A new album of transcendental acoustic music for shakuhachi, piano, trumpet, bouzouki, yangqin, erhu, frame drum and other instruments. Alternating deeply meditative solo shakuhachi tracks with shimmering arrangements for mixed ensembles.
As I Breathe features Adrian Freedman playing a range of wind instruments – trumpet, tenor recorder, Thai mouth organ and shakuhachi, alongside Japanese and Cornish musicians playing Chinese hammered dulcimer, two-string fiddle, bouzouki, cello and other instruments.
On some of the tracks Adrian creates layers of overdubbed sounds, such as Moonrise, featuring multiple recorder parts with Thai khene and muted trumpet, or Lake, a spacious duet for piano and trumpet. Other tracks present the shakuhachi interwoven with other instruments, such as Hana Ori, a shimmering trio with yangqin and erhu, Sweet Avre, for shakuhachi, bouzouki and cello, or Hafra a duet for shakuhachi and frame drum.
Throughout the album we keep returning to the deep stillness of the shakuhachi, whose purity and simplicity of sound compliments and contrasts with the rich colours and delicate textures of the other pieces.
As I Breathe - music project information
Track Listing/Duration
- 1. Clarity 7.47
- 2. Lake 4.21
- 3. Stillness 8.20
- 4. Sweet Avre 4.59
- 5. Call to Prayer 4.11
- 6. Hafra 7.03
- 7. Hana Ori 6.27
- 8. Depth 6.14
- 9. Moonrise 8.18
- 10. Peace Mother 7.15
- 11. Grasslands 9.48
Total playing time: 74.43
Album Credits:
All tracks composed by Adrian Freedman except:
- Track 6 – Adrian Freedman and Iwan Kushka
- Track 9 – Adrian Freedman and Heather Golding
- Recorded and mixed in Kyoto, Amiens and Dartington by Adrian Freedman except Track 7 – recorded and mixed in Nara by Esoh
- Mastered by Andy Miles at Star Delta Audio Mastering, Dartmoor, UK
- Produced by Adrian Freedman
- Cover art: Noriko Moonbird
- Design and Layout: Amy Behrens-Clark
- Adrian plays shakuhachi made by Tom Deaver, Kimura Kanzan, John Kaizan Neptune and Adrian Freedman
Musician Credits:
- Adrian Freedman shakuhachi, piano, trumpet, accordion, khene, tenor recorder
- Neil Davey bouzouki
- Rebecca Jackson cello
- Iwan Kushka frame drum
- Esoh yangqhin
- Ikuko Tsutsui erhu
- Heather Golding voice
Adrian Freedman’s new album As I Breathe takes the notion of journeying through music to a new level. At times passionate and effusive, then profoundly delicate the soul often get’s to rest deeply in the spaces in-between that are filled with imagination and lure. His music suggests a deep understanding of realms beyond our everyday experience, subtle and sublime.
Dominik Schnell – Founder, Inspiral Visionary Products
Adrian’s flute carries a kind of dynamic peace in all his work, immediately opening me to a field of awareness not only beyond myself but beyond whatever environment I’m in. His music is spacious and evocative, perfect for the movement meditation work I do with the 5Rhythms. This is a delightful album.
Adam Barley – 5Rhythms Teacher
Adrian’s new album ‘As I Breath’ is a beautifully created sonic meditation, perfect for a Yoga practice or for reflection on the nature of existence and our place in it.
Danny Paradise. Yoga teacher, Musician, Film Maker
This musical opus is the realization of a life long journey of discovery, intense study and transformation. I am blown away by Adrian’s breath and the unfathomable range and depth the shakuhachi is capable of in the hands of a maestro. It is said that a single tone played on the shakuhachi can contain the entire universe. Adrian’s work affirms this. I consider this work a musical masterpiece and pure sonic alchemy. It is both awe-inspiring and joyful to experience.
John B. Kaditus, Author
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