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Wu Wei & The Art Of Living

Aseo Friesacher

Wu Wei & The Art Of Living

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917362329
Catnr: CR 73623
Release date: 30 January 2026
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1 CD
€ 19.95
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Label
Challenge Records
UPC
0608917362329
Catalogue number
CR 73623
Release date
30 January 2026
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

All the compositions on this album are original works, created during a period of personal growth and artistic exploration. Each piece represents a chapter in a larger story — one that reflects not only my journey as a musician but also my evolving understanding of life, purpose, and meaning.

The opening track, “Wu Wei,” sets the tone. A central concept in Taoist philosophy, Wu Wei translates to “non-action” — not inaction, but effortless action, or moving with the flow of life rather than against it. As a musician, this idea resonates deeply: to be in harmony with your surroundings, to create without forcing, to live and express from a place of presence.

“One” speaks to the longing for unity in a divided world. Despite conflict, disagreement, and disconnection, there is always a deeper thread that binds us together — a shared humanity that transcends our differences.

“Home” represents the need for belonging, safety, and grounding. For some, home is a physical place; for others, it’s something they must find or create. But for all of us, the feeling of home is essential to live a fulfilled life.

“Reflections in the Water” is an introspective piece — a reminder of where we come from and who we are at our core. Influenced by classical and impressionistic traditions, it pays homage to the great composers who have shaped music history and continue to inspire me.

“Seven Virtues, Seven Sins” explores the dualities of human nature — the push and pull between good and evil, right and wrong, light and shadow. It’s a reflection on the moral questions we all face and the deeper quest for inner truth and balance.

In “Samsara,” the cyclic nature of existence is made audible: life, death, and rebirth — endlessly repeating. It reminds us that every end carries the seed of a new beginning.

“Blues for Sadako” is a tribute to Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who became a symbol of peace after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Her story, and the thousands of paper cranes she folded, speak of hope, remembrance, and the resilience of the human spirit. This piece is dedicated to her and to all victims of war.

The final track, “Healing,” is a hymn for humanity. In times of pain and turmoil, sometimes what the world needs most is a moment of collective healing — a return to compassion, empathy, and wholeness.

Throughout this album, I’ve tried to express something honest — something that reflects the complexity of being alive. We live in a world full of goals, distractions, and expectations. Often, we chase success or run from discomfort, forgetting to be present in the moment. But life is not a race to the finish line. It is a process of becoming, of unfolding — just like a flower grows, slowly and naturally, in its own time.

You cannot force growth. You cannot force mastery. The moment you think you’ve arrived, life will humble you. There is no final destination — only the ongoing path.

Obstacles will come. Resistance will arise. But perhaps the key is not to fight or flee, but to accept — to let go, and to allow life to unfold. This is the essence of Wu Wei. To move in harmony with the world, to follow your inner voice, to grow in all directions like a tree, to live fully in the present — this is not just a philosophy, but a way of life.

This album is an invitation to listen — not just to the music, but to yourself.

- Aseo Friesacher

Alle Kompositionen auf diesem Album sind Originalwerke, die während einer Phase persönlicher Entwicklung und künstlerischer Erkundung entstanden sind. Jedes Stück steht für ein Kapitel einer größeren Geschichte – eine Geschichte, die nicht nur meinen Weg als Musiker widerspiegelt, sondern auch mein sich wandelndes Verständnis von Leben, Sinn und Bedeutung.

Der Eröffnungstitel „Wu Wei” gibt den Ton an. Als zentrales Konzept der taoistischen Philosophie bedeutet „Wu Wei” so viel wie „Nicht-Handeln” – nicht Untätigkeit, sondern müheloses Handeln oder sich mit dem Fluss des Lebens zu bewegen, anstatt gegen ihn anzukämpfen. Als Musikerin finde ich großen Anklang an dieser Idee: in Harmonie mit seiner Umgebung zu sein, ohne Zwang zu schaffen, aus der Gegenwart heraus zu leben und sich auszudrücken.

„One“ spricht von der Sehnsucht nach Einheit in einer geteilten Welt. Trotz Konflikten, Meinungsverschiedenheiten und Entfremdung gibt es immer einen tieferen Faden, der uns verbindet – eine gemeinsame Menschlichkeit, die unsere Unterschiede überwindet.

„Home“ steht für das Bedürfnis nach Zugehörigkeit, Sicherheit und Bodenhaftung. Für manche ist das Zuhause ein physischer Ort, für andere ist es etwas, das sie finden oder schaffen müssen. Aber für uns alle ist das Gefühl von Zuhause unerlässlich, um ein erfülltes Leben zu führen.

„Reflections in the Water“ ist ein introspektives Stück – eine Erinnerung daran, woher wir kommen und wer wir in unserem Innersten sind. Beeinflusst von klassischen und impressionistischen Traditionen, ist es eine Hommage an die großen Komponisten, die die Musikgeschichte geprägt haben und mich weiterhin inspirieren.

„Seven Virtues, Seven Sins“ untersucht die Dualitäten der menschlichen Natur – das Spannungsfeld zwischen Gut und Böse, Recht und Unrecht, Licht und Schatten. Es ist eine Reflexion über die moralischen Fragen, mit denen wir alle konfrontiert sind, und die tiefere Suche nach innerer Wahrheit und Ausgeglichenheit.

In „Samsara” wird die zyklische Natur des Daseins hörbar gemacht: Leben, Tod und Wiedergeburt – endlos wiederholend. Es erinnert uns daran, dass jedes Ende den Keim eines neuen Anfangs in sich trägt.

„Blues for Sadako” ist eine Hommage an Sadako Sasaki, ein junges Mädchen, das nach dem Atombombenabwurf auf Hiroshima 1945 zu einem Symbol des Friedens wurde. Ihre Geschichte und tausende von Papierkranichen, die sie gefaltet hat, sprechen von Hoffnung, Erinnerung und der Widerstandsfähigkeit des menschlichen Geistes. Dieses Stück ist ihr und allen Opfern des Krieges gewidmet.

Der letzte Titel, „Healing“, ist eine Hymne an die Menschheit. In Zeiten des Schmerzes und der Unruhe braucht die Welt manchmal am meisten einen Moment der kollektiven Heilung – eine Rückkehr zu Mitgefühl, Empathie und Ganzheitlichkeit.

Mit diesem Album habe ich versucht, etwas Ehrliches auszudrücken – etwas, das die Komplexität des Lebens widerspiegelt. Wir leben in einer Welt voller Ziele, Ablenkungen und Erwartungen. Oft jagen wir dem Erfolg hinterher oder laufen vor Unbehagen davon und vergessen dabei, im Moment präsent zu sein. Aber das Leben ist kein Wettlauf bis zur Ziellinie. Es ist ein Prozess des Werdens, des Entfaltens – so wie eine Blume langsam und natürlich wächst, in der ihr eigenen Zeit.

Man kann Wachstum nicht erzwingen. Man kann Meisterschaft nicht erzwingen. In dem Moment, in dem man glaubt, angekommen zu sein, wird das Leben einen demütig machen. Es gibt kein endgültiges Ziel – nur den fortwährenden Weg.

Es werden Hindernisse kommen. Es wird Widerstand geben. Aber vielleicht liegt der Schlüssel nicht darin, zu kämpfen oder zu fliehen, sondern zu akzeptieren – loszulassen und dem Leben zu erlauben, sich zu entfalten. Das ist die Essenz von Wu Wei. Sich im Einklang mit der Welt zu bewegen, seiner inneren Stimme zu folgen, wie ein Baum in alle Richtungen zu wachsen, ganz in der Gegenwart zu leben – das ist nicht nur eine Philosophie, sondern eine Lebensweise.

Dieses Album ist eine Einladung zum Zuhören – nicht nur zur Musik, sondern auch zu sich selbst.

- Aseo Friesacher

Artist(s)

Aseo Friesacher (piano)

Aseo Friesacher is a pianist and composer born in Vienna, Austria. Since an early age he was very interested in music and he was able to pick up melodies and rhythms easily. It was soon clear to him that a music career is the only thing he wants to pursue. Aseo started to play the piano at an age of 6. He was also member of the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir and got the chance to tour around the world and sing in big concert halls like the Carnegie Hall in New York or the Tokyo Opera City Hall. At the age of fourteen Aseo found his love to jazz music by listening to songs of Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and...
more

Aseo Friesacher is a pianist and composer born in Vienna, Austria. Since an early age he was very interested in music and he was able to pick up melodies and rhythms easily. It was soon clear to him that a music career is the only thing he wants to pursue. Aseo started to play the piano at an age of 6. He was also member of the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir and got the chance to tour around the world and sing in big concert halls like the Carnegie Hall in New York or the Tokyo Opera City Hall.

At the age of fourteen Aseo found his love to jazz music by listening to songs of Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and Didier Squiban. Eventually he formed his own jazz trio, became very active in the jazz scene and got the chance to perform in prestigious places such as the United Nations, Porgy & Bess in Vienna, as well as renowned venues in the Netherlands such as LantarenVenster and the Bimhuis. The half Japanese/Austrian talent has been awarded with multiple awards: 1st price of the Podium.Jazz Competition in Austria 2014, Finalist of the Leiden Jazz Award 2021 and 2nd prize at the Gexto Jazz Competition in 2022 with Loek van den Berg Quintet.

Aseo started his jazz piano studies in the Vienna Conservatory of Music & Arts and studied with Aaron Wonesch. Later he graduated at the Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam. In addition to his musical growth he could get the chance to have workshops from several piano masters as Harold Mabern, Tamir Hendelman, Peter Beets and Cory Henry. In 2022 Aseo obtained his master degree in music from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and is based in the Netherlands since. He became very active in the dutch music scene as well as internationally, playing in several bands such as the Aseo Trio, Loek van den Berg Quintet, Kaiju Project and the Jong Metropole (2019/20). Aseo worked together with notable musicians such as Miho Hazama, Jim Black, Michael League, Jamison Ross, Felix Schlarmann, Nikolaus Holler and Matheus Jardim among others.


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Koen Smits (trumpet)

“Sometimes veiled, then supportive, and other times contrasting.”  Trumpeter, composer, and improviser Koen Smits (Tilburg, 1991) navigates between diverse worlds, always in search of musical adventure. His first major exploration was with the group Mudita (alongside vocalist Sanne Rambags and pianist Sjoerd van Eijck). The debut album, “Listen to the Sound of the Forest,” was awarded an Edison (Dutch Grammy) and was followed by concerts both domestically and internationally. Koen’s playing eludes classification within a single genre, and he is not fond of confining himself to labels. He has engaged in numerous collaborations with artists such as Eric van der Westen, Sjoerd van Eijck’s, OAK, Kika Sprangers, Gulli Gudmundsson, and Jeroen van Vliet. Additionally, Koen is affiliated as a professor Trumpet Jazz &...
more

“Sometimes veiled, then supportive, and other times contrasting.”

Trumpeter, composer, and improviser Koen Smits (Tilburg, 1991) navigates between diverse worlds, always in search of musical adventure. His first major exploration was with the group Mudita (alongside vocalist Sanne Rambags and pianist Sjoerd van Eijck). The debut album, “Listen to the Sound of the Forest,” was awarded an Edison (Dutch Grammy) and was followed by concerts both domestically and internationally.

Koen’s playing eludes classification within a single genre, and he is not fond of confining himself to labels. He has engaged in numerous collaborations with artists such as Eric van der Westen, Sjoerd van Eijck’s, OAK, Kika Sprangers, Gulli Gudmundsson, and Jeroen van Vliet. Additionally,

Koen is affiliated as a professor Trumpet Jazz & Pop at the University of the Arts Utrecht, serves as a trumpeter and booker for the Paradox Jazz Orchestra, is an audio engineer at Studio de Vijver, plays with his hornsection The Hornaments for television and recordingstudios and acts as a substitute for the famous Dutch Metropole Orkest.


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Johannes Fend (double bass)

Nikolas Tsangaris (percussion)

Claudio Jr De Rosa (tenor saxophone)

Composer(s)

Aseo Friesacher (piano)

Aseo Friesacher is a pianist and composer born in Vienna, Austria. Since an early age he was very interested in music and he was able to pick up melodies and rhythms easily. It was soon clear to him that a music career is the only thing he wants to pursue. Aseo started to play the piano at an age of 6. He was also member of the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir and got the chance to tour around the world and sing in big concert halls like the Carnegie Hall in New York or the Tokyo Opera City Hall. At the age of fourteen Aseo found his love to jazz music by listening to songs of Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and...
more

Aseo Friesacher is a pianist and composer born in Vienna, Austria. Since an early age he was very interested in music and he was able to pick up melodies and rhythms easily. It was soon clear to him that a music career is the only thing he wants to pursue. Aseo started to play the piano at an age of 6. He was also member of the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir and got the chance to tour around the world and sing in big concert halls like the Carnegie Hall in New York or the Tokyo Opera City Hall.

At the age of fourteen Aseo found his love to jazz music by listening to songs of Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck and Didier Squiban. Eventually he formed his own jazz trio, became very active in the jazz scene and got the chance to perform in prestigious places such as the United Nations, Porgy & Bess in Vienna, as well as renowned venues in the Netherlands such as LantarenVenster and the Bimhuis. The half Japanese/Austrian talent has been awarded with multiple awards: 1st price of the Podium.Jazz Competition in Austria 2014, Finalist of the Leiden Jazz Award 2021 and 2nd prize at the Gexto Jazz Competition in 2022 with Loek van den Berg Quintet.

Aseo started his jazz piano studies in the Vienna Conservatory of Music & Arts and studied with Aaron Wonesch. Later he graduated at the Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam. In addition to his musical growth he could get the chance to have workshops from several piano masters as Harold Mabern, Tamir Hendelman, Peter Beets and Cory Henry. In 2022 Aseo obtained his master degree in music from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and is based in the Netherlands since. He became very active in the dutch music scene as well as internationally, playing in several bands such as the Aseo Trio, Loek van den Berg Quintet, Kaiju Project and the Jong Metropole (2019/20). Aseo worked together with notable musicians such as Miho Hazama, Jim Black, Michael League, Jamison Ross, Felix Schlarmann, Nikolaus Holler and Matheus Jardim among others.


less

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