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Zen
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Japanese monk in Zendo
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It can be considered a well known fact that Chris Hinze has become an experienced traveler in the last decade. By traveling to Japan in 1997 he finally realized what he had been planning to do for years. Although he had visited this country before, he was always very busy performing on stages or recording in studios. Now he carefully planned his trip and spent his time visiting several Zen monasteries. He took part in several Zazen sessions during his stay at the Eihei-ji and Buttsu-ji temples. He was highly impressed by the way of life and discipline of the monks. He felt grateful for being granted the opportunity to make beautiful recordings in some of the temples: chanting of the monks, sounds of bells and drums etc.
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Back from Japan, Chris Hinze started to work in his studio and in the autumn of 1998 the CD Zen & the Art of Dance and Meditation was released.
He used the intriguing sutra-chants from the Zen monasteries in Japan as the basis for this CD. They are woven as a running theme through the entire musical story and are the source of inspiration for Hinze’s mystical improvisations on the flute. He combined these special chants with the soundscapes of synthesizers, African tribal singing, Gregorian chant, contemporary jungle and ambient/techno sounds, and the trance-like rhythms of authentic Japanese drummers.
Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, took care of the additional programming of, amongst other things, dance rhythms and was also responsible for three unique remixes:
Remix Tenryu-ji, Remix Eihei-ji and Remix Aoyama.
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This album breathes a distinctly cinematographic atmosphere with dramatic details. Very important for the general feel of the album are the contributions by the American coloratura soprano Claron McFadden. Jesuit monks were among the first western practitioners of Zen Buddhism, and some of them like Father Lasall even became Zen masters. With this knowledge at the back of his mind Chris Hinze thought it right to combine the Gregorian chanting of Claron Mc Fadden with the sutra chanting of the Japanese monks.
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The duet by English blues singer Dave Jeffs and Zen master Sokun Tsushimoto Roshi also deserves special attention. The drummer group Wadaiko Ichiro, whom Hinze first met in Japan, gave him permission to make a recording of their workshops and also the opportunity to sample their rhythms. This famous group is also very popular in the Netherlands, judging by their immensely successful Benelux tour. Zen master Rients Ritskes also played a part in the production of this CD. He introduced Chris Hinze to several important Japanese Zen monasteries like Tenryu-ji and Buttsu-ji as well as to Zen masters like the abbot Sokun Tsushimoto Roshi and the female Zen priest Shundo Aoyama Sensei. This resulted in unique recordings of Zen monks, both instrumental and vocal, which in turn became the basis and the source of inspiration for Hinze’s compositions.
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With Aoyama Roshi
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And that leads us to Zen-Silence. This unique CD comprises no less than 60 minutes of silence, divided over three pieces of 25, 20 and 15 minutes. Each piece begins and ends with the sounds of gongs and bells in the tradition of Zen meditation as practiced in Japanese monasteries. Despite the periods of silence, however, there is music to be heard. The beautiful flute-playing of Chris Hinze introduces us to the CD, accompanied by the chanting of the heart sutra by the Japanese Zen monk, Daitokutsi-San. The periods of silence are also introduced by Chris Hinze on flute (and just as a frame allows a painting to come into its own, the music allows to hear the silence). |
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