We are excited to announce the arrival of ‘Bhaisajyaguru - Medicine Buddha’ today on September 6th, the second single from Adrian Freedman’s 15th studio album ‘One Thousand Petals’ which arrives in February 2025.
Adrian Freedman is a master shakuhachi player and multi-instrumentalist who lived for many years in Japan, India, Brazil and other countries deeply immersed in nature, spiritual practice and musical collaborations. His medicine songs present a seamless weaving of the chants and mantras of Oriental traditions together with the poetic imagery of his original English lyrics.
This song is a collaboration with Lua Maria, another artist whose music comes from a place of love and respect for Earth and humanity, committed to the healing power of sound and the impact of music upon life. Adrian and Lua have previously collaborated on their beautiful album, Phoenix Tree. On this track Adrian combines a fresh melodic interpretation of the Medicine Buddha mantra with original lyric verses that give depth and context to the healing intentions of the mantra.
The crystalline purity of Lua Maria’s voice is accompanied by Adrian’s gentle piano playing and the evocative tones of his Zen shakuhachi flute. This simple acoustic ensemble is completed with a string quartet arrangement composed by Misha Mullov-Abbado, son of the legendary orchestral conductor Claudia Abbado, and the silky tones of Antonio Moscato’s mellifluous bass playing.
Lua Maria reflects: ”It was 15 years ago that Adrian and I began to record music and weave our musical voices together. So to reconnect and collaborate on his new album all these years later has been a total joy. I woke up from a dream with this Medicine Buddha mantra a couple of years ago and began to sing it daily with my own melody. A few months later, Adrian invited me to collaborate on his new version. Singing on this beautiful track was so joyful, with a clear prayer in my heart for healing for all life on earth.”
Bhaisajyaguru is the Medicine Buddha. The Lord of healing. His mantra is a profound prayer for the release of suffering in all sentient beings. Known as the Blue Buddha, his skin is lapis lazuli blue - the archetypal colour of healing. In his left hand he holds a bowl of healing nectar and in his right a medicine plant. As such he is considered as guardian spirit for those on the plant spirit medicine path.
One Thousand Petals features songs taken from Adrian’s medicine songbook, Lotus Rising, which are messages of hope, transformation and connection with ancestral spirits. It features collaborations with Deva Premal, Ayla Schafer, Geshe Lama Ahbay Rinpoche, Chandra Lacombe, Helene Bøksle, Sanju Sahai, and over 30 other singers and musicians from around the world. Recorded in multiple locations over the past 5 years, it represents a culmination of Adrian’s love of cross-cultural musical collaborations, as well as the beginning of a new project to record his medicine mantra songs.
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More info:
Listen to the first single from One Thousand Petals, Adrian Freedman & Chandra Lacombe’s ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ here: orcd.co/adrianfreedmanommanipadmehum