CD Review: Sky of the Heart Following on the heels of the melodic Diamonds in the Sun, Girish has released a delicious, toe-tapping, heart-warming new album in Sky of the Heart. After playing with numerous artists,Girish burst onto the kirtan scene in 2004 with his first album Reveal, offering a fresh, contemporary take on mantra with [...]
Music Review: Back to the Garden by Annmarie Soul Originally from Michigan, Annmarie Soul’s first class at Jivamukti Yoga in NYC sparked her commitment to yoga and devotional music. After traveling, training in yoga, and perfecting her songwriting, Annmarie rooted in LA, teaching throughout Los Angeles as well as at festivals including Bhakti Fest, BaliSpirit Festival, Lightning [...]
Yogis and Yoginis interested in an eclectic mix of songs to dance to and meditate on will find Elixir: Songs of the Radiance Sutras an album that blends 10 songs into a mix of melodies that will inspire ecstatic dance, sensual expression, and meditative movements. A collaboration between Dave Stringer, Donna De Lory, Joni Allen, and [...]
Music Review: Dreaming in Sanskrit by Marti Nikko and DJ Drez The first time I heard Marti Nikko sing, I was in savasana. Micheline Berry was teaching and DJ Drez (Nikko’s husband and frequent collaborator) spinning. I was struck by the resonance, melody, and powerful vibration of a voice that reached beyond the studio. Every time [...]
Universal Light Remixes (From The Unchanging), Donna De Lory CD Review De Lory Music Donna De Lory is a strong presence in both the pop and world music scenes; her initial career boost came as a hard-working back-up singer for Madonna before taking off as a pop star in her own right. After some successful [...]
Doorways to the Infinite By Sally Kempton Sounds True Since the advent of the Internet, spiritual information is prolifically available. Discerning fools-gold from precious alloy takes a level of clarity only honed by deep inner work. What really liberates us from our own conditioned ways of living as small, separate, and incomplete? How do we [...]
Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band White Swan Records I fell in love with kirtan late in my practice. It was within the expansive studio of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center, not long after Hurricane Katrina. Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band were touring to raise funds to rebuild their hometown when [...]
By Daphne Tse Daphne Tse Music Daphne Tse is a firmly established singer/songwriter in the international kirtan and festival scene. Her new album, Finding Water, is likely the first-ever fusion of kirtan, Hawaiian rhythms and contemporary original music and it is a winning blend! Daphne has drawn together traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar, ukulele, and lap steel sounds [...]
By Nirinjan Kaur Spirit Voyage The mysterious power of sacred Naam, the sound current of the ocean of consciousness, is reflected powerfully in Nirinjan Kaur’s voice. She is accompanied here by Matthew Schoening and Ram Dass Khalsa: these musicians open your heart to a world of shabads in the Gurmukhi language along with ancient sacred [...]
GuruGanesha Band Spirit Voyage Records Yogi Bhajan said that inside each human being is a light that is brighter than a thousand suns. His lectures inspired many songs and his messages set the vibration for this powerful, intuitive series of mantras. GuruGanesha Singh and Paloma Devi combine their hypnotic and stunning vocals with the mesmerizing [...]