Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits

Last updated
Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits
Origin Los Angeles, California
Genres World, Kirtan, Mantra Music
Years active1998-present
Labels Equal Vision Records/Mantralogy
Website Official Website
MembersGaura Vani
Shyam Kishore
Vrinda Rani
Jvala Mukhi
Nistha Raj

Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits (sometimes known just as As Kindred Spirits) is a musical project signed to Equal Vision Records' new sub-label, Mantralogy. They perform Krishna-conscious music.

Contents

History

As Kindred Spirits was founded in 1998 by Gaura Vani and Shyam Kishore to bring kirtan, a genre of spiritual music from India, to the United States. The music "combines traditional Indian kirtan music with Western elements such as 12-string guitar, gospel choruses, and hip-hop rhythms". [1]

Gaura Vani was born in Los Angeles, but at the age of six, moved to Vrindavan, India to study sacred music at a gurukula. There, he learned how to play traditional Indian instruments, such as the harmonium. He brought his knowledge back to the United States, where he formed As Kindred Spirits with Shyam Kishore, a professionally trained Indian percussionist/multi-instrumentalist.

The band performs regularly at yoga studios and temples, along with touring to larger venues and festivals, such as Lollapalooza. [1] They also tour internationally to countries such as Brazil and India. They also founded the first ever sold-out Chant4Change kirtan-festival in Washington, DC during President Obama's inauguration. [1]

In 2009, As Kindred Spirits became the first band signed to Equal Vision's new, kirtan sub-label, Mantrology. Their second album, Ten Million Moons, is the first release on Mantralogy. [2]

Band members

Gaura Vani - vocals, harmonium
Shyam Kishore - tabla, sarod
Vrinda Rani - bharatanatyam dancer
Acyuta Gopi - vocals
Ananta Govinda - mrdanga (khol) [brother to Acyuta Gopi]
Jvala Mukhi - backing vocals, tambura
Nistha Raj - violin

Various other musicians perform at various shows, most being local musicians.

Discography

Related Research Articles

The music of Bangladesh spans a wide variety of styles. Bangladesh claims some of the most renowned singers, composers and producers in Asia. Music has served the purpose of documenting the lives of the people and was widely patronized by the rulers. It comprises a long tradition of religious and regular song-writing over a period of almost a millennium.

Kirtan Musically recited story in Indian traditions

Kirtan is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent.

Fiji is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. Though geographically Melanesian, the music of Fiji is more Polynesian in character. Nevertheless, Fijian folk styles are distinct in their fusion of Polynesian and Melanesian traditions. Folk music is dominated by vocal church music, as well as dances characterized by rich and dull harmony and complex percussion made from slit drums or natural materials, such as drums.

Pump organ Free-reed organ musical instrument

The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. The idea for the free reed was imported from China through Russia after 1750, and the first Western free-reed instrument was made in 1780 in Denmark.

Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand.

Girija Devi Indian classical singer

Girija Devi was an Indian classical singer of the Seniya and Banaras gharanas. She performed classical and light classical music and helped elevate the profile of thumri. She died on 24 October 2017.

Three types of Sikh musicians are rababis, ragis, and dhadhis.

Rashid Khan (musician) Indian classical musician (born 1968)

Ustad Rashid Khan is an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani music tradition. He belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, and is the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. He is married to Soma Khan.

Raslila Dance of Radha Krishna with gopis

The Ras lila or Ras dance or Krishna Tandava, is part of the traditional story of Krishna described in Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavata Purana and literature such as the Gita Govinda, where he dances with Radha and her sakhis (Gopis). The Indian classical dance of Kathak evolved from the 'Raslila of Braj and Manipuri Classical Dance' (Vrindavana) also known as Natwari Nritya, which was revived in 1960s by the Kathak dancer, Uma Sharma.

<i>MTV ao Vivo</i> (Nando Reis e Os Infernais album) 2004 live album by Nando Reis e os Infernais

MTV Ao Vivo is the first live album released by Brazilian band Nando Reis e os Infernais.

Snatam Kaur American singer-songwriter

Snatam Kaur Khalsa, is an American singer, songwriter and author. Kaur performs new age Indian devotional music, kirtan, and tours the world as a peace activist. The surname "Kaur", meaning "princess", is shared by all female Sikhs.

Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University

Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, formerly Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music and Marris College of Music, is a music institute in Lucknow. Established in 1926 by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, it was declared a deemed university by University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2000, and offers music education in Vocal Music, Instrumental, Rhythms, Dance, Musicology and Research and Applied Music.

Worship in Hinduism Act of religious devotion usually directed to one or more Hindu deities

Worship in Hinduism is an act of religious devotion usually directed to one or more Hindu deities. A sense of Bhakti or devotional love is generally invoked. This term is probably a central one in Hinduism, but a direct translation from the Sanskrit to English is difficult. Worship takes a multitude of forms depending on geography and language. Worship is not confined to any place of worship, and it will often incorporate personal reflection, music, dance and poetry. Hindus usually perform worship in temples or at home to achieve some specific end or to integrate the body, mind and spirit. The aim is to live a pure life in order to help the performer reincarnate into a higher being.

Ravi Shankars Music Festival from India

Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India was an Indian classical music revue led by sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar intended for Western concert audiences and performed in 1974. Its presentation was the first project undertaken by the Material World Charitable Foundation, set up the previous year by ex-Beatle George Harrison. Long a champion of Indian music, Harrison also produced an eponymous studio album by the Music Festival orchestra, which was released in 1976 on his Dark Horse record label. Both the CD format of the Ravi Shankar's Music Festival from India album and a DVD of their performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London were issued for the first time on the 2010 Shankar–Harrison box set Collaborations.

Larkin Poe American blues rock band

Larkin Poe is an American roots rock band originally from north Georgia, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, and fronted by sisters Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell. Featuring strong southern harmonies, heavy electric guitar riffs, and slide guitar, they are often touted as "the little sisters of the Allman Brothers". The band performed at the 2014 and 2016 Glastonbury Festival and were voted "Best Discovery of Glastonbury 2014" by the UK's The Observer. The sisters have also toured as backing musicians for a variety of other bands, most notably Elvis Costello, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, and Keith Urban.

<i>Swara Samrat festival</i>

Swara Samrat festival is a four-day annual mega festival of Indian classical music and dance held during the winters in Kolkata, India. This festival is the brainchild of Sarod maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, his vocalist wife, Manasi Majumder and their Sarod player-son Indrayuddh Majumder. The festival is dedicated to Swara Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Indian Classical Music and Dance Legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Aashish Khan, Dr. Girija Devi, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Guru Karaikudi Mani, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pandit Kushal Das, Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Guru Sujata Mohapatra, Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Pandit Yogesh Samsi, Pandit Bickram Ghosh, Pandit Tanmoy Bose and Kaushiki Chakraborty are some of the artists who have previously performed in this festival.

Wynne Paris was a new-age and world beat musician/producer with a special focus on yoga music and kirtan, the call-and-response singing of Bhakti yoga. His live performance combines Kirtan chanting, American music, world beat rhythms and raga scales. He sings in both English and Sanskrit. Paris plays a variety of musical instruments which include the guitar, sarod, harmonium, saz and percussion. Wynne Paris died suddenly of a heart attack on March 22, 2021.

Jyoti Goho is an Indian Classical Musician from Kolkata, India. He is well known for Harmonium accompaniment. He belongs to Kirana Gharana. He is working in Indian classical music industry from last 40 years and is a Musician Faculty at ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, India.

Bhakti Without Borders is a Mantra Music charity album by Madi Das. It was released May 12, 2015 and nominated for a Grammy award that year in the "Best New Age Album" category. At the time, this was only the third kirtan album received this honor. Bhakti Without Borders was listed as one of the "10 Best Yoga Tunes of the Year" by Yoga Journal. It also ranked third in the "Top 20 Conscious Music Albums for 2015" competition by Soul Traveller.

Dhoad

Dhoad, also known under the name Dhoad gypsies of Rajasthan, or Dhoad gypsies from Rajasthan is a group created in France in 2002 and directed by Rahis Bharti which brings together musicians from Rajasthan, India.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Underwood, Tripp (September 18, 2009). "East meets West". The Boston Globe. New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  2. "Equal Vision Records Announces Mantralogy - GauraVani.com".