David John Morris was asked to give up his guitar for nine months to enter Gampo Abbey, Nova Scotia, which actually led to the creation of Monastic Love songs. On the way he had to work, study and meditate with the Buddhist monks. While he was there, of course, he had to refrain from drugs, alcohol, and sex. In the first eight months he learned a lot about himself and the duality that exists between the monk and the musician, who live in the same body but are deliberately kept separate.
Last month he asked for a guitar. In order to grant this request, the condition was that he could only use it for one hour a day. But within this framework, songs began to come out. As a reflection of this time, the nine original songs together with a cover of "Rosemary Lane" offer us an insight into a man and a lifestyle that only a few can imagine.
Like much of this work, the title of the album is autobiographical. Morris says, somewhat insidiously: "The title is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I fell in love while I was there … I just fell in love without exception." He also admits, “After saying all of this, I gave up my robes and got back to dating apps pretty quickly! But back then it was cathartic to be able to explore emotional intimacy in this way. "
There was a lot to learn at Gampo Abbey. “Steadfast” tells a story about how you learn to accept humanity and love a person you don't really like very much. It's just another form of dualism that he's learned from. “I realized that you can definitely love someone without really liking them. You can find difficult, annoying, stronger words, but if you live there and can't escape, all you have to do is acknowledge their humanity. "
At the other end of the scale, “Purple Gold” tells the story of first love, “hearing one earphone at a time”. This moment has a perfection that can never be captured again. It's set to hit an acoustic guitar with an electric added halfway through. A feeling of inner peace lives in "Rhododendron". An acoustic guitar sets the scene when Morris sees the flower and is touched by the thought: "I have taken / now I am learning to give".
At the end of the album, “Inner Smile” was originally written as a poem of thanks to the monastery tai chi teacher. Like so many of these pieces, the thread that connects them all is love: love for yourself, love for others, love for the practice of Buddhism. Amazingly, Monastic Love Songs were recorded in a single day, which proved that those songs that got fertilized in the minds of David John Morris just had to get out.
