Dāna is the latest offering by Tristan Welch's Sutras project; an instrumental release consisting of four songs that draw inspiration from Buddhist teachings and showcase the artist's experimental prowess in producing unique and distinctive sounds.
“It’s me being mindful of the teachings [of Buddhism] and how I internalize them musically and how can I live them in my life afterwards,” Tristan explains.
The new EP, together with the previously unveiled, A Lotus Like Mouth, finds Welch incorporating drums into his ambient compositions for the very first time. The inspiration for this experimentation came through a podcast recounting the music of monks at a temple in France, prompting him to explore a new dimension in his work.
Welch comments: “They’re very humble. Just the idea that their fingers can create the sound just amazes them. It’s just like, ‘Oh my God, my body can do this!’. When I was doing this EP, I wanted to have that kind of thought, too. I bought a drum machine. I tapped it. I was like, Oh, it does that! Instead of being like, ‘I need it to sound exactly like this post-rock record I love,’ I was like, Well, just play with it. Just engage the process.
“I’m letting go of my thought. Letting go of my plans. Letting go of expectation. I’m just letting go of all of that. What happens happens and that’s what’s gonna be beautiful or not.”
Rosa Lila Dance plays on the Sanskrit dance form known as 'raslila,' a term rooted in major Hindu historical texts.
Dāna is out through Strange Mono, and all proceeds from it will be donated to Bread For The City, a mutual aid organization dedicated to fight poverty in Washington DC.
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