ERIN KAMLER RETURNS TO MUSIC WITH MEDITATIVE NEW ALBUM REFUGE

US-born, Thailand-based writer, composer, musician, and researcher Erin Kamler has debuted new album REFUGE, which is available now. A meditation on the places and spaces that give us comfort in times of conflict, REFUGE was inspired by Kamler’s time in Thailand throughout the Covid pandemic and brings together Buddhist and Hebrew mantras with songs of love and grief. 

The 12-track album, written and produced by Kamler, features intimate piano-vocal melodies, tender performances from members of Kutumba,—a folk instrumental ensemble committed to the research, preservation and celebration of indigenous Nepali music—the soulful rhythms of Northern Thailand, and the sweeping sounds of New York City strings from renowned musician David Shenton. A true global endeavor, REFUGE was recorded between Chiang Mai, Thailand, Kathmandu, Nepal, Los Angeles, and New York.

The album marks Kamler’s return to recorded music after her success in the 2000s under the moniker Mantra Girl, whose pop-chant albumTruth was praised by Billboard as “as calming as it is energizing.” The album featured an inspiring collection of ancient Sanskrit-based mantras set to stirring dance rhythms, with instrumentation from members of the New York Philharmonic.

Kamler explains of REFUGE: “In March of 2020, Thailand, the country where I live, announced it would be closing its borders until the Covid crisis was under control. Like everyone else in the world, my life was disrupted by a sudden scramble—my partner, who is Burmese, was working in Myanmar at the time. Myanmar too, would be closing its borders, and so in a split second decision my partner packed a bag and got on the last flight out of Yangon to Bangkok. We didn’t know it at the time, but getting in and out of Thailand would end up being significantly difficult for the better part of the next three years—making travel back to the U.S. uncertain. Nor could we have known that in February, 2021, a violent military coup would wreak havoc on Myanmar, making it impossible to return.

While our lives during the pandemic were generally safe and secure, it felt as though we were watching the world around us burn. I looked on in shock as the U.S. fractured—political and social polarization becoming so severe that it seemed everyone everywhere was dealing with some version of a psychological crisis. As Myanmar descended into political chaos, protesters took to the streets, only to be slaughtered en masse by a vengeful Junta. Activists fled into the jungles in a move evoking the dark dictatorships of the late 20th century. Our countries were unravelling. And yet there we were, sheltered in a nation whose pandemic response was effective and sound. Thailand felt so safe, and the outside world so tenuous, I thought I might never leave. But, eventually, I did.”

She continues: “How do we find solace amid the excruciating pain of losing a loved one? What about when our loss isn’t attached to a person, but to an entire way of life? How can we learn to live in a world transformed, and in doing so, turn our grief into a motivating force for peace? Since processing grief isn’t just an individual act, but a collective one, it seemed a useful exercise to turn to some of the spiritual tools passed down through centuries by those who’ve come before us. The cultural traditions of Buddhism and Judaism, meaningful in my own life, felt like the right place to start.

Refuge is about the places and spaces that bring us comfort in times of conflict. Bringing together devotional mantras from the Hebrew, Sanskrit, Pali, and Gurumukhi languages with songs of love and grief, the album is a meditation on what it means to reach for wisdom and compassion in the face of life’s suffering, and in that reaching, transform.”

Tracklist: 

1. Rivers
2. Blessing
3. Temple 
4. Om Tare
5. Festival
6. Namo Tassa
7. Full Moon Mantra
8. Lotus
9. Rest
10. Fire
11. We Don’t Own
12. Hine Ma Tov

 

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