Q. How did you come to participate in the Dalai Lama Renaissance film project?
Michel Tyabji: We had just moved to Los Angeles in late 2005 and I was looking on the internet for projects to get involved with. I happened upon an advertisement inviting people to view a rough cut of the documentary film Dalai Lama Renaissance. So, I went to a screening. Afterwards the film director, Khashyar Darvich, and I got into a nice conversation about the film and His Holiness. Khashyar asked me if I would like to be involved. I did not try to disguise my enthusiasm, and immediately agreed. Being involved with promoting the good works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not only a wish come true for me, but also for my entire family.
Q. What was your vision as music director for the film?
MT: On an intellectual level, I wanted to have mostly Tibetan and Indian music with Western score serving as a bridge to reach a mass audience. On the emotional level, I wanted to include all the styles which resonate with my spirit, including Persian, African and Latin.
My vision was to personify the divide between the mind set of the characters and the place depicted in the film. On one hand we have characters who are intellectuals of the highest order, many traveling thousands of miles from Western countries. On the other hand we see them in India, amidst all her madness and squalor, looking to get a glimpse of her lotus heart, looking for some understanding to underpin or legitimize with emotion their own vast knowledge.
Q. How did you select the artists?
MT: I didn’t really choose the artists. They more or less chose to be a part of the project for individual reasons. One of the surprising things about this experience is that, without too much effort, everything fell into place.
I began researching on the internet, looking for musical artists living in and around Los Angeles. I sent messages out to artists on larger record labels, to Zakir Hussain-Ji and Ali Akbar Khan-Sahb and others on that level. Their responses were positive, but we could not shoulder the costs we would certainly have had to incur. It is important to note that the entire film crew and post-production team worked on a volunteer basis. So did all of the musicians and their own teams!
Every artist and session player contributed their music to work for His Holiness’s message and as part of their desire to spread what we see as goodness. So, my phone calls and e-mails attracted the right artists. The soundtrack became diverse because of our backgrounds and talents, but we are uniform in our love for His Holiness and everything he stands for.
Q: The music was composed specifically for the film. How did that process unfold, given the number of different artists participating?
MT: We were fortunate to be able to work with the diversity of talents who gave of their time selflessly. Most of the music produced for the soundtrack is new and original. Some of the music was already published and worked with the film as originally presented.
The process was quite simple. I invited the musicians one by one to come to our studio and spend time with me. We exchanged ideas and began recording. Our process had time to develop because the film went through 72 revisions. That kept us guessing as the edit changed, forcing us to keep writing and recording.
Medicine Bear was already writing music for the film when I came on board. He is a composer of considerable depth, with abilities to write in Indian or Western styles. It was quite shocking at times to hear his scratch tracks, because they sounded like they came out of Mumbai or Calcutta, not out of a studio in southern California! He also created a lot of the bridges between traditional songs of different origins, helping to shape the underscore.
Roop-Ji and Techung-La came to Los Angeles based on telephone conversations I had with them. Neither had met me or heard of me until our recording sessions. Roop-Ji flew in from Northern New York and stayed with us for a week. He averaged three hours of recording every day for five days. Techung drove down from the Bay area and recorded for six hours continuously. Techung has his own studio, allowing us to also work on compositions remotely using the internet. Techung and I have been performing together ever since meeting for this project.
I had previously worked with pianist Terry McCaw, producer and band leader for The Yoginis, recording Song Bird, their 2005 album. I had spent almost three years performing with him in various groups from 2002 onwards. When I began working on the Dalai Lama Renaissance, The Yoginis were recording their next album in New Delhi, giving us easy access to top-level Indian musicians. All those sessions were worked over the internet as well.
Having Heyraneh in the film was an unexpected surprise. We originally had a female Tibetan singer placed in the film, but we were unable to reach an agreement with her. I needed a replacement which captured the same spirit. Basically, we needed a female voice in the film. With little time left to deliver the score, I invited Heyraneh. I had worked with her previously on her own album, so the recording process was quick. It was an unexpected fit with the film, as she is a Sufi, but audiences have positively responded to it.
Guitarist Larry Mitchell and I met because we happened to be working together on a play written by Native American poet Joy Harjo. It was an incredible two person show, with Joy and Larry holding audiences for close to two hours every night. I asked Larry if he would like to put down a track for the album. He agreed, resulting in the guitar solo that our song was looking for.
Lama Wangdu Rinpoche was an obvious fit for the film, being an elder Tibetan teacher of the highest order. He was recorded by us in 2003, doing the Chöd practice and other Tibetan songs, and we licensed the portions of his performance from Rudra Press.
There are also many session musicians with whom I work regularly, and as usual they came though with flying colors!
Q. What was the most challenging aspect of directing the music for Dalai Lama Renaissance? What was the most gratifying?
The most challenging aspect was trying to understand the journey of the characters as depicted in the film. Being Indian, I didn’t understand the profound implications which going to India, let alone Dharamsala and meeting His Holiness, can have on a person. In a way, I underwent the same process you see the characters go though in the film. That was hard work!
The most gratifying was being involved with, surrounded by, and supported by such incredible artists and listening to His Holiness everyday for months on end.
Q. What inspired you to create the Dalai Lama Renaissance soundtrack CD?
MT: The inspiration came from my wanting to be a small part of promoting the works of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Q. Is a there a track that is especially meaningful to you?
MT: The track “Yar” is quite meaningful to me. I had originally asked Heyraneh to learn a Zoroastrian prayer for the film. My grandfather is a Dasturji, or Zoroastrian priest, and had recorded a CD with Ashem Vahoo, a prayer which is my constant companion. Heyraneh learned the prayer by listening to the CD, but in the studio something else happened that was equally magical and just worked. We were all surprised that a Sufi poem fit in with the rest of the score so well. The backing track was created later.
Q. Would someone who is not Buddhist enjoy this CD? Why?
MT: For the record, I’m not Buddhist. Even so, I have been taught from birth to follow true gurus like His Holiness the Dalai Lama. So I don’t think this is a religious CD. His Holiness has gained so many followers who are not Buddhists because of his universal message of compassion. He is asking us all to act responsibly, and that is something that anybody can appreciate.
As he says in the album, “Every human being has the responsibility, or moral responsibility, to think about others, to think about human beings.” This is not religious, it’s just decent, and we need more of that.
I think the authenticity of the music is clearly presented and I’ve been told that it’s rare to have this particular mix of traditions presented so seamlessly. It’s also a special album because it’s designed to run continuously and is intended to be an experience from which we learn something new every time we listen. Finally, I think the music is strong and beautiful. To music lovers, surely this is all that counts.
Q. Are there additional albums derived from the film project in the works?
MT: Perhaps!
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