Bhakti Juggernaut by Dub Kirtan All Stars
Dub Kirtan All Stars is a collaboration between David Starfire (world music DJ and one of my musical heroes), DJ/breakbeat producer FreQ Nasty, and a team of talented artists (Chaytanya, Srikala, MC Yogi, Donna De Lory, J Brave, Arjun Baba, Lili Haydn, Rik Sharaj, Ysanne Spevack, DVine 1, and Claire Thompson). In Bhakti Juggernaut, they successfully interweave ancient Yoga devotional chants with modern Dub/Electronic Music and a message of positive transformation.
The fusion of yoga with electronic music has been evolving for years and as a fan and producer of electronic music, I’ve found myself sonically fatigued by a lot of what I’m hearing. Yet in Bhakti Juggernaut, Starfire and FreQ Nasty deliver.
One of the first tracks that grabbed me is the re-imagining of “Om Namah Shivaya.” The backdrop of hard-hitting beats and growly bass is an authentic marriage of both worlds allowing the triumph and celebration in the chant to shine with this fresh sonic point of view. The tasteful production throughout allows different elements in the music to breathe. For example, the track “Hey Vinayaka” is almost devoid of beats with minimalist electronic production, letting the chant serve as the star performance.
I loved the live instruments and conscious hip hop rappers. Srikala on “Kunja Bihari” has great lyrics and presence. MC Yogi also makes an appearance in the dub-driven “Supreme Magnetic.” Bhakti Juggernaut is a true gem.
McKenna Rowe is the founder of Chakra 5 Yoga and Wellness, a yoga teacher, and DJ. www.chakra5.la
McKenna caught the “yoga bug” as a little girl, watching Lilias Folan on PBS. She leads an active life hiking, running, sometimes snowboarding, and once was a nationally-ranked equestrian. After years of working in the digital industry for clients in entertainment, publishing and fashion, she took a sabbatical to acquire her yoga teacher certification. A desire to help people heal soon followed. Also a successful musician and composer, McKenna shares cutting-edge music during yoga classes, recruiting musicians and DJs to perform with her. She owned and operated East Hollywood’s Chakra 5 Yoga studio throughout 2011, creating a vibrant community on and offline, but decided to shift to a mobile model. Now Chakra 5 brings yoga classes on site and by appointment to businesses, schools and organizations throughout greater Los Angeles. McKenna was certified in Hatha/Kundalini at Karuna Yoga, and has additional teacher training in Restorative Yoga with Master Teacher Judith Lasater. She teaches yoga at Chakra 5 classes and international retreats.