place after 12/21/12—when many believe a planetary vibrational activation occurred), it seemed not only quite unique, but also quite extraordinary. Thus, while the banner across the cover reads: “Not A Traditional Tibetan Chant Recording”, I must admit that from my perspective “Chen Dren” is an exceptionally powerful sonic experience. It invokes the different Buddhas and Boddhisattvas of the Tibetan tradition to generate their love, wisdom and compassion.
I recently listened to “Chen Dren” and was even more amazed by its extreme energy! If you are interested in this most unique sonic voyage, please click the link below, and please be prepared for something completely different. As always, there are informative liner notes and more. “Chen Dren” is available at the exclusive Healing Sounds download portion of our website which feature the highest fidelity mp3s. Enjoy!
