The making of this album has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. It has taken a year and a half of work - sheer joy- a real Labour of Love! The project of making this album started with a vision of an end product following my first trip to Nepal and India in 2002.

I wanted to encapsulate somehow the sights, sounds and emotions of my journey in one multi-faceted soundscape. Later I realised that not only were my music and photographs needed, but also words through the poetry of the songs and moving images,through a wealth of video footage collected on my second journey in 2004. The end result will be not only this album but a DVD, to be completed by 2005.

The album itself is a collective effort by all the singers and musicians, all of whom are my friends, who were invited to join me in the recording studio. It is through their love and passion to support the project that we have this end result. Nearly all the artists live in my home town of Brighton, though many come from elsewhere in England and around the world. I thank them and Julian Tardo, my engineer and co-producer, from the bottom of my heart, without them there would be no album.

I was asked by a friend who had just listened to the track " Serpent of Shiva", why I had written the words in this song. I seemed to be struck dumb, said nothing and just laughed - I could give no logical answer. After pondering his question for some days I realised why I could not give a reason. I was given a name at birth like us all, - Julian Franks. "I", whoever that is, have an awareness of travelling on a journey - called my life. To me it feels dual. One journey "without", in the so-called "three-dimensional" world, and strangely and mysteriously, one journey "within" - what many refer to as the "mind", though I prefer heart and soul. Where "without" and "within" are located who can say?

All I am truly aware of is countless experiences in this individual life which may be classified as pleasurable or painful, ordinary or extraordinary; and since my journeys to India and Nepal, I can genuinely add - gentle, joyful, loving and peaceful. What a great relief! Underneath all these experiences there has always been an eternal, unnameable 'something'; looking, listening, feeling and observing this particular person's 'life drama'. From this silent source come all the words, the rhythms, the melodies, the storytelling, all the 'decisive moments' of pushing the camera button! It is the space between all the motion and activity. I am sure this was why I could give no answer to my friend - how can silence give an answer?

I hope you enjoy the fruits of everyone's labour. For me it is like a flower - a beautiful expression of the excess of God's grace "The Jewel in the Lotus".

With Love and Gratitude

Julian Franks, Brighton 2004