Lam La Che (On the Road
Techung
ARC Music Productions

The latest album from the Tibetan-born folk and freedom musician Techung, Lam La Che (On the Road) combines traditional songs from his motherland with original pieces that both honor the beauty and melodies of Tibet and pay tribute to those continuing the struggle for autonomy. Techung’s sensitive music and lyrics are rooted in his experience growing up with his family in Dharamsala among tens of thousands of other Tibetan refugees after the Chinese military began destroying Tibetan culture in the late 1950s.

Songs on this new release, which include live tracks from the 2008 Tibetan Freedom Concert in Taiwan, center on themes of returning home (“Lok Dro”—Let’s Return) and gratitude to India as a welcoming, surrogate home (“Din Chen Gyagar”—Benevolent India).

The middle of the album is marked by the song “Lama Khen” (My Lama), an uplifting tribute to “those who have self-immolated” in the struggle to free Tibet, a practice that continues today, with more than 120 occurrences since 2009. The lyrics for the song were taken from the final writings of monks who’d set themselves on fire.

“From a young age, our hearts are transplanted with Om Mani Padme Hum, the seed mantra of compassion,” he says. “I feel that with those seeds in me, my audiences feel a sense of calmness and understanding.” Techung lives in exile in San Francisco and hopes one day to return to a free Tibet.