MANAS Release The most yielding thing in the world will overcome the most rigid, Share "100 sunset" Video
MANAS, the duo of Asheville-based guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Thom Nguyen, release their new album The most yielding thing in the world will overcome the most rigid on October 30 via American Dreams. The record began as the score for 100 Sunset, which the label's release calls "the award-winning feature debut of Tibetan-Canadian director Kunsang Kyirong." Kyirong also made the new video for "100 sunset," cut from footage of her film.
From film score to album
Kyirong explains how the project came together in the release. "I first met Tashi Dorji while making my feature film 100 Sunset," she says. "During the writing process, his album Master of Time became an important reference point. I reached out to him, and he agreed to compose the film's soundtrack, which he later expanded into his recent album The most yielding thing in the world will overcome the most rigid."
Apple Music lists the album as four tracks running 59 minutes. None is shorter than 12 minutes: "100 sunset" runs 13:11, "Dreams of Durdak" 15:46, "For The Wild" 12:09 and "destituons le monde" 17:55. "100 sunset" was first released on September 15, per Apple.
Recorded by a river
"Since 2012, MANAS have explored the intersections of free jazz, noise, punk, and experimental music through fearless improvisation," the label's release says. The album was recorded at Ritual Botanica, which the release describes as "an herbal apothecary alongside North Carolina's French Broad River."
The title comes from the 43rd verse of the Tao Te Ching, and the release says those ideas shape how the duo improvises. "Improvised music, this music-making in the immediacy and now, in the moment," Dorji says, "feels way more radical than anything I've ever done."
MANAS tour dates with Che Chen
MANAS will tour the East Coast as a trio with Che Chen of 75 Dollar Bill, then play Big Ears in Knoxville in April 2027. These are the dates in the release:
- November 30: Asheville, NC, AyurPrana
- December 1: Carrboro, NC, ArtsCenter
- December 2: Durham, NC, Duke Coffeehouse
- December 3: Richmond, VA, Bandito's Diablo Room
- December 4: Philadelphia, PA, Calvary Community Center
- December 5: Baltimore, MD, Red Room
- December 6: State College, PA, Manny's
- December 7: Washington, DC, Rhizome
- December 9: Cambridge, MA, The Platform
- December 10: Brooklyn, NY, Union Pool
- December 11: Kingston, NY, Tubby's
- April 1 to 3, 2027: Knoxville, TN, Big Ears
The album is streaming and on order now through American Dreams.